Monday, June 18, 2018

2017 - 18 days Japan - day 10 - Nikko


This little fellow greeted me first in the morning. It was very determined to get out. After many failed attempts, it was still trying very hard. jumping, falling, jumping, falling again and again. I opened the door, it hopped out so quickly . Hmm... wondered how it entered the house.?
"sayonara, カエル(kaeru)"

I did a quick strolled around the neighbourhood while breakfast is still cooking. It's lovely to walk in around in the cool weather. The place is filled with flowers, greenery and fresh air. I feel healthier already. Simple can be beautiful.






s
fullfing breakfast, this could feed 4-5 persons

cute.

Nikko station is just a stone throw away - Imachi station

There were about 10 people or more alighting together but they quickly dispersed to somewhere!! Amazing.! How did they do it!???
We look around a bit and navigate to the Shinkyo bridge.  Most shops, may be all were still closed. It's a cooling morning and rain has just stopped. The air is crisp and the mood is light.



nature is artistic too




 After reading so much about it, I felt like I had been here before. Post for a few shots. You can pay a few dollars to walk on it an take photos.
even the support are uniquely designed.


Our plan was to visit the Ryzuu falls, the Senjogahara hiking course, onsen, kegon falls etc.,
But I was very fascinate  with the beauty of Daiya river and decided a change of plan. Instead we decided to hunker along the stream. It was indeed a great decision. Along the way, some part were very picturesque and we had great fun . We see the very locals places but keep our volume low also as not to disturb the them. At some spots the stream area was really interesting. It reminded me of my Oiraise trip in Aomori. We were alone most of the time til we came to  Kanmangafuchi Abyss unexpectly. We had totally no map. We met one local having his walk . He looked quite old with a walking stick, but strong and determined. I really admired him. We met another couple who thought that we were locals too. They were speaking deep accent english. We smiled with a nod. We may not have visited the famous place but we totally enjoyed our new adventure.


not good with selfie


great find!!


Japanese often has owl design outside theor home or shop. Love it.
In the Japanese culture, owls bring luck and offter protection to suffering. 
owl, Fukuro フクロウ (梟)
fuku means luck (福)

lovely place


a little climb here and there to enjoy the stream



13!







Kanmangafuchi Abyss 


On our returned journey, we stopped by a convenient store and tried a lot of the local delights and ice-cream too. Apparently, it is a tourist stop, mostly Japanese (we noticed). Relaxing here was refreshing.
 

too busy eating forgotten about the camera . . .in time to take the last piece. The local finger food were really delicious, especially the hot ones in such cool weather.

We met an Indian tourist looking for his tour bus. We noticed many buses passed by . He was very anxious and worried. We could understand. We tried to direct him towards the station but he keep following us which was very worrying . We didn't know our way back too. We directed him towards the convenient store and hopefully get some help. 



Japanese love owls too.
Somehow, we strolled and arrived the temples area too.  As it was getting quite late, we didn't buy the entrance ticket but walked around. There were still many people here.

We returned to our stay for a great dinner and a good rest. ready for new adventure and long trip tomorrow.

.

Saturday, June 16, 2018

My Owls , my love, my collections 8

Lovely presents from Vietnam





















new member                                                                                             they could hang around


Monday, June 11, 2018

I transform her skirt


new skirt








← first , I asked my girl to unsew the side to add the lace.

(She has wanted them on the left side as it will be partially hide behind the right piece.
I felt that  the pleats on the left will make them bulky, hence I suggested the right side. Agreed.)




trial and error layout, I did it diagonally. She preferred straight and hinted for more colours.

(She thought the colors of the pins make them pretty)




←  I dig my into my  lace "treasure box", I think this is great.



← I lay the lace over the skirt to get the correct length , pin , sew and cut.







 I wanted to leave that portion translucent since the skirt is quite long. I marked and sew the length I wanted . Cut .





 I do not have a serger, hence I used zig-zag sewing for the raw edges.←↓






Again trial and error. I laid the lace above the floral ones.
then added the other bigger florals (black) til the designs I like. Pinned . ←↓

😀😅😅 remember to change the thread to the right colour
             remember to change the stitches to straight
    (zig-zag stitch with light colour thread was used earlier)

I cut the bigger ones to each individual floral and trim away the extras.  ←



                                             I laid this, then walked away to some housework.
                                              When I returned 2 hours later, if I still like it. Then I'll sew.










I added a few blues ones ( left from previous project) to blend them. I place some behind black lace and some on top.←

Did hand sew with the biege thread so that it is not too obvious.


Lastly, I got the red string and  hand sew over the contour of the upper lace. I used red because it is a colour from the floral lace below.

I tried with pink and green, but both look uglish.
(as I have both the colours available)

I need to wait for another day or two to get the red ones. I waited. I am glad.

LOVELY ?

Share my passion and give your new or old pieces a new look.
 It will be one and only . Very special.

Omg! 😓 I accidentally stained the skirt with my fabric paint. 
Fortunately, a little pocket can hide it . clever girl!😗
(sorry for the crumple as I just took it out from the wash basket)



WALL EMBROIDERY PICTURE - Iceland - part 2 Aurora

I am struggling whether to do the trees with embroidery stiches or should I do applique . I want it to be nice but not overwrite the aurora....