fiber mayhem

most people enjoy seeing what others collect during their travels, and me being no different, i will post that which i came home with. i didn't get much of a chance to see asheville, as my stay was so short and the weather was dire at times. but, i still managed to acquire a nice hoard.

one shop in particular stood out, this being a fabric admirers delight, waechters fine fabric, where i found some lovely double faced wool coating which i had been thinking of for a warm and lovely wrap, a woven silk which felt like paper, and some cream dupioni to dye. i will shop here again i think, as it is hard to find such lovely and drapey material to make into clothing.

for the most part i bought fiber, yarn, fabric, a button, and a very unusual tool from the bygone weaving industry. asheville is so much a place for folk art, that i went with a small list of things to look for; fiber, a summer tea cup, and paper to spin. luckily, these things were found and i will be going back for saff in the fall i am sure.

starting up

i've added two things to my new big cartel storefront, *a n a s t a s i a ~ weaving handmade, please check it out and let me know how it looks. i'll be adding pieces as i finish them. for now, mostly scarves and shawls. then, later, some wall panels. what do you think of tea towels, or table runners? yes, you love them or definitely not?

ooh, shopping!

i've compiled a list of some really neat shopping and eating places while in kyoto. it's the non-touristy, things kyoto really does well type of shopping.

shijo-dori area:

mina perhonen; beautiful! check out the 4th floor for remnants

basement level of takashimaya; pan

6th floor of takashimiya; wooden bento

basement level of daimaru; tea sweets, honey

basement level of fujii-daimaru; organic produce

nomura-tailor; floors 1-3; fabric, pinbacks, sewing notions

lisn; really modern and incredible natural japanese incense

teramachi-dori:

itoh kumihimoten; just gorgeous silk kumihimo

sou-sou; really awesome tabi shoes

gallery kei; amazing unique textiles from japan's past, ramie, banana fiber, shifu

ippodo; matcha tea, ocha tea, tea tasting and brewing demonstration

kamiji kakimoto; washi store

kyoto station:

malebranche; delicious matcha and white chocolate cookies, matcha icecream

kitayama station:

la droguerie; buttons, ribbon, liberty tana lawn, sequins

kamigamo handmade market; 4th sunday of the month

shijo-dori to oike-dori, btwn karasuma-dori and kawaramachi-dori:

lin-net; linen fabric, linen clothes, linen bias tape, linen thread

avril; love habu textiles? you'll like avril.

kyoto design house; fabulous locally made things

ippudo; yummy fresh ramen, i ate here four times

konnamonjya; tofu doughnuts

food in my belly

now that i've been in japan almost a week now, i have gotten use to the time change and am able to sleep through the night and not feel quite so sleepy during the day. the first few days were spent doing a little fiber shopping; linnet, avril, nomura tailor, and ein shop.

the food here is delicious! i've had ramen made up fresh, udon with it's plump little noodles, sushi with an invigorating touch of wasabi, matcha icecream in its smooth and deep green yumminess, and many other dishes i have no name for.

i hope to visit a tea house, ohara, kokkedera moss temple, mina perhonnen, and a few other places soon. this weekend i will be going into gion; there is a haven for matcha bliss there that has matcha in every menu item. yum! oh, and to finally get around to taking non-weaving related photos.

the loveliness of mold, and other wonders

i'm constantly being amazed at the talent on etsy, it's really wonderful actually. since shopping on it these last few months i've noticed a real lack of interest in myself of wanting to shop in the real world. i've this feeling when looking in stores that i could get a much nicer and more unique item on etsy.

if you asked me a year ago what i like to do for enjoyment i would have told you "shopping". just walking into stores, looking at things, trying clothes on, touching materials, is really fun. but lately i just seem so tired of it all. the need to purchase something so that a shopping excursion is deemed successful has just really disappeared. most times when i do go shopping i don't bring anything home. it's all rather odd.

but then i look at the things i've acquired from some really talented ladies on the web, and i feel good. these pieces make me happy when i look at them. it's incredible to know who made what, put a person to each piece. there are stories behind them, blogs you can visit, websites that let you know more about the artist; what drives them. i think this connection is what is missing from stores now. call it the mass production affect, but all these things that they stock just seem dead, so soulless in their anonymity.

i am a follower of the "handmade" movement; for reasons such as craftsmanship, preservation of historic skills, the creative eye, a fair wage, uniqueness. but i've come to realize that it's more than that, it's the ability to reach out and share something wonderful with someone else. i know that when i create, so much of myself is put into it. call it a piece of your spirit, your energy, or your fingerprint, but this whatever-it-is makes what you create alive. so the happiness is more than the acquisition of material things, it's the happiness derived from surrounding oneself with things that contain life.

i hope the handmade movement is here to stay; because if we lose this ability as humans, to create, to empathize with our surroundings, i don't think there's much brightness in our future.