Japanese Luxury Silk Scarf and Sewing Box

It's over one month since I went to Japan, and I'm still catching up. My first Japanese related blog post I'd like to share with you is my Japanese luxury silk scarf made from two gorgeous pieces of silk I bought in Kyoto Nishijin silk centre. This is really two posts rolled into one - the scarf and the lovely little hand crafted wooden sewing box you see in the picture above. How much do you want one of these?

Anyway, the silk. Nishijin silk centre is where you can see and buy those luxurious Jacquard and gold embroidered silks that you associate with really elegant  kimonos. I'm a bit foggy on all the history and facts about Nishijin, but I do remember it was a long bus ride away from Kyoto JR Station. You can read about  Nishijin here.

While I was there, I saw an inspirational kimono fashion parade, several different methods of silk making, and lots of silken items to buy. I would have loved to have bought a beautiful ikat woven silk umbrella (for AU$100) but I settled on a small pack of subtle silk scraps, a couple of key rings and two lovely pieces of orange silk.

The top piece is the speciality Jacquard silk Nishijin is most famous for , the bottom piece is  shibori style knotted silk.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the silk scrap pack, but I decided I wanted to keep the two other pieces whole and I thought the easiest way would be to make a simple silk scarf by sewing them together.

Which is exactly what I did. I used one of my new Japanese needles and a red rasant thread to sew a french seam directly joining the fabrics in the middle of the scarf. This doesn't matter when I wear the scarf, which I have already, as the join is at the back and usually covered by a jacket. You can see how well it turned out. Hand stitching of course - and it took me the whole of The Sunshine Cleaning Service DVD to sew that 12 inches, too!

I don't mind the look if the stitches. I feel they sort of fit in with the hand made nature of the silks. I wish I'd used silk thread though. It's such a long time since I've used it that I forgot I had some! I didn't hem the silk or take off the selvedges, the scarf is just two pieces of silk, joined in the middle. I wish I had more time to do things like this….

Second part of the post now.

This is about a quaint little needle making shop in Kyoto just off Sanjo Dori and the big shopping arcade in Down Town Kyoto. I first found out about this place before I went to Japan this year, when I was researching places to go, things to see and buy. I read two blogs, Just Hungry and Quilt Otaku, that both happened to mention Misuyabari (Japanese website only) and I put it on my must see list.

Misuyabari is a little tiny shop in a very traditional section of Kyoto's Down Town area, just off the main shopping arcade on Sanjo Dori. You can read a lot more about it on on both the blogs I mentioned above. Maki gives great directions there too. I was fully expecting to completely miss all the signs and get hopelessly lost, and…I didn't! It was actually extremely easy to find! I entered the arcade from the Sanjo Dori entrance, and I suddenly realised I was standing right at the sign to the shop! It's right next to the fortune teller's sign.

Then you turn into the little hall/arcade and walk through to the delightful traditional courtyard,

and there is the shop, just down the path.

I love little tiny shops  packed with goodies - I have one myself! In fact one of the things I love about exploring Japan retail, is getting ideas about how to organise my own tiny space.

Here is the owner helping a customer. And i have to say, it was so lucky she was there, because she helped us when I was buying needles. No English is spoken here. You can see all the lovely crafted items here - pins with tiny hand crafted character heads, chiremon fabric thread spools, tiny wooden sewing boxes, pincushions, fantastic steel needles - all hand crafted. I had to find a bank I could withdraw some extra cash from (cash only sales) and return to buy my sewing box and some gifts for friends.

I had to find a bank I could withdraw some extra cash from (cash only sales) and return to buy my sewing box and some gifts for friends.

Here is a really close look at what's inside it. The little snips are very sharp.

All in all it was a wonderful day! I finished off my wandering at Lipton Tea Room, with an iced tea and a Green Tea and White Chocolate Tart.
I love japan!

If you are going to Kyoto, Misuyabari is a destination shop. You can visit when you check out Nishiki food market, she amazing shopping arcades, Gion or one of the big department stores not far away.
have a good weekend,
Ann.

Each box has a pencil line on one side to show how to correctly close it. The lid fits exactly and it never comes open when it's in transit in my bag or basket.

Happy Halloween!
I know everyone is getting very busy, at just about this time, with all those handmade gifts and fabrics for our stitchy friends and family as the year winds up to Christmas, so I've decided to make it easier for you…
Quiltopia!Design is having a Spooky Sale in our little online store. Fabrics are reduced by 30% and Moda Precuts are reduced by 5% + free postage!
Sale ends 3/11/12! Be lucky and grab some beautiful bargains for your Christmas projects and gifts.
Here are some of our items on special:

Oriental Traditions

Kasuri Layer Cakes, Charm Squares and fabric

Saffron Craig Wombat Wonderland panels

Australian independent designer, Buddies Corner, Maxin

Vintage Modern fabric collection by Bonnie and Camille

Those are just a few of our delicious fabric treats!

Have fun sewing, and I hope you can find something just right for you.
Ann ♥

It's a Hoot Zakka Cushion Finished.

You might remember the tiny It's a Hoot Scrap Quilt I was making? I decided to make it into a cushion in the end. I also wanted to try out my beautiful new Japanese Linen in a little project, so i combined the two and made a Zakka inspired cushion.

The squares were 2 1/2 inches left over from a quilt made with a Jelly Roll and Layer Cake, and just too cute to not use. They were sitting behind my sewing machine for a long while….

There were 81 in total, which made a nice sized cushion top. (Dolly thought so too.)

 Do you ever iron open your patchwork seams? I have been doing it more and more often, specially when there are lots seams. I find it really makes the finished piece smooth and gives a good finish.

Quilting in progress - top.

This was a hand quilted project. I always use a quilter's hoop for hand quilting, it just helps me keep the tension even.     

Quilted back - It would have looked nice as a quilt too.

The top was trimmed back and I used that nice oatmeal linen for the back. 

It was just a simple envelope style back, which I finished with a groovy little row of stitching to fit in with the cushion front.

And here it is, proudly sitting on the couch with some other nice cushions….

And here it is, in its real home amongst the casual stylings of a 15 year old's bedroom. She actually liked this project, what could I do?

I've been sewing with MoMo's new fabrics, Oh Deer, too and just finished another very easy quilt made from a layer cake, but that's a subject for another day.
Do you prefer hand or machine quilting?
Till next time - happy sewing,
Ann.

Japanese Tsunami Quilt

Tsunami Quilt story: The centre panel shows Japan country side with the buildings of people, the cranes from nature, and the ocean waves; the braid border is the Tsunami; the fractured border is the devastation and destruction caused; the red is for bloodshed and the heart of the people; and the blue represents spirit and peace. These are my own symbols and seemed to fit my concept.

It's been a long time in the making, but my Tsunami Quilt is finished! I started it sometime around March last year, 2011, and it's taken me over a year to finish. I blogged about it's beginning here and started to explain the inspiration with these words:

"As I was driving down to Brisbane on my way to teach my Stained Glass Stack and Slash Workshop one weekend, I was listening to a report on the devastating Japanese Tsunami. It had just struck and I hadn't heard much or seen any media coverage as yet.

The thoughts of the dirty water rolling in and over cars, homes, mountains, land, animals and people created images in my mind that I had to express in fabric. Who knows where inspiration comes from, and when it's going to strike, you have to grab it when you can. I had a sudden inspiration to make a Tsunami Quilt using some beautiful Japanese fabric and French Braid borders. (Please be assured, this doesn't in any way diminish the terrible situation in Japan or the horrendous effects of the Tsunami on the Japanese people and countryside, including the unfolding nuclear disaster still in progress.)"

If you've been reading my sporadic blog for a while, you will know that I have had an ongoing and growing obsession with Japan. 

I don't really know when this began, but it was somewhere back before I could read and I loved some Japanese dolls of my grandparents. My Grandfather was an auctioneer for a big wool company in Sydney, and he had business dealings with Japanese buyers who consistently presented him with various Japanese artifacts. I used to love fantasising about owning the dolls and spent many hours leafing through the beautiful illustrated desk diaries. I now own the dolls, a very 60's ceramic coffee set, and only recently parted with the diaries during a downsize into our house.

I kept loving Japanese things, but life moves on and other opportunities and places presented themselves. It was only when my daughter developed an interest in things Japanese that my own interest was rekindled.

I think the devastating Tsunami last year gave me the shove to put Japan back on my agenda and I took Amelia for a one week holiday in Osaka and Kyoto… Thank you Jetstar! 

The quilt's conception - a great pattern and technique explained really clearly in a lovely book + an inspirational idea + fabric that needed to get off the shop shelves ;)

 I based the Tsunami Quilt on a quilt with a medallion in the centre and French Braid borders in Jane Hardy Miller's book, French Braid Obsession. Basically the seed of the idea was there, and I made it grow into my quilt. You can see more of Tsunami's early planning stages in the earlier post I linked to above, including more photos of it's growth.

The braids going on in the intended configuration.

 It became one of those problematic children projects that just don't want to do what you want, and don't seem to ever be going to grow up  work out well. I accidentally put the border braids on going in the wrong direction, so the end black pieces didn't form the arrow shapes I'd planned. I didn't realise until I had sewn heaps more on and decided I wasn't going to change it.

How I sewed them on… By the time I realized, I didn't want to have to unpick them with their bias edges and all…

Then came the dilemma about what size? When to stop? How could I make it bigger? did I actually want to? Did it need to be bigger? Needless to say, it kept going away to make room for other projects. Then I'd see it and all its attendant fabrics piled up on top of something I needed for some other quilt. So I'd take it out, look at it and do a little bit more. 

I put the blue framing borders on and built it up in a log cabin method with incomplete seams. (I always find it incredibly tricky working out the border measurements for these.)

Finally, I decided to finish it to show a group I was doing a French Braid workshop for.

I ended up, using all the left over pieces from the braid cuts to make a fractured border. Had to add the red border, because it needed more red. I could have left it there, but then I put it on the queen size bed and it half covered the pillows. I was toying with the idea of another mini braid on top and bottom…decided on the simple blue and gold strip. To me, it continues the Asian tradition and is reminiscent of Tibetan Tank Has, with their mandalas, borders and opulent metallic gilding.

The final borders are on - and I'd had enough.

 This quilt was always going to be profesionally commercially quilted. I wanted a Japanese style, swirling watery panto to blend the whole thing together, so I sent it to my friend Tricia, from Cut From the Same Cloth Quilting, and she didn't dissappoint. In fact I think I like the quilting better than the quilt!

Tsunami is bound and finished for Dolly to inspect. You can really see the beautiful quilting design in this light.

Here are a few photos of details of the quilt. I was trying to show a bit more of the quilting in closeup, but I think the pne of it on the bed shows it best.

I'm pretty thrilled with the completed quilt. I was going to "bind" it with prairie points in the red fabric, but really, I just wanted it finished. So I stayed up late last night and got it done, and I slept with it on my bed! I'm so glad I opted to make it larger.
The best thing is, this quilt reignited my Japan obsession; I've been to Japan now, with my lovely daughter; I've finished the quilt and have a couple more on the go; AND I'm going to Japan again at the end of September!
This time I'll be alone, and I need some fabric related travel advice …so anyone with ideas about places to go, things to see and do in Osaka/Kyoto area? Please feel free to suggest away. (Not going to Tokyo this time, so Nippori is for another trip.)
If you've got to the end of this long post - congratulations and thank you.
Here is a list of charities in aid of the tragic 2011 Japanese Tsunami and earthquake.
Till next time,
Ann.

Japan: This time last year!

Mmmmmm ;p

Fabric in Diamaru, Osaka

Summer yukata

We were in Japan this time last year!

Nippori Fabric Town

I had a customer in the shop a couple of days ago, and we got talking about Japan and fabric and where to go...

She told me about an amazing distric in/near Tokyo, called "Fabric Town". I googled it this morning and found this You Tube video. It looks amazing! Have a look at the photos on the Tokyo Fashion website link above - Wow!

There are so many amazing places to find fabric in the world. Africa, Indonesia and japan would have to be right up the top for me...

Have you got any other favourite shopping suggestions?

Have a good weekend,

Ann ♥

Green Tea Sundae

I've been gathering together fabrics for a Green Tea Sundae

quilt.

It's inspired by green tea sundaes I got a bit obsessed with in Japan... top left was the yummiest! Bottom left was most intense in colour and taste (and made me feel a bit sick). The ice cream trio was large plastic food models in a charming Kyoto tea house. I really want to make a quilt with these greens to remember our holiday.

I ate this sundae at the Lipton Tea house, Kyoto Railway Station, on our last day and succeeded in making myself queasy for the flight back to Australia later that night. It had rich green tea flavoured ice cream, sweet red beans, some sort of gluggy, gelatinous white tapioca balls, green tea flavoured cake squares, glace chestnuts and green tea-ish whipped cream...mmmmm... like when you've eaten too much party food when you were a kid!

xo xo Ann.