a week of Frenchness 2

Continuing with the week of Frenchness being held at Meet Me At Mikes: Some French goodies on etsy that caught my eye.

Basket of tiny apple softies from La Pomme.

Little Red Riding Hood bag from Speculoos.

Digitally mixed painting/photogrph from labokoff.

And all in the colours of the French flag, too!

humbugs

Well, I said that I would post pictures of my fabric girl once she was finished but didn't expect it to be quite this long. Particularly as she evolved into a Christmas present. She was completed and given on New Year's Eve. That's not too late, is it?

I have been feeling quite inadequate in the housewifely department after reading lots of blogs by women who had their whole house decorated Martha Stewart-style, gave handmade presents to their children's teachers and baked cookies every day. The only piece of Christmas decoration we had up was the lights out the front that never got taken down from last year. And we didn't even bother to turn them on. Slackers unite!

One element of Christmas I did enjoy, however, was the Tacky Christmas Yards blog. Oh so funny. Particuarly as I missed trawling the streets this year because we spent most of December in Japan, where the Christmas lights are all so damn tasteful.

fabric shopping in Japan

Apologies (mainly to myself) for the lapse in blogs as I have been in JAPAN!!! for the last two weeks.
Before I left I checked the web for details of where to find the best fabric stores so now I shall do my part and add what I have learnt:
Yuzawaya seems to be the largest crafts chain store. You can find their locations on the website and their buildings have a red knitting sheep on the outside. I went to the MinamiSenzu store but actually wasn't that impressed by their fabric selection. But I do suspect that it may have been one of their smaller branches.
In Tokyo, Nippori (on the JR Yamanote line) is the place to go. From the station, signs will point you to the "Textile Town", a street where almost every store sells fabrics, each with a "Textile Town" flag flying out the front. The best of them is Tomato, with so many sections and floors that I didn't get time to explore them all. The minimum cut for most of their fabrics is 1 metre and they only take cash.
In Kyoto, Nomura Tailor has two small stores jam-packed with ultra-cute quilting squares for just Y105 each. I went to the store closest to Kawaramachi subway station. From the intersection of route 24 and Shijo-dori, walk westwards on the north side of the street until you reach the second covered walkway. Turn in. Soon after you walk past the first intersection with another covered walkway you will find Nomura Tailor on the left.


Quilted fabrics from Tomato and Nomura Tailor.









Plastic-coated fabrics from Tomato and Nomura Tailor.









Cotton fabrics from Nomura Tailor and Yuzawaya.










Cotton fabrics from Nomura Tailor.










Small cotton squares from Nomura Tailor.

apple poos

I have a baby who doesn't sleep. Or rather, a baby who would prefer not to sleep and only does so when being transported or safely snuggled up to me. So while other mums are able to craft while their little ones sleep, I have just been crafting in my head. Oh so many creations swimming around up there.
This week, however, I have discovered that Olive will sleep in as late as 11am if her dad is there beside her. Plenty of crafting time for me and a good excuse for her dad to sleep in. Which means that I have this to show you - a waterproof(ish) playmat for nappy off time. It was christened with carrot and pumpkn poos just moments after the photo was taken and I am happy to report that the leakage was successfully contained by the thermal lined curtain layer and it washed and dried with ease, ready for tomorrow's escapades. It was also my first real attempt at a decorative homemade binding and I must say, I can see why some people get addicted.