I'm back!

Oh hi! I'm back from a wonderful three week vacation in South America, where I saw beautiful scenery and animals, met some wonderful people, and accomplished a major personal goal (note: if you are thinking of hiking the Inca Trail, I recommend training on a stair master - I'm not as fit as I thought I was!). Although I saw many handicrafts, I was hoping to bring home some textiles for my sewing but I don't like using animal-based fabrics, and most of their fabric is made with alpaca wool. The whole trip was very well organized and I experienced no problems. We had a bit of rain (it was the end of the rainy season), but otherwise it was warm and sunny.

Here's a rundown of my itinerary:

Day 1: Arrived in Lima, where I stayed in the Miraflores district, an upper-middle class area with lots of parks, restaurants, shopping, and bars. The Miraflores area was quite nice and I felt safe. Downtown Lima has some interesting architecture but I didn't feel as safe there (probably shouldn't have been walking around by myself, a young-looking pale-skinned tattooed woman drew a bit of attention).
Day 2: Flight to Cuzco. Our hotel was a few blocks from the main square. I really liked Cuzco and felt very safe there. Lots of handicraft shopping.
Day 3: Travel to Ollantaytambo/Sacred Valley/Pisac. Visited some Inca ruins, handicraft markets, and a local cemetery. Adjusted to the higher altitude in preparation for the Inca Trail.
Day 4-7: Hiking the Inca Trail. Trekked 80km over 3.5 days - 3 nights of camping and no showers (although each morning a porter would bring us hot tea and a bucket of hot water for washing up). Day 1 wasn't too bad, a nice sunny day and we saw Inca ruins along the way. Day 2 was the most difficult, reaching the peak ("Dead Woman's Pass") at 4200m mid-afternoon. Day 3 rained all day, which made the descent a bit tricky because the stones were very slippery (I fell a few times). Day 4 we woke at 3:30am in order to line up to finish the trail and enter Machu Picchu. The rest of Day 4 was spent exploring Machu Picchu and returning to Cuzco. The challenge of the trek was worth it, to be above the clouds in the cloud forest and to see Machu Picchu was truly stunning. For the hike, we employed 25 porters, 3 guides and 2 cooks, who were all incredible. We were well fed and taken care of. The porters carried all our camping gear and food, and would race ahead of us to set up camp before we arrived.
Day 8: Back in Cuzco.
Day 9-10: In the Amazon Rainforest. Stayed in a really neat lodge (no electricity or hot water!) and saw plenty of birds and monkeys. Visited a shaman to learn about natural medicine.
Day 11: Back in Lima. Our remaining group went on a city tour and to a dinner show (La Dama Juana) in Miraflores.
Day 12: Flight from Lima to Quito. By the time we arrived in Quito it was too late to do anything other than going out for dinner.
Day 13-17: Stayed on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and visited different islands in the Galapagos. It was very hot and I got a bad sunburn but it was worth it! Fortunately, did not get motion sickness on the boat. The food was fantastic and we had a good balance of day excursions on the islands and rest time.
Day 13: Baltra and Santa Cruz (main inhabited island) islands. Visited the Darwin Research Centre. Really enjoyed the tortoise and iguana breeding centres, and went shopping in the port town of Puero Ayora.
Day 14: Floreana island. Visited Post Office Bay and Punta Cormorant. Went snorkeling for the first time ever - one of the highlights of my trip.
Day 15: Espanola island. Saw plenty of birds, went snorkeling, visited an iguana breeding ground and albatross breeding ground.
Day 16: Santa Fe island. Saw plenty of land iguanas, a bachelor sea lion colony, and cacti. Went snorkeling again.
Day 17: Travel back to Quito.
Day 18: Departed Quito and had a long journey back to Toronto, almost missed my connecting flight in Miami because of being flagged at customs.

You can take a look at my pictures here (I still have 3 rolls of film and an underwater camera to develop).

On Vacation!

Tomorrow I leave for a three week vacation to South America, the first vacation I've had in over ten years. I'll be going to Ecuador and Peru, including the Galapagos Islands, the Sacred Valley, hiking the Inca Trail, Machu Picchu and the Amazon jungle... very excited! It will be a hectic trip but the mental and physical challenge will be good for me. I'm planning on taking lots of pictures - digital and film - and am particularly looking forward to seeing Machu Picchu and to visit the craft markets. My Etsy shops are in vacation mode and will re-open when I return. See you in three weeks!

Two new tops for spring

Over the past week I was able to sew two new spring tops for myself. This will probably be the last bit of sewing I do for a while, as in about two weeks I leave for a three week vacation to South America, the first trip I've been on in over ten years!



This white top is #44 from the Japanese sewing book "Natural Fabric Summer Clothes & Goods". The fabric is a linen I found in the remnants bin at Fabricland, costing me about $12 to make. I pretty much stuck to the pattern and didn't make any alterations. It was a quick sew - from cutting out the pattern to the very finish I think it only took about two hours.

This blue tunic is dress "I" from the Japanese pattern book "Stylish Dress Book". I shortened it to make it a top rather than a dress. It was fairly simply to make and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Productive week-end

For some reason I haven't been feeling very creative lately and it's been a month or so since I've sewn anything. Over the week-end I decided to work on some UFOs and get started on new projects. I was able to finish two skirts and cut out patterns for two new tops for spring.

This skirt used to be a strapless sundress I found in a second-hand shop some time last year, but I didn't like the top, so I cut it off then re-positioned the waistband and zipper:



This skirt was one of those long prairie-type dresses and was too long, so I simply shortened it and added an elastic waistband:



Feels good to get those done! Now I'm working on two spring tops which I'm hoping to finish before I leave for vacation in three weeks.

Zippster now at Wisedaughters!

I'm very excited and pleased to announce that a selection of my goods are now available at Wisedaughters Craft Market in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood. The store features a variety of handmade items by local artisans and they also put on workshops and other events. The Junction neighbourhood is full of fantastic boutiques and cafes, I suggest a visit this part of the city if you've never been.

New saris for Blythe

Finally finished three new Indian saris for Blythe dolls for my Blythe Etsy store. I purchased a bunch of silk sari remnants from Toronto's Little India neighbourhood a while ago but hadn't had a chance to make the saris until now. Sales in my Blythe Etsy shop have been slow and I didn't see much need to be adding new items, but I did actually sell out of the saris, they are one item that seems to sell well.



I'm really happy with these, I paid special attention in choosing coordinating trim for the cropped tops and used a metalllic thread to add even more sparkle. Available now in my store.

Tunic

I finished this tunic over the Christmas holidays, it's tunic A from the Japanese pattern book "Stylish Dress Book." What should have been a very easy project wasn't: I failed to notice that the pattern called for a gathered neckline, which I hate, so it ended up being too big. I opted to put in darts instead, and it turned out OK. Also, I used a size too big and had to take it in a lot, but I had already made the side slits (a variation on the pattern). I'm still not 100% happy with it and may go back and fix the side seams.



For the top stitch I used a metallic thread and had a lot of problems with the thread breaking. I've used metallic thread before without problem so I'm not sure what the difference was this time. After some research I discovered that a special needle should be used, so I had to go out and buy new needles... but now I know.