Okinawa Bingata Dyeing

Today I visited an dyeing exhibition by a church acquaintance.  The type of fabric dyeing is called Bingata dyeing and it is specific to the island of Okinawa which is the southernmost island of Japan. 

I knew nothing about Bingata dyeing except that it is very colorful.  The exhibit was small and for most of the time that I was visiting there was no one there but myself, which meant that M-san could explain to me about the process and the history of this textile art.

The dyeing process begins by making a stencil with paper and wax and a screen.  M-san explained that even the cutting of the stencil with an Exacto Knife is different from the usual way we think of using the knife.  Instead of pulling the knife through the paper, the knife is pushed millimeter by millimeter away from the knife user.  There are at least 10 steps and about a week's worth of dye setting time before a piece of fabric can be considered finished.

The pigments used are all natural pigments made from minerals of powered shell or stone thus they don't really dye fabric but set on top of the textile.

Once the stencils are made, then the colors can be applied in different shades.  Let's see...  the bottom center piece is rather the typical color-scheme of Okinawa Bingata with the oranges and pinks blending to blues and green.  The two pieces on the left are actually made from the same stencil just dyed with different colors.  The center top piece and the piece on the bottom right are also from the same stencil but look very different with the different colors used.

In this very large piece, the stencil was moved and wax applied eight times before the dyeing began and once all the color was applied and had set, the color sections were blocked out with wax again so that final yellow color could be applied over all.

Here were a couple more examples of the difference in color application.

And these were larger pieces of three stencils with different colors used.  So pretty!

I bought a couple of the pretty pieces that M-san had made.  This one says "Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58"

And isn't this pretty?! 

M-san offered to let me try my hand at stencil making and dyeing someday so maybe I'll give that a try sometime this year....  Not that I need a new craft to get engrossed in but I'm always interested in something new!

Back to regular life...

So...  What have we been doing since getting back to Japan?

First off, report on John.  He was very happy to see us when we went to pick him up at the vet's though the first couple of days there was a lot of barking from him.  The vet reported that he barked even in his kennel and wouldn't much listen to anyone except for herself and her parents.  John obviously places people in his established hierarchy and won't listen to anyone he considers below him.  I'm not sure where I place...  He listens to me and we don't cross each other's boundaries.  (I don't even pet John unless he touches me first.)  We are back on our routine of daily walks and life with John hasn't changed much from before he went to stay at the vet's.

This was a picture the vet sent me while I was in the States.  And good doggie parents that we are, Tetsu and I sent a video to John telling him to be a good boy and to not forget us!

Tetsu's tiny vegetable garden managed to survive without him and he has gotten three mini-tomatoes and a very small eggplant out of it so far.  He devotedly goes to check on his garden but it doesn't seem to require much maintenance on his part.

We have headed into the rainy season and thus especially enjoy the days when it is a bit sunny.  The rice in the flooded fields is growing quickly.

The wheat is ready to be harvested (first harvest?)

For no other reason than my 2 1/2 inch squares bin was overflowing, I have started sewing squares together to make blocks and lattice.  This means that I had to go out and buy more white fabric and therefore I've probably got just as much fabric as when I started...  This quilt is not designated for anyone and so it may get waylaid when something else turns up...

Ah!  Question!  Yesterday a couple friends helped me baste the Kitten Tales flimsy I have had on my design wall for months and it is now ready for quilting.  How does one quilt embroidered blocks?  If I was going to do this by hand I might just put a quilted grid on the main blocks with the embroidery and applique.  If I am going to quilt this by machine then I don't really know how to go about quilting around leaf lines and tree lines and embroidered cats etc.  I have checked Pinterest for ideas but a lot of quilters just leave the main blocks unquilted...  Any ideas?

 

The last days in Detroit

Tetsu and I arrived back in Detroit to spend the last two days of our stay with Tony and Leiya.  They had just come back from their "mini-moon" in the Dominican Republic (yes, I know.  Dominican Republic has been in the news ever since then.)  Both of them still had a few days off from work and so the four of us did local things like check out the local farmers market, go for walks in the neighborhood and play cards on the apartment balcony.

Leiya tanned up (got sunburned!) in the Dominican Republic.

We had Korean food nearby...

 ...and then shared some big Korean shaved ice for dessert.  (I think I'm checking my camera screen...  Not taking a photo with the lens cap on!)

The walking area we just discovered by walking down a few blocks from Tony and Leiya's apartment.  This was a wildlife reserve that they hadn't known about.

I went stalking a bird...  He was very fast darting around the wetlands but once he settled he stayed for quite a long time as I snuck up on him.

 A colorful swallow I think.

 He is telling me that he sees me coming.

 I got quite close before he flew off.

On the way home, Leiya picked grasses.

 Leiya trying the sake that Tetsu had brought from Japan for Tony.  I don't think she likes it.

 "Good!" says Tony.  "More for me!"

Such a good son!

 The last day, Leiya and Tetsu and I did some shopping.

 Mother and daughter love to shop when we are together.

We stopped at a cupcake shop and ate cupcakes.

 I think we tried five different types.

 So much for my no-carb diet.

A final dinner out with Tony.  "Itadakimasu."  "Thank you for this food and for family times together."

 Early the next morning, Leiya took Tetsu and me to the airport.  A few tears in our eyes...

 It was a wonderful trip!

The flight home was long (a fourteen hour flight!) but so worth it!

And here we come into sight of Japan...  Look at all those sections of flooded rice fields!  Home Sweet Home.

Thank you for taking this very LONG blog trip with us!

Another trip across Michigan

After saying goodbye to my brother's family, Tetsu and I took to the roads again this time to travel across the width of Michigan to go visit some longtime friends, John and Marilyn!

Toodly-do.  Even though Tetsu did get an international driver's license, he never did any driving on this trip...  In Japan, HE does all the driving when we are together but I took over the wheel while in the States.

Driving on the opposite side of the road takes a bit of getting used to...  The turn signals and the windshield wipers are opposite too.  I occasionally hit the wrong lever to turn and set the wipers going...  And Michigan left turns are rather confusing!

But driving wasn't as much of a problem as I'd feared.

The clouds were beautiful!

Oh dear!  Keep your eyes peeled for crossing geese!  This goose family just waddled across a busy road and we all screeched to a halt!  Whew!  They made it across the road safely!

Three and some hours later we pulled up in front of John and Marilyn's house.

The K family are friends of ours from Tetsu and my dating days in Morioka, Japan!  John and Marilyn arrived as newlyweds who were just starting their missionary commitment in Japan.  We studied Japanese together and they oversaw my romance with Tetsu.  A couple of years into their assignment they had twin boys and was that a major event for all of Morioka!  Big, blond babies where there were hardly any foreigners in the city to speak of yet.  I was in and out of the house helping and watching Marilyn be motherly.  And Tetsu was watching how an American husband behaved in his home...  It goes without saying that this couple was a huge influence on us and our decision to get married!

Marilyn still calls me "Tani-chan", "Sweet little Tani."

We practically walked across the street to see Lake Michigan.  Oh my goodness!  Is that a lake?  To us that is an ocean!

 Have to say I got my feet wet in Lake Michigan!

Proof that we both got there.

Dinner on their deck.  Rice for Tetsu!  And let me add that it was very nice for Tetsu to be able to speak Japanese freely with friends again after being two weeks in the States with only me to talk with!  John and Marilyn have been back in the States for more than 30 years now but they still remember their Japanese!

 In the evening we walked to a lighthouse to watch the sunset.

It would be fun to visit all the lighthouses around the Great Lakes...

 So happy to be together again!

The sunset was spectacular.

 Tetsu took too many pictures...

 A look back at the light house...

The second day Marilyn got out her box of old photos and we reminisced about long ago days...

Was this the last time we were all together?  Maybe.  John and Marilyn had brought their whole family to California which now included another son and their daughter.  All of us barged in on our family friends who lived in San Diego.  There is Mrs. H and my mother standing in the background.  Me (YOUNG!!!) one of the twins, the K's family's youngest son, Tetsu (YOUNG!), Takumi maybe 7 or 8, John, Leiya, Marilyn, the K's family's daughter, Mr. H, and another twin.  (I couldn't tell them apart back then, I still can't now!)

Tetsu and I got to meet John and Marilyn's extended family with all the grandchildren too!  Fourteen of us gathered for dinner!

It is so good to have lifetime friends!