Milky Way Rope Bowl

This rope bowl turned out exceptional.

A giant THANK YOU to Pencil Girl for dyeing the rope and all the other things you've done for me. The Milky Way Bowl is winging it's way to her on Monday. It will look awesome on her dining table filled with seasonal fruits.

I just love how these bowls are reversible. I did some orange stitching - getting rid of orange bobbins - on the outside and it looks like the Milky Way.

I tried to get an oblong track out of it but was only slightly successful. Another skill to work on.

This bowl has beefy handles and a beefy knot to match.

Pencil Girl has spent many years as a 4-H leader. Her second kidlet ran off to college last year!  She is scaling back.
This post from 2010 regarding tie-dyeing is still relevant.


I still have a few yards left of this dyed rope - thinking of adding it to another bowl as the top part.

***added next day::: The second bowl.

***just a few more days...SALE continues in my friend's Etsy Shop;
CraftyTokyoMama on etsy. Use Coupon code AUGUST20 throughout the month of August to get 20% off your purchase.

Don't forget about Etsy Love - even if you don't buy anything - just hover over the heart on each listing and tap on it. (thanks!)

Happy Easter Eggs

 Happy Easter everyone.
We're having Baby Back ribs and Teresa's Carrot cake tomorrow.

 Ukrainian egg decorating. My library repeated a class they held two years ago. You start with a blown-out egg. Apparently, there is a tool to do this instead of blowing them out the hard way!
Funny girl bought a kit, so I blew out three green eggs for her - I almost get a headache doing it the hard way.

This time, we worked with white eggs. Two years ago, brown eggs.

Basically, this is a wax resist method aka batik. Using wax to trace designs, then coloring them, then more wax to enhance the design, then more dye and maybe another run through with wax and dye.

The tool in the right hand is called a kistka. A little tube to hold beeswax that is then melted over the candle flame.

Funny friend's sunny egg

Creative Girl's egg masterpiece.

 Late last week, an old friend emailed me to ask a question. As I still had a few plastic eggs left, I whipped up these drawstring pouches and mailed a wee present to the cutest little girl and her brother. This little girl used to bring me flowers at work - the kind with no stems. I had a little plastic dish to float her bouquets in.
*smile*

These were fun to make too.
These are yarn wrapped around a water balloon which you squeeze a chocolate egg or two into first. Soak the yarn in watered glue adn wrap, then let dry. Pop the balloon and you have candy trapped inside the stiff 'egg'.



My first attempt at Ukrainian eggs.

This year's eggs

Shibori Fabric Museum

Wow.
I don't recall how I stumbled on this, but if you like to sew, to create, put this on your short list for amazing things to experience in Kyoto.

Shibori means manipulating the fabric from design to finish in the dyeing process.

This piece has been tied off in thousands of tiny circles. By hand, you could create 300 knots a day.

A machine similar  to tying flies (fishing) is used to up your productivity to 3000 knots/day.

300 knots on the above piece measure about 6" x 1.5".

The piece above has been tied and also dyed.

You can carefully rip out the knots in seconds, revealing the tiny eye squares.

Which we were able to do - ourselves!

Our guide - oh - bear in mind, we paid 500 yen to come to this museum - brought over samples for us to not only touch but rip apart!

There are many ways of tying off the fabric. From plastic tube to tiny string knots.

The master designer sketches the design, makes a stencil, applies design to fabric.

He then makes marks on the design for where particular knots go to create the finished design.

The fabric then goes to the knot tyers, then to the dye guy.

When the knots are ripped out, -where the dye did not reach -the design is revealed.

Sneaking photographs here.
This is the spring wall mural.
Made up of maybe ten 36"wide panels.

Please click on each photo to make larger. This is absolutely stunning in the workmanship.
2yrs7mo to create.

And they have the Summer, Autumn, & Winter murals as well. (8 yrs altogether).

They have another mural on display of the Kyoto mountains - maybe 270' view.

Absolutely breathtaking.
Sorry - no photos allowed.

The dyeing accuracy is handled by masters. Definitely not tie dye bulls-eyes.

You can try on a shibori - dyed kimono with an obi.
Such fun.

The reason they can rip apart knots is because of old stock upstairs that was never dyed.
Less valuable than modern shibori with less knots.

I'll post links when I get home.
They do have a Facebook page.