Monday, March 24, 2014

Indigo Dying II



After our first foray into the world of indigo dye, I couldn't wait to get my rubber gloves wet again. The smell, the gentle almost sickly warmth penetrating the gloves, that brown-blue iridescent foam collecting at the rim, magically transforming the bland into bright. Keiko helped me organize a couple more visits as I had too many pieces to do at once. It was great meditative fun as well as a little welcome solo time out into the world in the car.

(Man, sometimes there's nothing nicer than driving around, music playing, windows open, looking at things with new eyes as opposed to autopiloting around, piecing together a mental map of a new land. It's such a connective experience, to know the veins, the highways and back county roads, the shortcuts and little pleasures dotting along the path. Always something I find quite exciting. Of course this goes without saying that there were a few calls to Keiko from random parking lots, begging for help, totally lost and without a map. She was my friendly GPS, thanks Keiko!)

I digress, back to the indigo...So here's a little something about how the process can vary. At this particular factory, the indigo was really strong, with the vat in the back being the strongest. They don't normally let the public use that one but because of Keiko and the KAIR connection, they let me. And since this is where the employees are busy completing orders, they would help me with my bigger items, like my scarf, and we'd have a little chance to chat.

It was fascinating to learn that with this strong batch, you only need to dip the item for 2 mins, continuously spreading it out to get even color. After wringing it out and unfurling it, you can literally watch it oxidize, turning from a dirty opalescent teal to navy! You then put it back in and repeat until it's a hue you're happy with. (Here's where I think the other factory had us rinse it out to show how the color is brought out.) Once you reach your desired color, you rinse it out like a dozen times until the water runs out nearly clear and then let it dry. Of course things look different when dry, especially different fabrics, so they have irons to force dry patches to see if you like it.

In my experience, I learned these things: wool soaks up indigo really well and needs less dipping, silk also absorbs well but only to a certain point so depending on the strand, how old it is, etc, you will only get it so dark, most synthetics are a burden to dye (cotton items are usually sewn with poly threads so you see color differences after dipping), cotton takes more dipping than wool or silk, and wood actually turns darker than lighter when it dries. Also, you can dye pearls but only a baby blue color. I tried it and even after multiple dips, it barely turned color.

I ended up dying 7 things. It started getting quite expensive (you pay double for silk and wool) so this already felt a bit overboard. But it was worth every yen, to enjoy such facilities is a rarity in most parts of the world. I only hope that my next foray will indulge a bit more intricate work, but for now, a couple of the now-lovely items I dyed a most glorious shade of blue!

                                                                             - ~ -


In my time at the Awagami factory, I became somewhat acquainted with the people who work there. A bunch of lovely ladies under the command of a somewhat cantankerous gentleman who seemed not always happy to have me around. It wasn't any help that after being there for hours, just before closing, I dropped my new camera lens cap into one of the vats. One nice lady tried to get it out by reaching in up to her shoulder only for me to realize that the vat's are about 4-5 feet deep! She then tried using the massive stirring rod they use to agitate the culture every night but to not avail. He smirked and walked off. I never saw it again.

factory entrance

4 vats, mostly used for public


with my white things, ready to start


Keiko dying paper for Nik, this lady tried to help me get my lens cap

big wooden paddles used to agitate the culture every night, these are the 2 back vats with the stronger indigo

Sayaka was dying fabric for her installation

with minute glass, spreading fabric without letting it come to the surface

Hopper was quite well behaved and didn't even stick his fingers in


this is the second dip of my scarf/pashmina, photo at bottom

wood for Hopper's chair lovingly made by Yu


these were both off white, 1920's silk dress, and pashmina, you can't see in this photo but the color varies with different fabric, and dress took 3 dips and scarf  2 dips

Thursday, March 20, 2014

To Heaven in a Kimono



On an indigo dying trip, Keiko and I visited an exhibition on the factory grounds showcasing some master work on kimonos as well as other textiles. Everything was absolutely gorgeous, the fine hand, the vision, and the meticulous approach to seeing design come to fruition.

We were admiring a particularly beautiful kimono when one of the handlers asked if I'd like to try it on. I answered with an incredulous YES PLEASE. So, although they didn't give me the full monty, I got to wear it with a couple accoutrements just for fun. (Obi's are rarely folded in such a casual way, but this was nice and quick for the effect. Getting dressed in full kimono takes 45-60 mins!)

I'm a little tall so the folds weren't right and the length is just that much too short but who cares!?!?! Look at this magnificent piece of art! I was too nervous to wear it for long but it was such a wondrous experience, to be properly dressed with attention and care, that I got emotional and had to shed a few tears.

Behold...










Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Birthday Week Whoohoo!



Nik's birthday is Feb 25 and mine is March 5 so every year we celebrate Birthday Week all the days in between. Now that we have a small child those days tend to not be different than the rest of the year but the sentiment is there and it provides the perfect excuse to eat special meals and at random intervals, shout, "Birthday Week! Whoohoo!"

It's also part of it that the birthdays of 3 aunts, a brother-in-law and my dad fall in that time and a niece and my brother in the following couple days. Bunch of fishy lot we are! (And this doesn't even count friends!)

For Nik's celebration, we had ladybug cake at home with Nik's dad and little brother Jori. (Hopper chose the cake of course, no surprise there, it was eye height for him at the nice bakery and he pointed at it immediately.) For mine we went to get Japanese at one of our favorite spots, the proverbial icing was that they had avocado ice cream! It has been a dream of mine for years and it lived up to my hype, a little tropical, a little nutty, and all sorts of creamy. Heaven!

But the real gift was a special surprise party. I thought I was organizing a party for the Saturday but Nik, the cheeky sneaky man, organized my lovely friends on the Friday to gather at a restaurant under the pretense that we were dining with besties Ralph and Jo to belatedly celebrate his day. At one point the jig was nearly up and the suspicion reached heart-aching levels (I had an outfit planned!), but truth be told, I fell for the dumbest trick in the book. Ralph said he wanted to show us a "submarine" bar kitted with round windows and fish tank.  My friends jumped and shouted and I nearly missed the whole thing for how hard I was looking for the portal windows. I shook for about 20 mins and dear sweet Nik brought my dancing outfit.

So I had super tasty food, amazingly generous presents, and got to dance with my friends which was all I really wanted. 40 ain't so bad when you realize you've perfected the art of making amazing friends to surround yourself with.

So ... Birthday Week Whoohoo!

**The camera battery died about 30 mins into the party so I was only able to get a few from friends.**


Hopper & I made daddy bday breakfast




oy get your fingers outta there




birthday week was full of lovely things including sunshine!!! (which only shines in our apt from feb/mar)

mama got to read on a sunny bench


yay for hijiki salad

and fish eggs

and miso soup

avocado ice cream rocks!




Nik made all the decorations! lovely man

lots of singing in 2 languages

Emma, Toby & Jill

baby Ignatius made the effort and actually slept through nearly the whole dinner, with Jill, Pernille & Toby

Hopper The Heartbreaker



It's true that toddlers have their moments of transcendental evil, and it can even be funny, but these days Hopper is just killing me with sweetness and jokes. The way he says "I love you mama" first thing in the morning. The way he caresses my hair when we're chatting pillow to pillow after reading his bedtime book. The way he sees brown things on the street and says in his best valley accent "look mama, poopoos! eeee-ewwww! ga-ross!" (yes I taught him that). The way he tries to convince me he should get an extra cookie because "that's the deal mama, ok?!". The way he offers me a bite of the same cookie and won't take no for an answer then asks me if I think it's "delicious".

The only problem is that all I want a bite of is him. HE is the delicious one, and if he's not careful I will nibble him to smithereens! It honestly freaks me out that some day he will not let me sniff his head and smooch his forehead, what will I do then?

And now he loves to get down and shake it all around. He even has a mean Beastie Boys dance that I've yet to get on film. I'll get on that!


Daddy wants a bite

Daddy can't have a bite

but keep a safe distance just in case


likes to help with shopping

at local health food store

and likes to help cook

loves Curious George

finger painting ended up being a miss, he doesn't like the way the paint feels on his fingers!

Thanks for the shirts Grandma!

still fave, books books books!

loves to play games on mama and daddy's bed

aw, my sweet gorgeous boys!