craft

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Tokyo Craft Guide

You may have noticed it, up there.  Look a little higher… a little higher…

There it is, my Tokyo Craft Guide — an ever growing list of the fabric shops, paper shops, yarn shops, and cream puff counters in Tokyo.  I know that is a pretty huge endeavor, but give me time, people.

While out and about, hunting and haunting every craft-related shop in this fair city, I started keeping a list and eventually, a Google map.  Then I thought, “Wow, six-months-ago-me would have totally loved me for this!”  Cue light bulb.

Dear future-you, I hope you enjoy this guide, inspired by six-months-ago-me and updated by the here-and-now-me, for your craft-shopping pleasure!

You can find the full Tokyo Craft Guide here, and a map here.  Questions or comments?  Leave me a note, I’d love to hear from you!

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I Really Need to Stab Something

It has been a tough week, so when my calendar buzzed to remind me about sashiko class this afternoon, I had mixed feelings. Though I knew it would be good for me to be around other humans, going to class takes so much effort. I know I’m whining, but listening is hard work.

I decided to buck up and go, and as always, I am glad I did. It turned out I really just needed to stab something.

In case you are new here, a quick debriefing: my craft-time pastime of choice is sashiko, a style of embroidery, which in Japanese means “little stabs.”  And I love to overwork the pun.  As can be evidenced here, here and here.  And here.

The concentrated craft time made me feel better.

A new kit was waiting for me when I got to class, a pouch for holding my sashiko goods.  The kit comes with everything you’ll need — thread, fabric, pattern.  The design includes an image of Japanese scissors, which according to Dan look like Pac Man.  I have scissors more like this, which all the ladies get a kick out of.  (For those observant few — yep, that is a sashiko coaster.  More on that to come…)

Class-time chatter was mostly about shopping.  I think I picked up on this mostly because I’ve become familiar with the various department stores (mmmm, food halls), though I’ve also learned a few more verbs (yay for action words!).  The ladies were cheerful, and they watched me stitch and nodded their approval.  My sensei even sent me home with her pouch, so I can have a model to look at while I work between classes.  Look at the size of her stitches on the left, compared to mine on the right.  So teeeny.  I’ve got some practicing to do.

Here is the reverse, what my pouch will look like someday.  The red felt is for holding pins and needles, and the pouch will hold all my threads and tools.  I’m so excited.  The only thing I love as much as crafting is organizing my crafts.

My favorite part of every class is show-and-tell.  I love watching as everyone pulls out the projects they’ve completed since we last met, and the whole table echos with sugoi! With this group of crafty old ladies it comes from the gut, and the table sounds like a chorus of beer-chuggin’ dudes.  I love it.

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Stab to the Heart

Don’t worry, this is not a sad story.

Those little old ladies did it again: my third sashiko class left me with a completed project (finally!), a handful of snacks, and a full heart.

I need to keep up with my sashiko classes perhaps only to continue seeing my new old lady friends.  You may remember my first class — a whirlwind of mysterious chit-chat where I picked up my teacup pattern and learned through miming.  Conducted entirely in Japanese, my guess is I picked up about 3% of what was said.  My second class was an equal amount of confusion, but with a few more parts warm & fuzzy.  I may have upped my comprehension level to, let’s say 5%.   For class #3, I was up to a solid 14%.  And that’s after you calculate out the show-and-tell oohs-and-ahs and the many giggles.

Part of my success was due to the fact I was with a new group of ladies, so the usual niceties, “My name is Angie” and “I’m American” were easy home runs.  Then one woman asked if I was a high school student.  Understandable, considering I have no idea if they were 60 or 90.  When I told them “I’m a housewife,” out came a fresh round of giggles.  After class, they sent me on my way with a few handfuls of rice crackers and a bounty of bows.  It was a lovely time.

I’ve decided I need to continue going to these classes so that I can get to know some other women and try to socialize in Japanese.  Otherwise, my only interaction with other shufu 主婦 is at the grocery store, where I get elbowed and banged into and harassed about whether I want chopsticks with my bento lunch.  I need help to remember they are just as shy as I am, and just as curious about my sunglasses and camouflage hipster hat as I am about the tiny dogs in their purses.

Finally, I need to talk about this amazing pastry.  I admit I had no idea what I was buying, and picked it because I wanted something impressive for my little show-off photo shoot.  I went to my favorite neighborhood pastry shop, pointage, knowing they wouldn’t let me down.  And wow, was this one good.  There was a chestnut in there, and a fig steeped in Earl Grey, and some cheesey custard, and lots of buttery flakes.  I don’t claim to be a know-it-all about pastries, but I do eat a lot of them.  And this one wins.  Thanks, pointage.  Is it a blessing or a curse that this place is a 5 minute walk from my apartment?  I can’t decide.

Psst… Hey you, visiting Tokyo?  Check out pointage boulangerie in Azabu juban.  Here is a map.  Just don’t make it crowded so I can’t get my sweet chestnut buns.

Also, interested in the sashiko class?  They’re held monthly at Blue & White, 2-9-2 Azabu juban, Minato-ku, tel. 03 3451 0537.  Come join me!

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New Year, New Bags (and a giveaway!)

~ This giveaway is no longer accepting entries.  Scroll down to see who won! ~

Happy New Year and あけましておめでとうございます everyone!  In addition to wandering the streets of Tokyo in the middle of the night, I’ve decided that what 2011 really needs is a new stock of bags in my web shop.  Hooray for 2011!

Maybe you resolved to be a bit more organized?  Or want to treat yourself for surviving 78-straight hours of family?  Well, it’s your lucky day year!

And what better way to start a new year than to give things away.   That’s right dear readers, in honor of the Year of the Rabbit 卯 I’ve whipped up two (let the record show that I wanted to make 2,011…) polka-dot, sashiko-clad, bunny-lined zipper bags that are just hopping mad for some new homes:

If you’d like a chance at one, leave me a comment by 12:00 midnight EST USA time on January 4th (that’s 2 pm, January 5th Tokyo time).  Maybe tell me your predictions for 2011 (Zombies take over the world and finally rid us of teen vampire movies?  Yay!), or perhaps something you’d like to see on this blog (more ramen photos? OK!), or just a little note to say “Hi, friend.”  I’ll use the random number generator to select TWO winners, lucky you!  And you!

Fine print: One entry per person/e-mail address. The winners will be selected using random.org and announced as an update to this post, so come back here for the announcement.  Items can be shipped worldwide.  Good luck!

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And the winners are… commenters 15 & 9!  Congrats to Nick and Bridget, and a special thanks to everyone for their comments, predictions, and notes!  Keep an eye on Saké Puppets for more giveaways – this was much too fun to do only once!  You can also check out my web shop to score a bag of your own.  Happy Year of the Rabbit!  Best, Ang


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New!

New items are now posted in the web shop!  I apologize for the cyberquiet on the blog this past week.  Here’s what I’ve been up to:

My fingers have been busy.  Actually, they’re still stitching away (and loving every minute of it).  Though it might be tight in terms of Christmas shipping, I hope to keep the ball rolling and add more items throughout the week.  Thanks for looking!

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Stitchin’

To celebrate the arrival of a darling new human into the world, I stitched together a little tummy-time-spit-sopping play mat. For Isley:

I’ve now stitched four quilts, all to celebrate weddings or babies.

The first quilt I completed was for the arrival of my nephew, just over two years ago.  Being my first big quilt project, I found a pattern and followed it religiously.  I had no idea what I was doing.  I read some books and looked at photos online, and in the end produced something perfectly wonky:

This quilt was machine pieced and quilted, using the pattern found here. It looks a little like I’m naked in that photo, but I promise I’m not.

While following a pattern is extremely satisfying, for quilt number two I went without.  Technically the second one I finished, in my heart this is really my First Quilt.  I’d started piecing it together years earlier after I’d picked up a used book on historical quilt blocks.  Then I saw an exhibition on the quilts of Gee’s Bend at the Walter’s Art Museum in Baltimore, and I was hooked.  The quilters of Gee’s Bend follow patterns, but they don’t seem to dwell on precise lines or matching corners.  I fell in love with the willy-nilly nature of their patchwork, with the bold colors and hand stitching. I wanted to try it for myself.

Well, I discovered working that way is really difficult.  Often my blocks came out looking like parallelograms, and I struggled with piecing them together.  This stash of weird shapes materialized into a quilt just in time for our wedding last summer, a gift to Dan of blood, sweat, and admittedly, some tears.

The First Quilt is hand and machine pieced, hand embroidered, and hand quilted.

Remind me someday, and I’ll tell you about the amazing Amish woman who redeemed the project and hand-quilted this queen-sized behemoth for me in 2 weeks.

When it comes to quilts, I like a little order but not too much.  For little Isley’s, I think I really came into my own style.  I pieced squares together until they made bigger squares.  Without much more of a plan than that, I placed larger pieces with smaller ones, until gradually, a quilt emerged.  I had order without a pattern, which was delightful.  I got to take my time, and really enjoyed the entire process.  No blood or tears this time.  Just a little baby drool, the way it’s supposed to be.

Isley’s quilt was machine pieced, hand embroidered and then tied, in my grandmother’s style.

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Design Festa

Asia’s largest biannual art fair, Design Festa, took place in Tokyo this past weekend. Hosting over 8,500 artists from around the globe, Design Festa provides independent artists an opportunity to showcase their work.  Having little idea of what to expect, I set out with camera and pocketbook in hand.

Anyone with original work (and the requisite entry fee) is welcome to participate, and so media on display runs the gamut.  Print illustration, “live painting,” music, handcrafts, and a dramatic interpretation of an anime series were just a few spotted.  The venue lent itself especially well to single artists selling handmade goods, and the range of crafts was unbelievable.  Walking around the convention hall, I couldn’t help but compare the scene to a physical manifestation of Etsy — if Etsy were Asian and wearing animal ears, that is.

Illustration clearly took center stage, and I found myself most interested in the print media and stationary.

Sugar had some great postcards.

okappalover‘s calendars were my favorite of the day.

Here, すっちゃん Succhan’s four seasons – はる is spring, なつ summer, あき autumn, and ふゆ for winter.

I loved the exercising turtles from もりやりょうこ.  And hey panda, what’s got you so relaxed?

The cute-to-creepy spectrum was pretty grand, but a few skirted it gracefully.  More creepy or kawaii?  You tell me.

I was also happy to see a few eco-conscience designs.  My favorite came from designers in Korea, of the GAB : Graphic Design Group.  These picnic bags by Ahn Sung Kyung unzip and fold out to create a dry place for sitting, and are made from leftover rice bags.

The ORIORI_Bag is a convenient way to carry an extra shopping bag with you.  Just unfold and you are ready to go.

And for some good green fun, the green friend.  I was tempted to take one home, but not sure my apartment lends itself well to mud balls.

Of course, an event in Tokyo just wouldn’t be complete without cosplay.  The woman in the box never moved.  I watched her for, like, minutes.

Thanks to the staff at Design Festa for showing me around.  If you are in Tokyo next May and want to check out the next volume of work, visit their site for more info.

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Crafty Pie

In the wake of my tirade pie-rade the other day, I couldn’t resist a little of this:

While wandering through my friendly neighborhood craft store Yuzawaya, I came across the make-cute-things-out-of-felt aisle.  Usually able to resist its powerful magnetic pull, this time I fell victim and I came home with a sweet little kit of my very own.  I blame the pie.

I haven’t yet delved into too many Japanese craft kits (and there are many! glass, wood, felt, wool, paper, plastic… hobbies are serious business) but figured I could handle this one — just cut the felt into shapes and stitch it together like in the photograph.  Right, piece of cake, er, I mean easy as pie.

I should know better than to trust my own clichés!  As anyone who has made a pie knows, pate brisee is not easy (damn you, ice cold butter chunks that make it impossible to roll you into a flat pie crust shaped circle!).  I opened the kit this morning, and the pieces are teeeny.  I don’t think I can cut them that small, let alone stitch them into something smaller.  Apparently my big Norwegian hands are not well-suited for cute felt things.

Also, I forgot that there might be directions to follow, and that they would be in Japanese.  What can I say, pie + crafts make me crazy.

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A Declaration of Craft

It was a busy one for me here last week.  Not only have I upped the ante on my Japanese study, I’m still trying to figure out how to do laundry/shop for groceries/live here, etc., but I also discovered two — yes, two! — new-to-me craft stores.

Now those of you who are new to the craft scene (aka, all of you who come to this blog for the food and are tricked into reading about fabric) may think all craft stores are the same.  Not so, dear friends.  Some are like warehouses where you have to dig through piles of musty fabric for a scrap of gold, and some are classy establishments, like La Droguerie.

La Droguerie is beautiful.  (No photos are allowed inside, so I snapped that shot on my way out.)  It is probably the most beautiful craft shop I’ve ever seen, and I have seen many in my short craft life.  Bobbles and buttons are kept in big glass jars on well-lit shelves, and colorful rows of ribbons hang amongst fabric and other notions.

La Droguerie is a French chain that sells mainly their own brand of yarns.  I learned later that you are not supposed to rummage through the jars yourself, but rather wait for a salesperson to come over and do it for you.  Whoops.  I totally had my hands in some piles of felt.  It just couldn’t be avoided.  Also, everything was very expensive.  I wanted a tiny bit of some trim that was unpriced, and thought, “How expensive can some trim be, anyway?”  Well, expensive.  Though, now I have a mighty fine improved-upon Ikea lamp to show for it:

La Droguerie was nice to look at, though I’m not sure I need to visit it too often.  Especially because two days later, I found Yuzawaya ユザワヤ — eight buildings of crafts spread out along three city blocks.  After the excited/frantic and perhaps unintelligible text message I sent to Dan, he reminded me to breathe and eat, advice I thankfully followed or I certainly would have passed out.  In fact, as I inhaled some deep fried tofu skins (don’t cringe, it’s delicious!) while standing in an alley behind a 7-11, I realized I might indeed have a problem.  But, more on that later.

I spent a lot of time at Yuzawaya that day and only made it through 1.5 of the 8 buildings before they closed their doors for the night.  A felted wedding cake anyone?  How about an adorable DIY stuffed mouse?  Or a Hello Kitty kimono?  It could all be mine!

It was while at Yuzawaya when I realized that making things is more than just a hobby for me.  It doesn’t have to be a problem — why not embrace it?!  (Cue light bulb.) Though this Declaration of Craft will not surprise many of my friends and family, I have somehow surprised myself.  And so, I have a new focus for my time here in Tokyo — in addition to exploring a new city and learning a new language, I’ll be venturing on some other craft-related endeavors.  Huzzah!  I promise to share in due time.

For those of you interested in visiting these places yourselves:

La Droguerie Ometesando
Omotesando LH bldg 1F
4-13-9, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Ometesando station – behind Ometesando Hills

Yuzawaya ユザワヤ
4-12, Nishikamata 8-chome, Ohta-ku, Tokyo
Kamata station – take a left from the West Exit, walk under the tracks, look for signs to your right

I’m currently compiling a Tokyo craft guide, so check back for that in a few weeks.  Thanks!