When people ask me where to start with Sashiko, I often suggest one of these fukin (foo-keen) and tell them to pick a design they will actually finish. If you go for the super complex designs on your first try, it’s more likely you’ll get frustrated and shove it in a drawer, never to be…
Tag: sewing
Sashiko Subscription Box Beta coming soon!
What is the Sashiko Subscription Box (beta), you ask? The beta part refers to the first box being a limited release which will also come with a feedback questionnaire so you can tell me what you think needs to be improved or what works well. The goal is to have a presentable subscription box that…
Pardon the long absence, it’s been a busy year
Hello, dear readers. It’s been a while. In January & February I traveled Japan. More about that coming soon In March we launched our wholesale import business and showed at the San Francisco Quilt Guild Show In April I wrote a bunch, then stopped because there was so much more work to do with the…
Tokyo Great International Quilt Festival 2017 part 3
Some photos were taken in a hurry as I rushed from the booth to lunch, or back again. Closeups are all I have of these beautiful quilts. The geometry is complex and amazing. When people who don’t quilt think that quilters are old grannies who sit around making simple blankets, I want to show them…
Tokyo Great International Quilt Festival 2017 Part 2
I’m writing this while sitting in a Tokyo hotel, but I have so much more to tell you about this trip. Since leaving Tokyo Dome I took a train up to Takayama, another train down to Osaka, flew to Hirosaki in Aomori prefecture, then back to Tokyo again. Three weeks on the road and I’m almost ready…
Quick Sashiko Tips and Quilt Show News for October, 2016
Summer has wrapped up and we are heading into autumn. For me this means a LOT of work, including sewing and getting ready for quilt shows. BIG quilt shows. I’ve been a vendor at the Houston International Quilt Festival in Texas for a few years now, but this year I finally made it off the…
2016 Winter Sashiko Challenge Winners!
I know, this was scheduled for last week, but between a quilt show and a family emergency things got away from me. It didn’t help that the first two entries were so good we had a difficult time deciding which would place first. The Spring Sashiko Challenge will be available April 1. Thomas and I have…
Why is kimono fabric so narrow?
There is a lot of confusion among Westerners about this issue. We are accustomed to cutting patterns for clothing, quilts, and crafts from 42″-44″ wide bolts, so the idea that a bolt could be so much narrower–12″-15″–seems, well, foreign. Considering the width of a basic backstrap loom, the narrow fabric makes sense. Backstrap looms are easy…
Winter Sashiko Challenge Update
How are your Winter Sashiko Challenge projects going? I’ve sent out a lot of kits but have seen only one completed so far. Mine isn’t finished either… I need to get back to it! We’ve extended the deadline from Feb. 29 to March 14 to give everyone more time to put a bit of polish…
Kimonomomo Winter Sashiko Challenge 2016
It’s time for a challenge and I’m excited! Check out the video here: Magical prizes! Shopping credit at Kimonomomo ~~~ so you can have even more sashiko goodness. 1st place – $40 credit 2nd place – $20 credit 3rd place – $10 credit Here’s how you can be a part of it: Order your kit…
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…
A love for both the common fiber and the extraordinary textile @KimonoMomo 