kimono silk

Kauai and Craft: Fashion+Home

October 1, 2023 6 Comments

Hawaii dropped in my lap. You absolutely do not say no to a trip to Hawaii, even if you only have a few days between it and the Smithsonian’s Craft: Fashion+Home show.

So I did as much as I could for the show, then packed my bags for the beautiful island of Kauai.

7 days to relax and leave all concerns and worries behind.

Palm trees, trade winds and blue skies.

And a turquoise ocean with craggy mountains behind.

Flowers that do not grow in Portland.

Amazing, gorgeous flowers

And banyan trees.

Banyan Trees!

The Kauai Coffee Estate, the largest coffee farm in the US, where you can wander through the coffee orchard.

And more palm trees and beaches and more ocean.

Even when it is overcast, it’s still warm.

Delightful!

Then back home to finish up for the show.

I had made these before my trip, but the Hawaiian vibe comes through strong.

A jacket with exotic birds and jungle like flowers.

More birds on the sleeves and the back.

And water, this design is usually referred to as a stream, but after Kauai, it’s totally ocean to me.

With beads sewn all over to add a watery sparkle.

A coat with another ocean-y ‘stream’ design. I appliquéd strips of gold bias tubes to emphasize the feeling of waves.

A side view to show a sleeve.

I wasn’t consciously channelling Hawaii, but maybe just the idea of going percolated through to my work.

Next up? In just a few days, Craft: Fashion+Home in Washington DC! October 5 – 8. If you’re anywhere near, stop by!

Hokusai Waves

June 3, 2023 8 Comments

I absolutely love the iconic wave design by Hokusai, the famous Japanese artist from the early 18th century.

I know you must know his print, ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa,’ with the stormy sea, the three small boats and Mt Fuji off in the distance. It’s everywhere! For a good reason. It’s magnificent.

It’s so loved it’s been reproduced onto everything, from post cards to tote bags, from socks to mugs, teeshirts to iPhone covers. Think of something, anything that you could sell in gift shop and it will have a Hokusai wave on it.

And, happily, that fantastic design has been woven into kimono silks.
For me, who goes crazy for a Hokusai Wave anything, a kimono silk woven with the great wave was a fabulous find. Gorgeous!

And, bonus, in gold and silver on black. Amazing!

I took apart the old kimono, rearranged the patterns so that the design would flow, then pieced it together and sewed little gold beads to suggest a spray of water.

A detail. Gold, silver and a tiny bit of a deep mahogany color.

The back.

There is a tiny bit of the fabric remaining, but not much. I used almost all of it.

It’s now off to its new home.

I have so many gorgeous kimono silks. They are a delight to use. So gorgeous. And each unique. The best thing? After one is done, I can move onto the next.

Watch this space for more.

One last look

March 26, 2023 6 Comments

Before I refocus towards new work, how about one last look at some of the pieces that were sold at the Baltimore show?

A tomato red coat with appliqués in a slightly different red. I posted a story about this one in October when I started it. Check it out here.

I did finish it, just in time for the show.

A jacket, sewn from the remainder pieces of coat I made a number of years ago.

All those little bits and pieces, left over from various projects, that I store away. Eventually, sometimes years later, I use them for a new project.

Waste nothing! A skirt pieced from various leftover scraps of kimono silks, all woven with sparkling metallic threads.

Topped with a black hitoe that was sewn from an amazing ‘rinzo’ kimono silk, a kind of a damask.

A detail shot.

Formal wedding kimonos are fantastic to work with, not only are they amazingly gorgeous, but they also have extra long sleeves, also covered with designs. Those long sleeves mean all the more beautiful fabric to work with. Like this oversized jacket, loose and full.

And enough fabric left over to make a second jacket.

And a red and gold jacket sewn from the remainders of another oversized jacket.

Below, that oversized jacket, the one that I had first sewn from the red and gold kimono silk. I brought it back with me and listed it on my web-shop. You can check it out here.

This is how it goes, I start with a beautiful kimono silk and see where it leads me. I sew up new work and send those jackets, coats, skirts on their way. Then, maybe the best part, I get to start all over again.

Every time it’s different, sometimes a challenge, but in the end, always fun, always rewarding.

ACC Baltimore ’23 Coming Up!

February 19, 2023 3 Comments

I’m sewing up a storm these days. New jackets and coats are flying out of my studio. Pieced, appliquéd or beaded, each one sewn using a gorgeous kimono silk. No more sitting and waiting patiently on my shelves, these fabrics will be out and about, living their new lives.

I started this pieced jacket a few weeks ago, using fabrics from my scrap stash. From a pile of fabric bits and pieces to a brand new jacket. Magic!

The Met Museum’s Instagram account has a picture of a Japanese pieced vest from the first half of the 1800’s. The caption reads, ‘Patchwork has connotations of longevity, since stitching together the scraps extended their use.’ I love it! Wear a jacket made from leftover fabric scraps and add years to your life. Perfect!

The back.

Below, a new trench coat sewn from an amazing old meisen kimono.

You remember ‘meisen’, yes? Where they weave the fabric, print the design, unweave it, then reweave it?

When it is rewoven, the threads do not line up and you get a soft, out of focus edge.

This stuff is gorgeous!

I started this black and white striped coat with appliqués of thin bias tubes a few months ago.

Finished and ready for the show!

From the side, appliqués on the sleeves.

And the back.

And for a bit of sparkle, nothing beats glittery gold.

From an amazing kimono, a silk woven with golden threads, with beads sprinkled about for even more shine.

And the back.

These and many others will be coming with me to Baltimore for the big craft show.

March 3-5. Which is soon!

Can’t wait!

Looking towards Baltimore

February 5, 2023 4 Comments

It’s coming up! The ACC Baltimore Craft Show, with its new name, American Craft Made.

I am buried in my happy place. Kimono silks flying, ideas bubbling, sewing machine buzzing, zeroing in and focusing on new work.

Such as this pieced trench coat. All in blue and white kimono silks from leftovers of previous projects.

The back.

But wait! Before I focus completely on new pieces for Baltimore. I want to take a last look at a couple of jackets that found their way to their new homes.

Like this pieced jacket in bright colors set off with white. A few weeks ago I posted this one in process. All the fabrics are from my never ending piles of leftover scraps. No new silk was cut for this jacket.

Actually, it’s a theme for this whole post. These three jackets are all from remainders. Fabric pieces from previous projects.