Introducing Japan Crafts

This month's sponsor of the Ho, Ho, Ho and on We Sew giveaway is Katie, who runs Japan Crafts, my online source for beautiful Japanese fabrics, kits and Sashiko supplies.

As some of you may not have come across Katie's lovely store before, I asked Katie to provide us with an introduction on how she found herself having to visit Japan several times a year to replenish her fabric supplies!

Here is how it all happened:

"I've been crafty from being a small child (I once asked for, and got, a roll of Sellotape for my birthday!), and passionate about Japan ever since reading Memoirs of a Geisha at the age of 18 and deciding that I HAD to go to Japan and become a geisha! Having my daughter a couple of years later put paid to that idea (luckily...?), and when she was at nursery, I took some silk painting lessons and started selling my silk paintings of Japanese ladies in kimono. The more I researched kimono, the more I loved them!"

Red Dragon, Tsumugi Cotton

I started Japan Crafts in 2006 with a few silk painting kits and some handmade Japanese 'washi' paper, and it snowballed over the next few years into a sustainable, full-time business, to the point where I now travel to Japan 3 times a year to buy fabric (I know, it's a hard life!).

Kanzashi Flower Brooch Kit

Over the years I have learnt and experienced so much and I hope to share this through my talks, workshops and kits. I love attending the major quilt shows and meeting customers, and being able to delight them with gorgeous, authentic fabrics.

Sashiko Sampler, Asanoha

In my personal life I study Japanese (speaking and reading), kimono dressing (I wear kimono regularly to shows and events, as it is a good excuse to have to buy more!) and iaido which is the martial art of Japanese swordsmanship. I also love knitting and traditional quilting and am currently working on a quilt for my daughter with 1930s style fabrics.

Vintage Advertising

Having attended one of Katie's workshops I can vouch for her enthusiasm and knowledge for all things Japanese!You can see the results of the Sashiko workshop here

2.5" Mini Charm Pack, Linens

Japan Crafts have just launched a new website so if you want to get your hands on some of these gorgeous fabrics or try your hand at Sashiko then now is the perfect time to stock up and benefit from the free shipping (UK only) on all orders over £25!

Don't forget to link up your Christmas and Holiday makes over at Practically Pippy too, to be in with a chance of winning this lovely Mini Rice Bag Kit, courtesy of Japan Crafts

So, there you have it, another great example of the entrepreneurial spirit of fabric lovers :) Isn't it lovely when you come across suppliers who are so passionate about their businesses?

Simply Sashiko

Recently, I was lucky enough to attend a Japanese Textiles talk and workshop conducted by the very charming Katie Chaplin of Japan Crafts. Katie gave us a fascinating talk on the origins of some Japanese textiles and introduced us all to a whole new world. Who knew that weavers of Japanese cloth had their own special saw tip fingernail manicures?

To illustrate her talk, Katie passed around examples of the different textile techniques mentioned, including the glorious kimono you can see above. Surprisingly, vintage textiles are not particularly sought after in modern-day Japan apparently, so can still be found at reasonable prices. The same cannot be said for modern kimonos, which can command eye-wateringly high prices. When you hear that a kimono made using the Shibori technique similar to tie-dying can take up to one year to make, the prices are not, perhaps, quite so surprising after all!

Katie brought along some kimono type jackets for sale as well as a whole range of bag kits, which proved to be very popular with her audience. I may just have succumbed to a bag kit :)

In the morning we had a chance to have a go at Sashiko embroidery and were given a range of patterns to pick from. I chose a wave pattern for my first attempt at traditional Sashiko embroidery. We used a tool that I hadn't come across before to transfer the pattern on to the plain blue fabric.

I have no idea what the tool is called, but with its blunt tip it was brilliant for transferring the pattern using Dressmaker's Carbon Paper. Naturally, I had to add one to my basket! I am guessing that it will be great for turning out corners too from the shape of it.

Katie had some gorgeous printed FQ's for sale too, so I treated myself to a couple as I had had an idea of what I might do with the Sashiko panel when I had finished it.

My youngest son is just about to move into his very first flat, so I thought that this was manly enough for a bachelor pad :) The central Sashiko panel is surrounded by 2.5" square borders of three Oriental-themed fabrics, and the borders are machine quilted with a half-circle pattern to echo the Sashiko embroidery.

I came across this manly-looking fabric in my stash and thought that it was ideal for the envelope back.

If you were at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham last weekend you might have come across Katie's stall. Apparently it was strategically placed on the route between the cafe and the toilets, so bound to be passed by everyone at some stage in the day!

Our next session is on couching, another technique that I have never tried so I am wondering what I can do with the results from that.