more from Samoa

dogs and pigs snooze in the quiet shade on a very hot day.

each village has at least one tremedous church structure - strong and proud

palms, breadfruit, papaya trees grow everywhere

an average Samoan village house

a view of the sea from our family land

tatau and the turtle

at the Faleolo Airport is this sculpture of Samoan warriors wrestling a large sea turtle. The warriors bodies are tattooed with Samoan cultural patterns and designs known as 'Tatau'. Legend has it that the tatau came to be in Samoa when  Taema and Tilafaiga, female siamese twins who were joined at the spine. When the twins were grown, they decided to travel away from Ta'u, the island of their birth. As they were swimming, the spar of a canoe struck them and severed the join between them.

After several adventures on other islands, the twins reached Fiji where they meet two tatau (tattoo) artists, Tufou and Filelei, who taught them the art of tattooing. They also taught them a song to recite when they were tattooing someone. When the twins returned to Samoa, Tilafaiga became a war goddess, while Taema became a tattooist and teacher of the art that she had learned in Fiji.

Have a look at the Samoan turtles pond in the grounds of the Malua Theological College. 

first sights of Samoa

the warm, enveloping heat is a very fine welcome to Samoa. The sky is clear and sunny. The palms nod in the afternoon breeze. Picture perfect!



trapeze dress done twice

with warm weather in mind, I made these 2 trapeze dresses today using New Look 6700 and two very bright, colourful poly cotton prints from my fabric pile. These dresses were completed in just one afternoon of sewing (from start to finish). Luckily I read the reviews of this pattern first before sewing, as there's a ridiculous amount of ease allowance with this pattern. I cut two dress sizes down without compromising the dress style. I'm still undecided about the drawstring ribbon and bow - reminds me a little bit of vintage nighties. Still it was an uncomplicated, fun sew! 

the puletasi

The puletasi or pea is a traditional outfit worn by women/girls in Samoa. It's basically a top (can be varying styles and lengths) with a full length lava lava skirt. This outfit is worn on formal or special occassions, ie. church, weddings, funerals, parties etc.

For my puletasi, I used this fabric and a vintage Knitwit pattern to make up my top. The top is a very simple, pull over the head A-line style with bust and body darts to give it shape plus a matching long belt to tie at the waist. The lava lava is made up in a plain black poly cotton with waist darts and ties to ensure that it stays put.

ashanti

In the spirit of change, I decided it was time to reduce the number of bjd models that I had to sew for. So I ruthlessly sold off around 75% of my models. I was down to 4 models when Iplehouse advertised their custom doll system, where you can order a bjd in the sculpt, resin skin tone, body type that you liked within a 1 week period and paying the total cost up front. I'd missed out on Ashanti (pictured above) when she was released earlier this year, so this time round I didn't hesitate to order my own version of Ashanti. I like the idea of a darker resin bjd model and hope to find a male bjd in a similar skin tone sometime. 

on the walls

vintage ducks in flight on the lounge wall - the last duck always looks like it's off course. These were inherited from my in-laws and started off their flight in the kitchen but are now permanently in the lounge.

a vintage print of Sir Gerald Kelly's "Saw Ohn Nyun" from the local Sallies store resides in the hallway. I love the delicate beauty of this image - regal yet poignant.

an antique sea turtle shell that was a gift from my parents, hangs on the wall in the alcove by the entrance door. I grew up playing with this shell - I imagined it to be so many things. Now it's a way to remember my beloved Grandpa who passed away in 1984. He was many things including an artisan who handcrafted jewelry from tortoise shell, abalone shell, coconut and other materials. 

border print dress

it took just over 2 hours to make this dress yesterday and I'm really pleased that it's finished. I realised as soon as I had it laid out to cut, that this fabric was going to give me problems. The design was printed uneven and wobbley (I hadn't noticed this when I bought it) so it was a challenge to even line up the border print at the bottom. You can see that I sacrificed the design symmetry at the neckline to keep the lower part of the dress looking somewhat even.  Got there in the end and I'm very happy with the result. It's my version of the muu muu dress although it's 3/4s in length and not very full. Just perfect for tropical weather!

lava lava

I have a great selection of lava lava ( also known as the pareo, sarong, sulu etc ) that I've collected over the years. They're bright, bold and very colourful. At Spotlight today, I bought some cotton voile in 2 distinctive prints, each measuring 1.9 metres of 115cm wide fabric and then quickly hemmed the edges at each end to make up 2 lava lava. These are destined to be worn around the pool and beach in Samoa.

In the South Pacific, the lava lava is more than just an accessory for the beach or pool. It's an article of clothing that's worn by both men and women in everyday life. Although a lava lava is simple to make, it's being able to tie it (so it looks stylish) that's the real challenge. For the uninitiated, it can seem pretty daunting to find a flattering way to make a simple rectangle of fabric work. To get you started, there's 24 ways to tie a lavalava. My favourite lava lava styles are in the photos above. Let me know if you have a favourite way to tie a sarong.

giveaway winners...

drum roll please...

Congratulations Taylxx and Eryn, you're the lucky winners of the blogoversary giveaway. I've emailed you both. A big thanks to all who took part in the draw. Cheers!

giveaway

to celebrate my 2nd blogoversary, I made 2 of the above market grocery tote to give away. That means that there's 2 totes to giveaway to 2 lucky people. The giveaway totes are just like these bags I blogged about a little while back. These bags are handmade by me using new fabric and thrifted bias binding.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment to this giveaway post. One entry each please. Also don't forget to leave your contact details so I can contact you if you should be a lucky winner. The giveaway will run for 1 week (3-10 September 2010) and I'll put all the names in a hat and draw the 2 winners. Good luck!

2nd blogoversary today

today I'm celebrating my 2nd year of blogging. When I started this blog, it was "a means of documenting all the different avenues that my journey into sewing, arts & crafts will take." 340 posts later, it's become a a whole lot more! With all the stuff that's been happening in my personal life, I haven't been blogging as much as I'd like to.  

Anyway, thanks again to all of you who take the time to read, follow, link, leave comments and email me. I really appreciate it! Don't forget to have a traditional blogoversary cupcake on me. It just wouldn't be a blogoversary without one!

PS: Don't forget to enter the giveaway, starts tomorrow (Friday 3rd September in the evening NZ ) and runs for a week.

spring

(Photo by Petr Kratchovil)

today is the official first day of the NZ spring. It's a relief to see the sun out and flowers beginning to burst out in full bloom. It's my 2nd blogoversary tomorrow and I'm planning a giveaway later this week to celebrate. I'll be giving away to two lucky readers, a handmade grocery tote each just like this bag. All the information about the draw will be posted on Friday. I'll keep the draw open for a week and all you need to enter is post a comment under the giveaway post.

afternoon

Driving home at 4pm, I glanced up at the sky and saw the warm, radiant afternoon sun nestled in a soft, blanket of white cloud that spread across the sky.  I think that sometimes we're so busy looking ahead or behind, that we forget to look at the now or even look up. Definitely a moment worth capturing!

red sky

Red Sky at night, shepherds delight

Red Sky in morning, shepherds warning...

Sometimes doing the most mundane of things has it's own reward. Taking the rubbish bin out this morning - I caught a glimpse of a beautiful red sky. Luckily I got a photo of it before it faded. 

Owen and Satine

Owen and Satine are my newest bjd sewing models. They're both Iplehouse EIDs (aka Akando & Jessica) in the normal skin resin (which is very hard to photograph if the light isn't good) and they're substantial in size and weight compared to my other bjd models. (I've posted about Owen earlier before Satine arrived.) I've had lots of requests from customers for EID sized clothing so I'm sewing to stock up the etsy shop as quickly as I can.

vintage textile fair

something to look forward to!

auckland netball

The 2010 college and club Auckland netball competition season ends today. I'm really pleased about this as the rainy weekends haven't been the best for playing outdoor netball. My daughter's school team is placed well in their grade of the school competitons. Her club team hasn't fared too well in the club competition, coming in at last place. It didn't help much that the team lost 2 great players half way through the season. Despite this, she's had a brilliant season, learned lots and is now in player development. Anyway it will be nice to have the leisurely Saturdays back!

tapa cloth

This tapa cloth measure approx 3 metres x 5 metres, is at least 25 years old and kept in a wardrobe. It was once on display but had to be taken down when it started to come apart in places. I don't have the know how to repair it, so for now it will just have to stay where it is.

Tapa cloth is also called bark cloth and is widely produced throughout the Pacific Islands (both Polynesia & Micronesia). In Samoa it is called Siapo, and is made from the bark of the mulberry tree. The bark is stripped and then pounded until it is flat and is cloth like in appearance. The tapa cloth is then dried and bleached by the sun before the designs are applied with printing type plates or drawn freehand. The patterns on the Samoan siapo depict various aspects of the Samoan way of life. It's uses include clothing, burial shrouds, bed covers, ceremonial garments and so much more. You can read more about the making of tapa cloth here.

While in Samoa, I'm attending an official chief (matai) ceremony, so the pressure is on to make an appropriate traditional inspired outfit (puletasi) to wear. After weeks of indecision, I was thinking about tapa cloths and patterns when I came by this tapa styled polyester cotton mix fabric. There's 3 metres of 90cm wide fabric in teal, copper & black and it's enough to make a top to go with a long, plain, black wrap around skirt.

muu muu dress

the muu muu is a unique, loosely fitting dress associated with the Hawaiian Islands. The muu muu was introduced by Christian missionaries, who for the sake of modesty wished to cover the bodies of Hawaiian women, who often wore only grass skirts. Then it was a very fashionable item of womenswear particularly in the 1950s -1970s, where it was worn for relax/lounge/sleep/beach wear. Imagine paying $1.89 for a dress?

The muu muu embraces colour and patterns. The brighter and bolder, the better! You wouldn't feel out of place wearing the loudest colours and brightest, boldest patterns in the Pacific Islands.

I've had McCalls 2250, a modern muu muu pattern, sitting in the pattern drawer for almost a year. I bought it at a closing down sale (it was $2) along with quite a lot of cheap & cheerful, bright, bold island prints from a retiring dressmaker. The shorter version would make a nice coverup for wearing over a swimsuit after a swim. Hooray for the muu muu - it's a true timeless classic!

being aware

In early June 2010, I had my first mammogram as part of the NZ national breastscreening programme. All seemed to go well and I didn't think about it again. Then 3 weeks later, I got a phone call that I needed to go back for further assessments. After an ultrasound and more mammograms, the doctor's opinion was that the area that he'd seen on the mammography was nothing to worry about and recommended that I go back on to the standard screening list (2 yearly cycle).

The next day, another doctor called to ask me to have some biopsies done as he wasn't convinced. So a week later, I had both fine needle aspiration and stereotactic core biopsies performed. The results came back 7 days later, stating that the area showing up on the mammograms was a lesion with areas of radial scarring and lobular carcinoma in situ.

The very next week, I had a hook wire put in and I was in surgery to have the area excised. The surgeon confidently told me that the success rate was 95%. At pre-op, the surgeon breezed into the cubicle with the biggest smile and said "Kia Ora girl..." 

After another anxious week of waiting, the results came back that the lesion was benign but that there were as expected, noted changes of radial scar and lobular carcinoma in situ. These had been successfully removed but because of the increased tendency to grow a cancer in either breast, increased surveillance was recommended. I now need to have yearly mammographic screening. I really believe that early detection gave me the best outcome possible.

This 2 month journey has both frightened and empowered me. I was shaken by the roller coaster speed within which everything was taking place. I'm thankful for the peer review system, where doctors could review my inital & subsequent mammography and recommend the biopsies. Who knows, what 2 years down the track I could have been facing? For now, I'm just glad to be alive! I am changed forever...

Please read the comments attached to this post for updates on this journey.

rainy day

the photography task for today was to capture rain at work. All the elements were present: light drizzling rain, ok natural light and a somewhat mobile photographer. After making this post, I'm heading back to rest as per doctors orders. 

vintage dress patterns

these are the 4 patterns that I bought the other day from etsy and ebay. I'm now waiting for them to arrive in the post. Apart from 7120 (which is a 1960s pattern, in the top right hand corner) the rest are all from the 1970s. All 4 patterns will need to be graded down to fit along with my usual adjustments.  As you can see, lately I've been thinking about dresses, especially A-line shifts and smocks. Just the sort of thing to wear on an island holiday. Once I'm feeling more like my normal busy self, I'll be back to work on my 'island sewing' plan. 

at home

I've been at home all this week recovering from an operation. While resting/recuperating/being good, I've caught up on all the episodes of Rosemary Shrager's School of Cooks competition (Series 1 and 2) as well as catching up with Lark Rise to Candleford (Series 3) and Return to Cranford (Series 2). Hey, I've even found time to shop online for more vintage Simplicity 'look slimmer' patterns on etsy and ebay. Now that puts a smile on my dial!

colourful

in the middle of a drab wet winter when everyone is wearing dark sombre colours, it's a welcome escape to be sewing for a tropical holiday. There's nothing quite like a splash of colour to brighten a cold, wintery day of sewing.

All these gorgeous fabrics have one thing in common... lots and lots of colour. Spotlight had a massive sale on their summer weight cottons (with a little added stretch for comfort), all at $5.00 a metre, down from $16.99 per metre! and so I came home with a huge pile of colourful inspiration.

camera at work

todays photography task was to practice taking images of ball jointed dolls. More particularly the face as well as details of the clothing. I'm wanting to step up my bjd sewing and better photos of what I plan to sell is a must! I'm enjoying the s9500 so much that I've now bought a s9600 as well.