Great-aunt's obi

When my mother gave me her auntie's Obi, a sash for Japanese kimono, I really didn't think it has the traditional Japanese design that most Western people would recognise, but I really liked it. I was hoping that I can make it into a bag one day. So here it is. It was originally going to be a much bigger and longer bag, but during the "manufacturing process", it has changed its design to this. And I love it now! I am glad this Obi has its second life as a bag in Australia!

A Feathery Friend

Isn't he beautiful? My children found a baby Tawny Frogmouth on the way home last Friday. He was on a tree in our street. It was a warm day and we thought he was thirsty. So we took water for him, but of course, he wouldn't drink it from us. We just watched him and felt so blessed to be able to see him so close. Soon we found out that his mother was watching us from high up in a nearby tree. We were lucky that the mother didn't try to scare us. I think it was too hot for her to fly or she thought we looked harmless! We didn't see him and his mother next day. Maybe they found a good shelter...

Some lucky person

Someone will win this linen apron at my kids' school's Spring Fair this Saturday. I am going to donate this pure linen apron with a cotton kimono fabric pocket as a raffle prize. After having made this one, I am making one for myself as I don't have a linen apron! I am so tired today after working at the school all day for the Fair, but it's all good fun.

Gingerbread Man

It is nearly the end of the school holidays and we decided to have a home day today to give the kids the rest that school holidays are meant for. I took the cook book out and asked the kids to pick whatever they wanted to bake today. To my surprise, they chose Gingerbread Man. I didn't have some of the ingredients so I had to search the internet for other recipes and I still didn't have some ingredients so I had to modify the recipe a bit. It is so delicious that I have to share the recipe.

Gingerbread Man

100g butter
8 tbsp honey
100g brown sugar
350g self-raising flour
3 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven for 190C.
Melt butter, honey and sugar together in a saucepan and cool slightly.
Sift flour and ground ginger into the sugar mixture and mix well.
Roll out the dough and cut out with cookie cutter. Place them onto lined baking tray.
Bake for 15 to 20 mins or until golden brown.

We used black and white sesame for its eyes and buttons instead of currants...but I think their nutty taste is better.

Plums

I love plum flowers. In fact, my logo is inspired by plum flowers. I finally finished this bag after it was cut into a shape of a bag long time ago...

My first introduction to leather!

This is my latest shoulder bag that I made for my friend. It is made with corduroy, woollen kimono fabric and a piece of suede at the bottom. Sewing this with my poor Janome proves to me how leather is thick and tough and strong. For a long time, I kind of avoided using leather for handbags for the sake of vegetarian people. However, I just wanted to see if my sewing machine could cope with leather. It did. Hooray!

My favourite incense

I know you can't smell this lovely incense, but I wanted to share this with you. This is my favourite one at the moment. It is called "Goddess" by Moondance. I usually love Japanese incense, but I discovered this brand at my local health food shop recently and I am hooked! I intend to try all the fragrances eventually but I like this one most so far. It has subtle sweetness and the fragrance stays in the house all day long. I tend to light the incense when I make my coffee. As my espresso maker hisses on the stove, I light the incense and just look at the beautiful twirls. Serene....