Kyoto Kimono Kindred Sister

Headed into Miyama

  You know you're with the expert when you go to Kyoto with Kyoto Kimono!  Nancy spent some time living in Kyoto and took us to many of her favorite places on our trip last fall -  temple markets, workshops with textile artists, meals at wonderful restaurants, and a hotel and ryokan chosen for location and great price.

Circular Obsession

It's been a year! Over a year, in fact, since I started this blog. My goal was to have a place to share stories and pictures of our fabulous trip to Japan in October, 2011. It grew to be a place where I could share stitching projects, new classes, and additions in my little temari shop on etsy.com.

Happy as this little guy

My life is super busy right now. I hope to be back to blogging about temari in a week or so. In the meantime, I hope you are feeling the smile!

Meeting kindred sisters in Kanazawa - was it a dream?

Photo in the stairway to Mariya 

We climbed the small staircase to visit a one-room shop on the second level above the busy street in Kanazawa. I knew our guide was leading us to a specialty shop called Mariya, where we would find temari and supplies to make them. The displays on the way up were promising!

A temari outing: our day trip to Uji, Japan

We were so excited to meet Ai! After years of friendship on the internet, Glenna, Kathy, and I finally got to meet her and spend a wonderful day together. It was the first Saturday that we were in Japan - a day off from the tour's organized activities.  Ai met us in the lobby of our hotel and we took a taxi to the Kyoto train station.

Color-Blasted by Chihuly Glass

"Shindigo" with Hiroyuki Shindo in Miyama, Japan

Our small tour group boarded a bus that carried us from Kyoto to the mountain village of Miyama. The ride through the mountains was filled with hairpin turns, cedar forests (perfectly groomed to produce long, straight planks), and villages with gardens in full production. Here is a link to my album of photos from the day.

The village of Miyama, Japan

More from the Nishijin Textile Center in Kyoto

Our first stop on a Sunday morning was to this colorful textile center in Kyoto. The second floor was filled with thousands of goodies to purchase and demonstrations in spinning, weaving, painting on fabric, embroidery and other textile arts. Of course, the temari grabbed my eye right away!

Temari at the Nishijin Center

We're back from Japan!

Safe and sound. Full of inspiration and admiration. Glenna, Kathy and I joined Kyoto Kimono's textile tour of Japan for two weeks of fun and learning. I've got lots to share beginning with this massive loom at the Nishijin Textile Center in Kyoto. No one was working at the loom when I filmed this video but I couldn't resist recording it's size and complexity. The fabric is very intricate!

Loom at the Nishijin Textile Center video on YouTube

I love the text on the main page for the Textile Center - 

"At Nishijin, each of the seasons is represented.
'Spring sings of the scent of flowers.
Summer speaks of days gone by.
Autumn indulges herself in simplicity and serenity.
Winter applies a delicate dusting of snow to the patchwork of roof tiles.
No one is inferior to any other in this world, lavish with beauty.
Savor contentment with the elegance of Nishijin, conceived in the midst of history and tradition.' "

I hope that in these autumn days, I can indulge in simplicity and serenity. I will not let the advertising world here in the US send me into a frenzy because of "the holiday season."  Gosh, the commercials here are almost unbearable! Culture shock.

Kyoto Bound (and Tokyo, too)

Golden Pavilion in Kyoto (Kinkakuji)

It promises to be the trip of a lifetime! Kathy, Glenna, and I are traveling with Nancy of Kyoto Kimono and a small group of intrepid and enthusiastic women to Japan in October, 2011.  I've kept in touch with Nancy for a few years now and have longed to go back to Japan on her annual tour and buying trip to Kyoto.

Click on this link to get the scoop on our trip.

In the late 1980's, my husband, baby girl, and I moved to Yokohama for four years. Needless to say, after so much time passing, I don't remember much of the "survival" Japanese that I learned to speak while we lived there. I do recall some of the most important expressions like where's the bathroom, where's the train station, and I'm so sorry. Most often the replies to my broken Japanese queries came in lovely, well-spoken English.  I also remember how to hail a cab and show the driver a piece of paper with my destination written out. Works wonders for a lost traveler to make her way back home to the hotel.

Glenna and I will begin our trip by traveling to Seattle. We'll meet up with Kathy who lives nearby and all fly to Kyoto together. After 10 days in Kyoto, we'll take the bullet train to Tokyo where we will stay for a couple of days before flying back to Seattle together.

Plans for our day-to-day activities are coming together nicely. I'll post those another time. Now, I've got to hurry to yoga class so I can be flexible enough to sit on the floor!

TTFN!

Barb