LOVE, handmade.

It was a lovely weekend at the Etsy-hosted LOVE Handmade Market in Ginza.

You can see a few photos of the event on my Facebook page. I meant to take more, I was just too excited by meeting, greeting, eating, crafting. Thanks again to everyone who came out!

英語でCRAFT: English Craft Club! February 4th

LOVE Handmade Market, this weekend in Tokyo!

Join Saké Puppets and other Etsy artists this weekend as we gather to share and showcase our craft. I’ll be there to talk about sashiko, and will be selling kits and some handmade gifts. I’d love to see you there!

January 20, 2012

Reception Party, 7pm-9pm

January 21-22, 2012

Free to attend! Open 11am-5pm

* * *

Come and enjoy a showcase of lovingly handcrafted items created by local Etsy sellers and their friends! Make some crafts with the Etsy community, find gifts for your valentine (or for yourself!) and talk with the artists about their inspirations and techniques. It’s a weekend to celebrate our LOVE for all things handmade!

Etsyに参加しているメンバーとその友人たちによる、手作りの品々の展示会を開催いたします。あなたの大切なひとたちや自分のためのギフトをさがしたり、ワークショップに参加したり、出展者と話したり。

あたたかな “LOVE handmade” の週末をご一緒しましょう！

Location

Gallery 7  東京都中央区八重洲2-11-7　一新ビル7階

Tokyo, Chuo-ku, Yaesu 2-11-7 Ishin Building 7F

Google map: http://g.co/maps/3asxw

2012

Happy New Year everyone! あけましておめでとうございます！

2012 snuck up on me. I was so busy planning the end of 2011, that I forgot 2012 came next. 2012, you dirty little dog! Name-calling is probably a bad start.

I’m not big on resolutions, but I am big on to-do lists. I LOVE to-do lists and make one every day. I love crossing things off and adding things willy nilly, copying things from yesterday onto today’s list just so I can cross them off again. It’s not cheating.

Instead of resolutions for 2012 I’ve decided to come up with a list of measurable goals, like a to-do list. And in the spirit of accountability, I’ve decided to post some of them here. Having all you watching me is bound to guilt whip me into shape. So, for 2012 I plan to:

• Cook 12 new recipes, one per month.
• Read 5 books. This seems low, and I thought about hiking up the number to look smart but then remembered this list is about achievable goals, so 5 it is. Even if I have 7 in my pile. And no, the Hunger Games trilogy I read over Christmas doesn’t count. But maybe Swamplandia!, which I started just after Christmas does.
• Visit 6 new places. Cities or countries, it doesn’t matter. And walk around these places without a map.
• Make a quilt for myself, for fun.
• Have a conversation with a stranger in Japanese.

I’m feeling a little bit cocky about starting on my list, since today I found a new recipe via my friend’s blog and I start my full-time Japanese classes. That’s 5 days a week, baby! I even have a new backpack, fresh notebooks, and an erasable pen for the occasion.

2012, bring it on.

Christmas Pie

I know Christmas was over 2 weeks ago. It has taken me that long to recover.

Dan and I spent 3 glorious weeks in the US for the holidays. We saw friends and family. We raced Hot Wheels with our nephew. We drank homemade eggnog and red wine that wasn’t chilled (why, Japan? why?!). And we ate. I gained 2 pounds in the first week, then stopped counting. I knew what I was up against when I witnessed my mother-in-law buy 8 pounds of butter.

I was responsible for at least a pound of that edible gold. For Christmas eve dinner I made two of my favorite pie recipes — deep-dish winter fruit and bourbon pecan.

I haven’t talked about my pie obsession in a while, probably because I am still grieving the loss of a real oven. So for a full afternoon my dad and I barricaded ourselves in the kitchen, drank brandy, and rolled out two beauties. It’s just not Christmas until the kitchen smells like cinnamon. Or there is day drinking. My Christmases involve a lot of that, too.

Try them for yourself!

Deep-Dish Winter Fruit Pie with Walnut Crumb Topping

From Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More

Pie Crust

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons ice water
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Walnut Crumb Topping

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup raw walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Fruit Filling

• 1 cup dried figs
• 4 small apples, peeled and sliced
• 4 pears, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen (In a pinch, I use craisins. This year I used brandied cranberries.)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (I usually skip this.)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F.

Crust: Combine flour, sugar, and salt in food processor. Add the butter and mix just until the mixture becomes coarse and crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Stir the water and lemon juice together, then pour over the dry ingredients and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. (The key is to keep the water cold so it doesn’t melt your butter. Keep your butter chunky, this helps create a flaky crust.) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prep the rest of your pie. When ready, roll the chilled dough into a 14-inch disk, then line a 9 or 10 by 3-inch springform pan with the rolled-out dough.

Topping: Mix flour, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the butter, then work it in with your hands until the texture of crumbs.

Filling: Remove the stem from each fig, then boil the figs in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside until cool enough to handle. Slice each fig into 4 to 5 pieces, put them in a large bowl, and add the apples, pears, and cranberries. Gently toss the fruit with sugar until evenly coated.

Transfer the filling to the pie shell and top with the walnut crumb. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 60 to 75 minutes, or until the crumb is golden, the fruit juices are bubbling thickly around the edges, and the fruit is tender. If the crumb is getting too dark, cover it with foil while baking.

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Adapted from Bon Appétit, November 2006

Pie Crust

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling

• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 2 cups pecan halves, very coarsely chopped

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F.

Crust: Combine flour and salt in food processor. Add the butter and mix just until the mixture becomes coarse and crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Pour the water over the dry ingredients and pulse just until the dry ingredients are moistened. (The key is to keep the water cold so it doesn’t melt your butter. Keep your butter chunky, this helps create a flaky crust.) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prep the rest of your pie. When ready, roll the chilled dough into a 10-inch disk, then line a 9 or 10-inch pie plate with the rolled-out dough. Fold the extra dough under and crimp to make a decorative edge.

Filling: Whisk eggs in large bowl. Whisk in both sugars, then next 5 ingredients. Stir in pecans. Pour into crust.

Bake until filling is puffed and just set in center (filling may begin to crack), about 55 minutes.

Enjoy!

‘Tis the Season for Sashiko ♫

It happens every year. Christmas Eve. 2 am. Me, alone in a poorly lit room, stitching furiously to finish my last handmade gift.

I love to give handmade gifts for Christmas, but I always cut it a little too close. This year it was a table runner for my parents. I started out ahead of schedule, since I had to do most of my holiday preparations before we left Japan a few weeks ago.

But I kept putting off those last few tasks, and suddenly my ahead-of-schedule schedule was gone. There I was, alone with my stitching while visions of sugarplums danced in my head.

I enjoy designing my own sashiko patterns, but sometimes it’s fun to follow someone else’s rules. I found the pattern for this table runner in this book and I backed it with vintage kimono silk from a flea market in Kyoto. I liked the way the threads came together at the point to form a tassel.

I bet my mother never places anything on top of it, no matter how much I insist it’s meant to be used. But I guess, how practical is a table runner, really?

But enough about the sashiko, can you believe this needlepoint covered bench made by my husband’s grandmother?!

Merry.

Merry Christmas everyone!

For auld lang syne, my dear.

In a bit less than 24 hours my Etsy shop will shut down for a little holiday break.

This is the blog equivalent of my local supermarket playing Auld Lang Syne 5 minutes before closing time. It is so slow and depressing, it makes me want to gather my potatoes, leave the produce section and head for my couch, tout suite.

But I don’t want to depress you, just encourage you to check out the shop. Then get yourself out of the produce aisle.

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind… dah dah dee da, doo dah dee doo, do do doo di diddly dee…

Saké Puppets at Design Sponge!

One of my favorite blogs puts together gift guides for the holidays, and today Saké Puppets is featured! Pop over to Design Sponge to check out a great collection of DIY gifts, and of course, you can find Saké Puppets’ Sashiko Kits in my webshop. Happy crafting!

Say Hello to My Etsy Friends

I spent the weekend keeping shop at the Make: Tokyo Meeting 07 with a group of top-notch Etsy shop owners.

Maker Faire, as it’s known in the United States, celebrates all things DIY and hosts major gatherings in New York and San Francisco every year. Tokyo’s version is smaller and focused a bit more on robotics, but the craft scene carved out its niche.

Each person in our Etsy group had a small box to decorate and fill with our shop goods, and during free time we gathered around a big common table for craft shenanigans. There were monsters, markers, and disassembled computer parts. It was heaven.

As an Etsy shop owner and a (somewhat) new arrival in a foreign land, I sometimes feel a bit isolated. So it was fantastic to spend the weekend with others who are also passionate about making things, who I could talk shop with, who were creative and inspiring, and who were just plain fun to be around. And so, I’d like to introduce you to my new Etsy friends!

From My Atelier: Yuki-san’s embroidery is beautiful. She hand-dyes her own embroidery thread using indigo from her grandparents’ yard. And her wrist warmers are rad.

Harukaze Designs: All weekend Sarah was whipping out adorable drawings of monsters. Monsters on frames. Monsters on buttons. It was awesome.

Necocoa: Neko (cat) + cocoa = so darn cute. Necocoa is hand drawn in a variety of leisurely poses. Darn cute.

Flat Packables & Tokyo Craft Studios: The quality is amazing. Flat Packables are all made from solid wood using a laser cutter and fit into little boxes for easy shipping. Partner shop Tokyo Craft Studios makes lovely porcelain tea light holders and lighting. So nice.

sushifactory: These handmade silver charms are so. incredibly. detailed. I don’t know anything about cars, but these tiny silver ones looked just like the photos of the big ones.

The House of Lau: Lulu’s cheeky screen printed underwear was a bit too much for the old folks, so she switched it up with t-shirts, aprons, tags, jewelry, and all sorts of great holiday gear. This gal is seriously talented.

Do me a favor and show them some love — check out their shops on Etsy.com. Not only are their handmade goods all gorgeous, but they are some of the nicest people I’ve met.

Handmade for the holidays, hip hip hooray!