Melon

It has been terribly hot recently...this is the hottest June ever! Nevertheless I can't turn air conditioners on to avoid 'black out' by the lack of electricity.

My dog is very weak in heat and always wandering and seeking for the cooler place.

 

I bought this fabulous melon for only 280yen at a supermarket. 

This kind of melon is usually too expensive to buy by myself, but very cheap this year!

That's because the influence of radiation...sadly.

This melon came from Ibaraki, south next to Fukushima.

It's safe, but many people avoid them to eat. Of course I can understand that people who have small children and are going to have babies are worrying about that so much, and I would do so if I were a mother. I hope you readers can understand that  I don't intend to critisise them.

Now, what I want to say is that this is a rare chance for me to get delicious fruits very cheap :)

Maxi Summer Dress

 

Most patterns for maxi length dresses need about 3 meters of fabric.

So I tried to make a pattern which needed only 2 meters.

 

I have added long straps, which makes my back-style looked cute even when I wear a cardigan on it. :)

bird pattern

Star T

 I made this T from this pattern again,

and this tank top as well from the rest of fabric.

Some of my friends have made their shirts from my pattern and posted them on their own blogs.
I feel really happy to see the creations that others have made from my patterns, and that's very informative and helpful for me to make my patterns better!

Please visit and see my friends' creations!

hana's version is here
mei's version is here

Mimic Project vol.1

I'm thinking I want to be able to draft patterns as I imagine, 

so I have started a small project by myself.!

I call it 'mimic project' -　I choose a cloth, and I make the same one.

I chose this blouse for the first project.

(more details about this blouse here)

 

DONE! 

It was fun for me, and I was very satisfied with the result. 

I think it's very good way to train myself for pattern making.

Roomy Dolman T -free pdf pattern

I finished this T only in an hour! 

 Roomy shirt... cool and perfect for summer!

You can get free pdf pattern here(the newer version)
(A4 paper x 9 pieces)


PLEASE NOTE:


I found some mistakes in the previous version, and I have corrected them.
If you have downloaded the previous version, please re-download the newer version.
I'm very sorry and thank you for taking your time.

This pattern is available until the end of August.

A Bento Bag

My husband bring  'bento' (a lunch in a box) that I make everyday.
Of course there is a cafeteria in his college, but I think handmade bento is better for his health.

He has his own microwave oven and a refrigerator in his labo. So he can eat a hot (and safe even in summer) lunch everyday.

Economic Shirt

I was very lucky to meet a grab-bag sale at a business shirt shop, and got lots of meters -maybe approx. 15-20 meters of shirt fabrics at only 500yen!

I made an Italian collar shirt for my husband from one of these fabric pieces.
Buttons came from a shirt that he was going to throw out. Fusible interfacing cost the most. :)

This shirt doesn't wrinkle after washed and spin-dried.
Cheap, but perfect fabric for shirt!

Lovely Stamps!

I found these lovely postage stamps at a post office!!

 

japanese manga characters

 

Peter rabbit

 

 No water is needed to put because they are stickers.

 

A Traveling Dog

One day in last week ,  I went out to have lunch with my friends in Tochigi-city.

Here is a very historical area, where there are many old architectures remained. These black wooden walls along the river you can see in this picture are the most famous here. It's very popular among the tourists to take an old-style boat to see the sights.

Then, we found a man and a dog were on the boat!

The dog is a very famous TV star whose name is Daisuke, and he is traveling around Japan with the man.

I love dogs and enjoy watching their TV program every week, so I was very happy to meet them. (^0^)

He looked cute with 'Kasa' a straw hat.

Bird Shirt

I got this cotton fabric from ikea at 299yen/m.  How cheap!

There are variety of plants and birds. Very unique fabric!

I was thinking to make cushion covers or something, but it turned my shirt instead.

 I drafted this shirt pattern myself.

It looks a nice shape, fits me very well and is very comfortable to wear.

I thought I did a good job. (^.^)

Now I'm training pattern making harder to get a lisence of dressmaking instructor, 

and  I'm planning to open my own pattern shop in the near future.

***

I have my another blog in Japanese.  here