Thursday, December 17, 2009

December kanzashi branch

My take on December kanzashi. Sugar maple branch with lanterns and other trinkets. I wanted to make one that didn't focus on one holliday, yet festive at the same time.

October Sugar maple leaves and seed falls

This is my take on October kanzashi, Sugar maple leaves and seeds. I will eventuialy have a quebec wild flower/plant equivalent to each month.

Fan kanzashi

I won an ebay auction of a pare of these fan type kanzashi.





Bell ball kanzashi

This is the first kanzashi I bought. It has a bell inside that I dampened the sound with sponge since it sounds like the bell on a cat's collar. I just squished it in so I can remove the sponge any time.

Black and red star Kanzashi

Another imaginary flower, I was inspired oddly from some of the paintings on Cuckoo Clocks.

Pink clover kanzashi

This is one of my first kanzashi I made with my new dying and painting technique after folding. Pink clover, is a wind flower found in quebec, this is the first kanzashi I made of the actual size of the flower.

Glowing kanzashi

This is the first kanzashi (hair pin) I have ever made. The electronic wiring was done by my brother, he made the battery pack glued to the wiring to make it as small as possible. This is the first and last time I dyed my fabric before folding. I found it more efficient and the pigment was more saturated when I folded the fabric first then painted and dyed the fabric.

Fukuro Obi with a fan design

I bought this Fukuro obi at a local kimono shop to go with the Komon and Houmongi. The Fukuro obi is much thinner and lighter so I'm sure I'll have an easier time tying it. It's a silk Obi, and is only a few inches shorter than my Maru Obi.

Haori with abstract grass

This is my first Haori (over kimono or kimono blazer), I bought it with my Komon and Houmongi online.
Apparently there is a small stain on it but I can't find it. Besides the smell it's as good as new! It's great I'm using this now as an a house coat or over sweater instead of my yukata when I travel to the colder parts of my house.

The date is not specified but it was listed as a contemporary haori. The fabric is silk with a shiboari texture with hand painted abstract grass design.

Komon with a karakusa pattern

This is my first Komon (casual kimono with a repetitive pattern) I bought recently online, although I was eyeing this for a while, I was a it uncertain about buying it because it's synthetic but I love the design to much. I was really pleased with the texture of the fabric it doesn't feel like a synsetic fabric.

It's my only kimono besides my yukata that is not lined. It has a karakusa pattern and I have no idea how old it is.

Houmongi frozen stream and ume plum blossoms

This is my first Houmongi (visiting kimono formal to semi formal kimono) that I bought it recently online.
It has a a frozen stream and ume or plum blossom design.
It's silk and estimated to be from the mid Showa period (1926-1989).




Maru Obi with Cranes and pine trees

I bought this Maru Obi to go with my Furisode, one thing I never imagined was how heavy the obi was it's 5 LBS! It's not that heavy to wear but the weight and shear length makes it almost impossible to tie.

This obi is estimated to be from before the second world war. It's woven rayon, and 12 1/2" wide and 154 1/2" long.

Black Furisode with Cranes, fans, and flowers.

This is the kimono that really got my collection rolling. I really wanted a real silk kimono for a long time. I also wanted some day to dress up as a junior Geisha or Maiko. I bought a Furisode since Maiko Susohiki or Hikizuri are really hard to find. I bought a black one for several reasons. The first was because black kimono tend to have more detailed elaborate designs. Secondly it's harder to tell at first glance if the sleeves have the folds of the Maiko's kimono.

The Kimono is estimated to be from the Taisho period (1912-1925) or early Showa period(1926-1989).

Pre tied obi

These two, two part pre tied obi came with the my yukata gifts.






Yukata

These are my very first kimono. I recieved these yukata(summer cotton kimono) years ago as a surprise gift from the two Japanese girls my family hosted. It was not an exchange program so I didn't go to Japan.