First kitsuke of 2015

Shame on me! I wore kimono twice last year. TWICE!!
I remember not doing kimono for the past few months but I thought I'd gotten a few ensembles done earlier in the year.... More than two at least.
So I've only need to wear kimono two more times and I've beaten last years record! The shame....

I also think I didn't buy any kimono for my personal collection last year!
That's... impressive but kinda sad...
I was looking at my summer kimono today deciding what to wear between the three yukata and 4 ro/hitoe kimono I own. To some that may seem like a good number but I think I need some new blood, I'm also low on ro obi ( I sold a lot of my summer collection over the years) but like 7 hanhaba obi! I've worn hanhaba obi like, three times in 7 years!
I think now that I've finally settled down a bit with what I like and what fits me ( and stop being things because its "pretty" or "cheap") everything is more rounded as a whole collection. Still have some bad areas, no doubt, but all over better.

Anyway! This is what I got up to:

I have no idea what the door frame photos all about, but it was interesting enough to make the cut.
So this kimono is one of the newer additions to the family, bought last summer, is a decent fit on me and hitoe.
The obi is about... 3 years old and I think this is the first time I 've worn it.
Obijime and obiage are summer ones, I bought A HUGE pile of obijime/obiage 3-ish years ago so I think I'll be set for the rest of my time...
The obidome is one of my own creations ( but of course) he's a gold koi, his head's a bit deformed so I kept him.
It was a bit dark in the hall so the kimono and obi look a shade or two darker than they should, the obi is the most glorious, rich purple- more like the close-up photos.

So yeah, my first kitsuke in about 9 months! Woo! *hides face in shame*
Good excuse to buy a new kimono to wear though ;)

First post of 2015!

I realise that January is almost over, its gone too fast for me already!
Once Christmas was finished both my hubby and I became sick, he got sick first then just as he was recovering I got it so there was a good week and a bit where we just lazed about the house moaning about being crook.

Luckily, before Christmas I was working on some projects as a trial run to see whether I should add different handmade products to my Etsy store.
I made a couple of pre-tied obi and tried my hand at stencilling for some han'eri.

I learnt a lot of things as I haven't really done stencilling before, mainly that while I personally prefer more delicate, intricate designs the larger designs were easier to handle.
Also its a lot easier to design something for the obi- as you have lots of area to work with, but with the han'eri obviously you've only got a thin section of fabric shown so the design must look good in a thin, narrow configuration.
 Hence why my silvery swirls don't look as good on the mannequin as it does when the han'eri is flat....
Never mind, it'll make a nice addition to my personal collection as I have very few han'eri, I've mainly got white plains ones or maiko hen'eri lol! It's a nice problem to have I suppose ;)
So while it was fun trying something different I don't think I'll be expanding into that category as time soon...
I am selling the butterfly and kitty cat  obi in my Etsy store for those of you who are interested.
Thanks!