Blog

2015 in Review & What’s Ahead

January 9, 2016 By Chie

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday. Thank you for all the support you’ve given this past year. I hope to be able to keep creating beautiful things and sharing things I learn on my blog. To start off, I wanted to recap some highlights from 2015.

My 5 most worn items I made in year 2015Watson bra in black laceSweat pantsGinger jeansChambray button upBurdastyle Parka

Wedding dresses and items
This is my current focus. I would like to continue expanding more bridal line in year 2016.Bridal robeFloral motif lace wedding dressPhoto collaboration with NounouFlower crown
Wedding welcome bears

69 Blog posts

I wrote 69 blog posts in the year 2015. That’s about 5 blog posts a month. That’s not many, but I found that a once per week frequency is easier to maintain. That frequency allows me to come up with ideas and still enjoy writing. I am planning on continuing this frequency for 2016 as well.

These three posts generated the most page views:

MADE | Ginger Skinny Jeans View B
MADE | BurdaStyle Parka 09/2012 #129
MADE | Navy Blue Lace Dress

It’s interesting that these are all my “MADE” posts, showing the clothes I made for myself rather than for other people. Maybe the readers can tell how passionate I am with these makes from my detailed reviews of the pattern or the process.

Newsletters

I started a newsletter last year. The mailing was infrequent (maybe two or three times) but I want to increase it to once a month this year. It will be a round up of the blog posts of the month, some behind the scenes stuff and links of things I enjoyed reading/watching. If you are interested, sign up here.

2016 Resolutions

I have two resolutions.
1. Last year I read 58 books. I kept track of the title, author, the date I finished reading and short comments about the book in a spreadsheet. This became really handy when it came to recommending my favorite reads to friends. Most of the books were Japanese books. This year, I want to alternate reading Japanese books and English books. It’s easier and faster for me to read in Japanese, but I should read more in English to improve my English vocabulary. My first English book of 2016 is the Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor.
2. Keep track of hours spent on working towards the business. I am guessing that I am putting in about 15 hours per week, but this is a complete guess. It might be more. We will find out. I still work full time during the day. Finding out the actual time I spend on the business, and comparing that to what I earn will help me articulate a more focused business plan.

Find me elsewhere:

NYE Black Sequin Skirt

December 31, 2015 By Chie

After seeing this multi color sequin maxi skirt that Maddie made, a sequin item made it into my to-sew list. I was working on a project where I help design and make concert wear for J-pop singers and the fabric I chose for them included purple and pink sequins. They blinded me while I sewed. I was initially looking for a similar fabric with sequins sewed on but the price was much more expensive, so I landed on the glued-on version in black. Unfortunately this makes the the skirt impossible to wash at home, but that shouldn’t be too big of a deal because I imagine I’ll only be wearing this skirt only on special occasions. The fabric has some stretch so I lined it with four-way stretch knit. No pattern was used. I cut the fabric with this knit skirt on fabric, eye balling the seam allowances as I cut. I added darts in front and back, and invisible zipper in center back. I also added a slit in center back because I had trouble walking in the last I-line dress I made. I wore it with black knit tucked in to go out with some girlfriends for Christmas. Although made for Holiday, this dress can be worn with casual graphic T or loose sweatshirt with sneakers for regular days.
I bought 1 meter of fabric. After making my skirt, I still had enough to make for Kiko. I just gathered the top and added black elastic band for waist. Now we have matching NYE party ready outfits!

Hard to believe the year 2015 is whining down in a few hours. I will probably be in bed by 10, and my night is spent like any other day. I feel like an old woman but I like my regular schedule! Hope everyone is having a good time and thank you for all your support. See you in 2016!

今年のホリデーシーズン用に作ったスカートです。
生地はストレッチが入った黒のスパンコール生地。楽天ショップで買いました。
スパンコールが糊付けされているタイプ（縫い付けられているものではない）ので、これから着ていくうちに取れてしまうかちょっと心配ですが、取りあえず今年のパーティーシーズンは無事越せた様子　笑

１m買って、自分用に作って少し余ったので、４歳の娘にもおそろいで作りました。

今年はいろいろとありがとうございました！
ブログを読んでくださったり、コメントしてくださる皆さん、ありがとうございます。
至らないですが、来年もよろしくお願いします☆Find me elsewhere:

Christmas 2015

December 29, 2015 By Chie

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. We had some parties and enjoyed hanging out with friends and family. One of the highlight was that we got together with my sister’s family, brother’s family and parents. This was the first time for us since we all lived far apart until this year. We gathered at my sister’s house and ate a lot of food like sushi, mashed potatos, cake…not traditional American Christmas dinner yet yummy nonetheless. After that we explored Shinjuku Gyoen （新宿御苑). This winter has been surprisingly warm, so we got to see Cherry blossoms in December!

Andy and I also celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. We went to a local bar for our night out, but will be officially celebrating in late January when we go to Kuala Lumpur. We like to travel during the off season since it’s cheaper and less crowded.

{My sister made the Santa Claue shaped strawberries…healthy(?) + yummy!} {Nine years of marriage! I’m so proud. Still wearing the burda coat I made in 2014.} {Pretty cherry blossom in December! I’m glad this winter has not been brutal..yet.}{Kiko wearing the matching pink coat.}{Did Holiday themed photoshoot. More photos to show soon!}