Noren

amused
I am sorry this has taken so long. I have been struggling with the spam rules. Lots to learn apparently. The sun is out and my garden is not looking too bad after our recent rain. Last night I bribed a group of friends with indigo panels to sew the bindings on the last three quilts, to save the wear and tear on my arthritic thumb. I can cut stencils all day with my right hand but the left hand complains if I have to sew bindings on.



I delivered a custom noren the other day. Noren are door curtains. You see them in pictures of many businesses and restaurants in old Kyoto, often in indigo. They are suppposed to separate the calm interior fom the dust and noise of the street. I was amused to read somewhere recently that you should choose a restaurant with the dirtiest noren because it suggests lots of customers have been going in and out. They are still commonly used in homes as well, to provide visual privacy along with ventilation in small spaces. They can be short, to decorate a doorway, or almost floor length. They are changed seasonally. Summer noren are usually made of hemp or ramie (asa). Winter noren are often heavy cotton, dyed with indigo. I love the form, split in the middle with some faggoting or hand stitching to hold them together at the top. The ones I make are usually about 40 inches long, because they are more often used as wall hangings and that is a good proportion if I use traditional 14 inch wide fabric. I can get wider fabric too.This one uses a stencil of the Three Sisters and another of a Ponderosa Pine tree. The asa takes the pigment dyes so smoothly. I love working with them.This one uses a stencil of the Three Sisters and another of a Ponderosa Pine tree. The asa takes the pigment dyes so smoothly. I love working with them.