scarflets in the shop

i listed these two scarflets in the shop. not sure if the correct spelling is scarflette or scarflet, it seems that people use both. the point is, it's a cozy warm wee scarf made of the most squishy and softest naturally processed merino wool, and naturally dyed. i'm not sure which color i love more, the indigo blue or the pumkin-colored madder.

piano nobile collaboration

i am so excited to share a collaboration that i have been working on with isabelle from piano nobile. piano nobile is a group of artists, designers and builders who create lovely work.
for this project, isabelle has been screen printing original designs based on antique letterpress type on my hand felted and naturally dyed scarves.
they are for sale over at the piano nobile etsy shop.

dying yarn

my first batch of indigo-dyed yarn. half of the yarn was heathery jacob to start with, and the other half was white merino, both of which i spun myself. i'm hooked, obviously.
indigo-dyed merino yarn
handspun natural merino dyed with madder.
finally up in my shop!

the miho museum and some natural dye

one the last places i managed to visit before i left japan back in march was the miho museum.
it was an interesting building in an amazing natural setting.

and they had some natural dyes (as well as a few other traditional crafts) displayed in the gift shop.
'dry indigo': the japanese says 'kansou aiba' which means, dried leaves of the 'ai' or japanese indigo (polygonum) plant.
'indigotin' (which i believe is actually what is found in all varieties of indigo): the japanese says 'sukumo,' which is actually the specific name for the 'ai' leaves that are fermented as part of the traditional japanese indigo dye process. more info here.

the top left is 'miscanthus tinctorius' or 'kari yasu' in japanese (a reed that produces a yellow dye). the top right is 'philodendron' or 'kihada' (the bark produces a yellow dye). the small cones in forefront are labled 'yasha' in japanese only...my best guess is that these are the alder cones used for brown dyes described here ...although there seems to be some discrepancy with the kanji used and the meanings of these characters.

a lot of this is my best (non-native-speaker) guessing. if you know more or better, please feel to share. mostly, i was impressed and delighted to find this sort of display, that included the dyestuff itself, the japanese name for it in both kanji and phonetic kana, and english!!

spring is in the air

as i am packing up my belongings, winter is definitely over. the plum trees have been blooming for a few weeks now, and then the peach trees, and if i am lucky, i might see a few cherry blossoms before i leave at the end of march.
last weekend i wound up near aizen kobo an indigo dye workshop/studio/store in an old townhouse in the nishijin textile area of kyoto.

it's very close to the nishijin textile center, if you are trying to find it you can ask here.

i've been meaning to check it out for a long time, and it's definitely worth it. i hope to take some friends to visit it in the next couple weeks, and actually try the dye process. the people who run it are great, very friendly, and enthusiastic about speaking english. the photo above is one of the lovely large tatami rooms where the indigo dyed products are displayed.