it’s actually confusing me as to where all the time goes. suffice to say it passes and there seems not enough of it to do all the things my mind wonders about and wanders into.
i have many stories yet to tell and photos and notes to sort through and write about here on the blog- all promised but not yet accomplished. many things are being done here behind the scenes and along the sidelines- prioritized by daily needs and responsibilities, but for a few minutes today, i put a little something here on the blog.
having shipped out all the fabric packs collected on the tour and the other requests made by students and friends, i spent a day making up a new garment! i wore one that i made while in japan and wanted to do a new version in order to honor some of the vintage fabrics i purchased. like the other one, this is made with recycled hand woven cloth previously from kimono that have been taken apart. (btw- NO! Kimono should not be trademarked–as if…you all here know my thoughts on that nonsense)
a couple of things about this garment- i had seen a version of this somewhere in japan a couple of years ago but it was made from western width cloth and only had a front and back made from the same cloth. my idea here is to utilize the kimono width cloth and keep it as intact as possible so that it would be possible perhaps, to take it apart and reuse it one day (or at least in large part). to do this meant that the back and front would need to be split to accommodate typical kimono width cloth and since i wasn’t a fan of having it split down the middle in front, i added a faux placket in front to offset that making it asymmetrical. using a combination of hand woven cloth, i made the amami oshima tsumugi silk the star of the garment while adding three coordinating kasuri patterns. i matched the pattern in the front placket just for fun and did not cut the selvedge on at least one side of all the main pieces. the selvedge contains part of the cloth-story for anyone who might be interested in the future. i have several other sets of cloth i will be using to make a few more of these. it’s very easy to wear with some leggings and even sandals or tennis shoes. i have promised several on the tour that i’d do up a muslin pattern for them to make up for themselves- so far, not yet done… will have to make a few more to settle in on the pattern.
my favorite part of this piece and the ones i’m excited to make going forward is that i’m using beautiful textiles that will be once again worn! some of the techniques used in making these fabrics are disappearing and my hope is that by making useful and wearable garments that these fabrics will be further treasured and worn again, not just cut up and used as scrap. whole cloth in a way. there is a small bit of boro in the lower part of the front placket that i kept intact, preserving further the treasure that this fabric continues to be. someone else thought enough of this piece of cloth to restore it with a patch. who am i to cut it away and discard it?
onto the next thing…the past few days have been consumed with making up an order of silk shibori no hana for the kyoto shibori museum. they are taking me longer than expected and i’m only half way through. several orders of ribbon also await and will be base dyed today. here’s a peek at a few of the flowers heading to kyoto soon…
hopefully, i will have some of these available in the shop later this summer when i’m caught up a bit around here. for those waiting on ribbon orders, i’ll start sending those out next week. stock is very low at the moment and the shop a bit disorganized. colors showing in stock where there is none, so some of you may get a note from me asking if you would accept a color substitute until i get things all straightened out. apologies for that…
life here continues, phil and his band steel parade have been out singing and performing for people young, old , and in between. the other night’s performance at the local nature center concert was a whole lot of fun. it’s wonderful to see everyone dancing out under the trees there.
the yard is in summer clean-up mode and little by little weeds are being removed, the second crop of veggies are being planted, and springs tomatoes and eggplant are being served up. hope your summer is wonderful and full of hope.
gotta run-baby dean just arrived! time to put my nana hat on…
Love the kimono remark! All this stuff is out of control!
Sent from my iPhone
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fortunately, it has been walked back…
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Happy to see you are into the “slow clothing” movement. Kimono width (14″) provides the easiest way to make clothing without patterns or cutting. Toni
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I am selecting the cloth for the next one! indigo kasuri mainly…
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Your top turned out great, very different than the one worn in Japan. I love the flowers! Great to read your blog. I have just begun to think about how to put my kimono fabrics together & gathering patterns. Hope you nana duties are satisfying. Bonnie
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Bonnie- and the next one will be even better. hope to get you guys a pattern(ish) soon!Baby Dean is great! I’m already reading to him-haha. we love frog and toad right now! I always love their adventures.
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Please post if your shirt pattern is available. I have a hard time sewing but I will try with something simple. That looks great! Love the keeping the fabric intact for future use. Nice thought.
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keeping you weavers in mind… this is simple for sure! someday, maybe i will go so far as weaving cloth to sew with. one can dream…
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who are we to discard anything?
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i know. next workshop i’m taking a box of textile books i’m done with to give to anyone who wants them. i don’t want to throw them out. but i’mdone with them.
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It’s good to know when y r done with stuff.
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Hello…where do you purchase this beautiful shibori ribbon? I have searched with no luck.
Thanks in advance
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usually I have a lot in my online shop but i’m very low now since i was gone to japan for a month. restocking now. but Michelle has some in her shop-I just restocked her…
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TandZSupplies?fbclid=IwAR3FekJ9CKLtUlTlQRr4zKBEpSCKQZs-hNQ_gHtUe7hH7CsLDy02n7tSL14§ion_id=7664357
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