More from the Kumihimo Conference

Day 2 of the conference was set to be more interesting and exciting than the first. The Keynote Speaker discussed fusing metal directly to the braid to make jewlery. This was absolutely mind blowing and the finished result were spectacular.

My next Takadai class was learn how to do bobbin switching. I thought this was going to be a bit of a stretch given that I had my first lesson the day before. Again the tutors proved exceptional. Mind you today we took a leaf out of the local's book and didn't bother with leader threads, we wound straight onto the bobbins.

The red and black are quite striking.

This image is bobbin switching to make a lacy pattern, unfortunately the colour set up in the directions were wrong. I didn't mind because the purpose was to learn the technique.

We were also scheduled to go on our first tour. I chose to go to Rakuen. We caught the subway then walked the rest of the way.

It was lovely to stroll through the laneways chatting to the others.

I've got lots of photos from Rakuen. I can't give proper acknowledgement for who braided which piece. I hope they forgive me but I wanted everyone to see this beautiful work.

This was the first thing we saw when we entered.

This is a piece of braiding that has been mounted onto a frame.

The staff were incredibly generous and gracious with their time.

Upstairs they had more braided pieces. A couple in particular caught my eye. This one because it has been embroidered.

A close up of the detail.

Check out the use of colour. Take a closer look and you will notice the eyelets.

As I walked back down the stairs I noticed these spools of thread. The colours are stunning. I was excited to note that the thread is one that I stock in my own hand dyed range.

More photos soon.