Ginger Jeans Day 6: Muslin Finished

ジーンズの試作品完成～。
試作品とは言え、カプリ丈ジーンズとして普通に着れます。
っていうかもうこれ着てお出かけしたし。

I am just so very proud of my muslin Ginger. My very first proper pants and they are totally wearable and totally look like a real thing.

Anyways, let's start with a button hole.
I wanted to use the key hole shape automatic button hole on my Janome.

I tried different needles and different tensions but basically the topstitching thread just did not work so I used the regular thread in orange.

Belt loops got hammered down. It's amazing how a little hammering tames the thick fold of denim fabric.

 Front button is attached. Looks so proper.

I used my Prym Vario pliers to install rivets. It's a bit tight to fit the fabric in the pliers but doable and I don't have to worry about rivets going in crooked.

Muslin finished.
Wore them all day yesterday. A bit gaping at the back waist but other than that, I am very very happy with the result.
Now, I have to trace the pattern again for straight size 8 and start this process all over.

Ginger Jeans Day 5: Adjustments

先日の試し縫いで出た問題部分を解決すべく、補整。

Day 5 of my Ginger Jeans making is making adjustments based on the fitting of basted jeans.
I cut off the center back for sway back.
Scooped out the crotch curve for low butt.

I also let out the side seams at the low butt area.
Then the back pockets were sewn on for real with topstitching thread. I did not move the pockets.

Hard to see but the low butt is fitting much better. (Just ignore my muffin top, please.) However, because of the way I let out the side seams, I now have weird excess fabric at the sides. Maybe I need to let out at the center back?
I cut a size 8 at waist and down 6 at hip so I may just stick with straight size 8 and see what happens.

Still have a lot of wrinkles in the back leg - need to take some length off there?
The knees are pretty fitted. This is a skinny version, by the way. I would probably have to do a chunky calf adjustment if I am to make a full length skinny.

The front is not too terribly bad. I will try changing the front crotch curve on my real pair.

Ginger Jeans Day 4: Muslin Fitting

ジーンズ作成4日目はミシン2台とロックミシン総出でお裁縫です。
ズボンにファスナーつけるのなんて生まれて初めてだけど、結構上手にできたと思う。（でもファスナーの位置がちょっと端によりすぎたかな）
試し履きしてフィット感を見てみました。

(Day 3 is here.)
I didn't mind changing the thread from regular thread to topstitching thread on my Janome, but the Janome did not like the topstitching thread with jeans needle so I pulled out my Kenmore for top stitching. Last time the Kenmore was out of the case was back in 2015 but it still worked and had no problem with topstitching (using a topstitching needle on this). The machine does smell a bit of old oil so I will have to clean it up later.

My very first fly front. I aligned the edge of the zipper tape with center front. The zipper might be a bit too far into the fly for my liking.

I basted the rest and tried them on. Great selfie opportunity in a bathroom on a step ladder. I need a long mirror...
A bit tight around my sagging bum.

Worn with my Itch to Stitch Bellavista.
Kind of impressed with my almost real pair of jeans.

Ginger Jeans Day 3: Front Pockets

ジーンズ作成3日目は、とうとうミシン作業です。糸の調子をみたりして、本格的にお裁縫作業でちょっとワクワク。
ちなみにイギリスで買ったロックミシンは、電圧が違うアメリカでも電圧機を通してちゃんと使えてほっとしています。

Day 3 of my Ginger Jeans making is... finally sewing! (Day 2 is here.)
When I started the project, I wasn't even thinking about notions like top stitching thread or zipper so I was glad that I had an old top stitching thread in my stash. I think I bought the thread maybe 5-6 years ago to hem my store-bought jeans.

My serger survived the oversea shipment in a heavy duty bin (it was bought used without an original box). I turned it on for the first time since it was packed in England in December and it worked just fine with the voltage converter I was using in England for my sewing machine.

 Coin pocket.

Pocket lining. I am french-seaming the pocket bottom but this is it for today.

Ginger Jeans Day 2: Cutting a Muslin

ジーンズ作成二日目は、サイズやフィットを見るための試作品用の布の裁断です。
卓球台がヒジョーーーーに役に立っています。もともとはビリヤード台だから、すぐ上に照明がついてて、作業台を明るく照らしてくれます。

Day 2 of my Ginger Jeans making is cutting a muslin. (Day 1 is here.)

I had this left-over stretch denim from my Jalie Eleonore and decided to make a muslin out of it. Looking at the fabric, I was quite surprised how dark the fabric was originally. I forgot how many white shirts were turned blue because of this fabric. I happened to be wearing the said Eleonore and here is the color difference.

I don't even have a yard of fabric left, so I am making a capri length and omitting back pockets.
By the way, my ping pong table works so well for tracing patterns and cutting fabric. Because it's a pool table, it has a low hanging light fixture above it and gives me the perfect brightness I need in the basement.

Ginger Jeans Day 1: Tracing

家の片付けも一段落して、やっと裁縫プロジェクトに取り掛かる気分になってきました。
次はジーンズに大挑戦です。今までゴムの入ったパンツしか作ったことないので出来上がりがちょっと心配だけど。

そして昨日は人生で初めてフライドチキン・アンド・ワッフルを食べました。チキンの上からシロップかけます。南部ではポピュラーなメニューです。

Now that the house is in a comfortably livable state, it's time to start a sewing project.

I am going to make Ginger Jeans. I wear jeans pretty much every day and I rotate between 2 pairs of the exact same jeans so I'm pretty much in the same jeans every single day. The third pair is not comfortable and would like to get rid of it (it does not spark joy, you know).

This is my first pair of proper pants with fly front. The only other pants I have made before are either elastic pajama pants or Jalie Eleonore pull-on pants so I am a bit leery about the outcome but we shall see.

On the side note, I had my very first fried chicken and waffles. In case you are not familiar, yes, you pour the syrup over the chicken.

Southern Living

Life in the Deep South.
アメリカ深南部での暮らし。

Fried green tomatoes.　
フライド・グリーン・トマト（映画のタイトルではなく、揚げトマト。）

Monster Jam.　
小学生の背丈ほどもある巨大タイヤを装備した巨大トラックの大会。エンジン音がものすごくうるさいので耳栓必須。

A tractor. MOTH says it's technically a "sub-compact" tractor. Still, it's a tractor with a front loader. He was supposed to be getting a riding lawn mower.
小型トラクター買いました。芝刈り機を買うはずが、ブルドーザーですか？クボタです。

Beautiful spring.
近所の桜の木。うちの庭にも桜を植えたいです。

Hanging a Quilt

3か月ぶりの裁縫プロジェクトは、手作りキルトを壁に飾れるようにすること。ちなみにキルトは私作ではなく、キルターな義母作。

このキルト、実は義母作の中では私の一番のお気に入りで、ずっと壁に飾ってみたかったの。もう１０年ぐらい前に義母からもらったんだけど前住んでた家は日差しが強くてキルトが傷むから飾れなくてずっとしまってあったのです。今度の家では裁縫室が地下で小さな窓しかないのでキルトを飾るのにもってこい。陽当たりが悪く薄暗い地下の裁縫室もこれで見た目はちょっと温かくなった感じ。

First sewing project in three months (and the first sewing project in this new sewing room): hanging a quilt. Disclaimer - I did not make the quilt. It was made by and given to me by my mother-in-law.

After researching different methods to add a hanging apparatus to a finished quilt, I decided on adding a long straight channel at the top of a quilt. I found an extra curtain rod that the previous homeowner left in a closet and MOTH screwed in the brackets for me.

The calico I had was a perfect width for the quilt so just cut 8" from selvage to selvage and sewed a channel.

My sewing machine was turned on for the first time since it was packed in England in December.

The sewn channel was then hand-sewn on the back of the quilt.

I use Thread Heaven for hand sewing. This tiny little box of thread conditioner lasts for a long time.

This is my favorite quilt made by my mother-in-law and I always wanted to hang it on a wall rather than using it as a quilt. Our previous house in the Desert Southwest got too harsh of sun light so I could not hang it for fear of sun damage and it just sat in my armoire for many years (I could not even spread it over a bed because our dogs love chewing on quilts). Now that my sewing room is in a basement and has only a tiny window, I can now hang this quilt in my sewing room and admire it every day.

Behold the Ping Pong Table

なんと我が家には卓球台があるのです！（地下室です）
実はビリヤード台の上にのせて使う卓球台なんだけど、ちゃんと卓球できるよ。
ビリヤード台ともども、この家の前の持ち主が置いていったものです（決してただで譲り受けたわけではなく、家売買の交渉に含まれています）。

私今まで卓球ってやったことがなかったんだけど、楽しいね！温泉旅行で人々が楽しむのもわかるわ。予想通りものすごい下手なんだけど、ビリヤードより全然楽しい。

I have a ping pong table in my house!

Well, it's actually a pool table with a ping pong table top. We inherited it from the previous homeowner as part of the house deal (basically she declined to do most of our repair requests and instead threw in the pool table in the deal).

I had never played a game of ping pong before. I have never played regular tennis either for that matter. But I'm loving playing ping pong! I'm obviously pretty terrible at it but we are having fun.

It is surreal to think that I actually own a ping pong table (we had a pool table before) and definitely surreal to think that I can now play ping pong in my own house.

Unpacking The Sewing Room

引っ越しの荷ほどきを続けること2週間半。やっと私の部屋の荷物の荷ほどきができる日がやってきました。裁縫室兼、仕事場となる私の部屋は、なんと地下室。それも地下室の一番奥の部屋なので、小さな窓が一つあるだけで、とても暗いです。新しい電気買ってもらわないと暗くてやってられないわ。

I spent 2.5 weeks unpacking our stuff from the storage. It was a slow process with cleaning all the dust and grime off. But the day finally came to unpack my sewing room. What's the first thing to do? Pledge the hell out of furniture.

The next part was the hardest part: decide the orientation of the desks. I have two sets of nesting desks. I used to use 1 large desk for my sewing machine, another large desk for cutting, a small one for ironing, and another small one for my serger and a cover stitch machine (you can see my old sewing room here). But now this sewing room is also my office (I work from home), I need to use one of the large desks as my "desk." So it took me a while to re-think the layout.

The room is in the deepest part of the basement next to a storm shelter with just one tiny window, so unfortunately I won't have a very good natural light. Until I get a better light fixture, it's going to be all blurry dark photos.

There is a closet, but half of it is filled with MOTH's RC car collection.

For now, I just unpacked everything and shoved them in the book shelf or in boxes. The contents of the boxes are all mixed up but at least they are off the floor. It's going to take a while for me to sort all the little things and organize the whole thing a bit better before I can be in a mood to sew but this is a start.

Since I will be in this room for most of the day for work, I made a dog house next to my work desk out of a cardboard box (she has another one in the living room, too).

New Walking Route

イギリスの田舎暮らしがとてもよかったので、アメリカに帰ってからの家探しも田舎暮らしを選びました。もともと引っ越し先が小さな街というのもあるけど、そのまた郊外の、農園の広がる地域、最寄りのスーパーまで7キロ弱というかなりの田舎になりました。裏庭を、普通に鹿の家族が横切っていきます。散歩道も林に囲まれてて、春になって木に葉っぱがついたらいい景色になるだろうな～、と楽しみにしています。

My new walking route is amazingly similar to my walking route in England. But I guess it is not that funny considering how our country living in England affected our "must-haves" when we were choosing a house to buy.

We had known back in the Desert that we didn't want to live in the planned development anymore. The HOA we lived in had more than 4,000 houses and the houses were just stacked on top of each other and we were provided with a thick stack of HOA rules. We used to even have a "3 shrub rule" that said we had to have at least 3 shrubs in the front yard.

But having lived in the country side of England , we pretty much solidified that our next house environment would be a bit more unique than a planned development. So it is: we chose a house in an unincorporated town where the property tax is half of what the house within the city limit would be.

Our house is on a dead-end street so it's very quiet and surrounded by woods, with a little peak of farmland down the hill. Luckily, unlike it was in England, the street is wide enough for 2 cars to pass by so I don't have to walk off the street when a car goes by.

It has gotten warm last week and the daffodils shot out in a matter of 2 days. We are really loving it here, Deep South!

Moving Truck Has Arrived

引っ越し屋さんのトラックが来ました。2年4か月ぶりに家財道具と再会です。巨大なトレーラーがやって来た時には、こんなに物があったっけ、と心配になったけど、トレーラーの3分の1はカラだったので、ちょっと安心。（でも物ありすぎ）

もう何度も引っ越しを繰り返してきたけど、引っ越し屋さんを使うのは今回が初めて。いや～、重い家具を運ばなくていい引っ越しというのはいいものだね。

さすがに砂漠地帯の、ただのブロックでできた倉庫に2年4か月も眠っていた家財道具は、どれもすべて小汚いです。段ボールに入っていた物も、持ち手の穴から埃が入るのか、もうとにかくすべてが小汚くて、ただ荷ほどきをする、ってことができず、全部洗えるものは洗うか、雑巾で水拭きしなくてはならなくて、荷ほどきに非常に時間がかかっております。

この2年間、必要最低限のものだけで暮らしてきたので、物の多さにちょっと焦っています。頑張ってコンマリしてます。やっぱりときめく物だけに囲まれて過ごさないとね。

The day has finally come: the moving truck full of our household stuff from the Desert has arrived.

Since MOTH had a business trip back in the Desert, he was able to coordinate and oversee the shipment of our household goods from the storage in the Desert to the Deep South. When I saw the ginormous trailer, I was worried that we had so much stuff, but luckily the trailer was less than 2/3 full. (Still that's a lot of stuff...)

We have moved quite a few times in the past 15 years but this was our first time using a mover. It was nice I did not have to do any heavy lifting.

A ramp makes a huge difference.

Halfway through and still jam packed.

When we moved from the South to the Desert, we had to store our household goods in Pods for a year because we couldn't sell our house and buy another house right away. The Pods was nice: we packed it ourselves and it got delivered on our door step when we moved into a house. The contents were clean and we just unpacked.

What is different this time is that our stuff sat in a storage unit for 2 years and 4 months. We got a good ol' cinder block storage unit that is not climate controlled. So everything got very dusty, literally, everything, even the the stuff that was in a box. Everything has thin layer of dust and grime.

So the unpacking has been a slow process. I have to wash everything if I can, or wipe them off every single item.

The house is a hot mess and my allergy has flared up from all the dust in the house. There are just so much stuff compared to what we had in the past 2 years so I'm a bit overwhelmed and trying to do KonMari and let things go if they don't spark joy anymore.

Today's goal is to finish the kitchen area so that I can start cooking a proper meal. Let's get to it.