Week eight of the My Favorite Art Museum series is here, and it's late again! Who would have guessed? I know I was surprised. (Or maybe not.)
This week's project is inspired by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's Japanese collection. While smaller than the Chinese and Indian collections, the Japanese collection includes a variety of beautiful kimonos, screens, pottery, household objects, and other works.
Unfortunately, the Japanese gallery was closed on the day I was there to take photos, so I don't have photos for the Refashion Co-op post. My blog includes the inspiration photos from the Nelson's collection, but they were taken by other people, so I didn't want to use them here. (Except for the "after" photo at the bottom.)
I decided to make a kimono, and with that plan in mind I dug into my stash to find a silk robe my granny sent me earlier this year.
With love from Granny.
She had picked it up at a thrift store because she loved the colorful prints (Can you blame her??) but the robe never hung comfortably, so she passed it on to me thinking I could give it a new life.
Got to love these prints.
Not wanting to let Granny down, I got to work. The robe was a bit too long for my short legs, so I shortened the the robe and the lining.
Shorten and sew.
Then I moved on to the arms, unstitching the seams of the sleeves.
Undone sleeves.
It was at this point I learned that I hate working with silk. Hate it with the passion that only 1,000 scowly faces can accurately portray.
After much frustration, I decided that remaking long, billowy kimono sleeves weren't worth it crucial to this project, and went with wide, straight sleeves instead.
Redone sleeves.
With this week's project finally complete, it was time for some much deserved coffee.
At the Window (A Watched Pot Never Brews)
I think the bright, cheery patterns of the silks pair nicely with the old gray knee socks. Don't you?
There are only a couple weeks left of the series, and I'm going to try to avoid sleeves if at all possible. Don’t forget to tune in next week, and remember, please don’t touch the art.
- Elizabeth
Now blogging at www.TheHungryOctopus.com!
4 comments:
I love all the fabrics! Can't blame your Granny one bit for snatching up that puppy. And that last pic of you at the window looks like a magazine!
I would have snatched that robe up too. Granny has awesome taste. I love the changes you made. The robe looks much better with them. I love this series and will hate to see it come to an end.
Craftymomma
You made that look so sweet! What an awesome find, and that last pic is just lovely!
Thanks everyone! It's been a fun series so far.
- Elizabeth
aka The Hungry Octopus
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