Haha! I'm baaaaack...

It's been a crazy couple of months, but Middlebury was fantastic.　日本語が話せます！ w00t and all that good stuff. Lots of pics, lots of kimono, some bellydance ga arimasu yo!


My psychadelic rooster obi to the rescue!

and last but not least:

blurry, but a decent action shot- I'm isolating so well my head and torso are moving and anything from my hips down isn't (yeah I'm humble, I know :P)

A bad week on ebay....

I'm a horrible person.
Of course, I say this every time I have an ebay binge. It's not a real binge because I'm not going nuts and buying everything I think is remotely cute, but still, I feel a little crazy spending money at all.

I am so happy because my kitsuke book finally arrived here. It's Hiromi Ichida's book. My mom is so wonderful and said she will help me try my otaiko knot again this weekend and we can take some fancy pictures. I also promise to take a photo of my latest self-made bedlah.

What I bought this week was a haori for $9.96 (shipping included) which seems to be a cute dyed komon material made with a stencil. It's green and sweet.


Then I bought the most expensive book I've ever bought (aside from my Biology textbooks from college *shudder*). The book itself wasn't that expensive, but it's being shipped from Japan and it weighs 3000g. You get the idea. I had to have it because it's an art book about a Japanese woman artist who I had never heard of before. From the seller:

Uemura Shoen (b Kyoto, 23 April 1875; d Nara Prefect., 27 Aug 1949) became a member of the Imperial Art Academy in 1941, and in 1948. She was the first woman to receive the Order of Cultural Merit.

Maybe it was that feminist part of me that thought it was totally awesome that a woman in Japan actually received that high an honor. Or, it could just be also that she is a spectacular painter/printer (I'm not sure what she worked in yet).

OMG.

Ummm...

It's been brought to my attention that people actually read my blog once in a while.
Eek!
I've finally finished a bedlah I've been working on for about a year. I still need to make some accessories, but I think it is way hot.
I promise I will post pics soon. Maybe even with my Isis wings (although there's not enough room for me to really even dance with them).
I've kind of been in a dancing rut lately. This damned winter has slowed me down. My weight never fluctuates, but I think I've gained a pound or two- at least I'm slightly softer than I was.I guess it's just more to shimmy with!
The dance community here is so annoying. They invite me to class, but then act like they are this big established group and imediately make me feel like an outsider. Then I'm invited to a day of workshops where I have to pay $60 for all the classes if I actually want to dance in the gala show that night. There is no f-ing way I am taking some crazy lady's "Goddess Dance" workshop or taking technique classes from lame dancers (I've seen them dance- I don't want them telling me how to "polish my performance"). Sorry about the rant. It's just such a small community, but it still feels exclusive and annoying. The event organizer made me feel like she only wanted my money too. >_< No one was outright mean or anything, but when you say "I'm not interested in paying for classes I don't have any desire to take" the response that I should come and pay more money to them so I could sell stuff to other dancers was less than exciting...

My latest kimono experiment:

Argh!

I've been trying to finish my pink and orange bedlah, but it's taking longer than I would like. I just wish I could finish it, line it, and focus on the skirt and accessories.
I did score some perfect rhinestones oddly enough at Express. They had a huge sale and I found a crushed velvet vest with two strands of rhinestones edging the entire vest so about 4 or 5 feet of rhinestones!! All for $9. *drool*
My Isis wings have arrived but I need to get some plastic dowels to fit into the sides to make them gawgeous!
Pictures to come when I finish them.

Oooh! And I have a workshop I'm teaching at a nearby college. I'm nervous but excited at the same time.

My baby!

Not my best kitsuke experience ever (there's no pic of my obi for a reason- I had to do a taiko musubi since I couldn't figure out any decent bows for fukuro obi) but I am proud of my low collar. I put a chukara nuno (sp?) on the juban which makes it sooooo easy to get a nice girly low neckline (that and a collar stiffiner). I also made my own han eri. I used Fraise's instructions for both on her webpage (Fraise you are a goddess!).
I love love love love my furisode. Can you see the shibori accents on the black flowers?! The rinzu weave?!
**sigh**

My furisode is here!!!

I want to put her on now!!! I don't have a furisode juban so I might have to go all ghetto and use a regular juban. I also need to learn how to tie my fukuro obi!
It is gorgeous. There's gold embroidery, gold foil or resin, yuzen, and shibori. I am in love. It works with my obi and it even fits. How can this be??
**Runs off to grab kitsuke stuff**

I'm a horrible person.

I won a furisode off ebay (very reasonable I might add). Of course this means I'll need a furisode juban. At least I have a fukuro obi that should work (have to learn to tie that too). Spending money on kimono begets more money spending. Dammit.