I’ve been having fun researching and learning more about Chugata (a form of double-sided stencil dyeing) this week, and how it relates to other Japanese dyeing techniques such as katazome. While I’ve had some of these fabrics for years, I hadn’t really dug into their history too much until now. Here are the first two videos…
Category: textiles
New and wonderful sashiko fabrics for 2016
Orders from Houston Quilt Market are starting to arrive! New fabrics, sashiko kits, and a few kits I’m designing right now will be gracing the Kimonomomo Etsy shop over the next few days and weeks. For fans of little pre-printed, wash-out hanafukin (hand towels) there are a few new designs to get your New Year…
市松人形 Antique doll kimono – My New Year Challenge – part 3
A little background on what makes a doll an Ichimatsu ningyo… 人形 Ningyo = doll. That’s the easy part. 佐野川 市松 Sanogawa Ichimatsu (1722-1762) What have come to be called Ichimatsu dolls were first produced in the Kampô and Hôreki eras (1741 – 1764), the faces designed to resemble Sanogawa Ichimatsu, a Kabuki actor who was famous for…
Antique doll kimono – My New Year Challenge – part 2
In the West we tend to think of kimono as a static garment, always one style, one type of construction. Over the past decade I have handled a wide variety of vintage kimono, mostly from the 20th century, and the style, color, quality of weave, etc. do change the same as our own garments, although perhaps…
Antique doll kimono – My New Year Challenge – part 1
You may remember the antique doll I found in a consignment shop a few years back — links at the bottom of this post if you’d like to see the story — and how his restoration went. The very talented Anne Weaver did an excellent job repairing the doll, but the person who worked on cleaning…
Time for a sale!
I brought Thomas along with me to Quilt Market this year in the hope that he would keep my spending under control, but that wasn’t the case. We did stay on budget… until he left and I had one more day at Market on my own to do a little shopping. So! This means I…
New video, upcoming shows, and classes for October
Finally got done editing part 2 of the Deconstructing Kimono videos. They were both long, I’m working on shorter videos but sometimes I have too much fun to keep things brief. Class space is available for the two Sashiko classes I’m offering this month: Voodoo Kitty Pincushions. These will be relaxed, all hand sewing using vintage…
AQS QuiltWeek Grand Rapids Michigan & Japanese Textile Lecture
Helloooo, Grand Rapids! I’ll be heading your way August 11-16 for AQS QuiltWeek and I am very excited. I’ll hit up my two favorite haunts, Reserve and San Chez for fantastic food and drink, do a little shopping downtown, and check out the beautiful architecture of this little gem of a Midwestern city. AQS QuiltWeek brings…
New organic cotton fabrics from Cloud9 and Monaluna, and our latest quilt show
Last year we quietly launched our new Etsy shop, Blue Star Organic Fabrics. We’re still building inventory slowly and collections we ordered last fall at Quilt Market are arriving a bit at a time. Last month we got Haiku from Monaluna, and this month Morning Song from Cloud9 arrived. Both collections are gorgeous, and more grown…
Silk Sashiko class registration almost open for Houston International Quilt Festival 2015
Class enrollment opens July 3 for the Houston International Quilt Festival! If you’d like to take my SILK SASHIKO class on Saturday, October 31, (#749 in the class catalog) be sure to sign up early as last year the class sold out by mid-August. I’ve had all year to work on improving the class so it…
Hyakka Ryoran Neko Collection
Like cats? So do we! Our cranky, flighty Miss Lily sheds, scratches, and bites, but we love her anyway. Like cat fabrics for quilts? We have ’em! This collection from Quilt Gate is playful and yummy, filled with cats, flowers, and fun. It comes in five different prints and five different colorways. The fabric is…
New look for the Kimonomomo Studio
Kimonomomo is an online Etsy shop and we also sell at several quilt shows throughout the year, mostly in California. For years my kids endured having all that inventory in the living room as we endured tiny apartments and cramped living conditions for the first few years of my business. When I moved in with Thomas…
A love for both the common fiber and the extraordinary textile @KimonoMomo 