I have been doing a little sewing for me.
This is the Wiksten tank top pattern and Nani Iro Saaaa Saaa in grey.
Love this pattern. Love this fabric.
Wiksten tank top – in progress
on August 21, 2011
The view from here…
on August 5, 2011
makes me smile.
We do not have a garden, but this gem greets me every morning when I open the curtains.
The beginnings of a blanket
on August 3, 2011
Inspired by all the quilty goodness Melanie has been posting about recently over at A Sewing Journal* I decided to make a larger version of this blanket. And when I say make I actually mean choose fabric, wash fabric, fold fabric, admire fabric, and lovingly place in pile with other fabrics waiting to magically transform into sweet things.
It will happen soon though. That is what I am telling myself. No doubt with some help from the owner of that little hand you can see there.
The fabric is nani IRO Japanese Fuccra 2011 (top) and nani IRO Fuwari fuwari 2007 (bottom).
*In the spirit of full disclosure, I am an advertiser on A Sewing Journal.
The Pom Pom Hat
on August 1, 2011
As it started to cool down last year I made A her second hat from Simple Sewing for Baby. I omitted the ties and made pom poms instead, which I love. It was just about too small when this photo was taken but it was a staple there for a while, for sure.
The outer is fabric from a sweater I no longer wore. Why yes, I did once rock a pink velour sweater. What was I thinking.
Miriporun Hanatane
on July 25, 2011
I recently made A a summer dress with miriporun hanatane by illustrator Yoshie. I love her work and I am so happy to see her whimsical illustrations on fabric.
This was originally going to be a onesie dress like the cupcake dress from Toni Coward’s book, Make It Perfect, but I soon remembered it is way too hot here in summer for the onesie part of the dress. I also wanted to make the most of this beautiful fabric and the way to do that was to leave it just as it is. As you may have figured out I am all for simple sewing projects and it doesn’t get much more simple than this. The dress is hemmed, has a back seam, an elastic casing at the top, and pom pom straps.
The straps are forever sliding off so I need to make some adjustments.
There was something about this dress in the beginning that would send A into a rage and I thought it would end up being something she would never wear but she has finally made peace with it and it looks like it might be a summer staple. Fingers crossed.
My favourite things
on July 20, 2011
One of my favourite moments while working, right after I cut the fabric and before it is packed for shipping, is looking over at the piles of fabric and feeling incredibly inspired. There is also something about the neat, orderly stacks that appeals to myﾂ (dare I admit it) innerﾂ control freak.
This particular work day took place right after the first delivery of Far Far Away III, hence it looking like a whole lot of,ﾂ well,ﾂﾂ Far Far Away III 
See the pretty bunting in the background? I made that for A’s first birthday from a lovely tutorial by Sweet Jessie. The fabric was little bits and pieces I had been hoarding for way too long. Now I love being able to see it there every day.
Thank you and a vest
on July 19, 2011
Oh, it has certainly been a while! Things have mostly settled down here and I am feeling like I am ready to start blogging again. Thank you so much to those who emailed and left comments. Your kindness was overwhelming and I will forever be grateful to you. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
I have been looking through my photos of A and am feeling really nostalgic. I cannot understand how quickly she went from being this tiny baby to now, almost 21 months old and acting more and more like a kid every day. I am simultaneously sobbing and rejoicing. I know you know what I am talking about.
One of the photos I came across was this one.
This is A at almost 5 months old wearing a vest I made her using this I Think Sew pattern. The fabric is Lecien Color Basic Plus and I’m glad I chose that. As well as being pretty lovely to look at it is perfectly soft for a baby and washes really well.
We have gotten so much use out of this vest I wish I had made more.
Here it is again when she was 10 months old.
And again at 15 months, looking a tiny bit cranky.
Here’s to more sewing for my little one!
A giraffe
on March 10, 2011
When I was pregnant with A in 2009 I purchased Lotta Jansdotter’s book Simple Sewing For Baby. I am always drawn to Lotta Jansdotter’s work so I would have bought this book anyway however the title really grabbed my attention.
I did not have a straightforward pregnancy with A and there was always the risk that she would be born early (in the end we made it to 36 weeks…whoo hoo!) so I was ordered by my doctor to take it easy. Really easy. I have no idea how I kept the shop open that year. I do know that I worked slowly and carefully and got a lot of help from my sweet husband. When I went into nesting mode I really wanted to sew for A but I knew I couldn’t spend a lot of time sitting at the machine so simple it needed to be. Enter stage left, Simple Sewing For Baby. Perfect! I made about 7 of the 24 projects in the book and they were just what I was looking for at the time. Straightforward, simple, and cute.
I started off with the giraffe rattle and decided that while he needed to be reversible, he would be fine without a face. Ahem. A didn’t mind. In fact she loved that giraffe and they spent a lot of time smooching…OK, so maybe it was more a case of A gnawing on Giraffe-san’s faceless face. I’m sad to say that one day we all went out together and we came home without our precious giraffe. I don’t know what happened to him but I do hope he is safe and happy. He was the first thing I made for my baby girl so he meant a lot to me, silly as that may sound. Giraffe dear, I thank you.
Thank you, Sweet Delivery Man
on February 26, 2011
I have been waiting and waiting, as patiently as possible, for this beauty of a collection to arrive. It is finally here and it is as gorgeous as you can imagine. Naomi Ito is brilliant, that is for sure.
Here is a little sneak peak of what is to come over the next few days. I am going to be glued to the camera, daydreaming about what will become of these prints, and praying for long toddler naps.
nani iro 2011 :: Japanese fuccra :: Fuccra rakuen :: Painting Muji :: Saaaa Saaa
:: pocho ::
Why, hello there
on February 24, 2011
Hello, my name is Frances and I’m very pleased to meet you!
I own and operate miss matatabi, an online fabric shop specialising in modern Japanese fabrics. I love textiles, and sewing, and I am smitten with anything nani iro. I love my job and being able to serve other fabric lovers is an absolute pleasure. I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by fabric every day and call it my job. I thank you for helping make that possible.
I am originally from Australia and moved to Tokyo to study 7 years ago. I thought I would be in Japan for a year and leave with very fond memories but once I had been here for a few months something told me that my future was here. I had no idea how that was going to unfold but a while later I met H , the man who would become my husband and, little by little, Japan has become my second home. We have a 2 year old daughter, A , who is the sweetest person in my life , and two little cats, Rolly and Marchi.
Over the years I have been so inspired by the incredible amount of warmth, kindness, creativity, and spirit of community out there in the blogging world and I am truly grateful to those who have shared so much. Thank you.