april in europe

after i returned to the states from japan, i quickly wrapped up and submitted my masters thesis. then, i took advantage of some frequent flier miles i'd saved up and visited some friends in europe. it was absolutely fantastic. i saw some art, some crafts, visited excellent cities and wonderful people that i hadn't seen for quite a while. it was all about relaxing, catching up with friends. and food and coffee of course! the photos above and below are both brunch plates from copenhagen, where brunch has been taken to new levels.

this is smorbrod, the danish open-faced sandwich. DE-licious.

rhubarb crumble at a natural foods cafe in london.
this is actually a cafe in london, but its name, fika, is the swedish (very key!) concept of a cozy coffee break.
veggies grilled in the backyard on a sunny sunday in belfast.
the dogs in a sunny patch in the house on the sea in scotland.

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!!

baby quilt

i worked on this project for a while, and it was a surprise so i had to keep it a secret! whew.
it's a baby quilt made from tenugui fabric, which i don't seem to be becoming any less obsessed with. it's my first quilt, and it was super fun.

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.

sayonara sale part III

a vintage japanese kimono is over in my etsy shop.

sayonara sale sunday part II

UPDATE: sorry, it's found a new home

how to make felt tutorial

my newly upgraded website finally includes a felting tutorial, under felt 101 on the top menu. it's the same instructions that i include in my how-to-make-felt kits, but now you can download the 2 page pdf to print and use at home, easy peasy. up with felt!

sayonara sale sunday

i am starting to get ready to return to the u.s. at the end of march. i am here in japan on an 18 month research exchange program, and the next step for me is to return to seattle and turn in my masters thesis. of course, i am both excited to go home, and sad to leave japan.

mostly i am just trying to get everything done-research, thesis, little trips, spending time with friends, and of course crafting!

and, as any crafter knows, a craft stash makes moving more fun! (just kidding). so in the japanese tradition, i thought i would hold a wee sayonara (good-bye) sale on this blog.

today's item: adorable wooden blocks from my favorite store-muji.

currently available sets are: countryside, hong kong, london, new york. they each come in a small cloth bag, and include distinctive landmarks/buildings/vehicles. the tallest buildings are about 10 cm, and the cars and animals are 1-2 cm. they are not safe for small children.

i'm asking $15 each, which includes international airmail shipping.
if you are interested, please send an email to feltcafeATgmail. thanks! hong konghong kong
new york

happy new year

new books for winter over at my etsy shop. the one on the left has amazing felt hats-i'm planning to keep it around for inspiration for years to come. the one on the right is scandinavian inspired felting--very cute! things scandinavian are trendy right now in japan, which makes sense, since a lot of northern european customs and aesthetics tie in rather well with zakka.
my gocco printed linen coasters also in the shop-bright red acorns seem good for winter, or maybe that's just squirrel logic!
my new wool muji slippers in orange. my toasty toes love them. (i couldn't resist and got the herringbone ones too! shhh. they're for guests;-)
here's the mouse from my last post-in honor of 2008, year of the 'nezumi,' or mouse, in japan.

takayama woodblock prints

i took a few days trip last week to gifu prefecture. i saw this store in takayama, that sells woodblock prints, mostly that have been made into paper trays.
the store is in a traditional shop house, which made it even nicer.
they also made these lovely stuffed animals (for all the zodiac years-2008 is the year of the mouse) from block printed fabric.

december

last weekend's handmade market it kyoto was the busiest i've been to yet.
so many shoppers!
a batik demonstration from my trip to indonesia last month.