Shibori Napkins

At David's suggestion, I decided to make napkins out of the the pieces I dyed in at the Vermont Quilt Festival - that was fun once I got the hang of it,  and we are just going to use them as everyday napkins.





This basket belonged to my Great Grandma Una Fisher in West Virginia.  It's one of my favorite things and embodies wabi sabi.... old, well loved and well used, and showing the crafter's skill and artistry, the use of natural materials.   Utilitarian and beautiful - a great combo.

Westering Women finally finished

Finally finished my Westering Women this week - from Barbara Brackman's BOM in 2016 on her Civil War Quilts blog.  The blocks measure 12".   I've had the top waiting for I think more than a year - this week it was just time to get it done already!



I used mostly Japanese fabrics so I'm calling it Westering Women via Japan.




I used Fun with Barb's large baptist fan stencil




Free motion and Netflix -


To be honest I'm really *not* proud of my quilting... should have slowed down and engaged some quality control.  I was all over the place and not in the zone.  There was a lack of flow.  Errgh.   But, moving on folks...

And the overall baptist fan effect is nice:



Finished the binding and label last night, washed it this morning, and done!



And I'm enjoying this year's Civil War Quilts BOM for sure - Antebellum Album.  Here's the latest block - Madame's Star -




x
Cynthia

Vermont Quilt Festival - indigo dyeing class

I took an itajime shibori dyeing workshop at the Vermont Quilt Festival on Saturday.  Our instructor Cindy Lohbeck  made it fun and fast paced (though a bit too rushed at the end) and the venue was perfect.  Highly recommend, if you ever get a chance to take one of her workshops.   That gal completely knows what she's talking about.

Triangle folds, then clamp on templates for the resist:





Once home, around midnight I rinsed and revealed... totally fun... and I'm ready to order more fabric and dye from Cindy!



And (even though I'm sure these are rough) I'm thrilled with the results!



I'm not going to be too fussy with these - I will probably lob them together into a simple, utilitarian, fun quilt. 




Then.... I hit the crepe stand... I mean, of course!



Cute tip jar.  Which way would you have voted?  I say, one isn't better than the other - just different - but there is nothing prettier than a hand quilted quilt.




And then on to the quilt show, which I will blog about later tonight after a busy day.  I didn't take many photos -

By the way, with your blog, if you are having that trouble in terms of not getting email notifications when you get comments, Barb has clear easy instructions for the fix.   Thanks Barb!

Happy Monday everyone -

x
Cynthia

Japan part 3 - Indigo and wabi sabi

The main highlight of my week in Japan: a field trip to David's coworker's family indigo operation in Saitama Prefecture.  I'm going to be cryptic about names and places because I don't know if they want their info "out there" - I think this was a rare tour, and they aren't in the business of selling their fabric.

This all started months ago with David mentioning to a coworker that he wanted to find me some indigo dyed woven cotton; his coworker gave a surprised look and said "my family owns an indigo factory and we weave fabric!" Wow, serendipity.

This is the real deal and there are only a couple of indigo factories in the area still doing the whole dyeing and weaving process from start to finish.  They are fifth generation and take such pride in their work.   They source their indigo from Tokushima, in Shikoku (southern Japan), where conditions are ideal for growing indigo.  

Trying our hand at a little shibori as we prepare to tour the factory:

Giant skeins of cotton awaiting the indigo dyeing process:

This indigo is alive:

Tending to the vats:

Repeated careful dips of our tied bundles:

A good rinse:

Voila:

Cloth woven on vintage looms:

The cloth is sewn into kendo uniforms and thus a fifth generation business lives on. 

We had such a nice discussion about wabi sabi - older means deeper and more beautiful.  How indigo is alive, alive, alive.

Look at this gorgeous continuum of indigo and consider the darkest shade on the right.  Our guide explained that although what we see on the surface is the darkest indigo shade, inside of the fabric, all of the other lighter indigo shades exist.  The darkest fabric actually contains all of the shades.  With time and use, those lighter shades appear.  What a lovely wabi-sabi idea.

Check out our shibori bandanas drying in the sun:

Even the painted exterior of the factory was an inspiring example of that elusive "wabi sabi" aesthetic:


The whole experience - from the smell of the indigo... the cool feel of the indigo dye as we dipped our cotton pieces, to the deafening rhythms of the looms (reminding me so much of the Mill Girls in Lowell), to the beautiful and even touching explanation of the soul of indigo and its connection to wabi sabi... all of it was just wonderful and I felt so grateful for the experience.  I dare say it was worth the 13 hour flight and jet lag;).

x
Cynthia