Lately

I'll admit that it's been more than a few weeks since my last post. I sort of let things run away from me and this blog fell by the wayside.

Lately my time has been taken up by work, school and practicing textile design. Currently I'm focusing on shibori which, in layman's terms, is basically the Japanese version of tie dye but elevated. Right now I've been practicing my itajime shibori which is a technique where you fold pieces of fabrics and clamp them prior to dyeing. Clamping the pieces using wooden or acrylic blocks allows parts of the fabric to resist the dye and remain white. I've done shibori work before with an indigo vat but it was a challenge, at first, trying it out with procion dyes. Patience is key and patience isn't exactly something I'm well known for.

It's a fun experiment and I finally managed to figure out the best way to achieve a good deep black in a cold dye bath. Typically any kind of black dye needs a hot bath but after a couple (well, more than a couple) small projects I've managed to achieve a blue tinged black that I'm totally in love with. I've also managed to figure out how to get crisp white resists against my dyes. The semi faded look is great with natural indigo but I really disliked how it looked against my black and amethyst shades.

Now that project after itajime project is coming out how I want them to it's time to try out the arashi (pole wrapping) method!

(the projects above are all available in my shop right now)

Recent Eats

Some photos from recent eats I've had. Two meals at an old standby and one meal at a freshly opened restaurant I've been following with bated breathe for months.

I ended up at Rakiraki twice in one week. Once for lunch with my aunt, the second with my boyfriend so a late night meal after a Saturday closing shift. I ended up with the sesame tofu don both times because it's just that good. We ordered the chinois custom gyoza Saturday night and, while small, the gyoza were delicious. Nice and moist inside and the gyoza casing had a slight chew to them. I really do need to try more things off their vast menu. Next up I plan to try their fried rice. I've been craving a good Japanese-style fried rice (chahan) ever since one of my childhood favorites closed down many years ago.

Rakiraki Ramen and Tsukemen
4646 Convoy St #102-A, San Diego CA 92111

www.rakirakiramen.com

Pop Pie Co. soft opened the other week and I couldn't wait until their official grand opening. I'll admit, savory pies are one of my favorite foods and I've been waiting for what seems like years to my food addicted mind for Pop Pie Co. to open. 

The soft opening menu was limited but we snagged a steak and ale pie, chicken pot pie, gravy with mashed potatoes and creamed corn. Everything was delicious and you know that a pie crust is good when it's still light and flaky after sitting in a pie warmer! $8 for a pie may seem like much but the pies are quality and will fill you up. With a side a meal ends up being $11. I hope they end up doing a mince pie. I'd love to see how it stacks up to The Bronzed Aussie up in Los Angeles.

Pop pie Co. officially opens tomorrow October 8th.

Pop Pie Co.

4404 Park Blvd, San Diego CA 92116

www.poppieco.com