monkey hands

Thinking Boro

Jude Hill's "Contemporary Boro 2" online course starts next week (see her  Spirit Cloth blog), so I've been thinking boro as I try to decide what I'll use for my applied learning--an old shirt, perhaps, or maybe a bag to carry.

I've been fortunate to see the boro exhibit a  couple times now at Amuse  in Tokyo (click the highlighted* terms for more information from the source).  If you're in Tokyo or get a chance to visit, this is an amazing place with a vast collection (the result of one man's life's work) of rural Japanese clothes, cloths, cookware and tools, including this farmer's jacket:

and this coat, below (with apologies for the sideways images--these were taken with my phone, and I'm too eager to get back to stitching to fiddle with them--click on image for larger version).

detail of coat:

I have a few more photos of clothes and cast iron tools--let me know if this interests you and I'll try to post more as I go along. For now, my needle beckons...

* barely highlighted--faint gray on my screen, sorry. I'll try to figure out how to fix that.

Spring Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

In full bloom! Cherry blossoms and lanterns along the Kanda River in Tokyo last week

View from hotel window

Cherry blossoms, double waterfalls, and carp filled ponds in Chinzan-so Garden in Tokyo

Beijing Minimalist Bird

Not quite stork-like in body, but stork-inspired legs on this new bird I made last night. I've named it "time-bird," because the wings are made from a Japanese wrapping cloth printed with world clocks, and time is precious; it was a gift from one of my sisters, who is currently living in Tokyo. "Minimalist" because I decided to leave the eyes and beak to the imagination.  

Prominant sign at the Sultanpur National Park Bird Sanctuary in Delhi. I'm dreaming in birds since spending time here a few days ago.

The "Beijing" clock is next to the "Tokyo" clock, reminding me that my sister and I are geographically closer to each other (3.5 hours by air) than we've been in decades. 

I'll migrate over to Japan later this month to visit my sister and niece, and to meet our mother/grandmother, who will be flying (in a big silver bird) over from Tucson for a visit. Beijing air is not fit for birds or people today: 

As recorded by the U.S. Embassy this morning.

Yokohama Quilt Show: Art Quilts!

Small art quilts were a significant portion of the 2011 show.  This is a small sampling, with photos snapped when the crowds were sparse enough to attempt taking pictures.

I'm not sure about the wisdom of using a bright yellow background, but I liked the detail in this crazy quilt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fugi, as seen from the roadway.  These photos were taken from the second seat of a moving van on my way to Yamanashi to see the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. 

Two days ago I returned to Beijing after spending two weeks in Japan, where I visited family before heading out on an incredible 10-day fiber arts tour run by  Quilter's Express. I’ll share highlights about the tour, including a day spent at the Yokohama Quilt Show, over the next few days. 

Meanwhile, I’m now in Hanoi (yes, it was a very quick turn-around), where I’ll be teaching at a local university for the next two weeks.  More about that later, too!

Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fugi, as seen from the roadway.  These photos were taken from the second seat of a moving van on my way to (kimono museum). 

Two days ago I returned to Beijing after spending two weeks in Japan, where I visited family before heading out on an incredible 10-day fiber arts tour run by (quilters express). I’ll share highlights about the tour, including a day spent at the Yokohama Quilt Show, over the next few days. Meanwhile, I’m now in Hanoi, where I’ll be teaching at a local university for the next two weeks (more about that soon, too). 

Feather on Indigo

 

Last night I stitched another feather for the Magic Feather Project (see button at left). This is a scrap of hand-dyed indigo cotton from yardage I bought directly from the dyer when I was in Japan last month. It has a lovely, last-forever, heavy feel. 

 

 

Ikat at the Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum, Tokyo

This stunning exhibit showcases a wide array of Ikat, including traditional Japanese designs as well as Middle Eastern, African, and Central American textiles, among others.  The Bunka Gakuen Costume Museum is open from 10:00am to 4:00pm; this show runs until December 17th.  If you're in Tokyo, I highly recommend seeing it! 

Indigo and Sashiko

As part of the fiber arts/quilt tour I'm on in Japan, I met Amy Katoh, the wonderful woman behind the incredible Blue and White shop in Tokyo.  If you appreciate fine Japanese textiles and crafts, this shop is a gem! I "collected" these treasures at the shop yesterday: 

My one-of-a-kind finds included this gray sashiko table covering (the gray is much richer than this hotel-room photo shows) and blue sashiko wall hanging, both made by the same artist.  I'm bringing them home for inspiration and instruction.
 Detail of wall hanging. I'll say more about the indigo fabric later. 

Japanese Rock Garden

Garden in Zuiho-in, a sub-temple of Daitokuji Monastery, a Zen buddhist monastery, founded in 1319.

Inspiration, perhaps, for a small, simple art quilt?

I've got a vague idea that's trying to work its way into a plan. I'm thinking totally hand stitched, maybe some dimensional texture...to be continued, I hope.