The Aesthetics of Boro, or rags, are the new thing, baby!
Whereas Marie Kondo desires to only keep those things that “spark joy” in the present, my mom is a master preserver and repurposer of...
Whereas Marie Kondo desires to only keep those things that “spark joy” in the present, my mom is a master preserver and repurposer of...
*Of course, How is This Still a Thing? is a nod to John Oliver. Here is one of my favorites: Recently, that truly obnoxious person Kim...
The last few months have been INSANE! I’ve been traveling around for various reasons since the end of March. In the last 7 weeks, I've...
One of the things I think about a lot, and occasionally feel anxious about, is the very sticky issue of cultural appropriation. In short,...
I have always loved the more, shall we say, domestic crafts, like sewing, cooking, and of course knitting. This often comes as a surprise...
Just about a month ago, while I was enjoying a cup of coffee at the kitchen table in my childhood home with my mom, I noticed a message...
I had such great hopes for frequent blog posting while in Japan, but I'm leaving tomorrow and this is only my second post. So whoops!...
Somehow between my last post and now, a few months have gone by. Is this just part of getting older, that you completely lose track of...
The summer continues to torment those of us cursed with low tolerance for warmth. This has meant many late sleepless nights for me, which...
It is summer, and it is hot. I am working on a scarf in rather thin yarn that is taking a long time to finish. It also requires a lot of...
For my Southern Hemisphere friends, this is the middle of the winter and especially on the North Island of New Zealand, the middle of a...
Last month, thanks to a very lovely and generous (and fun) professor at University of Copenhagen, I was invited to give a couple of talks...
And not in the Monty Python way (or maybe, yes in the Monty Python way?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0WOIwlXE9g I've been working...
So when I was growing up, it wasn't always easy being a half-white American half-Japanese kid in suburban Japan. It was the 1980s, and...
I've been thinking a lot about the relationship between "tradition" and my own designs recently. I always tell people that I make knitted...
I have a problem with plum. To be more specific, I have a nearly pathological obsession with the color, plum. It's not just that I like...
One of the challenges with making is that sometimes things don't quite go the way you want them to. The great thing with knitting is that...
It is a bit of a cliche to say that Kyoto is the cultural mecca of Japan; every advertisement beckoning tourists (both domestic and...
When I am away from Japan, I always forget just how much everything is beautifully and carefully designed and packaged. I am back in...
(food, yummy food, as inspiration!) In my prior life (or several prior lives ago), I worked at a museum, and one of my jobs was to help...