It all seems to be quite a delicate matter. One square centimetre of your body that you can’t use, and you know it pretty well. One square millimetre misplaced, and you see it.
It matters when you’re trying to sew a kimono together
A surgeon certainly knows that too. The surgeon who sewed my finger together last November told me that it was a good thing that my finger was still connected to the rest by one blood vessel, because otherwise it would have been game over.
Well, how big is a blood vessel in your finger anyway? A millimetre or two maybe? I do have respect for surgeons, it seems like a huge fiddling job to sew all those millimetres of blood vessel, muscle, tissue, skin, tendon, bone back together.
He did a great job, that’s not the point, but I still notice that my finger doesn’t quite work anymore.
For example, when I’m writing a blog. No more 10-finger blind typing, but be careful not to make mistakes with those nine fingers that are still there. It can’t bend anymore, so it’s basically useless. And you don’t realize what your index does for you before it stops working!
Sewing a kimono together was the same last week
Most of it is of course making miles. The long seams and hems are not such a problem, but there are more of nasty corners in a kimono than you think. Especially at the collar and at the sleeves. Also a matter of millimeter work.
Jacqueline has been here a few times, and this is the second kimono she wanted. This one is for her sister, the first was for herself. Her sister is crazy about butterflies, so it had to be something with butterflies. We messaged back and forth a bit, and came up with this airy cotton, slightly coarsely woven fabric.
Nice fabric to sew, until you go off track, away from the thread direction
And you do want that sometimes, don’t you? Something has to be not straight somewhere; the world doesn’t consist of straight lines alone. (Yes, this is a slight hint at how the last elections turned out everywhere … I’m a bit worried about the upcoming portuguese municipal elections ….)
So I was grumbling a bit, sometimes about my finger, sometimes about the fabric. If I could just keep going on the serger (to make a nice finished sleeve, for example) then it would work, but then you have to be careful not to go off track. Thank the gods that you only need two sleeves in a kimono.
I had to take out a small piece of the collar and redo it, so that wasn’t too bad. It’s still on its way now. I’m curious what Jacqueline and her sister think of it. For me it was good practice for the rest of my nine-fingered life. By the way, I discovered a nice little shop in Soure, run by a group of artists, where you can drop off your work on consignment. More about that next time.
First let’s see what Jacqueline thinks of it. A second order is of course a good sign, isn’t it …
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We moved here in 2000 from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to the Termas-da-Azenha, Portugal.
A big step, especially with two small children.
We are busy to rebuild one of portugals cultural heirlooms: Termas-da-Azenha, an old spa which has been turned into several holiday houses, rooms and a campsite.
You’ll find mosaics and paintings everywhere.
Since 2018 we call ourselves the first B&B&B in the world – Bed & Breakfast & Bathrobes. You can buy a home-made unique bathrobe/housecoat with us.
Each week a little blog about what is happening around us. An easy read. A few minutes in another world. A little about what it going on in Portugal. If you plan your holiday to Portugal, it might be a nice preparation
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