Fabric heaven

A trip to Antique John today, one of my favourite kimono shops in Tokyo, proved to be very fruitful and here are some of my finds - heaven! I can't wait to start using them.

Lovely new fabrics

I went to Machida shrine sale the other day and bought these gorgeous fabrics - a mixture of kimonos and obi, the sash that goes around the kimono. I'm looking forward to making some new clutch bags with them soon!

You can check out a selection of my clutch bags here.

Buttons

I've been busy making buttons and here is the outcome! I'm rather loving doing them as they are made from the off cuts of the kimono fabrics used in making my clutch bags. These ones are grouped into a colour story of reds, pinks and creams. You can see them here and watch this space for more options......

Kimono Patchwork Clutch

Well, I'm slowly getting back on track with my bag-making after having some time out. This one started life as a quilt, but suddenly changed direction and has now become a rather nice little clutch bag, if I do say so myself. You can find it on my Etsy store here.

New Kimono Clutch Bag

I have just added this kimono clutch bag to my Etsy store. It is made from patchworked vintage kimono fabrics in shades of pink and purple that I have found at antique markets here in Tokyo. I have added a green ribbon detail and some cute covered buttons. The lining is a green cotton that complements the ribbon on the outside. You can also view it on my Pinterest page.

Kimono Patchwork Clutch

I am slowly starting to play with the hoards of fabrics that I have collected at antique markets here in Tokyo. I have to say, the pile is getting quite out of control and something needs to be done with them! I love doing patchwork and I love kimono fabrics, so decided to put the two together and make a rather lovely clutch bag made of patchworked kimono fabrics in shades of red, cream and orange. The finishing touch was a cluster of three tenegui buttons in pretty pinks and green. You can find my clutch bag on my Etsy store here.

Juicy Fabrics

It's very hard to imagine that the awful events of March 11th only happened three weeks ago. So much seems to have happened in that time and there are so many varying points of view on the events that are still happening here in Japan. A friend recently sent me a blog posting from David Bull, a guy who has lived in Japan a long time (he incidently creates beautiful woodcut prints). I felt that he gave a well balanced view of the situation in Japan and wanted to share it. You can read it here.

Many people have encouraged us to carry on as normal here, which includes going out and spending money as we would have done otherwise. Thus, I have trotted out and spent some money on these gorgeous fabrics! I feel that I have made my small contribution to stimulating the Japanese economy, as well as satisfying my designers urge. I now hope to make some beautiful clutch bags from these juicy fabrics.

Quilty Pleasure

I have recently embraced the gentle art of quilting, but there are only so many quilts that one can use at once, so I decided to channel my new-found love into something else. This is my first attempt at a patchwork bag and I'm rather pleased with it. The bag is made of pieced together swatches of kimono fabrics that I have collected over my time in Japan. It has canvas handles and is fully lined in a fresh green cotton, with an inside pocket for smaller items. It is held closed using a loop with a string of heavy beads threaded through it, and the beads act as a rather pretty feature. You can check it out at my Etsy store.

Tadaima!

Well, after a lovely time in Blighty, I came hurtling back to Tokyo and arrived, rather crumpled, yesterday morning. After three weeks of heavy grey skies and misty mornings in England, I was greeted by clear blue skies and sun in Tokyo - so lovely! I was also greeted by these gorgeous piles of kimono fabrics that have been sitting in my studio awaiting my return. I can't wait to start playing with them.