Hey, lookee what I found while unpacking!!
This WIP brings back such memories... I had bought the kit while in Tokyo in Nov 2006, from this impossibly elegant yarn studio called "Mother Earth". I still recall the crisp morning autumn air as I dragged my poor husband through the streets of a suburban neighbourhood, desperately scanning for signs that scream 'YARN' to me. I had even dug up my courage to enquire (in horribly rusty Japanese) of a passerby as to where the shop was.. only to have her reply (in perfect English) "oh sorry i'm not local". Hmmm.
We finally found the quiet little storefront, tucked away in a corner. The soft tinkling of the bell as I opened the wooden door, the comforting smell of lavender & rose oils in the air, and the subdued, mellow shades of cones and cones of natural-dyed yarn adorning an entire wall; awakened all my senses. This was and still is yarn heaven for me.
Needless to say, I did major damage there, and in the process, horribly shocked the soft-spoken owner when I nearly bought entire cones of yarn off the wall. She actually refused some purchases. My favourite was the scarf kit above that is made up of little crochet motifs. The center of each motif uses yarn naturally dyed from the Sakura plant, and the edges are in a whisper-light mohair. The colors go together so harmoniously and the motifs come out so delicately that I recall thinking to myself that I will never use big needles or bright colors ever again... such was the influence of that shop experience.
And in case u think I made up such a shop...
5 comments:
so this was the store u mentioned.
oh dear another reason why I shouldn't go to Japan unless I'm a millionaire...
lol
Please forgive the rudeness of my question, but how expensive is it? How much was the scarf kit, for example? I'm planning a trip to Tokyo, and I'd like to go there, but if it's too expensive I spend my time doing something else.
hi jenn, mother earth is expensive as everything is hand dyed in small qtys , and a little out of the way if you're in a rush. the kit is abt USD25. if u prefer someplace with a lot more variety, try any yuzawaza or okadaya outlet - they are like huge crafts emporiums with dedicated yarn floors. hv fun in tokyo!!
when you say she refused purchases, you mean she literally refused to sell you yarn? horrors! =P
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