The latest in my sashiko tutorial video series is longer than the first episode… mainly because Thomas wasn’t here to hurry me along and keep things brief so I rambled a bit. Hope you don’t mind, or at the very least find the ramblings useful. I talk more about thimbles and how to use them,…
Author: The Ardent Thread
This is the blog for KimonoMomo, an online business selling new and vintage textiles, thread, and notions from Japan.
New in the Kimonomomo shop: a rainbow of vintage yukata bolts
Summertime is yukata season, and in the Kimonomomo studio that means getting the dozens of yukata bolts I’ve had hiding on the shelf (some for years) out into the sunshine where I can photograph them in the best light. Here are a few of my favorites, old and new. Click on the images to view…
New in the Kimonomomo shop: Vintage Japanese Ceramics
For the past two years or so I’ve been squirreling away stashes of vintage ceramics I’ve been picking up from estate sales, antique shops, and other sources. In Japan last year I had to resist the urge to buy even more as I didn’t have room in my three suitcases that were already stuffed with kimono, obi,…
Our first video!
We did it! Thomas and I cleared off the cutting table and put together a simple starting project for learning sashiko. Okay, so all I did was demonstrate how to backstitch and use a thimble, but that’s exactly what I teach my customers over and over at every show so I figured there might be…
Shop updates and “summer vacation” in the Kimonomomo Studio
Thomas is on summer vacation from teaching 4th grade, which means he’s taking a very active role in the studio. Last month we had the following conversation: “How many of these fabrics are listed online right now?” he asked, looking at the wall of vintage kimono and yukata bolts. I looked up from the floor where…
Upcoming show: Piecemakers Guild Quilt Show, Newark, CA
Wow! Busy weekend ahead. I haven’t even unpacked from my last show in San Luis Obispo, CA and it’s already time for my next show. Last weekend (first weekend of every month) we had the monthly meeting of the South Bay Sashiko Guild in San Jose/Campbell, CA, and now I’m setting up for the Piecemakers…
Product Review: KARISMA Air Fade Pen and Fujix Soie et Silk Thread
It’s a product review two-for-one! I’ve been experimenting with the KARISMA Air Fade Ink pens on silk lately and I’m quite pleased with the results. I have heard that some brands of air fade ink pens will come back if the fabric is laundered, so I decided to use them on fabrics I wasn’t planning to…
Tulip Sewing Needles a’plenty
Tulip, a sewing needle manufacturer in Hiroshima, Japan, recently celebrated its 65th anniversary. Founded in 1948 to make fishing needles, the company switched to more crafty consumers in the 1950s when they began exporting crochet hooks and knitting needles. Now well-known for their quilting needles and beading tools, Tulip has refined their product for a…
Kimonomomo Shop Updates for late May 2014
In case you missed it on Facebook or Twitter earlier, here some upcoming events I’ll be hosting in the San Francisco, CA Bay Area: Saturday, May 31: Mini Kimono Workshop – Kimonomomo Studio in Alameda Sunday, June 1: Bay Area Sashiko Workshop – South Bay/San Jose/Campbell area And an Etsy Craft Party on Friday, June 6! The…
Video of mechanized silk looms in a Japanese obi factory
It’s not the best footage, but this view of a working Japanese textile mill is entertaining if you enjoy seeing how machinery works, which I do. The sound inside this mill is a lot of clacking and thrumming, not very musical and quite monotonous. However, I enjoy watching the various bits of this and that moving about…
How to refill KARISMA Multicolor Pencil
Aleta from HinterlandMama sent me the following email this week: Hello! I have been using my pencil endlessly, but now the white chalk won’t come out when I press the end. I thought I would refill with the leads I bought from you, in case that’s the problem. But try as a might, I can’t…
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Originally posted on Daily Japanese Textile:
Futon cover Tsumugi silk Stenciled, paste resist This futon cover has multiple auspicious symbols, including the chrysanthemum, wisteria, scrolling vines and interlocking circles, and so is probably a wedding futon. Most often, cotton is associated with indigo, and silk with safflower dye, because each has a chemical affinity for…
A love for both the common fiber and the extraordinary textile @KimonoMomo 