I’m teaching a few sashiko classes this fall, so I’ve been working on demonstration pieces to share with the students. I was working on one of them last night while Thomas and I listened to a baseball game on the radio. We cut off our cable TV a few months back to save money and…
Tag: sewing
New tutorial video and an upcoming show
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,…
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…
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…
Mother’s Day Coupon Code!
There are so many new fabrics in the shop to play with, and I’m a mother, so… coupons codes for you! Use the code MOTHERSDAY14 at checkout for 15% off your purchase at my Kimonomomo Etsy shop from now until midnight on Mother’s Day, which is May 11, 2014 in the USA. Share the code,…
This week in the Kimonomomo design studio…
Today I had a visitor to the studio this weekend who asked me to show her how I do my sashiko. Helen was a lovely guest (who bought some of my favorite fabrics) and we chatted for a few hours while I stitched away. She likes to plan out her sewing projects, “obsessing” about them…
Fujix Persimmon dyed threads Kakishibu – 柿渋
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…
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…
Preparing costumes for Dickens Fair 2014
I’m a little bit of a costuming nerd. Maybe an intermediate nerd. What started with historically accurate Halloween costumes in grade school turned into working at Renaissance Faire in high school, and Victorian costuming for Dickens Christmas Fair soon after that. Having a mother who could plan and sew a costume with a bit of…
Hida Sashiko Thread
I’ve been selling sashiko thread in my shop since 2008, and it’s always been Olympus thread, nothing else. I knew of other brands, but Olympus has been a dependable brand for me, and I’ve been very happy to have it in stock and use it in my classes and projects. Earlier this year discovered Hida…
A love for both the common fiber and the extraordinary textile @KimonoMomo 