My Christmas Holiday Adventures - The Journey Down.

My Christmas holiday is nearly over and soon it will be back to the real world.

My holiday began on the 19th December as it was the day I began my long drive back home. I had concerns that the weather in Essex would prevent me from getting home safely. The last thing I wanted to happen was be stuck in a Travelodge due to snow. Which you would all know has been the only news in the UK for the first weeks of December.

However Essex had no snow forecasted and heard the motorways should be clear. If there were going to be any roads clear then it would be the M1 and M25 so we should be fine. To be on the safe side, we got my partner's mother to keep us updated on weather around the Essex area.

As we drove down the M1, the motorway was indeed free of traffic until we reached Milton Keynes where the recent snowfall turned the M1 into a slush pit. The traffic was slow which is to be expected. Dangerous driving conditions equals cautious driving but there were stupid people who clearly didn't see the danger of driving fast on ice and just carried on driving as if it was normal weather.

I know I'm a nervous driver but when you see the outer lane on the M1 covered in snow, what clever spark would think "hmmm that looks like a good place to drive at 60mph". We only needed one idiot to lose control and that is it, M1 is closed for god knows how long. Fortunately nothing bad happened. Nothing like a bit of paranoia to keep one on edge.

Our plan was to stop off at Milton Keynes for a break and to change drivers but the snow prevented us so we stopped at the service station just before the Milton Keynes junction. I wonder how much anti-freeze the station sold because all I saw in the carpark was everyone pouring the stuff into their engine. Clearly these people didn't listen to the news and didn't hear of the recent snowfall and were caught out. Not a problem for us of course as my car was all prep for snowy weather.

After eating our lunch we set off again. It was slow but progress was made and and before long we were on the M25. Once we were on the M25, I knew we were nearly home probably another 1.5-2 hours the most.

It was boring, I hate motorway driving because it is boring and you get mad people who just zoom past you as if you are stationary. Some people need to slow down!

It took in total 5 hours of driving but at least we got home and only used £25 worth of petrol.

So what plans do I have for Christmas? Well the first thing on my list was to begin writing lists of things to do and ask for my wedding. Second, meet with my wedding co-ordinator at the Roslin Hotel where I was going to get married. Third, decide what to do about my job situation for the New Years, as much as I love kanzashi making it is just not bringing in the money and I have the tough task of finding a job in the new year. Fourth, try to keep my mother and father happy so they don't feel like they are losing a daugther, Fifth, sort out the remaining etsy descriptions for my kanzashi that I wish to sell. And finally, try to relax which is easier said then done.

Busy Weekend - Part two KDJ UK

Waking up on a dark Saturday morning isn't easy and this Saturday was no exception but I must get up. For one thing, I am not sleeping in my own bed and I had to get ready for Kimono de Jack UK get together at Birmingham Christmas Market.

Once again, plans were made to arrive at Birmingham New Street train station at 11.00 but we took our time having breakfast which meant getting ready was delayed and we missed the intended train. Nevermind, there was another train and in the end we were only half an hour late.

At the station we met up with our fellow kimono friends and off we went to tackle the market!

Wow it was busy, I know that Christmas is just round the corner and everyone was feeling very festive but the crowds were unbelievable. Putting this aside, there was so much to see and eat! I could happy go from one food stall to the next eating but I know that would be bad for my health and finance. So I did a lot of window shopping and thinking "hmmm that looks yummy!".

Now this is a German Christmas Market and one can not go to such a large Christmas market without going to the grilled sausage stall. So we all shuffled our way to purchase a nice grilled sausage in a ridiculously small roll. Very traditional since that is how they sell them in Germany. After demolishing that, it was dessert which was a nice waffle with cherries and cream. Again this was polished off very quickly as I am a sucker for a nice waffle. Hmmmm should I purchase a waffle pan I wonder??

Here is our little group. There are no pictures of us eating because that would be unflattering and all of us were eating which is far more important then pictures.

We thought this was an ideal time to take photos so here are some more.

Feeling somewhat stuffed and in need to get away from the crowd, we thought a visit to see the Staffordshire Hoard was in order. We spend sometime wondering around taking in the history and art that was on offer, not to mention savouring the peace and quiet. Also another chance to take pictures. Here we saw the kimono that Liz was wearing, a kimono with lots and lots of dots. How resistible!

However we all needed to find a place to sit down and have a nice cuppa. Off to Cafe Rouge! And on the way we found Mr Alien joining in the festive cheer.

Now we were refreshed, one of us had to catch a train so we walked her back to the train station only to find out the train has been cancelled! Oh Virgin why did you do that? Knowing it will take some time to sort this out we said our goodbyes and off she went to find someone to tell her what to do.

The remaining group decided to commence shopping since we couldn't leave the market without something to show. I brought five doughnuts (or berliner) while Lyuba decided to get some freshly cooked dutch pancakes! Don't they look nice.

Then one of us remembered that there was a sweet shop called Cybercandy where you can buy all sort of sweets from other countries. We like discovering new and wonderful sweets so we minced our way to the shop and brought a load of them. I was still holding a box of doughnuts so I thought it was best that I didn't buy any sweets. Although if they had a particular type of chewy sweet which my partner enjoyed once in Canada then I would have probably brought some but I was saved.

By now it was 16.20 and although my train didn't leave until 18.03 I thought I would make my way to the train station with my friend from London. The others lived near Birmingham so it didn't matter what time they left.

Yep I waited at the train station for over an hour but at least I got on my train and managed to get my seat without too much hassle.

And folks, that was the third KDJ UK get together.

January 2011 is being arranged as I type and hopefully it will be announced on our facebook group soon.

If you are wondering about those five doughnuts that I brought, no I didn't take a photo of them because I forgot and yes they were very nice.

Busy weekend - Part one kimono demo

I have been hoping that the snow and ice would melt by last weekend so that my little trip to Birmingham was not hindered by the cold.

Well I made it to the train station on time and yep the train left on time however due to signalling issues between Sheffield and Derby I managed to be delayed by 10 minutes and missed my connecting train to Birmingham. Sigh...................................

So much for my careful planning.

However I got the next train which was a twenty minute later and then had a nice chat with a lady on the train which made the hour journey seem to disappear. Strange how a conversation with a stranger makes a journey more enjoyable.

Arrived in Birmingham around 13.30 and found Hong (with her boyfriend) looking a bit tired. Well she has been ill for the past week so I'm not surprise. After another 20 minutes wait for the next train to Blake Street, we all arrived at April's house and accommodation for the night around 14.30.

She has two gorgeous shiba inu, Azuki and Cassey. Azuki was very laid back when we invade our friend's house however Cassey was a bit nervous but she eventually calmed down.

All we have to do now is wait for the remaining guest (Lyuba) to arrive, have a bite to eat and then off for the first event for the weekend.

ETA was 15.00 but when 15.00 came she still has not arrive. So we waited and waited until it was time for dinner. By now it was 17.00 and we were wondering what happened to her, did she get lost in the wilderness of the Midlands? Well we found out around 17.45, it appears she took a wrong turning and was lead astray by her satnav. One should never trust their satnav is the moral of the story.

Fortunately we still had time and after dinner we got our kimono and kitsuke-ware together for the journey back into Birmingham city centre for Birmingham Japan Society Christmas party and kimono demo.

You would have thought with all our adventures that this journey would be incident free but you are wrong. Being slightly unsure of the route we missed the turning however the mistake wasn't as bad as we thought and in the end, it turned out to be a nice if a somewhat unplanned detour to the Brasshouse Centre.

With plenty of time, we got ourselves dressed and by 19.00 we were all dressed and ready for the demo.

Here is Liz looking gorgeous in her green furisode with pretty butterflies.

Hong is sporting a hikizuri which has a co-ordinating dounuki. This made all of us drool because just look at it! The colour and patterns on it are amazing. However we had to fudge it a little because none of us had experience in putting on a hikizuri but Hong spent most the time sitting down so no one saw any mistakes. Lyuba decided not to change and instead become the photographer for night. Hmmm I wonder what pictures she managed to get?

It started off slow but it picked up and we even had two lovely ladies who were more then willing to try on kimono. They are the ones on the left and right, if you are wondering who is the one in the middle well that would be me. I never realised how long my hair has grown and how thick it is when plaited until I saw this photo.

We always enjoy meeting new people and as these two were so enthusiastic we told them about our Kimono de Jack UK get together for the following day. As they say, the more the merrier.

Well time flies when one is in good company and conversation and soon it was nearly 21.00 and we had to be gone by then or we would have been locked in. After exchanging mobile numbers with our two latest members to the the KDJ UK group we hastily packed up and made our way back to April's house for some sleep.

Its a little bit cold here.

Well the UK certainly has been having interesting weather for the last few days.

We have snow and of course with the snow we been having all sorts of power and traffic problems. Not that I have been experiencing them because I don't work and as I live in the city centre, power is pretty stable. However it is cold.

The good thing (or bad thing depending on your outlook) is that I have enough snow to build Bob the Snowman on my balcony.

Does he look great!

He isn't that big by the way, I have a finite amount of snow although it is suppose to carry on snowing today so maybe he will have a friend.

And finally "Cotton Tail" is finished

Back in August I made a lovely white kusudama from cotton fabric that Hong gave me.

Well I have sat on it for ages (not literally by the way) without finishing it off but on Saturday night I decided that enough was enough, it had to be completed.

What do you think? I didn't want the surrounding features to be too busy since the kusudama was complicated as it is but I wanted some sort of strand to drape/hang from it.

I am going to have a hard time letting this one go!

Second Kimono de Jack - Camden

Finally after a month waiting the day has come, the second Kimono de Jack in Camden!

Last time we achieved a total of 5 kimono wearers but this time it appeared we had 8 attending. Excellent our rank grows bigger!

So how did my day go? It started off so well, I got up at 07.00 and began to get ready but somehow my hair was not playing ball and by the time I was ready it was 08.15. In theory enough time to get to the train station but it wasn't and I just missed my train. Oh f$%k!

As you may have guessed I was very annoyed but my partner offered to pay the single train ticket to London for me (which cost £59) and reassured me that it wasn't a problem. So after a bit more reassurance from my partner and being told to enjoy myself, off I got on the train to London.

I have nothing to report about the train journey it was a two hour and 20 minute journey where nothing of interest happened. I mean nothing. Thank god for books and ipod or I would have died of boredom.

The train pulled in around 11.20 and I minced my way to the Northern Line to get the tube to Chalk Farm. That was the easy part, now comes the hard part, locating the Keiko Tea bar in Stable Market. I had a rough idea of where this tea bar was situated but getting there from tube station wasn't as easily as it sounds. There was no signpost to say "This way to Stables Market" so I just headed in the direction that I thought was right. After a few worrying minutes I saw the sign of Stables Market and found the tea bar but no kimono friends.

No they haven't run off, they just wandered to find some toilets and after using the the wonders of a mobile phone I found them. After a few more minutes Elizabeth turned up and we are up to 6 people. Woo hoo one more then last time and we still had one more member to turn up but that will be for lunch.

Now that we are all together we can sample the delights that Keiko Tea Bar has to offer.

So much to choose from but I chose a nice cooling iced lemon and ginger tea. There were cakes as well but I had to refuse since a couple of nights ago I went out for a curry and I didn't want to pig out too much. It was a very nice refreshing tea with the lemon definitely hitting all the right taste buds. YUMMY!

Here is Hong's Matcha latte

And Tegan's hot tea (I can't remember what she brought) with a tasty looking matcha cupcake.

We all decided to sit seiza way which for us was a challenge. I cheated by placing a cushion between my feet and my bum so that I wasn't sitting directly on feet but eventually I began to lose feeling in my toes after a couple of hours.

Of course gave me some interesting photos!

And of course Hong decided to take it easy when things were hurting.

During our tea break we were join by Sapporo who turned up to pick up some calligraphy brushes from April. It is a shame he will be leaving in February 2011 but hopefully we can organise another get together.

We were enjoying the tea bar so much that time flew and soon it was 13.15 and we had a lunch reservation at Sen Nin for 14.00 somewhere. Therefore we finished our drinks and off we went to the restaurant. It didn't appear to look far on the map and I am sure it was only a short walk but it seem to take awhile to get there. Not to mention it wasn't visible from the main road so when we turned into Pratt Street we started to wonder whether Sen Nin actually existed. However we found it and it was very nice indeed. We were the only customers in the restaurant but this was good as it meant we could carry on with our conversations.

We all chose something from their lunch menu, I chose the chicken katsu which was breaded fried chicken and it came with some rice and miso soup. All very healthy and filling. Cynthia turned up after getting a little lost but that is the problem of giving directions in London when you don't live in London (apart from Hong but she doesn't know Camden).

So with our stomachs refuelled we tackled Camden and Stables market again. As we were walking around Stables Market looking for the Gothic Loilta we were asked by a passing photographer for some photos as he was taking them for a book about Camden. Wow what a photo opportunity! So we filled out his forms and got our pictures taken.

Unfortunately the light was failing and all my photos didn't turn out well. Hopefully the photographer will be kind enough to send me his set but I can wait.

After our little photo shoot it was time that April, Hong and I were off but between my own stupidity for the second time of the day I got confused and missed the train to St Pancras. As such I missed my train for the second time!

Yes I was panicking and worrying like a manic and I apologies to April and Hong for my very silly outburst but sometimes I get very wound up by my own thoughts. Maybe I need some anti-anxiety pills or something!

Following April's advice I asked East Midland staff if they could put me on the next train and the very nice girl said yes. Phew my card was spared another day!

I eventually got home 1 hour later then planned and even thought I wore my boots my feet still hurt! Why can't I find a pair of shoes that I can walk around in for more then 6 hours? I don't think trainers will got with any kimono so I better get looking for extra comfy shoes.

So that is another Kimono de Jack wrapped up.

I hope you all are all excited about the next one because this time we are branching out into Birmingham! There will be lots of lovely Christmas goodies to try so I better find an extra long obi.

Another Kimono de Jack has happened!

It has been a very long day but very enjoyable until I got near a train!

Anyway all details will be posted tomorrow. Now I am going to destroy stuff on GTA4.

Second Kimono de Jack Tomorrow

I can't help it that I'm excited about tomorrow. There is nothing better then wearing kimono and meeting a load of people who are also wearing kimono.

Tomorrow will probably be cold so it is time to be creative ones accessories. Clearly gloves and scarf will be needed but I think my ear muffs will be necessary as well. As for shoes, hmmmm I don't think my toes can cope with such cold temperatures so I'll be wearing my tan coloured boots. This way I can wear some nice thick socks and no one will know (apart from you the reader).

I am torn between wearing my cape or ama coat. Cape is heavy but short so my legs will have no protection. My ama coat is long but thin. Maybe I need a longer cape, hmmm something to buy in the future or possibly make if I ever get a sewing machine.

Kawaski Orchestra Take two!

So Saturday's night performance was lovely but I took rubbish photos which I am going to blame on the lighting in the room.

Therefore I don another kimono and made my way to their second performance in Sheffield at the Winter Gardens. This time it was the middle of the day and in a lovely bright inner city botanical garden.

I didn't mention this before but the reason why the orchestra is in Sheffield is because Kawaski and Sheffield were celebrating 20 years partnership and the Mayor of Kawaski is in the above photo (he is the one standing in the middle).

The ladies insisted that I had my photo taken with them, how could I refuse such lovely ladies.

I went a little overboard with the photographing so here is a link to my flickr page

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kittykanzashi/sets/72157625225657387/

There is also a video of one of the dancer performing.

Enjoy!

Mini Candy Craft Stall

So the Elsecar Art and Craft fair was a little disappointing but one must try to be positive or you will never get anywhere!

Onwards to the next stall and it was the Mini Candy Craft Stall.

Candy Craft is a Sheffield based craft group who work together to promote Sheffield crafter and I have been trying to get a stall at one of their events for a while and this time I succeeded.

So the event started at 13.00 but I had to get there around 12.15 to secure a decent table. Ideally I would have wanted one which was next some nice comfy seats but I couldn't and therefore I chose a table that would allow customers to view it from both sides.

The organiser grabbed me a chair so I didn't need to spend the whole time standing up.

Again was it a success? Hmm this is becoming a bit of a curse for me these fairs but no it was not good. No sales again and only a few of my cards were taken this time.

I am beginning to feel that my little creations need a different market. I think my larger pieces would be great for occasion wear but how does one enter such a market?

Kawasaki Orchestra Concert

Well Facebook has certainly been very handy in this case because I only got to know about this concert on Thursday and it was happening on the Saturday. At a price of only £1 it was a bargain to good to let go.

In addition it is another chance to don my kimono.

I decided to wear the same purple/pink komon that I wore to the first Kimono de Jack UK a couple of weekends ago but I of course changed my obi. This time the obi I choose was a lovely black one with various mon on it. It is a little bit fragile so as this was going to be a short concert and I'm not going very far, I thought this seem to be the most ideal time to wear it.

Here is the outfit!

Not bad kitsuke for 20minutes and I'm loving the new elastic koshihimo that Hong gave me. My kimono stayed in place and I was nice and comfortable.

Here is a picture of the taiko.

and another closeup of the front.

So off I go to Bar One which is one of the student bars near the university. It was strange to be walking through Sheffield in full kimono especially on a Saturday night but no nasty comments which is good.

It was only a 10 minute mince for me but once I got there I saw the strangest sight. An empty student bar! I couldn't figure it out at the time as I was more concerned in finding the lounge that the concert was being held so the fewer people at the bar the better. It turns out it wasn't hard to find and we were actually early so we had a quick little drink and watched the Ireland v South Africa rugby match on big screen.

Hmmm I'm never a sport fan but if I had to watch one sport then it would be rugby. At least you feel that the players are earning the right amount of money for their sport unlike football but that is just one of my many pet hates (we will go into it another time!).

So the minutes disappeared as did my drink but eventually they got ready and we could go in. I paid my £2 to the guy (the other person who came with me was my partner) and we took our seats. Why is it that I always end up being the only person wearing a kimono at these events. One day this will get me into trouble!

I wish I knew more about traditional Japanese music but I don't but it was lovely to hear the koto and shakuhachi being played. They did a couple of Beatles songs as well which was amusing however I feel the koto sounds a lot better when it is playing music that has been composed for a koto.

There was also some traditional dancing as well but I couldn't get any pictures of him as my camera was useless at taking moving people.

Then the dancer wanted some audience participation in the bon odori dance. Do you remember me saying that wearing a kimono will get me into trouble, well the dancer noticed me and asked me to join in. How could I refuse? The man has travelled all this way so I had to didn't I.

It wasn't too bad until the tempo increased but it was soon over.

After the dancing there was a question and answer session but only one question was asked and it was whether they were playing again in Sheffield. The answer was yes, at the winter garden on Tuesday.

Questions over, it was offically over the concert but I couldn't go away without getting a group photo.

I got a glowing reception from these lovely ladies who were complementing my kimono and kitsuke skill. I was equally admiring their kimono and I wanted to get closeup of them but it seemed a little rude to do so.

I love the lady at the back playing with some sort of bamboo mat. During the concert she gave a mini demonstration of something the merchants use to do to make extra money. I was useless at guessing what she was trying to do but the bamboo mat looked fun. She is the sort of grandmother that would always make you laugh with her childish behaviour.

Also during this time, one of the koto players was allowing the audience to play twinkle, twinkle little star on her koto. I should have done it but I didn't have the guts anyway I have already spend 4 hours running a mini candy craft stall at Bear and Bungalow so I was feeling pretty tired.

Anyway, I plan to see them again on Tuesday in kimono again and hope to get better photos.

Wish me luck!

Elsecar Art and Craft Fair

After the (sort of) success of Art in the Garden, I thought I would give another Art and Craft fair a go to see if I would have better success.

This time it was the Art and Craft Fair at Elsecar Heritage Centre in Elsecar.

It was a very pleasant drive to Elsecar I have to say with very little traffic although why do they keep changing the speed limit along an A road beats me. My boyfriend and I spent most of the time wondering whether to do 30mph, 35mph, 40mph, 50mph or 60mph. Really which speed limit would you like us to obey? When it is 30mph, we had cars whizzing past us as if it is 60mph but we were pretty sure that it is 30mph due to the road sign with 30 in a big red circle we saw a few seconds ago. Other road users are the biggest threat to me and my car.

Enough of this rant on driving back to the fair.

It was situated at a lovely little place called Elsecar Heritage Centre which has craft shops and its own private little train yard. The fair was in one of buildings on-site named Building 21 and after looking aimlessly for a few minutes for the organisers, I managed to located my table.

So what was on offer at the fair? We had the usual array of jewellery, craved wood, cakes, cards and knitted item stalls but there was also some other such as lace demo stall which look very interesting but one doesn't need another hobby and a cute little stall (which happened to be behind me) selling stuffed toys.

I have to say that once again that I was the one offering the most unusual thing for sale and I lost count of the number of time people said "oh that is pretty and unusual". Which I will take as being a nice comment (well I hope they were being nice!)

Oh you wouldn't believe it but my boyfriend here is working hard on this paper in this photo!

No really, he is working! Just look at the concentration here, he didn't even notice his picture being taken.

Anyway here are some other pictures of my stall.

So was it an overwhelming success? To put it bluntly, no it was not.

Several people took my business cards but I only made one sale. I think it was the "made to order" sign that put people off and also the price because one lady was very interested but as soon as a mentioned the price she recoiled away from my stall. I think some of the people really don't know how much work goes into one of these little flowers and when you tell them, you get this look of disbelief. Oh well, you live and learn.

I have managed to gain another stall this coming weekend on the 6th November at the mini Candy Craft fair at the Bear and Bungalow in Sheffield city centre on Division Street. Hopefully the city population will be more interested in my ware.

What a lovely message

Woke up this morning and found this lovely email from my etsy inbox.

Hi there Ms. kittykanzashi!

I wanted to send you this message sooner but I don't have Internet at home. I received my order in the mail on Friday afternoon, all well and fine.

My little kanzashi pins are so lovely. The pattern on the kimono fabric is better than I hoped. And I love the dangling beads. You do good work. And the little stars you included was very thoughtful; I can see you're for customer satisfaction as well as hand-making your art.

Thank you so much for sending me my order. Again, please forgive how late this reply is.

Kindly,

K

That can't help but put you in a good mood for the day even when the weather forecast for the day is rain.

Its Monday already!

I had a very busy but thoroughly enjoyable weekend because on Saturday, the first official Kimono de Jack UK took place in London.

After getting up a 07.00 and taking an hour to get dressed, I took the 08.27 train to London. Since it was so earlier, there wasn't many people out and about in Sheffield so I didn't notice any adverse reactions. Then again, seeing someone wearing a kimono is hardly the most eye-catching thing if one is living near a university.

Anyway, got to London at 10.30 roughly and went straight to the tube. Getting the tube wearing a kimono is always fun. You can occasionally catch the odd look from the other passengers who have this confused look on their faces. After getting off at Charing Cross, I made my way to Trafalgar Square, the tube station was signposted nicely however when I got to the surface I had no idea which way to go. Should I go left or right? So I decided to walk towards the biggest building that I could see which lucky for me was the National Gallery and in front of the gallery was Elizabeth (with her husband) and Lyuba.

Hong arrived a few minutes later because she went to Piccadilly Circus instead. Oh well, one can be forgetful after feeling ill and going to a concert the night before.

We waited for another 30 minutes because Lyuba mentioned that someone else would be turning up. During this time we took photos and had a good chat then as we were chatting away we noticed another soul in kimono. Surely this was our mysterious guest the Lyuba mentioned and she was!

After the usual introductions and more photos we went inside the National Gallery but we didn't stay for long because it was far too warm for us and Hong and I were not art lovers. Instead we headed for the nearest Starbucks since Lyuba was desperate for a coffee which was fine for all of us as we needed a place to have a seat down. Especially me, since my rain zori were hurting my feet.

After our little coffee break, we went to Japan Centre for a little bit of food shopping. I ended up buying a little grater for garlic and ginger and some wasabi peas (exciting I know!). Then off to Whittards of Chelsea on the same road as Japan Centre since Lyuba needed another tea fix (I think she has a tea addiction).

By this time it was around 14.00 and we were feeling a little peckish and our feets were tired but we couldn't come to London and not go into Minamoto Kitchen. Everything in that store looks all too good to eat especially the jellies.

Now we were feeling very peckish and even more tired so off we went to So Restaurants. Not sure why I suggested this restaurant, probably because it was close to Piccadilly Circus and reasonable priced. We were not disappointed in anyway, food was very nice and we were sat at the best table I have seen in ages. We were even joined by April and her husband, Kevin.

After our late lunch I had to be off because my train was 16.55 but not before some more photos for April and Kevin. Why did East Midland had to charge more for the 17.55 train!

So as Tegan and I were off to get the tube, the rest of them went off for some more shopping and the traditional Haagen Daz.

I tell you what, I was feeling very stiff the following morning because my zori had made me walk in a weird way so my poor calf muscles were stiff. I'm still feeling the pain today!

Anyway onwards to 13th November for the 2nd Kimono de Jack but this time in sensible footwear!

For photos of the day you will need to see April's and Lyuba's album on facebook.

First Kimono de Jack UK tomorrow!

What an exciting day it will be tomorrow. Not only I will be seeing my friends in London for a good chat and lunch but it will be the first Kimono de Jack UK event.

Started up by Lyuba, we are both trying to organise events for kimono lovers in the UK to meet and wear their lovely kimono. We both feel that kimono should be worn everyday but it is hard to be the centre of attention for everyone so we are organising these meetings to encourage the inner kimono wearer.

Of course one has to take into account for weather and we are hoping that the weather in London will be dry and cool. Otherwise it will be ama coats and umbrella.

So what kimono am I going to wear! I thought it was time I began to wear my triplet kimono set which I won over a year ago. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw one auction on ebay for three different coloured kimono but with the same pattern. Just had to have it!

I decided to choice the lavender/lilac one

and then team it with my re-decorated striped obi

I haven't decided on the obi-jime or obi-age but I am thinking of pale blue since the kimono has shades of blue on the leaves.

I am very excited!