Feeding the stash

Yay! I got a package from Japan yesterday! My eBay stuff came. Last time I surfed over to eBay I swore I was only going to LOOK, but then one thing led to another... In French they have a similar expression "de fil en aiguille" which translates to "from thread to needle", which is very appropriate in my case. Anyway, one thing led to another, and I fell in love with this bright and unusual wool ikat fabric. I also snatched up this little book on cute little objects and purses to make from chirimen kimono silk (another weakness of mine). If it's coming all the way from Japan, might as well buy something else and combine shipping I always say! The instructions in Japanese are not as explicit and understandable as in other Japanese craft books, but I should be able to figure things out as I make them. I had no idea what I was going to use the ikat fabric for, but now that it's here I think I may just use it like a stole or a big scarf as the print is large and too pretty to cut up into patchwork. This fabric is not printed by the way! Ikat is made by dyeing the threads first and then weaving them, which has always intrigued me. The eBay seller was so nice that she even tucked a little surprise into my package: this cute little shibori coin purse! I love it! Just when I was whining about how much I loved Japanese indigo and how expensive it was in France (my previous post), and then this nice little surprise shows up on my doorstep. I guess it pays to whine sometimes :o) Now if I could only figure out what to do with my last eBay purchase... In a previous binge, I bought this piece of obi fabric from another seller who described it as BLUE obi fabric and I took the bait. Actually it's more like the color of the sky right now, that is to say a warm steel grey, but that's okay. Also it's only about 16 x 13 inches big. But I needed it for my stash, you see. I'm sure I'll think of something make out of this...