silk mawata moons are furry!the obi liningsilky moons
These special moons are made with an unexpected cloth-a coarse homespun cotton cloth that had a layer of silk mawata stretched across it. I wondered…
Mawata is made from silk cocoons that are softened with hot water and soda ash before stretching them out on a frame. We also know them here as silk hankies. They can be used to spin silk yarn or are often used as quilt batting by stretching 50-100 cocoons into a thick, yet lightweight, layer of wonderful silk batting!
After asking around, the best answer I could find was that the silk mawata was there to help keep the two cloths together so the exterior and interior fabrics wouldn’t slip around. Another use for silk!
On the shibori side of things, Asiadyer sent me a couple of images of some shibori scraps he came across. They are a great little study in double arashi. Wrapping my mind around the concept, and the cloth around a pole, I made an attempt. I will make some adjustments and have another go at it. The result I got started out ok, but the second wrapping did not achieve the result I was looking for. Even still, some shibori was made!
sample detailoverall imagemy first wrapsecond wrap #1second wrap #2#2 another angle
These things drive me a bit crazy until I figure them out…
And yes, it’s February! We welcome the approaching Spring, warmer weather, and February moons for the circle. I chose and cut the fabric today. One is some fabulous kimono silk woven and dyed on Amami Oshima. Indigo, tannin and mud dyed then painstakingly woven. Even a small scrap is a treasure. The other is the leftover cloth from a dress I made from a repurposed meisen silk kimono a few years ago. Links to my previous posts about dyeing and weaving on Amami oshima here and here.
treasured clothmeisen silkAmami moonMeisen moon
If you want to sign up for the 2023 Moon Circle…here’s the link.
I recently had some scrap silk left over from having bias ribbon made for my silk shibori ribbon. It was enough that I wanted to see what could be done with it so I had the converter do some flat bias tube (unfilled cording). I always want to use as much as possible without throwing any away of course. I found out that the previous company I was using to do the biasing was throwing out the end cuts! Once I found that out I started having them save them for me for odd projects but they were very irregular. These days, I am a little smarter. I work with the converter to minimize any waste so we can plan ahead to make something with the end cuts. Below, I am playing around with some ideas for the trims I will start having made- which I will be dyeing. I started out with an autumn colorway.
The trim can be twined and braided too. stitching the trimall combined-with beadsdetail
So far I have just finished the one piece. It’s in the shop as a made up brooch /necklace combo. When I get more of this made in different colorways, I’m thinking I’ll do some kits and workshops with it. It’s always fun to experiment with new things!
At the same time, I’m working on the September moons for the circle. This month I’m focusing on plant dyed moons. Using the feathery cassia seed pods and the fermentation vat on some vintage silk taffeta and cotton lawn, two very different moons are the result using the exact same dyes.
indigo over cassia pods on taffetacassia pods over indigo on cotton lawn
Also on the dye table are the materials for the kits for the upcoming Mermaid Adornment workshop. If you didn’t get a chance to check that out see here.
And my new daily visitor keeps me company in the studio…another squirelley girl but younger and smaller than my original friend!
Why is it I can’t get to writing blog posts the way I used to?
Part of it is because I let too much time pass between them and then I get to feeling overwhelmed by all that I want to communicate in a post so I put it off. But today’s the day! Another part of it is that so many other things are demanding my time and mental space at the moment. Have you ever written ballot arguments for measures appearing in an upcoming election? Walked for a candidate? Worked on social media to get a good candidate out there? Involved yourself organizing and researching issues for a community and candidate? It’s a lot of mental space. Paying attention to your local politics is important since many want to move up in the ranks and we can’t afford to have unethical people running our cities-regardless of party. City governments need to remain nonpartisan!
Amami dreams…
Ongoing here is is a series of Power Alerts- meaning residents are asked to reduce electricity use during our current heatwave. Heat always saps my energy and usually my work happens outside-in the heat. We close the nights cool air in the house and pull the shades during the day to preserve coolness. We rarely use the AC this way but there are times when it gets to the upper 90’s that I succumb to the need-keeping the thermostat at 80. It’s also not cheap! I’m doing more inside work today and for the next three days. Additionally- we are getting ready for a 2 week ban on outdoor watering. There is a major pipeline repair that will be underway on a pipe that supplies water to a large part of Southern California. Hopefully the weather will cool down and give us a little help but that’s a big if. Deep watering my critical trees, filling my rain barrels to water only the the most sensitive plants over the next two weeks. I’ve pulled all the veggie garden and won’t plant again until late fall due to all this. Hoping for cooler weather and a little rain this fall. Fire alert is HIGH!
Thankful…
I am thankful we have water at all…Jackson Mississippi. I am thankful to be closer to the coast…inland temps in the 100’s-110- only cooling to 90 at night! I am thankful not to be in a high fire danger zone. Currently Castaic area is burning. I am thankful we have electricity and are only asked to cut back. (Conserve for the greater good!) I’m thankful my 35 year old Volvo passed smog yesterday so it can be registered! Sad though that my beloved mechanic is calling it quits this week. He was a 240 enthusiast and specialist. He was devoted to keeping these cars on the road in good condition. So far this 35 year old car has retired two great Volvo mechanics!
In shibori news… I’ve sent off a shibori ribbon order to Michelle at Fundametals which she will have listed soon in her shop. I finally got FedEx to settle a claim on a lost order to France after it disappeared in mid June. Jeeze. An ordeal- but finally over. August moons were all sent- a little later in the month than usual and they were HOT! Hope you all liked them. I only managed to screw up a few by double shipping some due to a label printing error but that’s better than someone not getting theirs. Better to overship than undership! I hate it when people are unhappy with me. I always work to make it right for them.
indigo over redcotton kimono liningclimate change moon?
Also, playing around with some hotaru (dragonfly) stencils and various stitching…
after stitchingthe stencilsmall and large need different treatment-will correct next time
September moons will involve natural dyes- seems appropriate being a harvest month. I’ve collected quite a bit of the feathery senna seed pods and due to the heat, my fermentation indigo vat is really kicking! I will be combining those two this month. One silk and one cotton. I’m working it out now. The iron vat needs a little attention but will get to that in good time.
We are inching closer to taking deposits for the 2023 Silk Study Tour. Japan is starting to relax their restrictions a LITTLE. Thinking is that by next May we will be able to resume. Dates for the tour are 5/11-5/26 2023. Keep your fingers crossed. In the meantime, enjoy this end of summer post by Meiji Showa Old Photos of Japan about musical insects!
I didn’t mention it last post because I was still too sad about it but crazy cat Moose was taken back and moved by his “real” owners. He had been part of the daily scene here for a year, sleeping in our bed at night and by my side or harassing my own cats here by day. He was a royal PITA but we loved him and took care of him. He didn’t want to live with his owners. He was a fighter and a misfit. I hope he is OK.
We miss him every day but I do have to say that OUR cats and the neighbor cats DO NOT! They have resumed their places as top cats and I can’t blame them. Pictured here is the Captain, next door cat that spends most of the day here but goes home at night. He is Kuro chan’s buddy who has resumed sleeping in the shade on the surfboards where moose use to dominate. They look alike and the easiest way to tell them apart is by Kuro’s ragged ear and Captain’s saucer eyes
A fruitful month here in the garden yielded a delicious cantaloupe, some grapes from a neighbor, and a bunch of pomegranates I still have to get out there and pick so I can juice them. Later, when it cools off. Lemons are done for now but limes getting ripe. I just went outside for a minute and the high predicted heat has not materialized- at least so far for today it hasn’t hit 90 yet.
beautiful netting and colorjuicy and sweetso many grapes!
And then there are the ginko nuts…ginnan in Japanese. Probably the most I have ever seen & way more than I can use with not many takers. If you are local and want some, let me know! They are currently in the “stinky phase”. The heat is baking the outside smelly part and hastening the process. Once the outside has sloughed off I will collect and process what I can. Google eating ginko nuts for ideas…. There are plenty for the squirrels to stash away for the “winter” here. They too, are waiting out the stinky phase.
And then the night blooming cactus. It has produced many evenings of 100+ blooms. The bees were in heaven and now with fruits ripening high up the purple finches are having plenty of sweet, juicy, seedy eats.
one night, one sideone night, the other sideIt fell from the weight of it’s own joyclose uplook up!more lookingle grand view from upstairs
I’m finishing up details on upcoming workshops so look for that next post. It won’t be so long…
I decided to add to my indigo vat swatch card by swatching each of the three vats (chem , fermentation, and ferrous) at the end of the daylong indigo shibori workshop.
The vats all got a good workout by the six participants.
The chem vat degraded the most. It will need a complete tuneup! The fermentation vat held fairly steady but will need some rest and perhaps some bran. The blue is a bit lighter and noticeably grayer.
The ferrous iron vat held up the best with less loss of color. I might actually prefer it’s current state more than it’s original state. Seems like a nicer range of blues.
All three dips (on both occasions) were one minute.
In addition, the following day’s stitching workshop was a lot of fun. Getting people inspired to learn something new and create something beautiful is always satisfying.
One of the stitching samples I showed included a strip woven cloth with an indigo moon. Several participants wondered how it was done so I did a quick demo. They couldn’t wrap their mind around it in the beginning but then the “aha!” moment arrived. I always love that.
Aha!Thanks to Jude for the fabric weaving idea way back when.
I’m wondering about how much work it might be to do a woven moon for the moon circle. If I do, it might be a one moon month…
make the strips narrow or wide, as you desire. A featherweight fusible on the back side before dyeing helps stabilize the weaving. I also basted around the edges to help with that here as an experiment. I hadn’t tried that before.
Lots of dye work going into the upcoming workshop kit materials. Like this selection of silk linings that were dyed yesterday for the komebukuro kits. Dyed using the indigo fermentation vat and a marigold dyepot for blue and gold linings. Of course I couldn’t resist doing a little bit of green since I had those colors going. I originally thought I would use the pomegranate dyepot but it wasn’t looking as gold as I wanted. So I decided to use it for the drawstrings and cording instead.
Interestingly, the two greens were produced with the same silk and the same dyepost/vat but the order of operations was reversed. Blue over gold and gold over blue (the more olive green) created two completely different greens. A green themed komebukuro was not planned but I might just have to put together fabric for one of those-just so I can use those delicious greens.
I am using some really nice brown linen (acquired somewhere long ago/can’t remember where) for the upper band on the bags. I liked it so much on the brown version I decided to overdye it in indigo for the blue bags. It dyed a very dark/almost black blue. It will make for a nice background for anyone wanting to do sashiko stitching there and a good dark contrast for the indigo bags in general.
The “Fall” weather turned to Summer again today, likely hastening the ginko trees turning to gold. Upper 80’s low 90’s for the next few days. I really can’t wait for the leaf drop. so much beautiful mulch will blanket the garden but a couple of weeks standing under the golden ginko tree is really something to look forward to. I’ve been enjoying the photos posted online of the fall leaves turning from around the world! In Japan, we always enjoyed taking a ride on the skyways, no matter the season. They even have special busses for fall leaf viewing that take you the most beautiful locations.
fall leaf viewing by skyway cable cars in Japan
And of course I’m still working on organza dyeing and pleating. There are two cats that don’t live here (and don’t like each other) constantly trying to vie for the top assistant position.
Captain help on the ironing board with the organza …
Also, please give a visit again to the Kyoto Shibori Museum youtube video page and this video. It is beyond describing what they did to accomplish this major piece of shibori.
I am really starting to look ahead to next year’s Silk Study Tour.The 2021 Silk Study Tour to Japan has now been rescheduled for May 11-26 2022. It’s looking promising finally! We are still waiting for Japan to open up to tourists again and to respond to whatever protocols will be in place. It’s so hard to anticipate what they will be, but it does look like we are moving in the right direction. As a reminder, all participants will be required to be fully vaccinated at the time of acceptance into the tour as well as meet all travel restrictions, mandates, and requirements in place by both the US and Japan at the time of travel. I will be sending out the official notice by the end of this month with applications. The way to get on this email list is to sign up here. If you have emailed me and asked me to be put on the list, I have likely directed you to this email signup. (I may have missed a few…) If you had signed up to receive info on the 2021 tour, you will still get the 2022 tour email. you don’t need to sign up again. If you can’t remember or have a new email- DO sign up again. It will filter out duplicates (or tell you you are already on the list).
marigolds from the broth- they smelled good- like flower tea
The Shiborigirl Social Media Report…
As those of you who make a living (partially or completely) by making, teaching, and selling know, social media is a necessary part of what you do (or perhaps need to do more of). I am always in the position of needing to do more of it and really not finding enough time to do it! But if I don’t, sales and signups show it. Maybe you are in that position as well. (Or maybe you are a customer and are worn out from being marketed to!) Maybe this part of the post won’t be of interest to you but here are my latest thoughts on what it takes to remain viable in the current environment. –keep writing your blog (or get one started now!) this is the best advice I have to give really. I’ve said this all along and I’ve never stopped. I started in 2006 and have regularly blogged ever since. Yes, there have been some times of lesser blogging (especially during times when I was attending to subscription blogs, teaching or traveling) but this is the best way to stay connected to your circles of interest. A blog is a great timeline and window into what you do in photos, videos and words. It remains there forever and you and readers can reference past posts anytime. My favorite people are from the blog and through their blogs as well. We have some very long term relationships here. I love that people can add my blog to their readers or sign up to receive my posts via email. It’s not filtered by a platform algorithm. I use WordPress and there is really much more it offers than what I can use. -Have a website (of course) and your own online shop Make it as simple or as complicated as you want (simple is best for me but still seems complicated!). I have used etsy in the past but never exclusively or even majorly. I’m so glad I no longer use it as the way it has evolved just does not suit me at all. The whole “star seller” thing is atrocious. Your online shop (and even etsy) is just a virtual cash register and you need to lead people to it. Don’t expect any of them to do your marketing for you. -Have a way to collect email addresses & use this for newsletters! I’ve used Constant Contact for many years and it’s served me well. There are lots of options on how to do this but I like self sign up lists and have mine on the top right of the blog here. (don’t wear out your subscribers with newsletters though or they might just not read them) Use Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, TicTok, and the rest as you need or desire to. I use FB (both a personal page and a studio page). I use Instagram here and there. Most people love IG more than I do. I’m not really a Pinterest person but will use it as a way to point people to my website etc.. I don’t do TicTok currently-just too much for me at the moment although some people use it as their #1 SM site and do it very well. YouTube is also a great resource and I really should do more with it. No matter which platforms you choose, it’s important to engage with your followers and form relationships, to offer good and interesting content. To be giving more than you receive. You do need to understand the relationship of some of these platforms to each other as some don’t play nice with each other (ie FB & Youtube). I use my Twitter mostly for local politics but do have some fascinating people I follow and interact with there- sericultureists around the world, artists, textile museum folks, and others. Some people hate Twitter and Facebook and some love one or the other or both. Maybe one of the most important things I can say about SM platforms is that YOU can curate and control your experience. If you are seeing lots of content you don’t like- then change it! I haven’t even mentioned “boosting” or placing ads which is an art in and of itself. I dabble in it as I don’t have a lot of $ to spend on it and since my time to fully understand and make the most of it is limited I just do a small amount of it. Maybe the most difficult thing is to keep up with all the changes and updates to these platforms and how they will affect me and my business. It really is a full time job (that I don’t want) yet don’t have enough time for if I am going to get ANYTHING done in the studio! Of course Covid plays into all this and did I mention Zoom? I did in the last post and since then I have started doing some Facebook livestreaming on my studio page. After several trials and tribulations I mostly got it working the way I want it to- just giving a quick live video update on what I’m working on. I’m using a 2 camera view with some OBS software (OBS Studio is the one I like) that allows me to show you my work table plus my “talking head”. I do this so i can feel more present with you even though I’m using a virtual platform. -You can always set up a linktree that you can quickly post here and there when your website isn’t quite what you want. You can also set up various linktrees to serve different purposes. My linktree.
**NOTE** in doing this post I was checking links and found that one of the links in the sidebar which was supposed to be going to my Paypal account was actually going to various random people’s paypal!! Off to fix that now! CHECK YOUR LINKS FROM TIME TO TIME! I reported it to WP and took screenshots but WOW! Sorry to anyone who might have sent $ for the Moonmates series that I didn’t acknowledge!
Overwhelmed yet? I am… now to get back to the studio…
It was two years ago that I taught one of the last indigo workshops at the Japanese American National Museum. We made komebukuro bags with dyed and stitched fabrics from the class. Several have asked for an online version of this workshop and I have spent part of this last week thinking this one through and sorting out fabrics for kits to accompany the class. Here is the after workshop post for that weekend. It was really one of my favorites. It also speaks to why we teach and why craft matters. So- here is the link for the online Komebukuro Treasure Bag workshop. It has all the details but if you still have questions, just email me or leave a comment.
I am starting to add the pleated silk flowers to the shop. I have more to photograph and add but the main listing is there and I will just add new ones as I get the photos taken and edited.So far… here they are.
I had held back on selling them so I could show them in the recent online workshop which just completed. I have to admit, I was a little nervous with starting a new zoom workshop but after this one I’m feeling much better about the process. It takes a little bit to figure it all out and even after having done several already I wasn’t quite happy with them…especially the recorded outcomes. I have finally figured out what works for me! Not that I won’t find other tweaks and improvements-isn’t that the way though? Learning through doing. Everything is good in theory, but doing it is the key.
It’s an interesting process to switch from the way you teach in person to virtual teaching. People take workshops for so many varied reasons-whether in person or online. My goal is to always try to meet that varied need-to figure out how I can best be of service to participants through a workshop. I really want participants to enjoy the workshop and have it meet their needs, in addition to being able to clearly see what I am doing.
I had a couple of people email and ask me how I got my worktable in the main video as well of my “mini-me” talking head going at the same time. For those of you who might need this info- here’s the process I used:
-set up a remote camera connected to your computer -start your zoom-your computer main camera will show your talking head as usual. -choose to “share your screen” -in the share screen window, click to advanced -choose “share video from second camera”
That’s it! Why it took me so long to figure this out while I did all sorts of other more complicated configurations escapes me! But we all need to learn and grow and I’m happy to share what I have learned so far- especially if it is helpful to other makers out there earn a living at what they do. Speaking of making…I also added another Wildflower making workshop as there were some people who told me they missed signing up.You can sign up here.
Out of the wildflower workshop-which included beaders, stitchers, dollmakers, milliners and other sorts of textile stitching enthusiasts, I found that they really enjoy working with the various pleated silks so I am working on colorway sets of interesting pleated silks for the shop. Hopefully, next week I will be able to add them. Everything takes SO much time!
On yet ANOTHER note (sorry for the long catch-up post) I am still really enjoying Ann Wasserman’s quilt conservation and repair workshop. Last week’s focus was dating quilts as well as the beginning of the “triage” portion of the sessions where we look at slides submitted by participants of their quilts and what can be done to repair them (and how-using her great series of videos showing all the methods she uses). If you have any interest in this topic I highly recommend it. How can you go wrong with a group of people who want to save quilts and textiles from the rubbish heap? Saving quilts is often saving stories- and adding stories too! Ida Belle will require quite a process and I’m already thinking a little differently about repairing her than I was at the beginning of Ann’s workshop. So to finally conclude…thanks for making it this far and I hope that some of you will join in to the komebukuro workshop! It’s going to be fun and inspired!
This is what we do. Continue. Accept change. Adapt. Create and wonder. Make change. Be change…peacefully. Today…
fermentation vat-about one year old…it’s a kind old vat that has been very forgiving. I kept my last one for about 4 years.
I add this here in case you are interested in why native plants are imperative for insects. I did not know HOW imperative until I read this book. In the future, I will be replacing any drought tolerant alien plants with natives. It seems obvious, but even though I’ve been gardening for decades, there is always more to learn and wonder about. Also available on Audible if you have unused credits. Just a few monarch chrysalis’ left here. the ladybug nymphs have pupated (there were 100’s!!) and emerged as ladybugs, and the praying mantises have mostly gone off to create their ootheca. Still seeing beautiful swallowtails though.
apparently, he had milkweed bugs for lunch-leftover wings!
end of summer…
it’s a feast!
some of the milkweed had ladybug eggs that hatched inside the enclosure
and into fall we go!
The praying mantis on the sunflower was there for around a month. One night Phil found her eating one of her male suitors. The next morning she was mating with (perhaps) a preferred choice. They were there the entire day and by evening only she was left and finally crawled away. I’m only seeing females in the yard now. Maybe all the males became snacks! I miss seeing her there everyday!
Also today, I worked on organza for the upcoming flower workshop kits. Got the fabric hemmed, dyed, ironed and wired. Next I will pleat, discharge, and dye it. I’m working out the materials for two different kits. I hope to have everything ready for the shop in about a week. A couple of the kits will be indigo dyed.
Captain, another cat who doesn’t live here (but thinks he does) has lately taken up millinery work at the flower making table.
No photos but my grandson was by today and we made “garden soup”. If you want the recipe: -mint leaves -sweet red mini bell peppers -pomegranate arils -basil leaves -lemon grass -dirt to taste Mix all in a bucket with garden trowel. Enjoy!
After many requests to host an online version of the recently posted in-studio of the tekumo shibori workshop, I am posting up a Zoom version of it now.
This workshop will occur over 4 one and a half hour sessions. Each session includes a 30 minute question and answer/sharing section. The four sessions are divided as follows:
Session 1: Preparation and materials (kits will be available for preorder) Setting up your workspace and fabric choice advice. Various dye choices will be also presented. Session 2: Tekumo demonstration and practice, troubleshooting, and best techniques for successful tekumo shibori Session 3: Discharge and overdyeing demo, steaming set up. Session 4: Unbinding your pieces, sharing results and critique. Tips for designing fabric with tekumo designs. Exploring the possibilities with your new sculptural fabrics. (There will be a separate online workshop on making the Wishing Star flowers with the tekumo shibori organza that you can sign up for later.)
Participants need to have adequate technical ability and internet connection to participate in an online zoom workshop. Please download the free Zoom application to your device (preferably a laptop or ipad/notebook rather than a mobile phone for optimal experience) and create your free password protected account . If you are not familiar with this app, then practice ahead of time with a friend prior to the workshop.
The sessions will be recorded for those participating so you can replay them after the session or in case you should miss a session (some people may be participating from various time zones).The recordings will be available during the workshop and for two weeks thereafter. I will write up notes after each session with highlights as a reference for you and send via email the day following the session.
My intention is to create an online workshop that has as much of a “hands on” feel as possible with lots of student participation and sharing of your screen. Please have your device’s audio and video capabilities engaged. I believe this will lead to the best outcome for all (as opposed to a more lecture type workshop).
I will also have an offsite password protected site on wordpress where you can log in and post results and ask questions between sessions. This site will be available for 6 weeks.
Cost will be $120 for the 4 session workshop and a tekumo materials kit will be available for purchase ahead of time. Kit will include the shibori hook and stand, bobbin, & thread for $58. A separate fabrics set will be available for $35 and will include a variety of silks and some cotton. Feel free to use your own fabrics but know that I will be focusing on silk-especially silk organza for its sculptural qualities. But for the tekumo technique itself, any fabric will do. Plan to practice this technique to become proficient and gain the most from exploring this traditional shibori technique and adding your own 21st century “twist”!
Two materials kits are offered, although not required in order to join the workshop.
Tekumo is fun once you have mastered the movement of your hands. It’s especially exciting with silk organza that takes on not only vibrant colors but also crisp shapes. Come join us to explore the possibilities! All the pieces are in place and two dates are scheduled.
Session One-Friday and Saturday July 30 & 31 Day One: 10 AM-4 PM (with lunch/rest break included) Day Two: 11 AM-4 PM (with lunch/rest break included)
Session Two-Friday and Saturday August 20 & 21 Day One: 10 AM-4 PM (with lunch/rest break included) Day Two: 11 AM-4 PM (with lunch/rest break included)
Shibori Girl 