And so it begins....

[gurdymonkey]

Now I've got to wait for this section to dry before shifting to the next.....

EDIT: For those not up to speed, the design was inspired by an early 17th century tsuba. I think I'm going to skip the cherry blossoms. Not that they're not lovely, but they connote a specific season. If I leave them off, this garment will be seasonless and I can wear it when I like.

The back of the kosode is stencilled and I will finish tomorrow. The light up here in the garret is pretty much gone for the day and it's hard to see the metallic paint against the shimmery silk (this photo does NOT do it justice) under my work light.

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Thanks to danabren  for the special surprises I found in my mailbox today.
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Random Christmas memories of some of those must have toys of my childhood, 'cause those Chinese hamster things are just kind of creepy.

Anybody here old enough to have played with Ideal's Petite Princess doll house? The house itself was cardboard sheathed in vinyl, but the furniture was pretty amazing. Pink satin bedroom suite, including a chaise longue, White piano and grandfather clock, red "velvet" flocked dining room  pieces. 

My younger sister collected trolls. I seem to recall they had some sort of house too.

Fun Flowers and Creepy Crawlers?  I'm kind of surprised we never managed to burn ourselves or the rest of the house down.

We went through all the classic board games too. Candyland. Sorry, Parcheesi, Life. Monopoly. And of course Moustrap. What was not to love about Mousetrap!