Monday, March 7, 2011

Nippori Textile Town: Second or Third Encore

A Christmas Tree Skirt...someday
Weather will be leaving Japan in just a few months and Artistic might, or might not, be right behind her. Neither had experienced Tokyo's fabric district. This was a situation begging to be fixed.

Last week we grabbed a couple of other textile fans and hopped an early train bound for Nippori. Shinagawa-san, our talented quilting friend, joined our party. She was surprised and delighted to learn that Tokyo boasts a fabric district. I just love those rare moments when I get to introduce my Japanese friends to some of the more delightful aspects of their native land.


What an American military spouse can't find a use for two meters of red-and-white striped fabric for $4?  Then again, ask me in two or three years what I've done with this fabric, and I'll probably have to dig through five big plastic bins to find it looking exactly as it does in this picture.

I spotted bolts of green corduroy and pale blue striped damask (I think it's damask) in the Tomato bargain store for 100 yen a meter. Why don't people use corduroy for tablecloths? I wondered and then promptly bought 12 meters of the stuff and all the damask, about ten meters, they had to offer. Sooner or later I'll find out why people never use corduroy for tablecloths I suppose.

So far all I've managed to learn is that 22 meters of fabric is very, very heavy. Fortunately we spotted a vacant locker in the Asakusabashi station on our brief detour to the paper district so I could check out the washi paper and craft supplies without feeling and looking like a camel.

Weather, "Ouiser", and Shinagawa-san at Sakurahorikiri craft shop

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