I’m a huge fan of natural indigo, but sometimes a different color can be refreshing. Kakishibu (柿渋) is a tannin made from shredded and fermented green persimmons. If you’ve ever tasted an unripe persimmon then you are familiar with the astringency it can have! Aside from giving you a puckery mouth, this astringency has some…
Month: March 2014
Kimono Tuesdays
For some reason rainy spring days make me want to wear kimono. I wore kimono more frequently when I lived in Oregon (mostly in the high desert, not the rainy valley), but since moving back to California several years ago I haven’t put in the effort. On Monday, while rain clouds moved in over the…
Sashiko boro quilt
If you’ve seen me at a show or come to the Kimonomomo studio in the last few months, you’ve probably seen the quilt I’ve been working on. Pieced from Alexander Henry, Moda, Olympus, and Kona Bay prints, plus a few 19th century katazome cottons, it’s coming together nicely. Piecing took two days using a 1959 Singer…
Washing shibori yukata cotton
Textile junkies love color and texture, and shibori has both in spades. When it comes to using these fabrics and not just collecting them (as my mother so often did), we take a step back and ask, “What is going to happen if I wash this? What if I don’t wash it? Will washing make…
Kogin – yet another diversion to keep my hands happy
You know, because I obviously have WAY too much free time. Koginzashi こぎん刺し (or according to various online translations, “concentrated silver stab”) is a regional stitch technique that evolved out of its plain but fascinating older sister, sashiko刺し子. By carefully counting the warp and weft threads of a piece of cloth, a pattern could be devised…
Kimonomomo Shop Updates for March 2014
February blew through the studio, bringing with it two shows (AQS Phoenix AZ & San Mateo, CA), many orders, and several new projects. Between keeping up with the shop and the garden–a lack of rain here meant daily watering so our winter vegetables wouldn’t die–I fell behind on my writing. To catch up, here is…
A love for both the common fiber and the extraordinary textile @KimonoMomo 