bits and pieces

a bit of a preview of my current sewing project. it's heavily influenced by current japanese textiles. i decided to use some gorgeous quilted linen fabric i had purchased from linnet while in japan. also, some mina perhonen and nani iro things. it's mostly sewn, but i'm awaiting a zipper. so for now, things are on pause.

however, i came across a tutorial on making continuos bias tape which i found useful for this project. i gave it a go with a small remnant of liberty of london's tana lawn i had on hand. although thin, tana lawn is quite stretchy, so maybe not such a grand idea for a first try. with some more practice and patience, i should get better.

mina!!!

i love getting packages in the mail. today was especially nice, as what was in the package totally rocks! after four weeks of waiting, mina perhonen? and pieces are mine.

just browsing through the pages, exquisite image after image, my creative juices are flowing. color palettes, prints, processes, all at my fingertips. the mina perhonen? book was just published earlier this year and is definitely worth the price tag. i know already that i will be going back to it time and again for inspiration in my work. it covers earlier work through to f/w 2010/11.

pieces is a reprint from a 2003 publication dedicated to an exhibit of work at the spiral garden in tokyo, and is in both japanese and english. the text is inspiring and lends insight into the creative and ethical background of mina; though most of the photos are reprinted in color in mina perhonen?, there are those which are not. the value of this book is in the words, more so than the photos.

as the price for each is about the same, if you had to choose one, i would go with mina perhonen?. ah, i drool.

fixing what one doesn't finish

i've been entirely too fascinated with the internet lately. but sometimes i come across an answer to something i've been stuck on. i haven't been completely satisfied with the linen skirt i made awhile ago; it just didn't feel finished. so, i ripped out half of the elastic, pleated the waistband in front, and dragged my box of embellishments out. what caused this sudden activity? why, the work of christine mayer as seen in selvedge.

i loved the label prints which are so characteristic of old linen, and felt inspired to applique a vibrant chartreuse silk no. 5 to the side. the back was so plain in contrast to the front, so i also sewed some mina perhonen embroidered fabric circles and grey sequins. then, the front was missing some glam, so three rhinestones were added to the embroidered monogram, and some clear sequins scattered amongst the pleats.

i definitely feel better about it now, and love that i was able to incorporate some of my prized mina perhonen fabric. which leads me to my second fascination, acquiring the particle of mina perhonen book. ah, love. i desperately want this book. and some more scraps from kyoto.

blue velvet

i created a second cushion pin the other day, with embellishments of swarovski crystals; because a touch of sparkly goes so well with the softness and dappled light of velvet. the other side of the pin is of humble natural linen, which is my queen of all fibers.

during the day, i have begun work on my weaving project, tying off areas that are not to be dyed, and mordanting the fiber. today i will dye the fibers, and hopefully i will be ready to start weaving sometime next week. first, though, i have to finish the sample piece which is on my loom now.

isn't this little guy adorable? he's definitely up to something mischievous, though. very likely a sprite in disguise. he once belonged to my great aunts, but he's mine now, as they are both gone. you could say, "further up and further in".

pins and other things

while i was in kyoto, i stopped in at mina perhonen on several occasions to obsess over and then purchase little baggies of remnant fabric from the designers workshop. the quality, colors, and designs are utterly fantastic; i'm just sorry i didn't buy a higher quantity, and don't have access to the store anymore.

one of the things i did with the pieces was make an inspiration book. i made the cover from a shopping bag, the pages from a stiff fabric, and embroidered the butterfly logo on the first and last page, i used yellow thread to sew in the pages, which matches the yellow ties. it's nice to have access to such a wonderful source of inspiration.

luckily, i had some duplicate pieces so i added them to my small stockpile of scraps. yesterday i felt like sewing a puffy pin to take advantage of the materials texture. i can think of it as an evolution on the white small puffs i've done in the past. the weather has gotten chilly here, and all i can think about is fluffy beds, warm fibers, and fuzzy textures.

inspire

while browsing the web last night i came across such lovely photos of the work of mina perhonen. the textiles are so rich with details, intricate workmanship, dripping with creativity, everything so tactile, colors pairing in unusual and visceral ways; just pure eye candy to this textile loving soul.

i can thank selvedge issue 16 for tipping me off to this designer; another reason why i love this magazine. and luckily for me, there is a store in kyoto. only six more weeks. i keep having to tamp down my excitement, or my brain may very well reboot.

i just want to visit all the prettiness, perhaps buy a pair of socks, or a scarf, or an itty bit of fabric. maybe they have a sale rack?