We’ve had a LOT of rain here in the past few months. You know I’m always thankful for rain. As a gardener, rain is a gift-especially in a drought prone desert like Southern California. But the rain got the best of my 102 year old house and its 37 year old cedar shake roof. We celebrate a new roof that has just been completed! So YAY!! Such a process- the demolition noise, dirt, and mess. I really could not function well while this was all going on. But it is done now and we are very grateful. As if to test it out, the roof was completed on Friday and it rained significantly both Saturday and S ..read more

I took a chance on presenting a new workshop at the Japanese American National Museum this past weekend. I wanted to build appreciation for Japanese textiles by getting a nice selection of vintage cloth in the hands of the potential participants. I wanted to see if people would be interested and how they would react to the material presented. I was very pleasantly surprised the workshop filled quickly (& with a waitlist) upon being listed. I wanted to go over and above for the participants! I wanted to fill their minds with thoughts and stories of the importance of fabrics and of keeping ..read more

I’m in the middle of prepping for a workshop at JANM but it’s dark now and cold and wet outside so…will catch up with another blog post and see if I can get this one done without too much fuss. (Picking this up where I left off, so no, I did not get it done!) Honestly, it used to be quiet in the mornings when I liked to write but these days we have planes overhead every 2-3 minutes between 9 am and noon (and at altitudes between 350-750 feet”!). It’s too infuriating- I just can’t concentrate- even with noise cancelling headphones. We now have a GoFundMe for hiring legal counsel. Wish us luck ..read more

I want to welcome new readers and subscribers to both this blog and to the moon circle. Seems Jude’s recent post linking to me here sent more of you my way than usual and I thank her for that! Well darn! For some reason I can’t find the exact post for the link but instead just link to her site. Thanks Jude! Seems we have been doing this for quite a while. I love that we are both still here-18 years and some of you here are still with us as others have gathered along the way! How cool is that? We have definitely gotten older together haven’t we? For those of you who may have occasionally wander ..read more

Cleaning out! January is my month to clean and sort. I know many people have this same intention for the end or beginning of a year and whether you get to it or not may be another matter!. So far I have cleaned every nook and cranny of the upstairs here, and let me say that is no small thing! It’s great to have it done and hopefully stay that way for a while. One of the rooms was my boys old room that has been basically been used to store musical instruments (shocking-I know!) as well as the home base for a musician friend of ours when he is working in town so he doesn’t have to drive far only ..read more

It is the transitional time between Christmas and the coming New Year as I write this final post for 2023. (OK so it’s now AFTER New Years and I’m hopefully getting this out today!) These days, I love this time of year when I can enjoy a bit of down time, reflecting on the past, considering the future, but being present now. Quiet time. In the past, this time of year was taken up with much busyness-getting ready for January trade shows, getting new product into production, and end of year financial paperwork and more. I think back on those times and I can appreciate them while at the same time ..read more

As October turns to fall, we head into shorter, cooler days and more darkness. The cycle of seasons demands us to participate in changes, which in the end is a good thing. It keeps us from being too static and unchanging. It reminds us we are not in control of things that perhaps we thought we were. CHANGE is going to happen whether we agree with it or like it. It’s all in how we interact with it, how we respond to it, how we accept it. Nature is an excellent teacher. I’ll leave it at that for the moment. October moons are on their way for the moon circle! One is a Spooky Moon! Making cloth w ..read more

It’s cooled down sooner than expected this week so that’s a wonderful development. A number of unexpected positive things on the horizon. I posted up two indigo shibori workshop days on Friday- I put them in our “private” FB group for people who have taken classes with me at the museum since nothing has been scheduled there yet. I wanted to let them have the first opportunity to sign up since many there have been asking for a workshop. The other date is still open and I am posting it publicly today. I’m really looking forward to them both! You can check it out and sign up here. I am prepping ..read more

It is with much sadness I pass along the news that Rumiko Hirata has passed away nine months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Rumiko san, wife of Hirata san, mother of Shio and her brother, a sister, a grandmother, a long time member of her church, and a beloved friend to many, will be lovingly remembered for her kind and generous spirit. Rumiko was always a great supporter and helper to Hirata san in the many, many years of the Silk Study Tour to Japan. Always ready to be a gracious host to those who traveled with us, she welcomed our group into her home every year, even to this ..read more

If I told you what I’ve been going through this past month, you would likely unsubscribe here, so we won’t go into the gruesome details at this point. It’s really not relevant to the topics I post about here on the blog. Just know that it has bitten into the time I have been able to spend here and in the studio and that it shall pass, eventually. The best I can do here for now, is to speak about it metaphorically (the last post is an example). So I begin THIS post with some fun stuff- a squirrelly girl is back. Has been for a while. She is showing up regularly for some walnuts, fruit and water ..read more