October 14, 2022 by princesshotflash

Thrifty Finds: Two Musubis

On a slow day at Kuakini Thrift Shop, I was scanning the shelves, and I came upon this Christmas ornament of two musubis sitting on the couch. It made me smile. So kawaii.

**Wouldn’t this look cute on your tree?**

Here are a few other items that I wanted to share.

Vintage wooden cutout Christmas tree–I love the graphic label on the packaging.
Two small ginger jars–I loved the color of the jars
Vintage sunglasses–I thought these were very on point with today’s fashion, very 70s
Japanese charms–A tiny wooden cow and a carved bead with a bear(?) on it.

These two flowers aren’t for sale. They were part of vintage Japanese hair ornaments that were falling apart—now used as decoration for the shop—each petal of the flower created with ribbon. I remember wanting long hair so I could wear these types of ornament in my hair.

I initially thought this would be a weekly feature, but I realized there wasn’t always something to show you in my thrifty finds. I’ll post when I find something interesting to share. These pieces may not be something I’ve purchased, but they are thrifty finds I thought others would like. Look out for more of my Thrifty Finds.

May 20, 2021 by princesshotflash

A project from my queue

I started this a while ago, sometime during the pandemic. It’s this pillowcase I made with vintage Japanese fabric a long time back. It has begun to fray. I took off with the intent to patch the fraying pieces with some new material. Then I happened upon several articles and videos on boro.

Boro in Japanese means ragged or tattered. I grew up with the term boro-boro when you wore clothing that was falling apart. Boro is a style of patchwork using old cloth and sashiko (running stitch). Here’s a link to an article I found on boro. That goes into more detail. I love that some of these boro pieces are generational and turn into something new again. The graphical quality and direction that the stitches add to the patches are what I like about boro.

I decide to use this pillowcase as a sampler of different stitches and applique to find something I like. Maybe come up with my style. I also wanted to test out if I like hand-stitching.

I started off doing the basic running stitch, learning how to get my length consistent and find a size I like. I purchase sashiko thread and needles (sidebar: I’m a sucker great packaging and the packaging on these needle are great)from Amazon. I got the traditional off-white color. I do have a bunch of different embroidery threads that I could use also.

This is where I started. Working it as a sampler to teach me about boro and sashiko.

I stopped and hung it on the wall for a long while as I worked on my many other project sitting in my queue. I think I got tried of stitching and not sure where I was going. Then just this week I picked it up wanting to start stitching again. I think I’m seeing it more than a sampler. I might have to make a new pillowcase.

Here’s where I’m at. I know it isn’t finished. I hope I’ll know when it will be.

June 10, 2020 by princesshotflash

Life

I originally started this post as a “whoa is me” post to complain about unemployment, not receiving my check, and sitting in the phone queue for 5+ hours. But I take that all back.

Yes, I am furloughed, I’m yet to receive a check from UI, I will be stuck in the phone queue until I settle this issue and my furlough has been extended to January 4th. But I can’t feel sorry for myself. That’s how you get stuck and curling up in a ball and not want to do nothing for yourself. Sometimes life is harder than you expected.

I told myself at the beginning of the furlough that I would make use to this time instead of festering and becoming bitter. It’s been a tough road, the unemployment situation doesn’t help a bit. But I still want to make the best of this time. When will I get this kind of time to do something for myself, to do something creative, to make something beautiful.

I decided to write this to remind myself I have this time to do for myself. To think about life and where it may take me. Here’s my list so far I hope I can complete some of it before the end of the year. I’ll be posting my progress and going ons at the home front with the my 4 roommates (haha).

make my aloha shirt patchwork quilt
learn to double knit
finish my strand work squares, on #8 half way there
start journaling
start my Etsy shop
learn how to use the watercolor pencils
walk more often
write letters
get rid of stuff I don’t use
plan my next hiking trip

January 22, 2020 by princesshotflash

Kokeshi!!!!!!!!!!!!!

vintage, volunteering
doll sale, Geshia, kokeshi crazy, Kokeshi dolls, minis, Samurai
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Shots from my doll cleaning days for doll sale fundraiser. This collection is from a 103 year old lady that started the collection about 70 years ago. There were several types of dolls and ceramics but the kokeshi were fabulous.

This a video describing the history and different types of kokeshi dolls.

The collection of kokeshi are so cute with so much personality and the details on their kimono, hairpins, and other accessories were so good. The hairpin in on this doll above could be taken off and her head wobbles.