Bangkok Goodies

I'm going to tell the story of our Bangkok trip in two posts: what we I bought and what we saw/did. First up, what came home with us. I packed a duffel bag inside one of our suitcases in preparation for all the fabric I planned to buy. The third luggage allotment ended up being used for something else (more on that in a minute). A few grocery items also made their way into our suitcases (grape jelly and Crisco among them).

Jill's Quilt Site is a blog by a woman living in Bangkok. She has great information about fabric shopping in Bangkok. I printed out her fabric market map and prepared for a big trip. Sadly for me, the day we went to Chinatown (where the fabric market is) was Chinese New Year. Oh what a stupid mistake! Most of Jill's favorite shops were closed. The ones that were open carried similar items to what I can get here in Xiamen. I left with only a few notions:

Although I felt a bit blue, I was able to console myself with numerous trips to a bookstore near our hotel. It's been six months since we've been to an English-language bookstore and this one was fantastic. And not just because of our period of draught -- it was a genuinely great bookstore -- very similar to a Barnes & Noble. I lost track of how many trips we made there. Each of us accumulated a stack of books, which made packing a little tricky. Here's my stash:

It was here that I bought my first copy of Burda magazine. I was so excited to finally have a copy of this magazine in my hands. There are two dresses and a boy's blazer (do I dare?) that I'd love to make from this issue:

I had better luck with fabric on Sunday when we went to the Chatuchak Market -- one of the largest weekend markets in the world. This market was so much fun -- they had practically everything you could think of from clothes, housewares, fabric to pets. I got lost several times, even with my Nancy Chandler map in hand (I have a terrible sense of direction). After wandering around the fabric section for far too long, I finally bought these Thai silks:

And these cotton prints:

During a walk to the grocery store, I discovered a little family-owned fabric shop on the same street as our hotel. They had an adorable collection of modern prints made in Thailand. First I bought the rabbits (it is the year of the rabbit, after all, and then I went back for the other one):

Now back to that third piece of baggage. Instead of a duffel bag stuffed with fabric it turned out to be a box. Containing this:

I'm now the proud owner of a serger! I spotted it in a department store while buying a hand-mixer (to replace my Chinese one that literally blew up). It's a Janome MyLock 204D and so far I love it. I was able to thread it pretty quickly (watching The Young and the Restless while doing so probably slowed me down a bit). It stitches so fast that it kind of scares me. I've been wanting a serger for awhile now and it was on sale and we had a coupon so it seemed like the fates aligned. Well, until they told me that they didn't have any in stock. They said if I paid for it they would deliver it to our hotel on Monday. I said I'd just come back on Monday (I mean really, who would do that?). We went back on Monday morning and there was the box -- waiting for me! I originally thought I'd get one in the states this summer and bring it back to China and then I remembered the voltage issue. I'm so happy that I found this one. Now I've got to get sewing...

So that's the shopping from Bangkok. Up next, what we saw and did during our holiday.

Crepe dress debuts in Bangkok

Hello my lovelies, so sorry for my blog absence! We're currently in Bangkok -- today is, sadly, our last day. Bangkok is absolutely the bee's knees and I'm going to miss it. Hopefully we'll come here again.

I'm sure you're dying to know the status of my crepe dress. I had to move along without the sew-along in order to finish it for our trip. I took it for a spin to a cute little chocolatier where we indulged in dark chocolate fondue.

I'm not completely satisfied with the fit of this dress. I cut the pattern in size 2 and the top is too big, even after some alterations. I ended up ripping out the seam that attaches the bodice and skirt so I could play with the bodice a bit more. I cut off some material on the bottom and sides -- maybe two inches off the bottom and 1/2 inch or an inch off each side (I didn't keep any record). The shoulders could stand to have some material pinched out of them too but I got tired of messing around with it and it was trip time. The dress feels a little drab; a combination of the brown color and linen reminds me of little orphan Annie (although Chris points out that she did not wear a brown dress with a blue sash).

Probably my favorite part of the dress is the pockets. I'm a sucker for a dress with pockets, aren't you?

My least favorite part is definitely the facings. I just don't like facings; a lined dress would be much nicer. I pinked the edges of my facings to get the least bulk showing through but you can still see the line that it creates around the neck. 

Right before we left for Bangkok, Dagim asked me to make him a shirt to match my dress. I had just enough leftover fabric and time to squeak out a shirt using Sew Liberated's Woodlands Shirt pattern.

There are many details to share about Bangkok -- from a bicycle tour through the city to breakfast with an orangutan. Rest assured, a good amount of shopping was done too. Including a couple yards from this yummy display of silk:

Goodbye, Bangkok!

Bedecked

When we were in Yangshou after Christmas, Dagim was very interested in my pearl necklaces. He liked to hold them and play with them. One morning, as we were getting ready for breakfast, I put one necklace on and he asked if he could wear the other. I said sure, and held back the comments about pearls being for girls. Chris took this picture at the breakfast table. One day, Dagim will probably be furious with me for posting this but I just love this picture. I wish you could have seen how excited and proud he was to be wearing my pearl necklace. It reminded me of one of my favorite poems (perhaps my favorite): "Bedecked" by Victoria Redel.

I was lucky to study with many amazing teachers when I was in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College. Victoria Redel was the one teacher I wanted to study with but didn't. When I heard her read this poem, I fell a little bit in love with her (and this was before I had a son of my own). And then she did an absolutely amazing lecture about writing that seriously changed the way I approach short stories but that's a topic for a different post.

I'm sure I'm violating copyright laws by posting this poem here but several other bloggers have posted it and they don't seem to be in jail. Besides, Victoria always seemed like a lovely woman to me and I'm hopeful that she wouldn't mind me putting it here for you to read. Because really, it's the perfect accompaniment to this photograph. This poem begs to be read aloud. So go ahead, shut the door and read it. I won’t tell anyone.

“Bedecked” by Victoria Redel (from her book of poems, Swoon)

Tell me it’s wrong the scarlet nails my son sports or the toy store rings he clusters
four jewels to each finger.

He’s bedecked. I see the other mothers looking at the star choker, the rhinestone
strand he fastens over a sock.
Sometimes I help him find sparkle clip-ons when he says sticker earrings
look too fake.

Tell me I should teach him it’s wrong to love the glitter that a boy’s only a boy
who’d love a truck with a remote that revs,
battery slamming into corners or Hot Wheels loop-de-looping off tracks
into the tub.

Then tell me it’s fine—really—maybe even a good thing—a boy who’s got some girl
to him,
and I’m right for the days he wears a pink shirt on the seesaw in the park.

Tell me what you need to tell me but keep far away from my son who still loves
a beautiful thing not for what it means—
this way or that—but for the way facets set off prisms and prisms spin up
everywhere
and from his own jeweled body he’s cast rainbows—made every shining true color.

Now try to tell me—man or woman—your heart was ever once that brave.

new year, new look

I'd been planning to spruce up my blog after the new year. It became quite easy to do when I won a giveaway on Bloom for a new blog template at Smitten Blog Designs. Thanks to both Bloom and Smitten for the new look! You'll see that I updated my blog roll on the sidebar -- be sure to check some of them out. And please become a follower!

It feels like we have some catching up to do, doesn't it? I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We enjoyed a quiet family Christmas with Chris's parents and then we all went on a little trip to Yangshuo to ring in the new year. Yangshuo is crazy beautiful. As you can see here:

We stayed at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat (and highly recommend it). Yangshuo is more "touristy" than our home, Xiamen. It was fun to meet people from all around the world (France, England, Australia, South Africa, Ethiopia). It was also nice to blend in a bit more (well, as much as you can in China). We definitely weren't a novelty in Yangshuo. What did we do there, you ask?

We went into town to do some shopping and had our picture taken with this man and his hunting birds:

We got a map and went looking for a 1,400 year old banyan tree. We couldn't find it on the first outing and Dagim kept muttering "We've got a big problem!"

We didn't find the banyan tree that day but we did see lots of water buffalo, chickens and this cow:

We sat here (the front yard of the retreat) in the early evenings for happy hour -- wine for the grown-ups, fresh juice for the little one and hot french fries for everyone:

And we hired a driver to take us to some neighboring villages where we walked around, getting a glimpse at local life.

On our way back to the van, I saw this little shop and couldn't resist a picture (for obvious reasons):

I really enjoyed our time in Yangshuo. It was interesting to see a different part of China -- the mountains, the rivers. It's definitely more rural than Xiamen. And it was a good reminder that living in one city here does not really mean we "know" China. No more than a visit to New York City means that you've "seen" America. After a few days there,  I was happy to get back to our more urban (and increasingly familiar) city. There's nothing like a trip away to make a new home feel like a real home, don't you think?

The eve of Christmas Eve

We spent the morning before Christmas Eve at the beach, enjoying the nice weather, and showing Mimi and Pop more of Xiamen. Growing up in New Hampshire, all my Christmases were surely white. I can't say I miss all that cold weather and snow (which we had in Indiana too). Although a white Christmas would be nice, cozied up next to a fire with hot chocolate. Provided, of course, that the driveway doesn't have to be shoveled and we don't need to get in the car to go anywhere and the snow disappears the next day. Until we're stateside again, I'll enjoy this different kind of holiday weather.

We spent the afternoon baking cookies for Santa Claus. Dag is under the impression that on Christmas, Santa will come over and we'll all eat cookies and drink milk together. Then we'll open our presents together too. I suppose that seems more reasonable than Santa sneaking into our house in the middle of the night.

We'll spend Christmas Eve preparing for Christmas dinner -- we've got some food shopping to do and some rolls to make. And of course, there are cookies to be set out and milk to be poured for a certain Santa Claus. Who will, unfortunately, not be able to sit down with us and enjoy his snack.

Tonight, before bed, Dagim saw these photographs on my computer and said "I remember that day." Um, yeah. That was today.

I hope your own holiday preparations are coming along smoothly. There is lots of excitement in our house. Most of it from a little boy who "can't wait! can't wait! can't wait!" for Christmas.

Crepe Sew-Along #2

Progress on my Crepe dress is happening slowly. Very slowly. At this rate, I'm hoping to finish it in time to bring on our trip to Bangkok (we leave at the end of January). We've been busy with Christmas preparations and my in-laws are visiting. It's so nice to have family here for the holidays. I think we'd be a bit blue if we were alone in China. There are a surprising amount of Christmas trees at the shops and restaurants in our neighborhood. And Christmas music is playing nearly everywhere. I don't miss the commercial aspect of the holiday at all.

I finished my muslin for the top part of the dress about a week ago. To be honest, I feel kind of funny posting photos of myself -- most of the clothes I make are for Dagim and he's generally an agreeable model.  Most of the sew-along peeps (including me) are having issues with the bust darts. So while I feel weird posting pictures and talking about bust darts, seeing and reading about other people's experiences has really helped me.

I wish I had used a different fabric for the muslin. This is the orange-y fabric I originally purchased for the ties on the dress. It's very stiff and I think the soft linen of the actual dress will drape much differently. But anyway, here's the front:

I lowered and shortened the darts on my right side. The left side darts are from the original pattern markings. I think I could stand to lower the bust dart another inch or so but I don't really feel like fiddling with this anymore (can you say lazy?).

Here's the back:

Please ignore the garbage bag in the corner!

I'm happy with the way it fits in the back. I wonder how close-fitting the top should be? The shoulders seem a little big to me but again, I don't feel like messing around too much with alterations at this point. This is my first time altering something to fit (other than adding some length in pants patterns for Dag). Right now, my plan is to just sew it with the repositioned darts.  Hopefully I'll get a little sewing time in before the new year!

from Santa's Workshop

When I asked Dag what he wanted for Christmas this year he said, "A doll.  A boy doll."  Fortunately, he didn't shame me by saying "One with two eyes."  Alas, Poppy still has one eye and no mouth.

I was so happy to hear this request. I ordered Wee Wonderfuls this fall because I knew, as soon as I saw the cover, that I had to make Eddie, the boy doll:

Inside the book, Eddie is a bit naughty, drawing on the wall:

Dag loves this picture and he likes to point out that the doll has done something he's not allowed to do.

I used a cotton knit interlock ordered from A Child's Dream Come True.  The hair is some kind of faux-fur fabric bought locally at the market (the shop owner wouldn't sell me a small square so I have a half-meter of this crazy fur fabric).  The shirt is made from a shirt purchased in a clearance bin (the B was on the sleeve) and the pants are made from leftover fabric after I hemmed a pair of my pants. As you can see, little B has, like his friend Eddie, been a bit naughty. (Actually it was Dagim -- see in the bottom corner where it says "Goodah"?  He thinks he wrote "Dagim's world." How was I supposed to be mad about that?).

He was so much fun to make -- especially on the sly!  Little B's head looks a bit alien-shaped compared to Eddie, but I hope Dag doesn't mind.  This pattern calls for embroidering the face before you stuff the doll. I found this to be a lot easier than the Poppy doll pattern. But Little B is smaller than Poppy and because he needs to stay sort of flat, he didn't take as much stuffing as Poppy. As a consequence, he feels a bit less substantial. But I think he's cute and I hope he's much loved by his new owner.

And now, for my favorite project of all time (seriously)...  The other weekend I decided, on the spur of the moment, that I wanted to whip up the child's apron in Sew Liberated. This project has been on my to-do list since the book came out. And, I decided to finally cut into my beautiful stack of Far Far Away II fabric by Heather Ross.

I have such a hard time cutting into the "good stuff" but I'm so so glad that I did.  I wish I could leave this apron hanging in my workspace until Christmas but since it's a surprise, it was promptly wrapped up and placed under the tree.

We've been doing a lot of baking together -- trying our hand at bread in particular. Today he requested that we make scones. "And cookies!'" he added. I wish he could wear the apron today -- it's so hard to save it for Christmas. Perhaps the best thing about this apron pattern is that children can take it off themselves -- it closes in the front with velcro. That's the one complaint I have about normal aprons. He gets frustrated when he can't take it off by himself. Well, come Christmas, he can do just that!