Fabric Bonanza

For the past three years I have sourced all of my materials from Japan exclusively, but this spring I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to purchase several bolts of Japanese-themed quilt weight cotton prints from various quality manufacturers. I plan to spend the evening cutting some fat quarters for choice little bundles and listing yardage in my Etsy shop.

I’ve also ordered more sashiko kits and different thread colors, plus more Folkwear patterns for Japanese clothing. Hopefully I’ll have enough stock to keep everybody’s fingers busy for a while! Let me know if there is something you’d like me to stock and I’ll see what I can do for you.

oh boy.

Counting down the days to Fanime, I am getting all sorts of crazy-anxious-calm-nervous-flustered-amazed. My biggest fear isn’t that I won’t do well at the show, but rather that I won’t have enough stock. I can just see myself sitting in an empty booth on Monday, and that would be both really bad and really good.

I have been raiding my collection for pieces I can bear to part with and finding pieces I’d forgotten about. This is good as it adds to my show stock, but it also shows me just what a slob I’ve been the past 3 years about inventorying my vintage pieces and new fabrics. Literally every time I turn around in my studio I find another piece that can be sorted, ironed and packed for the show. It’s keeping me busy, which is my current excuse for not blogging more often.

All of this work happens in my mind while I’m sleeping, too. I dream kimono. Every night. In my free time I’m digging through more books (thank you, Inter Library Loan!) and will post reviews of some of them when I can, as many of them are fabulous resources.

Today’s task (among all the others) is to submit new ad copy for Threads magazine. I’m excited about how well the ad has worked so far, and the buyers I’ve met because of that ad have been simply amazing. Honestly, the sort of people who collect and work with Japanese textiles tend to be cultured, well mannered and just plain polite. My buyers range from college students to costume designers to hobby quilters and so many other folks in between.

Enough chitchat, back to work for me….

Busy hands

I pulled myself away from the computer long enough to actually sew the tatewaku and mukaimon obi today. It turned out longer than most of the hanhaba obi I have, so I tied it in an extra fancy bow.

If you are familiar with how kimono are worn, you may notice the lack of fold at the waist below the obi. That’s because this particular kimono is very short, even on my mannequin!

The kimono textile is light, somewhat crinkled, and a mix of blue and black. I don’t think it’s cotton, could be ramie or even a blend of some sort. At any rate, it will make a great summer house robe, so I plan on keeping it. The obi will be joining me at Fanime, so if you like it, you can certainly talk me out of it. I think it’s beautiful, but it’s longer than I’d like to tie on myself. The thick cotton of the obi gives it stability and makes it look nice and crisp without a stiffener inside.

I’ve been taking time off from ebay to sort out my stock and get things ready for the show. It’s a lot to go through, and I’ve already got several boxes of kimono in storage in California that will need to be inventoried when I get down there later this month. Some of my vintage kimono, juban and haori have been listed on Etsy, however, as I want to try out the market there. Take a peek and let me know what you think.

Don’t forget to leave a post to be entered in the Free Fiber Giveaway, coming up Tuesday, May 13th at midnight!

Let’s put on a show!

There is a wonderful little old building in my town that was once a store, ‘way back in the logging-town days (back when Oregon’s economy was all about timber), and more recently refurbished and turned into a home. That home sold a while back and is now a most delightful bookshop. Handy as those chain book stores are, I still prefer the little independent shops and support them as often as I can, and this one is certainly worth a visit.

I strolled around the downstairs of the shop, all dark wood and creaky floors, jars of old fashioned candy, neat stacks of books and a not-yet-occupied coffee bar at the sunny end of the shop, and asked the owner if there were more books upstairs. “No, we rent out that space for classes and groups. Go on and take a look, if you’d like.” So I did.

It’s what you might call and “intimate” space. I lived in a space like this for almost a year, in what was essentially the attic of a century-old farmhouse in the west Oregon woods. The roof was peaked and a taller person would have to stoop, but short as I am I loved it. I looked around this new space and wondered how I could pull it off and when, but never wondered IF I should… I know I need to do more local publicity and get my ever-growing kimono collection out there, so why not have a fashion show and lecture right in this tiny, vintage space? Bring a few bottles of sake’ and some nibbles, maybe a little music, invite some friends and interested strangers, maybe even have some young pretty models to wear the kimono as I talk about these gorgeous garments.

Yes. I want to do this.

I need to pick out a date and reserve the space, plot out my plan of attack publicity, write press releases, print invitations and flyers, that sort of thing. It’s a lot of work, but fun, too. I’ll post details as things progress. The show will be after Fanime, so most likely June, I think. Maybe. I have no idea. Someone give me a clue.

I’m excited!

Such a geek.

I was busy reading up on shibori yesterday when there was a knock at the door. We get a lot of door-to-door folks out here, mainly church people and vacuum cleaner sales people, neither of whom I really want to talk to, so when I opened the door to find a young man in a crisp, white button down shirt that was obviously not his usual garb standing there I immediately thought the worst.

But no! He works for a local house painting business and my home is in obvious need of a good paint job, there’s no denying it. We went outside and looked at the badly patched caulking, the fading, nail holes, you name it. While we were talking I noticed his tattoos (hidden under the baggy shirt) and we started talking about art, culture, etc. then back into the house where I dragged out several books on kimono history and showed him pictures of Edo samurai, Anui textiles, and some yuzen pieces I had handy. As an artist himself, he had plenty of interesting questions and we had a great conversation.

It’s odd how I have a hard time thinking about blog topics, but give me a live human who shows a bit of interest in these textiles and I’m off for the next half hour, lecturing in an animated and enthusiastic way. Why oh why am I spending my days alone in my studio? I need an audience! I guess that explains why I majored in both theater AND anthropology in college. Yes, I’m a GEEK.

Today’s project: sewing obi. yikes.

I’ve got several obi bolts that I bought long ago, intending to turn them into bags or other accessories or to sell the fabric as yardage. With the impending doom of Fanime not far off (”doom” as in “OMG how am I going to get all of these kimono to the show in my one tiny little car? Where will my kids sit? On the roof?”) I’m looking at these bolts of obi as opportunities to enlarge my stock. With a few hours of sewing I should be good.

This morning I was ready to sell this fabric for yardage, but I’ve fallen for its charms and now I plan to sew it into a hanhaba (narrow) obi.

The design elements are tatewaku (立枠), or undulating waves of steam in indigo blue with a leaf pattern, and mukaimon (向い文), or facing butterflies in deep red and muddy yellow. There are more variations to the colors than appear in the photos and the cotton is quite heavy, rather like canvas.

I credit JAANUS (Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System) for helping me with naming these design elements. I highly suggest this site if you are looking to identify designs on Japanese textiles, art and architecture.

Random Shibori from the Stash

Some days I look around the studio and think “I don’t have enough fabric” which is probably what every fabric junkie thinks at some point or another. Then I have a nice cup of tea, sit down on the sofa and have a look around at the bags, shelves, boxes and piles of silk and cotton that surround me. And you know what? I find fabrics I’d forgotten about. Pieces I’ve stashed because I couldn’t bear to part with them, the last vestiges of kimono that I’ve disassembled,  bolt ends, or projects I’ve set aside for later.

The following pieces don’t really have much in common aside from their shibori roots, but they all came to my attention today, so here they are.

This shibori comes from a silk juban, or under-kimono. The design is shippou, also known as Seven Treasures, but I prefer to think of it as leaves of bamboo. The silk is very smooth and light weight. Note the patched area:

From the other side you can barely see the stitches that seem so huge from the back. I am always amazed when I find work like this, typically on vintage garments. Not many people bother to mend their clothes these days, it would seem. Or I could just be indulging in a silly, nostalgic moment here.

The next two examples are more faux shibori pieces. The first is another thin silk, this one from the lining of a vintage michiyuki, or kimono raincoat. I really like the layering of colors and styles on this piece. The bright “shibori” patterns contrast with the subtlety of the background. It’s more of a winter design, with bamboo and plum blossoms, and a hint of spring from the cherry blossoms floating on a peach background.

This last example comes from a vintage yukata I disassembled a long time ago. The fabric is thick and soft, much nicer than the modern yukata I come across now. It probably isn’t very old, maybe from the 1980’s or so, and the design is visually quite busy. Nevertheless, it grabbed me with it’s somewhat random splash of flowers, mix of shibori styles, and faintest hint of pink against indigo blue and white.

Just a laugh at myself here, but it’s funny how I’m drawn to these semi-chaotic designs and yet I’m practically head to toe in beige today. I guess I’ve had enough of winter and looking forward to warmer journeys this year.

500 Miles

500 miles each way is a long commute and I seem to be doing it more often; the drive from my home in Oregon to the epicenter of my past, the San Francisco bay area. Last month it was the whole circus, four humans and one ferret who made the drive, but this time it was just me. The rolling hills adorned with fresh green grass are already giving way to brown crispness around the edges, but the California sky was a gorgeous blue and the strong winds blew in clean air off the coast. I miss that now, as it was snowing in the high desert on my way back north, and the pollen from our on-again, off-again spring bloom is making my eyes itch.

I was only in the bay area for about 48 hours, but it certainly was productive. So many more kimono have been hand picked for Fanime and preparations continue in anticipation of the big show next month. Also, as I alluded to in an earlier post, a DVD about shibori is now available, and I will be offering it in my Etsy shop Monday morning. For those of you who found my posts informative enough to get you really interested in shibori, I highly suggest you watch this video. It is an amazing view of the shibori industry in Japan. Narrated in English by Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada, recognized as one of the leading authorities on shibori today, it walks you through the process from start to finish.

As for now, it’s midnight and I’m off to bed! Driving 1,000 miles in a weekend is rather exhausting.

Kids are the same the world over

My kids are staying home with me today and we’re all feeling poorly. Achy joints, low-grade fever, general ickyness. But since it’s one of my eBay listing days, I’m still here at the computer instead of sleeping like the children. Wheeee!

And you know what I’ve noticed? This is no big revelation, of course, but kids everywhere trash their clothes. I’m standing at my work table, ripping threads out of a young girl’s kimono that somebody decided to wash without taking it apart first (big no-no with kimono), and thinking back on all the times I’ve had requests for children’s kimono at shows and events. Most often the ones I do have are stained, torn, or in pretty bad condition one way or another. This particular one would have been fine, but washing a silk blend fabric when it’s sewn to a cotton lining and has some bright red synthetic parts in the lining too… well, that’s not very smart. Everything either shrank or didn’t, and no amount of ironing was going to fix it. Now my seam ripper and pliers are back in action, teasing out the tight little stitches that also shrank and don’t want to let go.

Some of the girls’ kimono that I get have wonderful patterns on them, flying cranes among flowers and bamboo, or delicate origami cranes and plum blossoms, that sort of thing. I would love to dress little girls in these kimono and see their parents’ faces as they gaze upon their little princesses, but this rarely happens because so often the kimono are pretty far gone. Stored improperly and attacked by bugs, left unwashed for 20 years, or just plain worn too many times, these kimono have definitely seen better days. And what days they probably were! Considering that children in modern Japan rarely wear kimono except for very specific occasions (such as Shichi-Go-San), they probably got smeared with sticky candy-covered fingers, runny noses, and dirt from running around in circles as happy children sometimes do. After that, perhaps they were used for dress-up games, or even put on the family cat. Who knows?

Some things will never change, but I guess I find that in this case, the idea of children as walking, talking clothing destroyers isn’t really that bad. It certainly helps when you hear a sleepy “I love you mommy” from the next room.

Negative space

Sometimes that which is not there stands out more than that which is. In this case, I’m referring to a missing dot among an otherwise complete shibori motif.

The shibori in question comes from a beautiful deep green cotton yukata with a peacock feather motif in my collection that I’ve had a few opportunities to wear. I can honestly say it is so very comfortable. The opening under the sleeves allows for ventilation, the sleeves themselves make wonderful pockets for storing things like my keys and cell phone, and the fact that my fair (i.e. cancer-prone) skin is covered from ankle to neck and wrist to wrist means a reduced risk of sunburn. Besides, cotton breathes. What’s not to like?

So here it is, the missing dot. I wonder, where did it slip off to?

In the greater scheme of things it doesn’t stand out quite so much, but it does serve as a reminder that this is very involved and labor intensive work. Mistakes will be made, and that makes the craft all the more human to me. I think I enjoy this piece more for it’s small imperfections than I would if it were uniformly perfect. And well, it’s green, my favorite color (aside from blue!). The entire yukata is shibori-dyed. It certainly stops people in the street when I wear it to shows in the summer.

Later this month or early May I would like to start focusing on sashiko. Shibori is fun because I have so much of it around and there are many books and even videos on the subject (I’ll cover videos at a later date), and as artists like Shibori Girl go to show, this is still an art that is very much in use around the world and by all ages. Sashiko is something I’m still learning myself, and the more I learn the more there is for me to know. Being the sort of person who thinks out loud, I find that I learn best when I’m talking or writing about a subject. So what better way to learn about sashiko than blogging about it, right?

If you have a suggestion or topic you’d like to see me cover, please let me know. I do read all replies and love to hear how some of you are learning as much as I am about these textiles.

We have a winner and next month’s giveaway

Plaidfuzz is the winner for the Tuesday Free Fabric Giveaway! She will be getting the fun indigo yukata cotton mentioned a few posts down. Be sure to check out her Etsy shop and see all the pretty paper goodies she makes.

I’m sure some of you more regular readers were waiting to hear about the next giveaway fabric, so here it is. Post early, post often, and tell your friends!

May’s Free Fabric Giveaway consists of a 3-pack of yukata cottons in shades of taupe and pink, all with flowers such as tiger lily, hydrangea, and camellia. These pieces are each half a meter long (about 20″) and 14-15″ wide (36-38 cm or so). This pack would sell for $13.50 in my Etsy shop. Check out the cotton multi pack section for more like this!

The drawing for this 3 pack will be at midnight (pacific time) on Tuesday, May 13. Feel free to post more than once, as I pick a random number out of the chronologically listed comment posts.