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Fall in Karuizawa

October 26, 2015 By Chie

It’s officially Fall here in Japan. The color of the leaves are changing and mornings are cold. We went to a place called Karuizawa to enjoy the last of the warm weather a few weeks ago. Karuizawa is in Nagano prefecture, and it is only an hour away from Tokyo station by bullet train. It is easy to get to and this small town is beautiful, filled with restaurants, cute zakka and souvenir shops. It is also close to the mountains so it is very easy access good hiking trails.

We hiked from Kyu-Karu Ginza to Usui Pass. After walking for about 4km, this beautiful mountain view showed itself. It’s right between Nagano and Gunma prefectures. We met a local man who was killing time while waiting for his daughter. We got talking and he ended up giving us a ride back to our cabin because we missed the last bus back to the town (last bus ends at 4:30pm!). This would not have happened in Tokyo. When you step outside of Tokyo, I find people much more willing to talk to you even if you are a stranger.

The rustic cabin we stayed.

The sign warning about bears.

軽井沢に行ってきました。
小さなキャビンに泊まり、チャーチストリートでご飯食べたり旧軽銀座通りから、碓氷峠の方にハイキングに行ったりしてきました。

秋の訪れを感じる旅でした★
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Wedding Welcome Bears

October 15, 2015 By Chie

I’ve had this blog since 2008, and this is the first stuffed animal project I’m posting in nine years! This was such a fun project to work on. It was refreshing to be sewing these cute bears which is different from garment sewing. No need to worry about the fitting!

I don’t know about other countries, but in Japan, it is very common to have a “welcome doll” of some sort at the wedding. They are usually sitting next at the reception area of the wedding. I have two friends’ weddings coming up in November and was asked to make them.

I googled “Teddy Bear Patterns” (テディベア　型紙)in Japanese and came up with this. For some reasons, the letters are not readable, but I just needed the patterns so it didn’t really matter. The fabric is a white fur bought in Okadaya. I’m a big fan of Okadaya online. It ships for 390 yen (about 3 USD) within Japan, and depending on their sale’s schedule, they reduce the shipping cost to half the price. It is cheaper than getting to Okadaya’s physical store in Shinjuku by train and I usually end up buying other stuff that I don’t plan on like extra fabrics or chocolate. Anyway, totally recommended if you live in Japan.

I bought 20cm of the fur and it made four bears and I still have some left. I used 2mm stitch length to sew the pieces in machine. Making four bears took much longer than I anticipated since it involved a fair amount of hand sewing like enclosing the opening for head, body, legs and arms.

The most fun part of this project was to make tiny dresses and vests! So fun. It reminded me of my childhood days when I was obsessed with my dolls (mine was called Jenny) and her dresses that my mom made. I just used left over satin and laces that were laying around.

Attaching pearl beads to imitate pearl necklace.Since I was making two of each bears (male and female), I made paper patters for the clothes. That way, I don’t have to guess the length and fit for the second time.

Tada! They are so adorable. Kiko liked them and she was sad when I told her they were not for her. Maybe I should make one for her. I found a doll pattern shop on Etsy, called Gingermelon. I might make some for Kiko.

ウェルカムベアを作りました。
ボアはオカダヤで。4匹のベアを作るのに、20センチで出来ました！安上がり♪

一番楽しかったのは洋服作り。
余っているサテン、リボン、チュール等でちいさなちいさなお洋服を作るのは胸がときめきました。
子供のころ人形遊び命だったので。。。そのころを思い出しました。

ウェルカムベア、気に入ってもらえるといいな。

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Fall Shopping & Sewing List

October 13, 2015 By Chie

1. Long Camel Coat
I bike everywhere within a 10km radius so I need a warm coat that keeps the wind out. My pink coat did a pretty good job last year, but every year when fall comes around I can’t help but to look at new coat pictures and patterns.
Long Wool Coat 12/2012 #104 from BurdaStyle might be a good option, although I hate printing out PDF patterns for big items like this. Long Coat with Sash 11/2014#103 is similar to the wrap style Lover’s coat. I also like Long 70s Coat 10/2014 #126. The double breasted front seems to do a good job keeping cold air out.
Joseph | Lover

2. Fur Vest
My inspiration comes from Sonja’s (Ginger Makes) fur vest. Possible pattern option is Names Clothing Tala Faux Fur Vest like Sonja used, or maybe just wing it without patterns like this or this. I know Andy will make fun of me for “killing a cat”, but I usually try not to listen to his fashion criticism. I think it would look cute paird with plaid flannel shirt or long sleeve liberty print dress.
Ramy Brook | BB Dakoda3. Ox Blood Red Shoes
I can’t make shoes so this is merely on my shopping with list… I have two basic colors, camel and black booties that I have collected over the years. This year I wanted to add a new color to my shoe closet but didn’t go too bright or crazy. I think ox blood or burgundy is perfect. They match with many winter colors.
Ash | Rachel Zoe

4. White Poplin Shirt
I need a good amount of button downs for the winter to layer underneath sweaters to keep warm. Of course, I’ll be using my favorite button up pattern, Archer by Grainline Studio for this again. I’m sure you are sick of me writing about it (in floral print, polka dot, silk and navy blue) but I can’t stress enough how perfect the fit is for my figure. This time, I might modify the back part to look like the one by Antonio Berardi below.

Antonio Berardi | Madewell