Masayo's Stories

What would be a formal dress to you?  I have an opportunity to go to a cultural event this week and was wondering what formal dress to wear for the event.  Something elegant but a little unique.  This dress is one of my oldest designs I ever made about 20 years ago.  I lost the pattern during the flood in 2011. So we recreated the pattern this week.  It's not exactly the same as my original one but I am pretty happy with the result.  Even though the design was from 20 years ago I still think this is a...

How many people have gone through this place? How many emotions were experienced? So many stories were created here and played out. We were tricked and surprised, sad and joyful. We laughed and laughed and we cried. Years have passed, and now we have moved on. We relocate to something new.  We grew up and left this city.Newcomers walk the streets of this town.And they come through this place.The sprite fairy has stayed and watched them all.She becomes sentimental and emotional sometimes, but then laughs.140 years later, the little sprite fairy is still here.She doesn't change.She will never change.  ...

During this latest lockdown in Brisbane, we had another clean up at my home.  It felt like our place is growing and accumulating too many things over time.  We have two teenagers in my family, my son wanted more space in his room.  Our son just turned 15 and has started to be more conscious about his look more than anything. He started to spend more time in front of the mirror trying to get his curtain fringe perfect.  He added new T-shirts and pants that he bought from op shops and quietly stole from his sister's wardrobe and placed into his own draws. (As his...

My grandma turned 103 years old the other day.I haven't seen my family for almost 2 years now, but feel like I haven't seen them for more than decades. These days my grandma wakes up for a short time everyday. When my grandma wakes up, she makes sure that my mum is near her and my grandma seems happy. They have a routine life that is very simple and slow in the countryside of my hometown.I sometimes wonder if it may be one of the happiest times of their lives where they don't have to worry about anything any more....

When they were little, my children used to be interested in everything that I used to do. Cooking, cleaning, crafting or sewing, anything I did they used to follow me all day long. It often made achieving anything a slow process. I miss that time very much.  These days my teens are not interested in anything that I do.  I feel a bit empty sometimes.  My eldest one is going to be 17 this year and she is slowly changing towards me, showing some vague interest in my projects. I wonder if my daughter will be interested in sewing with me this year?  I have...

You can dance and you can fight You can be darkness or light Stand out or hide Receive extra strength or disguise your weakness Be in the tribe or you can be a loner Whatever you wish, you can hold the magic.

Softer than the Autumn bush rain and deeper than the calm night sea.  Gracing the hidden streets of this town, the Etched Wichelen knows countless secrets Like Obsidian silk overlaid on the divine patterned skin, every mark tells a tale of the past and possible futures. Shades of midnight ink are her incantation - read, spoken, sung or chanted, they hint at true power and elegance. Amulets and sigils lead her way, casting shadows of ancestral magic. Listen closely as the Etched Wichelen has many things to impart, though, these tails are not for the faint of heart.

HINAMATSURI - CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL On the 3rd of March in Japan, we celebrate and pray for young girls' growth and happiness. (boy's day is 5th May) There are sets of dolls of emperor and empress, three court ladies, musicians and ministers to celebrate the festivals.  When I was little, my parents used to set up and display the 9 levels of red shelves with those dolls. It takes almost a half day to set it up for about 1 week.  When my children were younger we were going to bring those Japanese traditional dolls into Australia and celebrate the day and...

I still remember my grandfather's tattoos. When I was a little girl, I saw the tattoos on his back when he was having a bath. It was the first time and the last time in my memory of my grandfather's tattoo. I was so shocked. But they were mesmerizingly beautiful. I didn't know the real meaning of the tattoos at that time but I knew it was something I was not supposed to see nor ask him about even when I was a little girl. My grandfather was a very gentle man and was always very soft to me and...