RAKUSU "SEW-A-LONG" with REV. TAIGU (2009)

[Shinko]

AH! My mistake!! Im on a roll of them tonight ;D

Gassho!

Cant be any worse than my roll.. I forgot my pine twig.. need to run to the store and sew!

~Gassho!

Linda...

[Igor]

I have received back panel and it is already in its place.
Thank you everybody for so many helpful hints on sewing.

Gassho, Igor

[Jikyo]

Hi everyone,

I am finally done with my sewing! With only 6.5 hours to spare

The completed Rakusu and detail for your viewing pleasure.





Looking forward to sharing in the ceremony with everyone.

Gassho, Jean

[jrh001]

Hi Jean,

Very nice! Those stitches align with perfect precision. The rakusu looked blue in the previous picture and now it looks brown! What colour is it?

gassho,

JohnH (time to visit the optometrist... again)

[Shohei]

OMW!! Beautiful work!! so flat, such nice stitches and between the stitches.

Gassho
Shohei

[Shinko]

OMW!! Beautiful work!! so flat, such nice stitches and between the stitches.

Gassho
Shohei

I completely agree with you here, Jean's stitches are absolutely beautiful!

~Gassho~

Linda

[Jikyo]

Aw shucks, everybody Thank you for your kind words!

JohnH - the Rakusu is dark brown. My camera doesn't do well in low light - the flash makes colors look strange.

Thanks for accompanying me on this lovely journey, sangha friends.

Deep gassho to all, Jikyo

[Shonin]

Jean, I agree with the others. Very nice work. Very neatly done.

Shonin _/\_

[Jikyo]

Shonin - thank you.

For my next trick, I will be sewing an envelope within which to store the Rakusu. Is anyone else doing that? Just in case I need advice or moral support.

I also plan to join the kesa-okesa sewing group this spring under the expert tutelage of our very own Rev. Taigu. My fingertips are hurting already.

Gassho, Jikyo

[jrh001]

...
For my next trick, I will be sewing an envelope within which to store the Rakusu. Is anyone else doing that? Just in case I need advice or moral support.

Hi Jean/Jikyo,

I'll do the envelope as well... Happy to compare notes and results as we go.

gassho,

JohnH

[Shinko]

Jikyo,

I have almost completed my envelope. The lining fabric was a gift from a Dharma brother, Jintai. It is very "Treeleaf" and silky so that the Rakusu slips into it easily. The outside was from a piece of fabric that a former roommate had hand carried back from Africa, where she watched it being Batik'd.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2684/4277968742_f9356bfc3c_m.jpg sewing is still in progress at this point.

I too hope to sew my Okesa, but I need index finger to heal.. it's so dry here that my fingers tend to crack in winter... add in the sewing and I split my finger along the nail on my dominant hand last week.

[Jundo]

...
For my next trick, I will be sewing an envelope within which to store the Rakusu. Is anyone else doing that? Just in case I need advice or moral support.

Hi Jean/Jikyo,

I'll do the envelope as well... Happy to compare notes and results as we go.

gassho,

JohnH

Hi,

I think it was posted before, but instruction for a Rakusu pouch are here (PDF) ...

http://sites.google.com/site/jundotreel ... ects=0&d=1

[Shonin]

Jikyo,

I think the Kesa sewing will be much fun. I plan to do one myself. Sewing didn't hurt my fingertips tho...well other than last week where the needle went between my fingernail and the cuticle. I didn't bleed mind ya. But the fingertip was sensitive for a few days.

Admittedly, i'm surprised i didn't prick my finger to the point of bleeding at least once during the process LOL.

[Jikyo]

JohnH - looking forward to comparing notes!

Shinko - I'd forgotten the tip about a silky fabric for the lining. Great idea. Ouch - your poor finger. Have you tried Lubrex? It's great for those dry winter finger cracks.

Jundo - Thanks for the link. I had downloaded the bag instructions a while ago - just looking for some first-hand experience advice.

Shonin - I had a few finger pricks during the Rakusu process, but my fingertips mostly hurt from grasping the needle and pulling - kinda like a bruise feeling. Looking forward to the kesa group.

Gassho to all, Jikyo

[Taylor]

Yeah, I know, it's 2010 but I had to get a jump on cutting and sewing while I had access to the good sewing kit at home! Just cut all my pieces out today, edges are jagged in spots, a bit lopsided in others, and after a bit of swearing at messing up a large panel or two, it all just seems ok right now

We'll see if that lasts when I start sewing

Gassho!
Taylor

[Dosho]

Hey Taylor,

Congratulations on your adventure and do feel free to ask questions. I know Taigu and Shohei will be especially helpful, but even I may know a thing or two now and again.

I do understand you taking up the project early, especially if you have advantages now that you won't have later, but keep in mind the collective nature of rakusu sewing and the benefits of doing it at the same time as other new sewers. Commiserating with my fellow jukai-ers (or is it jukia-ees?) was an indispensable part of the process for me. Just a thought.

Good luck!

Gassho,
Dosho

[Taylor]

Indeed Dosho, it's like getting to a party early when no one will be there for hours. Sort of lonely at times to not participate in the lively discussion that happened last year; luckily I will not be able to complete everything until around the same time as others because of that lovely back panel so a little bit of community time! But I'm sure there will be much to learn as it starts up again, even if I am a bit ahead (or behind, really).

In other news, all 5 panels finished!

Gassho
Taylor

[jrh001]

...
In other news, all 5 panels finished!

Gassho
Taylor

Hi Taylor,

It can be a community activity right now if you'd like to post photos as you progress the rakusu.

(Mine is also incomplete... no back panel till the next Jukai.)

gassho,

JohnH

[Dosho]

Hi Taylor,

It can be a community activity right now if you'd like to post photos as you progress the rakusu.

(Mine is also incomplete... no back panel till the next Jukai.)

gassho,

JohnH

Quite true...wish I'd thought to suggest that! We always love to see pictures.

[Taylor]

After much confusion as to why my "hidden stitches" kept coming out I had a sudden kensho! I have been stitching the wrong way since the beginning

Still a back stitch, I just have been doing it in a horizontal loop rather than a vertical loop. Sigh.......................

Life, I suppose. Some creativity will be required tomorrow!

[Taylor]

Also, just to show a bit of a human side. I freaked out to no beginning when I found out I had been doing things wrong. Oh my, considered ripping the thing apart and starting over from square one. BUT! I did not. The way I see it is like this: It's holding together, I learned my lesson, be more aware next time (especially if I try to sew a kesa ). There's a picture of the stitch "error" below. Question is: Do I stay consistent? I still have the middle line to sew between the edge stitch and the close stitch on the en.

downsize.jpg (45.91 KB) Viewed 180 times

[Shohei]

Nice work Taylor!!
Just keep on keeping on. You made an error and realized it (I wish I had realized mine sooner )
Id say just keep going as you had been. But then that's just me (for the time being)!

Gassho
Shohei

[Jundo]

Nice work Taylor!!
Just keep on keeping on. You made an error and realized it (I wish I had realized mine sooner )
Id say just keep going as you had been. But then that's just me (for the time being)!

Gassho
Shohei

If you decide to keep going, that is fixing it.

If you decide to go back and fix it, that is 'keeping going'.

There is nothing to fix, but we must fix what we can (or our flaws will remain).

But if you do not fix it, it was never wrong or flawed from the start (when such is seen).

On the other hand, if you do not fix it, it stays wrong and the flaws will be there for you and all to see.

If you fix it, it will be better and some ugly flaws will be removed.

If you do not fix it, it is not fixed and plagued by flaws.

But no matter how much you fix it, it will still never be completely flawless.

If you do not fix it because you cannot be bothered and there is not time, that is simply laziness and to be criticized.

If you fix it because there is no one which can be bothered and always no time, that is wisdom and to be praised.

If you do not fix it because you are in a hurry to get it completed, you will yourself feel incomplete when wearing it.

If you fix it because it is already complete, then you will find the freedom of 'no reason to hurry'.

If you take it apart and start again, this is already at the goal.

If you just finish because time is wasting, it is only a starting line.

If you go ahead and refuse to go back to make repairs, pushing to the finish, you will never reach the goal.

If you go ahead or if you go back while always arriving, this was always the goal.

If you take it apart and start again, it is back to the starting line.

If there is nothing ever to take apart, whether you take it apart or not, it is whole.

Even if there is ever nothing to take apart, a careless stitch is poorly made.

If there is no place to get to and no schedule, yet we must keep moving forward so not to be late.

A flawed Kesa is perfectly just what it is ... yet we seek to make each stitch with skill and beauty and diligence.

(which of the above statements is true and which flawed)?

[Shohei]

Gassho!

A flawed Kesa is perfectly just what it is ... yet we seek to make each stitch with skill and beauty and diligence.

bingo!
Proceeding in such a way - with skill, beauty and diligence as was being done!
Of course all of the above applies too.

Gassho again!
Shohei

[Taylor]

Sheesh Jundo haha

Here was my final evaluation. A stitch is a stitch. It holds something together, nothing more, nothing less. I was terribly distraught because I thought there was a right way, a proper, traditional way; and I in my mindlessness deviated. Lessoned learned The terrible beauty is that I will more than likely have to repair this Rakusu more than normal due the stitch. I'm ok with that. In fact I thought to myself that it'd be perfect to snip one stitch at the end so that it would never truly be "finished", always in need of a repair now and then. As stitches go by the goal fades, the idea of perfection fades. I will continue as I have because I started with sincerity and complete commitment to sewing the Buddha's robe, and that I am still doing.

Yet, for the sake of tradition, I will again sew a Rakusu in the future being totally mindful of the traditional way.

Plus, Taigu the sewing guru didn't seem to mind too much. I'll take that as a bit of permission to forget my worries (if that's not taking too much)

Many gasshos for the teaching,
Taylor