fleet week

Posted on April 29, 2012 by mariko

Hey, sailors! I finally managed to get to the sewing machine this weekend. I had been hoarding this double gauze for years and decided it was high time I used it for something. I had also been meaning to make the sailor collar top from Machiko Kayaki’s “simple but good looking” book (Kinokuniya has it available here). I frankensteined the pattern a bit, since the original pattern is for a top with a French sleeve (I think that’s what it’s called), and I wanted long sleeves. I struggled a bit with the neckline (the V part was a bit tricky for me), and it requires some contortionist moves to get off (I already got lipstick on it while taking it off), but overall I think I like it.

Oh, here’s a shot of the collar:
By the way, it is merely a coincidence, but my nail polish (Deborah Lippmann “mermaid’s dream”) matches the blue in the double gauze perfectly. I cannot tell you how much I love this nail polish. Well, I guess I just did.

Posted in sewing | 9 Comments

Good idea, poor execution

Posted on April 8, 2012 by mariko

Some people don’t mind running in the rain, but I don’t really care for it; however, since I live in the Pacific Northwest, I can’t really avoid it (though I confess to spending a fair amount of time on the treadmill!). I have a rain jacket and a rain hat, but that means my legs get all wet, and it can be a tad unpleasant having wet quads. I made a rain skirt, so I wear that sometimes, but it twists around while I run. So, I figured, hey, I will create a rain dress/jacket for running! I am a genius! I got some great lightweight waterproof fabric from Rose City Textiles and sewed away. I even tricked it out with some reflective piping and a hidden credit card pocket. The dress/jacket turned out pretty much as I had envisioned, except it doesn’t fit properly! I made it too small, so I can’t move my arms around in it, so it won’t be practical for running. It fits like a dress, so I suppose I can wear it to a science fiction convention or something. I still think it is a good idea, but my poor spatial skills foiled me once again!

Posted in sewing | 14 Comments

glitter shoes

Posted on January 27, 2012 by mariko

I am all about flat, wide, comfy shoes. I do not wear fancy shoes. Lately, though, I find myself attracted to heels, heels in bright colors, the more sparkly the better. Is this a midlife crisis? At any rate, I think the whole glitter shoe thing is awesome, but seriously, just because I am attracted to heels doesn’t mean I am actually going to wear them. And then I saw Susan’s post about making your own glitter shoes, and I was sold.

I started with these shoes, which I bought a couple years ago and have never worn. Not once. I had just tossed them into the Goodwill bag when I saw the glitter shoe post, so I dug them back out and headed to Michael’s to find some Martha Stewart glitter.

I pretty much followed Susan’s instructions exactly. I used Mod Podge in “sparkly” (because who wouldn’t want maximum sparklage?) and some sort of bright pink glitter. The ratio of Mod Podge to glitter is tricky. I wanted my shoes to be SUPER glittery, so I think I went overboard on the glitter. It is counterintuitive, but I think it is better to use LESS glitter so you have a thinner consistency. Mine was too gloppy. I ended up doing about three coats. Over the black shoe the pink glitter looks almost blue. Anyway, I did a pretty crappy job on these, but from far away they are passable. I haven’t, though, worn them yet.

Comment from Peter: “Why don’t you just go buy some glitter shoes?” Translation: “You are doing a really horrible job on those.”

Posted in other crafting | 13 Comments

roping in the calves

Posted on January 13, 2012 by mariko

So that you would not have to see two photos of my calves, I decided to sport one sleeve from each of the two pairs I sewed up. Aren’t I thoughtful? Har har. Anyway, I have been addicted to compression calf sleeves for running for a couple years now, I think. Ever since I adopted the more minimal/natural running footwear philosophy, my calves have been prone to tightness. The sleeves help a lot. After purchasing a very cute but spendy pair in Japan, I decided to try making my own. I must admit that they are not very compression-y. I think it takes industrial equipment and materials to accomplish this. But, hey, they are kind of fun, and they’ll do in a pinch.

If you want some REAL compression calf sleeves, I recommend the Salomon Exo-Skin Sleeves, which you can get from irunfar or ZombieRunner. Actually, I’m a liar, because I think they are both sold out. I also like the Zensah sleeves, which come in a variety of colors, too. You can get them also from ZombieRunner or RunningWarehouse. There are other brands, too, but these are the ones I have tested myself.

Posted in sewing | Tagged | 5 Comments

Muji ripoff tunic thingy

Posted on January 4, 2012 by mariko

On my last trip to Japan I spied this cute wool tunic at Muji. I didn’t buy it, though, because I am often captivated by these tunic-y things and think they are cute, and then when I put them on I look like an indentured servant or something. It looked easy enough to copy, so hey, that’s what I did.

In keeping with my doubleknit fabric theme, I used some coffee-colored ponte I acquired in the fall from Denver Fabrics (I think it was Denver. I can’t remember. Ponte is readily available). It was great to sew with–heavy and sturdy! There are no set-in sleeves, so this was basically like making a long t-shirt. The underarms came out a tad on the snug side, but it didn’t bother me when I wore it. All in all, I am happy with the way this turned out, and it is super comfy.

Happy 2012!

Posted in sewing | 13 Comments

berger cookies

Posted on December 26, 2011 by mariko

If I were to dwell on the negative, I would think about all the years I was deprived of Berger Cookies. Instead, though, I will look on the bright side and just be grateful that I have a good friend who hails from Baltimore, Maryland, who was kind and generous enough to bring me some Berger Cookies on her last trip. People, I am telling you, if you used to eat spoonfuls of chocolate frosting from a can like I did, then these cookies are for you.

They are very sweet, but they are cookies! They’re supposed to be sweet! I had to set myself a limit of one per day. When I ran out, I wept for a day, and then I realized that someone must have thought about trying to make these things. All hail the internet! I checked out several recipes then went with the one from King Arthur Flour. I opted for the sequel rather than the original, I think because the sequel has more frosting. Heh. I have to confess I was worried that the fine folks at King Arthur Flour would try to make the cookies more, you know, organic or whole grainy or something, but thankfully they did not. Give ‘em a try!

Posted in baking | 6 Comments

giveaway winners!

Posted on December 21, 2011 by mariko

We have winners of the index tabs! As you can see, I wrote all the participant names on these tiny little TidBit pieces of paper (also courtesy of JetPens!) and drew two names: Jolynn is the winner of the camera index tabs (Jolynn, please e-mail me your mailing address!) and Azizah the bunnies! Woohoo!!

Thanks again for participating, and please take a look at JetPens if you haven’t already. They are constantly adding new products to the shop, including such temptations as this glow-in-the-dark lamp and these super cute cable organizers.

Ho ho ho!!

Posted in office supplies | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Holiday giveaway!

Posted on December 13, 2011 by mariko

I realize there’s not a lot of traffic moving through here, but the kind folks at JetPens still saw fit to offer me some gift certificates so I could get my grubby hands on some Japanese office supplies. I figured I would share the love and host a tiny little holiday giveaway.

JetPens has so many fun products that it is really hard to make any decisions at all. In the end I decided on the index tabs, which are super cute AND super practical. I call that a win-win situation.

Here’s what you do with the index tabs:
You use them to mark Very Important Pages in books and magazines and such, so no more dog-eared pages, people!

I’m keeping the deer (I had to open the package to demonstrate!), but I am giving away the cameras and the rabbits.

Giveaway details:
- All you have to do is leave a comment here. Deadline is Friday, December 16, at, oh, I don’t know, 11:59pm Pacific Time. How’s that?
- The winners will be selected at random. You can specify which you’d rather have, the cameras or the rabbits, but hey, it’s going to be random, so you may not get your top choice!
- I think last year I asked people to say what their favorite holiday cookie is, so this year how about mentioning your favorite hot beverage in your comment (this is optional. If you just want to leave your name and not humor me, that is totally fine!)
- International entries are a-okay!

All righty, that about does it. THANKS to JetPens for being so generous and completely awesome!

Posted in office supplies | Tagged , , | 50 Comments

coffee goods

Posted on December 3, 2011 by mariko

For a country steeped in a rich tea tradition (get it? tea? steep? ha ha ha), Japan has a lot of really pimpin’ coffee-making stuff. It is still not that easy to find super delicious coffee (don’t mean to be a snob about it, but it kind of comes with the territory when you live in Portland, OR), but that’s okay (we did go to a really awesome roastery/cafe in Toyama).

Anyway, I sort of thought my head was going to explode when I came across the coffee section at Tokyu Hands, but I took a few deep breaths and just got a couple of useful-to-me items. Both are for making single servings of pour-over coffee. The lime one is great, because you don’t need to use paper filters! You do need paper filters with the pink one, but look how cute and tiny and portable it is. I figure it will be good for camping or something. I did have a bit of an accident with it when I got a little overzealous with the water pouring (collapsing wet filter and grounds), but it works great if you exercise some restraint.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Fun with Gofun

Posted on November 29, 2011 by mariko

My friend Chico, the amazing artist and fabric designer, is also a highly skilled gift giver. When I saw her recently in Tokyo she gave me this very cool Japanese nail polish by Ueba Esou, a Kyoto manufacturer of paints and natural nail polish made from sea shells.

Gofun Nail Polish is all natural and thus not toxic at all. It comes in some very cool and Japanesey colors. I got this fun tomato red color, but of course I want the entire collection now! The polish is pretty thin but highly pigmented, so it went on very smoothly. I sprinkled some glitter on the pinky (nail glitters seem to be very popular in Japan). I love Gofun Nail Polish! Thanks, Chico!

Posted in nail polish | Tagged , , | 4 Comments