Strutting my stuff in Suizenji.

Suizenji Park holds a special place in my heart, so when I was offered the chance to be in a kimono fashion show there, it was an instant yes. Once a year they hold a kimono month, where people can learn how to dress themselves amongst other things. The penultimate event being the fashion show wanted a few foreigners involved, to which I happily obliged.

There were a variety of people there, ranging from adorable little grandma's wearing Kumamon obis (the part wrapped around the waist), to the sweetest 2 year old who had no idea what was happening,  but was happily dragged across stage by her older sister. Of course the bunch of foreigners were a novelty,  and our picture made it into a local newspaper reporting the event.

Despite being petrified that my clumsy self would be my downfall, thankfully I paraded around the stage with no problems and delivered my required speech to an okay-ish level. I do own my own furisode (kimono with long draping sleeves) but I'm saving that for some sort of special occasion. 

It was actually really nice to wear a different pattern to what I own, and we were super lucky to have a few hours to enjoy Suizenji Park wearing our kimono before and after the event.
If nothing else, I got paid about a tenner and gained a new profile picture out of it. A win win situation.

Crafting in the countryside.

Earlier this year I attended a small tea ceremony in the city thanks to Ruth, who asked if I'd like to join a bunch of her teachers. One of the teachers was planning to go crafting a few weeks ago, and graciously passed on the invitation to both Ruth and myself.

So off we went, along with her super adorable son, into the middle of nowhere near Ueki. Both Ruth and I weren't really sure what we'd gotten ourselves into, but upon arriving we realised it was something called "Kraftband".  

From what I gathered, this adorable old lady offered up her time to help fellow oldies in the area. I felt instantly welcomed by everyone, who showed me their projects with glee, and even got origami gifts from other women who popped in just to say hello.  

The lady advised us what we'd be capable of making in a day, especially since we were beginners. Although I had my heart set on making a cute new summer bag to go with my yukatas, that was too high of a skill level and will have to wait until next time. Instead, I settled on a "bin" which is currently serving as the best hair accessory container I could have asked for.

The afternoon was wonderful,  all of us making our own pieces whilst watching the Olympic men's figure skating. Of course, tensions were high when Hanyu performed,  with the awful television reception adding to the squeals of despair from everyone in the room.

I'm looking forward to going crafting there again,  especially since I'm no novice anymore; I frankly think my bin looks fabulous. Let's just hope my new summer bag meets expectations. Pray for yourselves,  you could all be getting something for Christmas.