Wheee! Kimono goodness :) and etc.

I have started the kimono... yippee! I am altering the pattern slightly... Since I'm not being uber-authentic by cutting it all into 14" lengths anyhow, I just couldn't justify cutting the fabric just to fray check the edges and sew it back together how it was before... so the side seams just won't exist. Instead, it will be smooth unseamed fabric around the body. Oh, what a hardship. I am beginning the fray check process where I've cut slits for the sleeves to be attached. Says it needs to dry 15-30 minutes... so I figured I would come update. Then I will go cut the sleeves. I am going to have much less extra fabric than I originally thought. I may need to go get more to have enough for the corset, but not sure yet. I haven't decided on the lining yet, but all the satin was calling to me and I could not resist getting started. It is yummy to play with, don't know how amenable it will be to being sewn though... I may have to break down and pin stuff if it's not cooperative. I have decided not to do a giant dragon on the center back, but will be doing the smaller motif thing I mentioned... still not sure what though. Maybe small dragons, maybe cherry blossoms, maybe a dragon and a tiger... oh who knows. Thought about butterflies but it just doesn't seem to fit. In inside light the purpleness doesn't show as much... it looks more midnight blue than indigo. I'm still leaning towards metallics for the embroidery... silver, gold, copper... not sure which yet. With maybe white to accent depending on what I put on it. And what I get to line/edge with. For a moment, I thought about doing a full lining so it is reversible but I'm not sure I'm that insane just yet. My, time goes slowly when you're waiting for stuff to dry, eh?
In other news, my beloved is home sick today... he is doing some work-from-home stuff though so it's not like I'm neglecting him to sew. He has this cold thing much worse than I do, but I'm hoping it's just going faster for him and so he will be well sooner. I feel much better myself.
Re: Thanksgiving... we will only be 4-5 people so it won't be a huge festivity thing... seems silly to do a whole turkey, I am thinking about doing a turkey breast or maybe chicken cordon bleu or something like that. Of course, I could do a turkey and just force leftovers on people. This will be the 2nd Thanksgiving I've done myself... since I am at home and will have time, I really want to do special yummy things that people will love. But am trying not to plan too much food since it will be a small gathering.
Well I am off to look for nice kimono design/ornamentation stuff... I'm sure there will be more updates on my progress :)

Embroidery / Airbrushing

Well I found a nifty site about Japanese embroidery and snagged lots of pretty pictures... I think we're going with the blossom look, it's pretty. We may also be going with colors rather than a single metallic color... because I just love the way theirs looks. I am printing up examples to look at and then I shall niftily draw out a full size designs to transfer to the hem and shoulder. I've noticed alot of the people are airbrushing the fabric first to kind of highlight the design. I don't know if this would be good on mine or not. And I don't have an airbrush. Does anyone reading this have airbrushing skills/supplies? Maybe we can work out a trade :) I'm not really sure if fabric requires special paints though... I don't plan on washing this a whole lot, but I don't want the paint to turn wet and drippy and ruin all the embroidery if I do get it wet... and I don't want it to make the fabric too too stiff either. Hmmm. I need someone who's done this stuff and has experience to draw on. If I can't find someone, I can always skip it, but it does seem like it makes it look prettier... If I can find someone, I'll need to figure out what color I want it airbrushed. Tricky tricky. I shall ask opinions re: color at sewing circle.

My Viking Name is.....

Öndótt Sheeptipper
(Well, actually, that wouldn't really be your name -- since you're female, your name would be something like "Öndótt Björnsdottir". But this is the twenty-first century, and you want to be known for who you are, not for who your father was, right? Right.)

Your Viking Personality: The tougher Vikings might let you on the boat, but generally only when they need ballast. You're not a belligerent person by nature, which is unfortunate if you want to be a Viking. You probably know which end of a sword to hold, but you're not a fearsome fighter by any stretch of the imagination.

If you ever tried to make a voyage in a Viking longboat, you would die. Either from seasickness, or from your shipmates throwing you overboard into shark-infested waters. Other Vikings can find one or two good qualities in you, but that's about it.

People who've known you for a while don't always trust your word. Other people tend to think of you as manipulative and conniving.

Wanna be a Viking too? Go to http://www.thequarter.org/Media/VikingName.php
Heehee... well I'm not very tough apparently, but then I felt like most of my answers were... well gosh... I guess THIS one is the closest to what I'd actually answer... But it's still fun....

And disaster is neatly avoided!!

So I'm doing the fraycheck thing and suddenly it occurs to me that the kimono is way longer than it should be. I chatter to my bunny that the reason it's taking way more fabric than I thought it would is because I stupidly doubled the length of it when I cut it out. He says it doesn't look too long. So, I spread it out full length on the floor and lie next to it to provide a visual aid. He says, okay, it does look too long, but not DOUBLE the length... more like 150% of what it should be. So me, being the little I-am-always-right wookikins that I am, pop out the measuring tape to show what the correct length is supposed to be (I thought it was 54") only to immediately notice - hmmm... that's only a inch or so over floor length. Hmmm... It is supposed to be floor length plus 12"... Going back to my planning I see the problem... I added the 12" to the SLEEVE measurement instead of the BODY measurement... eek! Not good. So I was able to chop off the bottom for the new corrected length, and all should be well. I still have a good amount more fabric, and now I know where it all was going. But yay, didn't screw it up!! And thankfully, I am doing the fray check in small increments since I don't have huge amounts of cardboard handy to put beneath it, so I didn't even do more work than I needed to! Whew! :) Okay, back I go... Just wanted to toss out a big thank you to my bunny for helping me :)