studio time

after several months of inactivity, i've started a new weaving project. delving into stock on hand, i choose three skeins of silk; muga, eri, and tassar. the golden muga will form the warp threads, with alternating handspun tassar and creamy eri as the weft threads. it will be a diamond with borders pattern, and eventually a shawl. if all goes as planned it should be quite delicate and have incredible drape.

today i started threading the loom, the lighting was perfect to see the little threads, and the weather was just exhilarating; warm, breezy, and low humidity.

when planning a woven piece i'm constantly working on graph paper to get the math right, perfect the pattern, as well as charting out the varying colors and yarns being used. as a result, the bench in my studio gets a little untidy; yay for pull out drawers! just push them in and mess-be-gone.

i took a little break from weaving and photographed a clump of moss i noticed the other day. i could fill a memory card with moss and still want to take more photos of it. it's entirely too fascinating.

spring? more like summer

it always amazes me how a few days of hot weather and warm nights brings on a rush of growing things. my mulberry tree survived the winter, and is leafing out rapidly; the flower buds look like little eri caterpillars.

amongst the soil in the clematis pot, a colony of moss captured my interest; the little worlds are so alien. i only wish i could grow it inside, but my green thumb has yet to achieve such feats.

after my foray outside, i happened to glance at my leafless flowering orchid, and noticed a little wanderer. a teeny tiny grasshopper that wouldn't look out of place in my dollhouse.

kokedera

so, today was an amazing day! it took three hours to get there, but visiting kokedera was definitely worth the trip. the peace, serenity, closeness to nature, and so much unique greenstuff of this place is surreal.

moss was growing everywhere; on both living and dead trees, on rocks, on cement, on the walkways, it was incredible. i took so many photos, it was hard to narrow it down to the few i'm posting.

the temple complex itself was really nice, and in lovely condition. the way they limit the amount of people who can come at once, preserves the tranquility and makes taking photos a breeze; i had so few photos that had people in them.

there were two trees growing together, which i think they marry, and tie a cord around to show this. it was kawaii.

i love this place, i hope to come back to it one day. if you're in kyoto, this haven of peace is absolute bliss.

small landscapes

just checking in. there really is a lot of neat moss and lichen growing here, i pass by some interesting miniature landscapes on my way to the bus. they're very neat, and so strange. i plan on visiting kokedera moss temple, on an upcoming weekend, which has over 200 different species. it makes sense, though, all this moss, because the humidity here is definitely making itself known.

i freak out a little when i have to take photos; because, for the most part, my forte lays elsewhere. but i'm beginning to think that maybe i should just photograph interesting bits, and miniature details, things that appeal to me, rather than what i think would please others.

some photos i take are for academic purposes; to gather information in visual form. others, are to remember, or to post here. i'm very horrible when it comes to including people in my photos; i don't like my picture taken, so i try not to capture other people. which can make my photo album look kind of lonely. well, anyways, memory creates a certain fondness for someone when there isn't any photo to look at.

food update:

still foaming at the mouth when i think of all that matcha goodness that is so close. so far, i've had a milky matcha iced drink with tapioca this last weekend, haagen daz matcha ice cream paired with toast and blueberry jam one day for breakfast, a matcha kit-kat, matcha infused pan, matcha baked goods, matcha birthday cake, matcha soft serve ice cream, and matcha tea. so much matcha, but so little time to hunt down all that goodness! must make better headway this weekend.

something's growing in here

well, maybe not. several weeks ago i tried my hand at growing a moss terrarium. it looked lovely for several days; then just kind of, well, died. i do tend to be that person that can't even keep a rock plant alive. weirdly enough though, i do really well with orchids.

while browsing @home yesterday i came across these little planters (they're around 1" deep x 3" long x 1-1.5" wide). there were three left, so i took them all home. remember, i have this fascination with all things miniature.

at first i was just going to uproot another patch of moss from outside and try my luck again at growing something. but when i woke up this morning i received a stroke of inspiration from an interview featured on etsy; i would needle felt some moss for my new planter!

digging into my box of felt, finding the right colors, grabbing my felting needles, i was glad of my crafting material hoarding ways; i didn't need to get in the car and drive an hour away to see my vision to fruition.

i started with a rich chocolate brown for the soil, mixed a lime green with a softer green for the moss, and felted them to fit into the planter, avoiding my fingers as much as possible. when it was done to my satisfaction, i took a regular needle and some thread to make the little spikes. i accented my first one with vintage stamens that i had also picked up. eh, voila! a non dyeing plant that i can put anywhere!