an award

 you vero for this award!
the questions:

Favorite number: ?? 5 maybe?
Favorite Non-alcoholic drink: homemade  watermelon fizz
Facebook or Twitter:  trying to phase out from facebook. never tweeted
My Passion:  textiles
Favorite pattern:  geometrics
Favorite Day of the Week:  friday.
Favorite Flower:  peonies and orchids

i won't be tagging anyone, but ya'll all tag along if you wish! and now here are some places i visit for inspiration and amusement:
the sartorialist    style bible
knitting on on the fastlane  not your regular knitting
musings from the big pink  a house husband's woes
gertie's new blog for better sewing  sewing tips that can save you
mud puddle madonna eye candy
french sampler all things french and beautiful photos
and happy solstice!


neki desu

the two year scarf

two years ago via joan lintault , another inveterate japanophile, i came in contact with the movie sakuran and the concept of oiran.it is carelessly signified along with geisha as prostitute. however as all things japanese it has many  nuances that for most western eyes go unnoticed and thus concepts get grossly mistaken.

i was taken by the lavishness of sakuran's costumes which kept popping back into my mind until i had to work on that and  create my own modest interpretation of such lavishness. 

color etiquette in japan follows very strict rules.

red of course, which carries connotations of sexual desire, flashy and vibrant for a tayu kimono.  red paired with white, Kohaku, means happiness and celebration in japanese eyes, not a bad start for a shibori scarf.nuances of red, using my then new peony brush.black, no mourning here, just contrast.

folding, dyeing, creating a subtle gradation in the red background, folding and dyeing again.

then a need for gold;lavish, opulent, flashy.a sakura flower printed with my already qualifying for vintage metallic pigments bought at  uematsu in tokyo.

cutting the stencil, finding a proportion of binder to pigment that would not alter the hand or at least not too much. stamping, curing.

this in a nutshell is the story of the oiran shibori scarf aka the two year scarf.

         

 will be in the shop on friday

neki desu

and now some cotton

two cotton skeins after their second dip. aiming for the wonderful midnight blue of the silk skein on the right.combined with kakishibu it will make  a nice warp for  winter weaving. maybe a crepe?

the silk is for an all silk warp in assorted blue values, some kakishibu and  sparse nubby white silk.

the stamping tests for the oiran scarf . think i'll be using the sakura, it is much crisper than the ume stencil. the good thing about sloppy tests is that they get much better when done properly :)

neki desu