Upcycled Happy Cushions

I love making cushions.  They look pretty, they are EASY to sew and I love using bits of fabric I have collected over the years.

Cushion making makes me HAPPY.  Making 'something pretty' is rewarding enough - accomplishment - but making something out of another thing that is destined to be thrown away or seldom used is even better to me.  Lovely, happy memories and a knowing that you are living more lightly, I guess.

 Even more, I find sewing is an activity that totally engages me - I get measuring, cutting, piecing, sewing and stuffing and time races by.  Research has shown that people who have an activity they get totally engaged in are likely to be happy (read more about it here). My own gut feel is that it is great to get super engaged in activities as a counterbalance to the multitasking we do in other aspects of our lives.  So I prioritise projects that allow me to be a bit creative and learn a new skill while being 'in the zone'.

When I was heavily pregnant with my daughter (waiting, waiting, waiting) I hand sewed 2 cushions- one show-pieced a piece of silk kimono I purchased about 8 years earlier.  The other was made from a summer dress I bought at Hampton Beach about 13 years before! As I sewed the dress I thought of the  fearless, independent and FREE days of travelling.

Since then I have had my Granma's sewing machine serviced and I am slowly getting used to the faster pace.  Last night I was at it again.  This time I had a 'vintage' tea towel and a gorgeous silk furoshiki to play with.

Here you can see 2 of my creations- one from an old sun dress, the other from a tea towel.

(Yes, I have a camping chair in my kitchen.  People wonder why until they sit in it. )

The opshopped tea towel is a souvenir from Tasmania - bright orange, with a map and images of famous places.  Given that it is a tea towel, it will go well in our country kitchen.  And yes, I am looking forward to people admiring my map of Tasmania. (Had to!)

Cushions made from Japanese fabric.

The silk furoshiki was a birthday gift from my awesome mum.  She thought I could do something with it and she was right.  Originally I did use it as a furoshiki, however a lovely member of my household who helps with the washing put the furoshiki into a warm wash and it shrunk.  I was disappointed but quickly realised it was now thicker and perfect for a cushion cover.  (It probably wouldn't have worked so well if it was intentionally shrunk!!)

I have a very adhoc style of sewing - the cushions aren't perfect.  However, I do feel like I am getting better and more confident as a seamstress - one cushion at a time.

What's your happy activity? I would love to know.

Furoshiki: no sew bags and packaging

image: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43287/43287-h/43287-h.htm

I came across furoshiki while I was in Japan, but it wasn't until recently that I got how nifty they actually are.  One piece of cloth has many uses.  Just like other technologies, if we are not in the right place mentally to think about how we can use them, we tend to ignore them and go on as usual.

Furo shiki = bathing cloth.  The Japanese used to put their bathing essentials into the square and tie them into a bag.

I have several gorgeous muslin wraps that were given to us when our daughter was born.  They were great to swaddle our daughter in over summer.  However, more recently they were used mainly as a change table cover.

Furoshiki changed all that.  Examples of use so far:

• bundle up blocks or small toys - the bag doubles as a play mat
• bundle food for a picnic - again, picnic rug is built in!
• separate clothes when travelling- clean/dirty clothes or mum's/daughter's clothes

A link to the best instruction website I have found is below.  I have made the bags and the bottle holder.  I wrapped up a bottle of drink and slung it on the handlebar of my bike when I was going out for dinner recently (It was a short trip and a plastic bottle- a bit of care needed!!).  It is quite fun - origami with material!  Grab a square of cloth and fold along.

furoshiki folding techniques

Next I would like to use furoshiki for gift giving, however I am chotto confused about who keeps the furoshiki.  I would love someone to fill me in!!

Nanna Technology photo scavenger hunt at my place!!

Enough typing, I wanted to show you what I mean by Nanna Technology!

I took some photos in my house and garden - I can't take credit for all these gadgets, my husband is quite nifty and resourceful.

Garden

From top left.

Rhubarb in reused containers.  Rhubarb has a tendency to get out of control, so a containment was essential.  This is part of an old wheel that was at the house when we moved in.

Our lovely outdoor table shattered.  Rather than get a replacement, my husband used some salvaged wood to make a new tabletop.  I am thrilled with result: we get a funky table that means a lot(it was an engagement gift).

We planted garlic cloves around the border of our veggie gardens and had a bumper harvest.  We have enough to eat fresh, preserve, give away and plant for next year.

The tomatoes are staked with rags - old clothes that had really had it.  The clothes are ripped up and tied around the reusable wooden stakes.

The peg bucket is an old milo tin with holes in the bottom (for drainage, when it rains). A coat hanger makes the handle. It is both rusty and rustic, but gets the job done. 

Lastly, we have made pots out of chipped mugs for strawberry plants and other seedlings.  An electric drill or a nail and hammer made the holes (potential for cracking, take care!).

House

From top left:

I updated the cushion cover on this chair from a pretty scrap of fabric I found at an opshop. 

Tomato pasta sauce in Summer - look out for tomato bargains.  I bought 5 kg for $5 at the local supermarket, plus some basil and garlic from the garden.  The jars are also reused.  

We got this awesome secondhand Fowlers Vacola kit through friends. It is basically a big pot - when filled with water it cooks and sterilises bottled fruit. So far we have bottled local apricots and peaches.  The clingstone peaches were lovely.

Old coffee jars for storage in the kitchen. They are practical and I find them aesthetically pleasing - they look wholesome and interesting when filled with different coloured plulses and grains.  These jars were also used as candle holders at our wedding. 

We got a gorgeous recipe collection tin as an engagement gift.  Instead of buying file cards, I have used the engagement cards and left over wedding thank you cards to attach or write recipes on to.  Many of the cards are laminated too -  this is a heirloom in the making!  I love the regular reminder of the engagement and wedding and the people who were there (Including their handwriting!!).

I am sure you could find examples at your place like these - and I'd love to see them!!  

While I have been researching Nanna Technology, I have come across alternative names, including:

granny skills

homesteading skills

upcycling

Maybe it is the science teacher in me: I like the term Nanna Technology, a play on the scientific term nanotechnology.

Source: here

Chotto chotto….

Like I said before, chotto is Japanese for 'a little bit'.  I thought long and hard before including a Japanese word in the title of my blog.  But first:

A Confession...

Despite 4.5 years living in Japan, my Japanese is chotto less than awesome. Actually, no, just bad. Totemo dame ('very stop'). Not subarashi ('awesome').

My favourite misunderstanding story is when I wanted to borrow a key so I could work at school after hours.  The lady had enough English to tell me I had just asked if I could borrow a shadow.  Chotto unusual, right?

Here are my main "reasons" for not being better at Japanese.

1.  I only intended to be in Japan for 6 months.

I was keen to teach in the USA and had 6 months to kill, so I headed to Japan.  I liked the lifestyle more than I expected … and I met a bloke…and then I found a job I loved.  From the beginning, I kept extending my stay by 6 months or a year and by the time I was home it had been 4 and a half years in Japan.  It can be hard to motivate yourself to learn a language that is just spoken in one country when you have plans to leave!

2.  While in Japan I lived in an expat bubble.

I had expat friends mainly.  I met lots of interesting people when I first taught at NOVA English school - there were 3 Nova apartments in my building with other teachers.  We were all young and carefree - so weekends and weeknights were spent exploring the izakaya (pubs), karaoke bars and Tokyo.  I learned enough Japanese to get by at the supermarket, izakaya and tourist places.  I also hung out with people who had better Japanese than me and would let them talk. Expats blokes seemed more motivated to learn Japanese - so they could meet local women. Plus, the Japanese people I went out with were often happy to translate - it was a free English lesson for them.

3.  When I taught at an international school, we were told to speak English only with students and parents.  

I broke this rule once with a new student in grade 4.  She was a great kid but new to English, so my science classes were a mystery to her.   On field trip day, I sat next to her on the bus - I think she was a tad lonely.  By speaking to her in my shocking japanese it really broke the ice - and I got to know her a bit better.  By the end of that year- gee, not even a year- her English had really improved and she was so confident.  A real little sponge!

But generally, my weekday life 8 am - 5 pm was conducted in English.

4. I studied for a second education degree while I was working full-time.

I studied for a primary teaching degree while I was in Japan.  During the day, I was working as a specialist science teacher (I was already a qualified secondary science teacher) and at nights and on weekends I was studying literacy, numeracy, music, art and health education.  In the Japanese Summer breaks (2 months each year), I left Japan to complete teaching placements in Australian schools.


Having said all that, the last time I was in Japan for a holiday I was totally able to get by.  But if you are expecting a fluent Japanese speaker - that's not me.  So why Chotto?



Chotto, Chotto…  (Pronunciation: "Cho" as in chocolate, "tto" as in "toe")

Chotto is a versatile word.  As I mentioned before, it means 'a little bit'.

Eg. Question: Do you speak Japanese?
       Reply: Chotto speak. (They will know to speak slowly)
       Question: Do you understand?
       Reply: Chotto understand.  (Then you can ask for more detail)


Chotto is also good to soften statements.  Who knows if it is a gross generalisation now, but when I was in Japan, people avoided being direct.  Even the word for "No" is kind of irrelevant as it is hardly used.  So softening words is a big deal. Generally, I prefer not to be too blunt as well, so I appreciate chotto for this reason.

Having chotto in the title of my blog personalises it for me.

I had a great time living in Japan and love a lot about their culture.  I'll be blogging about Japanese culture.

I also love the freedom chotto gives- being a bit something allows you to be a bit something else.  A bit Nanna, a bit young and vibrant!

Lastly, a little bit is my approach to environmentalism; I find hardcore, judgemental & aggressive environmentalists repellant.

OK, enough writing from me.

Next time: fancy photos of some awesome nanna technology.  

Until then, would love to hear of any great language misunderstanding stories you have been part of!