Nagoya side trip

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It’s like a Monday but it’s Tuesday. Time is like this more and more often. And it’s nearing mid February. It’s cooler here thankfully, after returning from a brief visit to Japan which was nicely cold. We returned to very warm weather even for here in SoCal-the upper 70’s and mid 80’s! NO! Just NONONO. Can we please have a LITTLE cold weather?
Anyway, some of you may have known we took a quick budget trip to Japan. Yes you can do Japan on a budget if you plan it well.
I did some great textile recon and was impressed by a number of things. We visited two locations, Nagoya and Hamamatsu. Nagoya offered up some heretofore unexplored locations that should you get there, are a must see. They were on my textile list for the area and I was not disappointed.

The first being the Toyota Municipal Art Museum in Toyota City. In and of itself, it’s a beautiful building and an architectural delight. Inside, it contained what I had come to see. The work of Ayako Miyawaki in person. It was definitely worth the hour travel to get there from Nagoya. I wanted to see the stitches in person, the layering of cloth and fibers. It did not disappoint one bit. An added bonus was to see the paintings of her husband Haru Miyawaki shown in the same gallery. It even snowed while we were there! Phil was thrilled even though it wasn’t sticking. aside from lots of interesting art, there was a special gallery featuring the work of urushi (layered lacquer) artist Takahashi Setsuro. Wow! Urushi like never before. There was also a nice cafe where we had a delicious $15 lunch set with a great view of the courtyard.
While we were checking out the museum, Trev and Jen were visiting the Ghibli Park another hour away where it also snowed. This had been a wish list location for them which they thoroughly enjoyed. They grew up watching all those movies and had a great time. The park is large and located on the grounds of a previous World Expo site.

(I’m going to share several photo sets with captions to explain.)
First set refers to the above…

We took a little side trip to Inuyama Castle after reuniting with Trev and Jen. There were a few plum blossoms peeking out but the anticipation of spring was swelling in the cherry trees everywhere. I haven’t been to Japan at this time of year since I was a kid growing up in Yokohama. Loved the winter weather.
I could add more to the above and maybe I will before the final posting here but time has slid into Wednesday already and this old computer slowed and sputtered to where I did a whole utility cleaning and it seems to be a bit better now. It’s a 2014 MacBook Pro and still chugging away.

I’ll move on to the next museum that I never got to in my previous visit to Nagoya- the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology. This was another day trip to the outskirts of Nagoya and we spent the entire day here. In general museums in Japan are super affordable to visit and this was no different. Many groups of school children were also visiting and it was fun to see them. Toyota has done a remarkable job of telling it’s origin story here from its beginnings in textiles and particularly its innovations over decades in textile machine technology before entering the automotive industry. Both the textile and the automotive pavilions were fascinating. The museum had an excellent virtual tour that I have even rewatched as there was so much to take in all at once. There’s nothing though like seeing it in person. We arrived at the opening of the museum and stayed until closing! We took advantage of the excellent lunch(again very affordable!) at the museum cafe.
Again, another photo set that barely scratches the surface of the museum.

I’ll pause here and add a few videos…
The giant circular loom was something I’d never seen. So innovative, allowing a wide cloth to be woven in a vertical manner instead of having to have a huge and wide floor loom. This is the only remaining working loom of its kind remaining in the world. Remarkable! (again, for details watch the virtual tour)

From innovative vertican and other floor looms and fiber processing equipment, the end of the textile pavilion was the AirJet Loom. I had seen one of these in the early days of the silk tour in Hachioji (maybe 16 years ago in Hachioji), but this is the current model being made and used around the world. What technology.

transitioning into the automotive robotic area of the museum there was lots of robot tech that has been developed after a very basic start in the manufacturing of cars.

Again, just go see this museum if in the Nagoya area! It will only further convince you that silk and other textiles industrialized Japan. Such a facinating history!

I did manage to attend a temple sale in Nagoya at the Osu Kannon Temple as well as stroll through the attached shopping arcade where there are a number of used textile and kimono shops. The temple sale was relatively small but there were some good textiles to be found there. Same with the shopping arcade. I was there early in the morning and didn’t take photos. Many vendors were bundled up in the early morning cold and even had hibachi going to hear big kettles of hot water and warm their space.
here’s a few of my treasures for fabric packs, moon circle cloth and workshop projects.

silk, hemp, cotton, katazome, kasuri, shibori

I bought the above piece anyway even though the shop owner was very clear that it wasn’t well dyed and not made in Japan. It has some good shibori techniques represented and was only ¥1000! It will make a good sample piece.

The rest of the trip was spent in Hamamatsu/ Hamanako. We found a good little onsen hotel with sweet off season rates, and of course ONSEN! A few train rides and 3 hrs away and we arrived. Situated on a lake with a very nice view, the area is known for its mikan, strawberries, and melons when in season. The little train station we arrived at had a cart of mikan and an honor box for ¥. A nearby restroom was disguised as a mikan! Some more photos!

and a little more video…

dinner buffet included your own sukiyaki if you chose! Also all the grilled eel you wanted. Plus all the wonderful vegetable, fermented and pickled dished. Lots of seafood of all kinds.

Now I’m back and catching up with things. Scheduling workshops, restocking a few treasures in the shop, and dealing with a water main that exploded while we were away! Next post for signups and treasures…
Guntai shibori moons for the February moon circle as a Pisces birthday approaches this month.

Noren workshop

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I’m in Japan at the moment and have a little time to update the blog here about all the fun we had making Noren a couple of weeks ago.

First a few photos of my workshop sample…

This panel is an unusual stiff and heavy silk organza that was treated with kakishibu and overdyed with indigo before sashiko stitching. I found the silk a few years ago in Japan. On this, I used a printable dissolving substrate that I stitched over and then washed out.

We had a great time choosing from the fabrics I brought supplemented by those participants brought. Several brought their own Noren they had collected over the years. A few photos from the workshop-

And now I’m in Nagoya. I made it to the Toyota City Municipal Museum to see some of Ayako Miyawaki’s work in person! More on that next post.

First workshop in 2026

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It’s only a few days away, but there’s still a few spots left for this workshop so I thought I’d let you know.

Each of the six panels has a cloth story. But they all say irashaimase!

Welcome and enter into the new year!

You can see the class description here.

I’ll be closing registration tomorrow so that I can make sure I have the correct amount of material kits.

The other day I went to the hardware store and bought dowel rods for hangers. I wanted to get some dark blue wood stain, but there wasn’t any. I settled on using just a clear satin finish on them, but I wasn’t totally happy with it color wise.

I ended up covering the rod with vintage indigo cloth scraps and glue. I’m very happy with the way it turned out. There won’t be enough time in the class to do the covering of the rod in fabric and glue, but it’s really an easy make. I’ll describe it to everyone in the class.

So if you’re looking for something fun in LA to do this weekend, head on over to the link above and sign up.

This post will remain untitled.

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(this is a multi day post as I take down holiday decorations, clean house, eat pho, spend time with family, and get things back on track)

Music comes in many forms. Later down this post I will add some info, vids, and links to the musicians in my family life.

As 2026 is upon us, it’s a rainy cozy New Years Eve here in Southern California. It’s a steady rain so far (and said to last until next Wednesday!), but so far not torrential. My tradition of making pho on NYE continues. It’s a perfect rainy day meal and it will last into tomorrow and beyond. We will not go out, some family will be here to ring in the NY. Only one has a NYE gig and I’m glad that they aren’t driving out in this weather. No, it’s not snow that many of you are experiencing and I hope you are hunkering down, warm and safe. I’ve seen some of you shovelling snow, in icy conditions and playing it safe. Good!

Please know that I am going to take my time with this post and it may not post until tomorrow, New Year’s Day (or later, apparently). I want to take my time.

I could give you a playback of this past year’s activities and posts but you know where to find them here on the blog so no need. I prefer to focus on forward motion right now.

I’ll also highlight some of my favorite people throughout this post and maybe you can give them a visit and your interest, as you see fit.

I want to mention how grateful I am to the practice of hand-making. So many of my readers and friends here inspire making by hand. It is truly a passion shared by many. I’m hopeful that new practitioners are discovering this mindful practice and are able to experience the valuable human effort it offers.
By embracing the simple act of handwork, one can pass time peacefully with introspection. Making by hand has been a part of women’s work since the beginning of human existence. Albeit not always necessarily by choice, but initially for need of survival. As time passed, even when by need subsided, I trust that the making process offered up its own rewards. Time seems to melt away when making, in communal situations as well as alone.

For Christmas, as is our tradition, everyone received the gift of a book. Mine was Unshrunk by Laura Delano. By no means a prescription for anyone trying to figure out their own solution for mental illness but one person’s incredibly privileged account of their journey into and out of the psychiatry and pharmacopeia that is the norm for mental illness diagnosed in people of our time. I won’t delve into the specifics here but it did leave me wondering so many things. (reading back , this post seems to have taken a hard turn!)
I bring this up here when discussing hand-making because I see my own perpetual and lasting mental health benefits that I have profited from throughout my life having chosen making as a way of life. I see the loss of arts in the schools, the outsourcing of manufacturing (another more commercialized form of making), and the hands on crafting (ie sewing, quilting, knitting, crochet, woodworking, spinning, weaving…etc) seen as “old people’s pass times” as quite tragic.
Numerous times over the 20 year history of this blog I have mentioned this, cited articles etc. about how I see this as a great loss. In reading this book, I could not help but wonder how many people, young and old, could have benefited from immersion in art, craft, music, writing, and nature experiences in comparison to subjecting oneself to the clutches of the mental health medical industry.
Sort of a heavy topic here for New Year’s Day 2026 don’t you think? Anyway, the NY is always a good time to think and reflect about who we are and what we do. I plan on continuing the the work of “experiential crafting” via workshops and the Silk Study Tour to Japan going forward. I see it as something I can do to facilitate making in a way that serves participants while learning some history, gaining some skills, creating something useful or beautiful, and perhaps (re)igniting an interest or passion in creativity. There is a certain rhythm to the music of making. Last night I was revisiting the writing of Mark Vonnegut and his book Eden Express. I came across this video of a talk he did that also references how art, music and writing are not “extras”, but essential to our wellbeing and sanity as humans. (I could say a lot of political stuff here but I’ll spare you.)

Now onto a couple of the joys I’d like to share with you.

First, I am so thrilled to see young Aaron all grown up and thriving in the fiber arts. I first met him many years ago as a middle schooler when his mom brought him to the Houston Quilt Festival all the way from Chicago to meet me. We had corresponded online via my blog and online workshops and it was a thrill to meet him in person. Fast forward to now- he and his partner have started a brick and mortar fiber arts shop with online shipping capabilities, teaching classes and so many other things under the name Inclement Craft. It’s a pleasure to see their passion and determination. I can say “I knew him when…”. You can find them on FB, IG, as well as their own Inclement Craft website. Their IG seems to be the most active. They started a Kickstarter “all or nothing ” fundraiser that didn’t fund as of today (1/1/2026) but raised over $20,000 of an ambitious $95,000 goal! The project goal is to start the first fiber mill in Chicago in 100 years. Even though the project goal was not met this time, I don’t see them giving up on this plan. They will adjust and carry on. Check them out!

As always, I am grateful for Kjeld Duits’ work at Old Photographs of Japan. It is so much more than that. It’s an invaluable resource of a lovingly collected archive of images and painstakingly researched articles on Old Japan. Here, he has a wrap up of all the articles from 2025 and asks us to let him know our favorite. I am still trying to figure out mine! I learned so much from each and every post. His New Year’s Day post is also quite the thought catcher.

And, I remain a devoted Spirit Cloth reader. For 20 (21?) years now jude’s blog has inspired, questioned, and taught so many things about making. As we all grow older together, I remain a devoted accomplice!

I am so looking forward to seeing Fumiko Satou finish her 100 meter shibori indigo project. She sent us this lovely little video as a memory of our recent visit with her. The link is the home page of her website so click around and enjoy. We will visit her again in 2027.

In celebration of the musicians here, I will share a variety of their activities. Being a full time musician these days is such an uphill climb. I have been witness to it through my partner Phil, my sons Tristan and Trevor, and both their wives, Meagan and Jen. Band leader, singer songwriter & recording engineer, percussionist, trumpet player, instrument mfg/importer & educators all, and violist. They are all amazing in their varied ways.
The latest iteration of technology is concerning to most of the musicians I know. AI has a way of making anyone a “musician” -studied, practiced or not. What you can do on a computer with prompts does not translate to what can be felt during a live performance as well as a live recording. However, many jobs that musicians had in the past seem destined to disappear as corporations and movie makers will opt for the canned AI music version of what used to be performed and hired live in a sound studio and recorded. As such, in many cases it will be non musicians making music in order to meet the financial goals of those who used to hire live. Will the public know any different? Will it matter to them? It’s already going on now in music video. But us “old folks” will remember the feeling and spirit of live music. I wonder what the future will hold?
Phil has his band Steel Parade (in it’s 30th or so year!) ongoing. (Trevor is also currently a member of Steel Parade.) Phil has a couple of new projects in the works as well (can’t tell!). You can see Phil’s linktree here. Trevor and his wife Jen mostly doing gigs involving symphonies, orchestras, musicals, and Jen’s 405 Quartet project (their IG). Every now and then they get to play together. Trev is a percussionist and Jen is a violist. Tristan is a studio engineer as well as a singer songwriter who has two recent albums. Most recent one here for preorder on vinyl (I love that he likes old school albums that open up to all the liner notes and lyrics) and there’s more on his IG. Meagan, his wife, plays trumpet in two bands (one here) in addition to working for an instrument manufacturing company. Phew! It’s a lot. (and no, I don’t play an instrument!)

Embrace the treasured and cherished joys of life while we are still here and able to!
That was a lot of words to say bring on 2026 and let’s hear the music, read the words and poetry, and make the thing.
Happy New Year
Glennis
How about some photos?

Post mortum…

I regret that I left this post for one more day to search for the photos I wanted to add. Now that I have added them the idiots in charge have decided to start a war that cannot be ignored. I am at a loss for what to say (or perhaps there is just so much to say but much better said by others who are more politically eloquent than I on sites like Substack and the like).

I’ll leave it at this.
I used to believe….in rule of law, justice, democracy, and freedom.
In America.
2026 will apparently be about working to preserve and rebuild these things.
I’m sorry.

Solstice evening

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From here on out the days grow longer. The extra light will be welcome- even though the gain is mostly imperceptible until months from now, but it is the promise of more light and longer days that I look forward to. There are many traditions across cultures that celebrate the solstice and this blog does a nice write-up of the traditions in Japan.

I can’t claim to have celebrated in any traditional manner myself except that tonight I ate the rest of the candied yuzu peel I recently made (more on that later in this post). I wish I had a bathful of aromatic yuzu to soak in the tub with! This will just have to count.

This past month was busy (it seems). I got out the moon subscriptions to the circle, held a workshop in LA, didn’t do as much gardening as I wanted to, had out of town guests, baked bread and cookies and a birthday dinner, did a little sewing, finished knitting a sweater for the grandson, and best of all was able to help out by picking him up from school and spending time with him until his parents got home.

We had a grand time!

We went to see his first grade Christmas concert. The kids sang with joy as family watched. It was perhaps the most wonderful time of the season!

Earlier on in the month I spent time with some friends from our years growing up in Japan. We wandered the South Coast Botanic Garden as we caught up and let the years melt away. One of the sisters brought me a yuzu from her garden in Topanga. I must plant one! (hence the candied yuzu peel). The garden is beautiful no matter the season.

Through February 1st there is an animatronic dinosaur exhibit which was fun- must bring Dean to see it over his winter break. Pack a lunch and dine with the dinos!

Next the last indigo shibori workshop of the year was held in LA. The focus was on mokume shibori if you wanted to join in on that.

The next workshop is coming up fast! Here are the details.

Friends of our guests came for dinner one night and brought me a bag of kimono. I met them a year or so ago and she mentioned she had these and was looking for a home for them. So many kimono need homes! These were given to her by an elderly friend. And you know how kimono go- hard to let go of family kimono yet hard to keep! These were mainly everyday wear kimono from the 50’s onward and most will be taken apart and used for workshop projects and moon dyeing. The gal who gifted them to me had one she particularly liked so I made her a komebukuro out of it plus the obi I suspect it was worn with. I think she’ll like it and she will have a special memento of her friend. It’s a great project to preserve the memory of a kimono.

The guests had an impromptu indigo shibori “workshop”. I told them it would be 400 years of indigo shibori tradition in a 20 minute explainer. The three of them dyed a total of eight t shirts in their two hour dive into the vat.

The animals here are starting to be a real handful. Geriatric dogs are a challenge and there were a couple of vet visits this past month. One is 16 and the other 12 but through it all we aim to keep them as healthy and comfortable as possible. The two feuding felines have been trading bites and slashes so we work at keeping up with that. Some days I think I am woking to keep them in vet bills and prescriptions!

we’ve been calling him Scarface this month and now he has an abscess on his back! Aarrg…

So as the season turns to lighter days and shorter nights, we carry on and take care of those near us and our small part of the world.

silver and silk moon bookmarks from obi cloth for this month’s moon circle

Lean into the light and may the holiday bring you joy and wonder!
Glennis

The moon lights a path

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Forward we go.

I finally got out all the moon cloth subscriptions.

In the chaos of everything, I misplaced one of the two sets of moons I had dyed and had to re dye them.

Then of course, after that and packaging them all up to mail, I found them. So it goes.

This months moons included these :

Hey-where did that fish come from??

And by the way, the MHNMC (but really now my cat) Spector was not impressed as I finished up packaging them all up.

And then 2 of the three 240 Volvos here decided they needed some special attention and one took a tow to our favorite mechanic who had all but sidelined himself by almost taking off the tip of a finger during a repair. He’s now recovering with stitches and just diagnosing repairs while he directs traffic to various shops. Fortunately, my wagon just needed a new battery where the shop was in disbelief that the one he took out was 10 years old! Got my $’s worth out of that one! Then my other son told me his 240 sedan sidelined him with some mystery electrical issue that he was able to fix (for the moment)! Yes, we are the crazy 240 Volvo neighbors keeping these cars on the road. The full moon is pulling some super high and low tides this time.

Kitty Meow helps to diagnose issue- “it’s the battery”, she says.

Then, out of the blue, an online artist friend sent me his Final Suite-100 Views of Sumo. I think he used to work for National Geographic but is a great sketch artist and started turning his sketching into intaglio printing. I’ve followed him for years. You can find him on IG under his name Robyn Bray (Art of Sumo). It was such a wonderful surprise. I took my collection of his work to my last workshop where there were several sumo fans and let them pick out some pieces which they are going to frame. I had them pick from a stack of artist proofs and drawing that at one time years ago had hung on his studio walls.

Speaking of the workshop, it was all about komebukuro bags ( old textiles, cloth stories, community and friends- plus snacks!)

The sample / demo bag (I always make one with the group to demo each step ahead of them) was made using old cloth but not indigo this time. For the cording I found the perfect old obijime (obi sash/ cord worn on the outside of the obi and typically braided silk).

I was gifted a bag of these by Hirata san after his wife passed away so they have special memories. This one I think would be considered a marukage obijime as it is round with tasseled ends. The color was the perfect combination for my bag. I had small amounts of all these fabrics tucked away for something special.

The December indigo and shibori workshop will focus on different ways to use mokume . I think there may still be one spot open.

Keeping’ the blue alive…

A little more mokume

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Mokume on folded cloth.

A little mokume video

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Just testing …

You can join the December workshop here.

Building Community with Practice

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Halfway into October are we? (Yes, the insanity at the top continues.) People turned out en masse in the US and around the world yesterday (thank you!). We are apparently giving $20 billion USD to Argentina while talking about adding another $20 billion. All this to a country where they have universal healthcare and free public university education. Meanwhile people here will be losing healthcare and education debt follows you for a lifetime (among other issues). Good times…

And we carry on.

In shibori news, There are a number of past SIlk Study Tour members in Japan right now on their own little mini tour doing workshops. I love this for them. I hope to learn from them some of the things they are learning!

The December Shibori and Indigo Workshop in December is filling but there are still some spaces. I decided, in addition to the usual workshop fare that I will be focusing on the mokume shibori technique. I always include it for first timers in their sample swatch but beyond that we don’t usually focus on it. Last workshop we focused on tekumo shibori which was fun. I’ll be emailing everyone signed up with some ideas on preparing pieces ahead of the workshop. If you have signed up, look for it in your email. I’ll probably do it through Constant Contact so I can see who checks into it and re email the group with further info as the workshop draws near.

We will do some basic mokume on single layer cloth as well as some pieces of mokume on multi layered and folded cloth. I’ve been doing some of the samples this past week.

The Komebukuro Treasure Bag Workshop is next weekend. There are still some spots in this workshop as well. This is a workshop that has always sold out in the past so it’s a good opportunity to take it. This time, instead of pre-selecting the fabrics for each kit, I’m going to put out stacks of the fabric choices and let the participants choose. Should be fun and make for some really unique bags!

While I’ve been working on the mokume pieces and the komebukuro bag fabrics, I’ve been thinking a lot about what is important in providing these workshops. Lots of thoughts have been swirling in my head. Of course there is the information on shibori techniques, indigo, and the textiles we use in the workshops. My aim is to expand your knowledge about all of it. It’s also a goal to provide a space with all the tools, supplies, and materials needed to create and practice shibori and more.

But what I keep coming back to is community. I have really enjoyed creating the community of people who find joy in getting together to practice and share their skills, their stories, their lunches, and more! I love that people who have met at these workshops have made friends outside of the experience and do things and meet up on their own!
These workshops are two days of getting away from everything and moving our hands and minds in ways we may not have time for in our daily lives. Of touching cloth, checking in with friends, learning something new or practicing something old. Of getting together and staying in community.

Shibori Workshop Prep

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I’m here prepping for the indigo and shibori workshop next weekend and I’ll finish up the fabric packs today.
But in addition to all that, I had a little fun too. Probably best expressed in photos.

Last trip to Japan I found a bolt of already bound tekumo shibori. It had a tag on it as if it was prepared as a product for resale. I have never seen that before (image 1). I’ve been saving it for a workshop.
I cut off a section at one end and indigo dyed it. It was very well bound and quite simple to unbind as a result. If you look closely, you can see that it was done on a lightweight silk with a dainty woven jacquard floral pattern.
(right now WP AI is telling me that last sentence was too long.HA! Go away AI!)
Anyhoo… I’m taking it to the workshop next weekend for students to study and we well cut off another section so they can dye and unbind it for themselves. Fun!

Also, I am bringing this small sample of tekumo shibori I did on silk organza with acid dyes. Just as an example. Here you see it on top of a white background and also on a dark background. The dark one shows the dyes better IMO.

Then, not really shibori related but still may be interesting, I worked at repairing this old zabuton cover I have had for quite a while. I actually have two and they needed additional repair. (how do I effing turn this AI bs off as I write? Will figure this out later but I have existed for 20 years blogging without it and not gonna start now!)
Anyway… I did do a little sashiko on it to add my own mark on it. (I’m not a boro purist here.) I used a product that I wanted to try. It’s a wash-away printable material that you can stitch through and then wash away with warm water. It washed away very effectively. I think it was made for embroidery in mind and I wanted to see how it might work for sashiko. Personally, I find it a little annoying to work with for two reasons. First, it makes it a little harder to pull your needle and thread through. Secondly, even the heat and sight moisture of your hand can start to disintegrate the material a bit. Your needle also gets a little sticky and I found myself cleaning it several times. The end result was fine though if you want to put up with the rest of it. I’m going to print a few designs to take for the workshop participants and they can all give it a try.

and a little vid for a better view. I was going to make an insert for it with an old blanket but found I had an insert from Ikea that fit. A bit poofy for a zabuton but it works.