Beautiful beautiful patchwork
I am so smitten with my new patchwork "mook" (ISBN4056042837). The photos are gorgeous and I love all the projects. Not sure when I'll get around to making something, but much happy browsing is going on in the meantime.
Colour blinded
As part of the continuing post-exam indulgence I went to the Tokyo International Quilt Festival this afternoon. It was huge! When I read that it was at Tokyo Dome I thought it must be in one of the surrounding buildings, but it was actually in the baseball stadium and filled the whole field.
Quilts entered in the different competition categories were on display - kids, traditional, art quilts, Japanese style etc. - and there were also exhibitions of some vintage quilts from Hawaii and Tahiti, and from the Quilters' Guild in the UK, as well as works from contemporary Japanese textile artists. My favourites were the Japanese-style quilts, pieced from indigo fabric or scraps of kimonos.
I had never been to a quilt show before, so didn't realise that there would be stalls as well as the display. Big mistake! I arrived with only 700 yen in cash after I'd paid for my ticket, and so had so spend the afternoon being taunted by gorgeous books, fabrics and kits that I couldn't buy (none of the stalls took cards, and there was no ATM). Forced to decide between fabric and food, I spent my 700 yen on a bag of mixed buttons and some beautiful remnants. After a couple of hours I was dizzy with hunger and totally overwhelmed by all the incredible work. Next year I will know better and come armed with cash and comfortable shoes!
Fabrics old and new
While I was back in Sydney my mum helped me rummage through some of the cupboards at home, tracking down old bits of fabric and notions. I brought some of the goodies back to Tokyo with me.
The fabric on the left is a cot sheet that I remember from when my sister and brother were babies - I think my grandmother made it. The bottom right fabric is a length of cotton that has been hanging around for ages - my grandmother gave it to my mum, and I think it may have originated with my dad's paternal grandmother. The buttons are just a few of my grandmother's collection (she had jars labelled "pink/red" "blue" etc. that I used to play with as a child) which is now living at my parent's house.
I also went shopping for some new fabric at Tessuti in Chatswood. I love Japanese textiles, but it's fun to get something else for a change. These are the makings of a skirt, top and some pyjamas.
The fabric on the left is a cot sheet that I remember from when my sister and brother were babies - I think my grandmother made it. The bottom right fabric is a length of cotton that has been hanging around for ages - my grandmother gave it to my mum, and I think it may have originated with my dad's paternal grandmother. The buttons are just a few of my grandmother's collection (she had jars labelled "pink/red" "blue" etc. that I used to play with as a child) which is now living at my parent's house.
I also went shopping for some new fabric at Tessuti in Chatswood. I love Japanese textiles, but it's fun to get something else for a change. These are the makings of a skirt, top and some pyjamas.
Whew!
The Christmas Sewing Marathon is now complete, and I'm feeling very relieved. Now I just need to finish a powerpoint presentation for tomorrow, study for the two tests I have before we leave, get on top of the washing and pack!The little purse on the left is something I made from my new book from Aranzi Aronzo - it is full of cute things and I can't wait to try more in the new year. More pictures of recent sewing here - but if you are family, no peeking 'til after Christmas, please!
Gocco goodness
Every year I make Christmas cards with my trusty Print Gocco, so I was very sad to hear of its imminent demise. I am going to stock up on lots of bulbs, inks and screens while I still can.This year's card is very simple, and I decided to use postcards, Japanese-style, which saves paper, postage and time (less room on the back to fill with news = quicker to write).
I always seem to over-ink my gocco screens, and so after I'd made enough cards I printed some extra and then cut out the trees to make little gift tags. This was just a last minute change of plan, but I actually like the tags better than the cards.Origami stars
I love the idea of home-made Christmas decorations, in fact home-made Christmas anything. Maybe because I'm in Japan where Christmas is nothing but a commercial event, I've been feeling a growing resistance to participating in the whole Christmas consumption bonanza. So this year I'm trying to make as many gifts as I can, and also some quick and easy decorations. These origami stars were so simple, but look really cute. I got the idea from here, and the folding instructions here.Inspiring afternoon
On Sunday I went to Design Festa, a twice-yearly all-weekend art and craft extravaganza held at the Tokyo Big Sight. It was great! This was my 2nd visit, and I came better prepared than last time; with lots of small change and sans bored husband.
There was so much to look at - 3 enormous halls full of booths and stalls, each one rented by some kind of creator to showcase or sell their work. There are t-shirts, postcards, paintings, tables, photos, brooches and clothes, as well almost anything else you can imagine.
I loved seeing all the different kinds of art and design, and came home with lots of gorgeous postcards, as well as some stationary, pins and a bag. I didn't even see half of what was there, it just took too long to squeeze through the crowds and look at what was on display. It is such a great event though - because anyone can hire a booth the people there range from those who are quite well established to school students, and as well as Japanese artists lots of people had flown in from other countries. It's really nice to be able to talk to the artists who've made things in person, and the whole place just buzzes with creativity.
I picked up lots of meishi, and thought I would include some links for people who are interested in Japanese arty/crafty stuff.
The gorgeous amigurumi toys to the left are from Soragumi. She had made so many different types of dogs... I loved the spaniels with curly wool ears. I bought postcards from illustrators here here, here and here; and some stationary from here. They are all kind of quirky and cute. This artist makes lovely prints, and I fell in love with one of this artist's paintings but it had already sold... These textile collages are also gorgeous. For fabric, these pouches made from vintage textiles are amazing, and I loved some of the fabrics in these bags.
There was so much more beautiful stuff but unfortunately a lot of people didn't have websites - I guess it's hard when you're just starting out. Most of the sites above are in Japanese, but the trusty "right click -> translate" trick usually works okay, and lets you navigate through to the images. Happy browsing!
There was so much to look at - 3 enormous halls full of booths and stalls, each one rented by some kind of creator to showcase or sell their work. There are t-shirts, postcards, paintings, tables, photos, brooches and clothes, as well almost anything else you can imagine.
I loved seeing all the different kinds of art and design, and came home with lots of gorgeous postcards, as well as some stationary, pins and a bag. I didn't even see half of what was there, it just took too long to squeeze through the crowds and look at what was on display. It is such a great event though - because anyone can hire a booth the people there range from those who are quite well established to school students, and as well as Japanese artists lots of people had flown in from other countries. It's really nice to be able to talk to the artists who've made things in person, and the whole place just buzzes with creativity.
I picked up lots of meishi, and thought I would include some links for people who are interested in Japanese arty/crafty stuff.The gorgeous amigurumi toys to the left are from Soragumi. She had made so many different types of dogs... I loved the spaniels with curly wool ears. I bought postcards from illustrators here here, here and here; and some stationary from here. They are all kind of quirky and cute. This artist makes lovely prints, and I fell in love with one of this artist's paintings but it had already sold... These textile collages are also gorgeous. For fabric, these pouches made from vintage textiles are amazing, and I loved some of the fabrics in these bags.
There was so much more beautiful stuff but unfortunately a lot of people didn't have websites - I guess it's hard when you're just starting out. Most of the sites above are in Japanese, but the trusty "right click -> translate" trick usually works okay, and lets you navigate through to the images. Happy browsing! Fabric from Thailand
At the end of last week I got a gorgeous box of fabric and notions from Sooz in Thailand. I love reading her stories about life in Chiang Mai, and seeing the way she uses local material in her craft, so I am very excited to get my hands on some of the things she uses! It's really inspiring to see some fabric that's so different to what's in the shops here - rather than being printed this has woven designs and slightly more muted colours. 
And the trims and bobbles are great - lots of elephant designs.I'm now trying to work out what to use it all for - the pile of fabric in the cupboard is rapidly growing, and I have a bunch of ideas in my head, but actually finding the time to get the sewing machine out is difficult.
When I have sewn recently, it's mostly been little bags from this book and some zippered pouches... this tutorial is fantastic and makes it really easy, even if you hate zippers like me. The two-tone totes and the smaller one are from the Japanese book, and were lots of fun to make - they are a good size, big enough for a book but not too huge. More photos here.from : http://floatingworld.typepad.com/floating_world_views/sewing_and_crafty_stuff/
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