Back to U.S. and Relocating

引っ越し終了！
約2年のイギリス生活を終えて、アメリカに帰国しました。そして今度はアメリカ南西部から、深南部へ。偶然にも義妹家族の住む街へ。
家財道具一式は空輸され（いつ届くのかは不明）、オットのトラックは船便で来月到着予定。
とりあえずは家具付きの社宅アパートに入居したのでテレビとかソファーとか掃除機とか食器とかなんでもそろってて便利です。でもこのアパートにいられるのも1か月か最大2か月なので、近々また引っ越しなのねぇ（泣）
スーパーに買い物に行って、品物の多さに「あぁ、アメリカに帰ってきたわ」と思いました。

We have moved; out of the U.K., back to the U.S.
Our household goods were taken away last week and should be on their way to us via air (though I don't even know when they are coming). For now, we are living off what we stuffed in the suitcases.

MOTH's truck was also taken away last week to be transported to Southampton via ground, then to South Carolina via sea. This, buying a Land Rover Defender and shipping it back to the U.S., had been his plan all along even before we moved to U.K. so there was no stopping even when the shipping charge was three times more than he expected.

Not only have we moved back to the U.S., but we have also relocated at the same time. We left Southwest for good (or at least for now) and now we are in Deep South. We still have 2 storage units full of stuff (including MOTH's truck that he absolutely refuses to get rid of) that we left in Southwest 2 years ago that need to be moved 1,600 miles over here, but that is for another day. Right now, I don't even want to think about moving. Fortunately, we got a furnished corporate apartment so moving in here was not too bad. But this is only temporary so we have to move AGAIN eventually, in a very near future, like next month or two.

There were so much inconvenience and impracticality in England, but I definitely miss the greenery. No more breathtakingly beautiful morning walks. Good bye, England, I had a lot of fun.

Last Project of the Year

引っ越しに備えてそろそろミシンと裁縫道具を片付けなくてはならないので、大急ぎで今年最後の裁縫仕事。鞄に入れるポーチを作りました。
この時期は天気が悪いと一日中真っ暗で細かい作業はあまりよく見えないのでかなり適当になっております。
布は、前に作ったポーチと同じ、外側はスエード調のビニールで、内布は青緑。

I needed a new pouch to keep in my bag so I made one, rather hurriedly before I have to pack my sewing machine.

The fabric is the left-over from my Clematis Wristlet: faux suede for exterior and teal cotton for lining. #5 zipper for the main opening and #3 for the pocket.

I could not press the faux suede so that's where my sloppiness started. Plus the weather was nasty out so it was really dark even in the early afternoon (the daylight in December/January is VERY short in England. I can't imagine living in Scotland this time around...). Even with all the LED lights in the room (there are 8 in this room), it was still dark to work on a dark fabric so my sloppiness continued.

Yup, there are thread bunching up on the bobbin side and I left them as is.

I wanted this pouch to have a wide opening so I used a wide mouth zipper pouch tutorial from Noodlehead for that.

So this is the last sewing project of 2018. I am going to pack up my sewing machines and other stuff today. No more fabric purchase and no more pattern purchase (well, except for PDF patterns...). Let's hope that my sewing machines survive another international move safely.

Annual Report

イギリスに引っ越してきてすぐの2017年2月から、毎週木曜日はCitizens Adviceという慈善事業団体にボランティアに行っていました。それも先週の木曜日が私のボランティア最終日でこれにてイギリスでのボランティア活動終了。

前にもちらっと説明したんだけど、Citizens Adviceは消費者相談センターみたいなところで、離婚とか子育て問題とか、借金とか、アパートの賃貸問題とか、社会保障の問題とか、そういういろんな生活問題に、アドバイザーが一緒になって解決策を見つけたりするサービスをするところです。

私は主に事務仕事のお手伝いだったんだけど、いつしかポスターとかチラシ制作担当になり、今年は年次報告書のデザイン・レイアウトで締めくくりました。チラシとかも、印刷屋さんから上がってきたやつを見ると結構達成感があったけど、さすがに年次報告書はちょっと厚めの紙に印刷されて冊子になった姿で出来上がったの見たらちょっと感動した（笑）

I started volunteering at Citizens Advice back in February of 2017, right after I moved to England. I was going there every Thursday, but last Thursday was my last day.

As I mentioned it before, Citizens Advice is a charity organization that provides free and confidential non-legal advice to people in wide variety of problems from welfare to debt to divorce to traffic tickets, etc., etc. There is a national, sort of "corporate" umbrella organization, and local offices are run by franchisees, like Citizens Advice East Herts where I volunteered.

 
I originally started as an admin assistant, but somehow quickly became a poster/flyer maker. I had never done any graphic design of any sort before but I really enjoyed designing posters and flyers. This year, I had a task to design and layout the Annual Report, which was distributed at the Annual General Meeting a couple of weeks ago.

It was always fun to see the final posters and flyers especially when they were professionally printed on a fancy glossy paper, but the Annual Report, printed on a slightly thicker paper and in a booklet format, was a bit special. I just can't stop looking at it. This whole experience of designing posters and leaflets really got me interested in graphic design. Desktop publishing for my next career?!

Union Jack Bunting

イギリスを去る日が近づいてきたので、思い出の品購入モード。（ちなみにまだどこに引っ越すかは未定よ）
ユニオンジャックの万国旗かざりを作れる布を買って作ってみました。
ユニオンジャックの骸骨マグとおそろでいい感じ。

Our last day in the UK is getting near, though I still don't know where we are moving to, so I am into souvenir shopping mode.

I found this bunting panel print and thought it would be fun to make some bunting. Brits loooove bunting.

I'm still not sure if the white perimeter was part of the bunting print design or it's supposed to be the seam allowance. I think I should have left the white around it? Well, the bunting goes well with my Union Jack skull mug.

Madame Tussauds in Itch to Stitch Aveiro Cardigan

3度目の正直で、ついにマダムタッソー蝋人形館に行ってきました。
8月に1回挑戦し、あまりの列の長さにあきらめ、夏休み過ぎたらもう人が少なくなってるかなと思って先月また挑戦するもやっぱり列が長くてあきらめていたのです。前回行った時にわかったのは、行列には2種類あり、一つはチケットを買うための列、そしてもう一つの列は、決まった時間帯に入場しなければならないために入場時間を待っている人たちの列だということ。なので今回は、事前にしっかりオンラインで行きたい時間のチケットを購入して行きました。
蝋人形は、似てないのもいくつかあったけど、びっくりするぐらい本物にそっくりなのが多くて、まるで有名人を間近に見てるようでした。
イギリスの有名人達。

Russell Brand

Posh Spice & Beckam

Bond, James Bond

Duke & Duchess of Sussex

Sovereign and the Kings-to-be

Ed Sheeran

そんなロンドンを歩き回るのに寒くないように重ね着対策でカーディガンを作りました。

型紙は最近こればっかりなItch to StitchというとこのAveiro Cardiganです。

布は前にワンピースを作った時のニットの残りを全く同じコンビで。

下に着てるワンピースもその下に来てるカウルネックのシャツも自作だよ。

Third time's a charm. I have finally conquered Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. We went there back in August and gave up because of the very long lines. We went back last month, thinking the lines would be short now that the summer tourists were gone. We were wrong. But we learned that there were 2 lines there: one for buying tickets and the other to wait for the timed entry. So this time, we bought the tickets online. The line was still scary long, but we were able to enter at the specified entry time.

I have to say, that the place was PACKED. Even with the timed entry, the crowd was too much for us to enjoy all the wax figures comfortably. The tickets are pricey too, $45 or so per person. That's way over priced for my liking, but I used my Buy 1 Get 1 Free code. I felt sorry for those people who were in the line for over an hour to buy the ticket and pay the full price.

For a day out in London, I needed to layer my clothing to keep me warm so I made a cardi. The pattern is Aveiro Cardigan from Itch to Stitch.

I like cardigan, and I'm very picky about the design. I have to have front closures to keep my front warm; I don't like those cascade front or the loose open front cardigans. And I want a V-neck. I had actually been contemplating getting Itch to Stitch's Lisbon Cardigan and hack it into a V-neck, but then this pattern came out. This was exactly what I wanted.

The pattern has 4 bodice length options and 4 sleeve options. I made a 3/4 sleeve version with a short bodice. I cut a size 2.

The fabric is a left-over from my Jalie 3024 dress, the exact same combo: solid black ponte for neck band and bodice hem and the lacey double knit for the main. I used the slid black ponte because I did not have enough lacey fabric to cut everything, but I think the color blocking worked better.

I skipped the interfacing on the neck band pieces. My black ponte was beefy enough without the interfacing. The neck band in the pattern is made out of 3 separate pieces: 2 front band and a back neck. I think it was unnecessary so I added the back neck piece to the front neck piece and cut it on fold.

The cuffs are much smaller in circumference than the end of the sleeve so you stretch the cuff piece to fit into sleeve. The end result is like a sweatshirt cuff. For a 3/4 sleeve length, I want a more straight line sleeve instead of having the cinched look, so I might adjust the pattern or just omit the cuff next time.

The dress underneath: McCall's 7014. 

The cowl neck T-shirt underneath the dress (told you I was layering up): Sewaholic Renfrew.

I was actually wearing Jalie 2680 coat over it as well. Yup, all me-mades. yoohoo.

Cozy Sweater: itch to Stitch Irena Knit Top

霜が降りた草原に朝日が射し、馬のはく白い息がキラキラ輝く、イギリス田舎暮らしで最も美しい季節がやってきました。くそ寒いけど、美しいです。（朝は美しいんだけど、夕方暗くなるのが早すぎるのは難点）

そんな寒さ対策のため、ニットの裁縫が続きます。
今回は、Itch to StitchというとこのIrenaというカットソーの型紙を使用。
オケツまで隠れるいい長さで（でも次に作るときはもうちょっと短くしようかな）、首の後ろもカバー率が高く、表面がけば立つようにブラッシングされてるニットで触り心地も非常にいいセーターができました。
（でもどうも次の赴任地はまた砂漠っぽい。来月引っ越しだというのにまだ行き先未定）

While I'm not a big fan of cold weather, the scenery in this rural part of England gets strikingly beautiful in winter: frost on the ground shining in the morning light. Horses run around exhaling hot breath in the air. Living in this part of the country was the best decision we made when we moved to England.

It is cold though. Well, some days are more autumn appropriate, but some days are definitely winter cold. When I went to the Knitting & Stitching Show last month, I focused on getting sweater knits for the winter.

This is a charcoal grey merle jersey with unknown content that I bought at the Textile Centre booth. The right side is brushed so it feels soooo soft.

The pattern is Itch to Stitch Irena Knit Top. I cut a straight size 2 with no alterations. The front cross-over neck band was a tiny bit fiddly to sew at the bottom, which is expected when you have to snip in the corner. What was difficult for me was that the thread gets buried in the knit fabric and the dark grey thread was just so difficult to see. So there is a tiny pucker at one of the corners.

Things I like about this pattern other than the design feature of the neck: long cuff, wide hem band, bodice length, and high back neck. Basically, very good coverage, perfect for cold weather, anti-draft. While I like the length of the bodice, though, it is a smidge too long, so I will probably shorten by 1" or so next time. I also need to size up to 4, and need to consider doing the sway back.

Overall, I really like the design: simple sweater but more than a V-neck sweater. This will be a staple pattern in the future. ...But it appears I may be moving to the desert again... We are moving next month and still don't have a destination!

Life Update

9月の頭に会社の従業員が一人減り、彼女の仕事を引き継いだので仕事量が一気に2倍となりました。1か月、週50時間勤務。通勤とかしなくていいとは言え、さすがに疲れました。

それと同時にライチの老化がぐっと進んで、犬のトイレも2匹別々に連れ出さなくちゃならなかったり、足腰も劇的に弱くなって支えてあげなくちゃならなかったり、日に日に食が減っていたライチはドッグフードを一粒ずつ食べさせなくちゃならなかったり、ドッグフードを食べなくなったら鶏肉とかご飯とかを混ぜたドッグフードを作ってはやっぱり手で一口ずつ食べさせなくちゃならなかったり、それはもう、103歳のおばあちゃんを介護する人ってこんな感じなのかな、と思った。

1か月全くミシンに触らず、唯一ミシンに触ったのはライチのおむつを縫ったのみ。閉店時間間際に駆け込んだ近くのお店に犬のおむつが売ってなくて、代わりに人間の子供用のおむつを買い、尻尾を通すようにオケツに穴をあけたら、切ったところから給水用の砂みたいなビーズが出てくるので、ロックミシンで穴の回りを縫いました。生まれて初めてのおむつ替えが犬だったよ。

そんなわけでしばらく犬の世話と仕事のみの毎日でした。丸2週間掃除機かけてなかったり、ひと月ぐらいトイレ掃除さぼってたり。夕ご飯は毎日サラダと冷凍食品。ライチが虹の向こうに行ってしまって、犬の世話がサクッと楽になったと同時に、仕事もなんとか以前のリズムに戻り、やっとお裁縫する気分も出てきたよ。

週末にはまたケンブリッジに行って、いかだ下りをしたり。ケンブリッジ中心部はもうどこ見ても建物がステキすぎ。

イギリスを去る日も近づいてきました。家の退去日は12月17日。でも家を退去してイギリスを後にして、一体その後どこに行くかはまだ未定。マジで～。倉庫に入れた荷物や車の状態も気になるのし、また犬を飛行機にのせて国際線の旅するのかと思うともう面倒くさい気持ちでいっぱいだし、どこに行くかもわからないので引っ越し準備とかする気にもならないし。そんな感じの毎日です。

At the beginning of September, one of the employees at my work got let go and her work was assigned to me. Basically, I doubled my workload. I worked over 50 hours a week for a month to catch up. It was an exhausting month.

At the same time, our little one's health was declining pretty steeply: I had to take the dogs for potty separately; the little one's legs got so weakened that I had to support her on steps and had to walk uber slowly; her appetite was getting smaller day by day so I had to feed her one piece of dog food at a time; then she lost interest in dry dog food so I had to try all sorts of food and hand feed her one mouthful at a time.

My days consisted of : taking the dog 1 for potty, packing MOTH's lunch, feeding the dogs, walking the dog 2, doing laundry, working, more potty, more work, second walk for dog 2, more work, then going to bed. I did not touch my sewing machine, and the only time I turned my machine on was to sew a diaper for the little one. The store was out of dog diapers, so I had to buy human baby diapers. I cut a hole at the butt, but then the water absorbing granular beads were falling off from the cut edge so I had to serge the round hole for the tale.

After saying good-bye to the little one, my work load has finally gotten back to normal and got my life back. We went to Cambridge again and this time we did punting down the river. The weather was nice and the buildings in Cambridge are just so gorgeous to look at.

I also went to Knitting & Stitching Show held at Alexandra Palace in north London. It was my first ever sewing show and I'm so glad that I went. I got really overwhelmed at first but it was so interesting to go through so many different booths. I got there at 10 and there were already so many people there. By noon, it was jam packed. And it was only Friday. I was so glad I did not go there on weekend.

I wish I could go to another Knitting & Stitching show, but alas, my stay in England is ending. We are vacating the house on December 17. And guess what. we don't even know where we are going after we leave England. How am I supposed to think about packing when I don't even know where I'm going. Anyways, that's my life these days.