hot august, cool sweets

Japanese food goes with the seasons in taste and looks and confectionery is famous for its seasonal looks. Here is a proposal for the month of August. You can see all the year here
This is July, but click on the link just above the number 7 to get the whole year.

Enjoy!

neki desu

origami, itajime and other common japanese words

The other day i checked Karren Brito's blog and found this interesting post on origami shibori.
i don't have the book she mentions, but i do have an origami book so i figured folds don't care whether they happen on paper or on cloth.
Looked for the book and then devoted 2 days to the exercise of folding and sometimes clamping(itajime) fabric to be dyed.
It is controlled fun as Monica Geller would say.

Made 2 or 3 samples one of them a small silk crepe itajime that is being presently embellished.
Here is one of the finished samples, cotton and the white squares are silk crepe. A lot less baroque this one oi?

neki desu

TAST 30- buttonhole wheel stitch

This week's TAST stitch was a riot! i would like to use it along with eyelet and buttons to create a heavily baroque surface. Go easy on the fabric and let the stitches do their thing.
i used sewing thread, hand dyed perle cotton, some silk noil, spun silk and wool. The wool was especially good to work with because it has "tooth" and it stays put. The silk noil didn't behave at all and was discarded for the exercise.

Can't believe it, week 30 and i have only missed, actually given up, on just 1 stitch.
Will be on my "to do in the future" list.

neki desu