Today I welcome Diane Gilleland on her blog tour for her new book Kanzashi in Bloom: 20 Simple Fold-and-Sew Projects to Wear and Give. For a treat today Diane introduces us to a master artisan of this Japanese traditional craft.

Meet a Master Kanzashi Artisan

I thought it might be fun to do something a bit different for my Kanzashi In Bloom Blog Tour stop here on Whipup. I’d like to introduce you to one of the few remaining master Kanzashi artisans in the world. Her name is Kuniko Kanawa.

Kuniko grew up in a family who were immersed in the art of Japanese Kimono. As an adult, she studied this traditional form of dress, and began making her own Kanzashi hair ornaments to complete her Kimono designs.

Kanzashi is something of a dying art in Japan – only a handful of acknowledged Kanzashi masters remain. Because Kuniko is so passionate about preserving traditional Japanese culture, she sought out one of these master artisans and convinced him to take her on as a pupil.

Today, Kuniko makes beautiful traditional Kanzashi under the name Atelier Kanawa. She creates accessories for Kimono, weddings, and dance events. She is now one of very few artisans carrying the Kanzashi tradition to new generations. And she has used the internet to help her spread the word about this beautiful art form.

Visit Kuniko’s YouTube channel to see her making Kanzashi using the traditional method. She also offers a lovely video showcasing her creations, and a series of videos about her Kimono work.

Kuniko has an Etsy shop for her creations, and you can learn more about her in this article on The Storque.

Kuniko graciously allowed me to share pictures of some of her Kanzashi in the first chapter of Kanzashi In Bloom. Her work exemplifies the delicacy and grace of the traditional form of this craft.

[Photos by Atelier Kanawa, used with permission]

[ps - to win a copy of this book please leave a comment telling your favourite traditional Japanese craft - that you have tried or are dying to try - comments open for 48 hours]

Comments now closed – the winner will be notified by email – thank you to everyone for entering

SEWN is new and innovative online quilting and sewing community for all lovers of fabric crafts. To celebrate the launch there is a giveaway [via handmaiden]

Starting a craft blog can be a fun but also daunting prospect. If you are a blog lurker and eager to start your own blog but not quite sure what to write or if you already have a craft blog and would like to build your audience and participate more fully in the craft blog community – then tune in over the coming weeks for tips and ideas on how to build a better craft blog.

Writing is an essential element for a better craft blog. The most successful craft blogs – the ones that have almost a cult following, are the ones that have just the right combination of personal and creativity topics covered in their blog writing. They are easy to read, funny and wise, interesting and personal (but not too personal), they give advice and share their ideas but also show their human frailties. Soulemama and posie gets cozy are two examples.

1. Edit your words before hitting publish.

Before you hit publish on your post, make sure you read over what you have written and make sure it is what you want to say. Writing on a blog is difficult to undo, once its out there – it is out there. Even if you delete the post afterward it is still out there – published in your rss feed.

2. Good writing is simple, conversational, anecdotal and friendly.

Writing like this however takes practice. Don’t expect to be a great writer overnight. Choose one interesting thing to discuss at first, write a little about your personal life – discuss your children, work, homelife – no need to discuss all the gory details, just the interesting snippets, discuss your latest project, your exciting news, share your joys and adventures and your latest craft obsessions. Be honest with your readers, be a friend – but you don’t have to tell them everything.

3. You don’t have to write about your personal life

Writing about your personal life is not mandatory, you don’t have to tell the world about your nervous breakdown or marriage breakup. Its fine to keep on topic and write only about crafting, making, designing, art or whatever your latest creative endeavour is. Discuss your creative process, your inspirations, your design ideas, your craft successes and failures, but a little window into who you are helps to build a loyal audience.

Combine the personal

Starting a craft blog can be a fun but also daunting prospect. If you are a blog lurker and eager to start your own blog but not quite sure what to write or if you already have a craft blog and would like to build your audience and participate more fully in the craft blog community – then tune in over the coming weeks for tips and ideas on how to build a better craft blog.

1. Write about and show others your talents, skills, ideas, inventions and creations.

Discuss your creative process, show off your successes with gorgeous photos and don’t forget to mention the disasters you had along the way. Show your human side as well as your talent and skills. Become known for your style – be it eclectic and diverse or simple and plain – you will soon find others who share your style and design sense.

2. Give a little to your readers – share your design secrets -offer free patterns and tutorials.

Provide these clear and concise patterns and tutorials, with clear photographs, as either tutorial posts or downloadable pdfs. Make them available in your sidebar, or otherwise easy to find, on your blog. You don’t have to do this often and you don’t have to give away all your secrets, but readers will appreciate your generosity in sharing your knowledge, skills and ideas.

3. Share the love around

Communication and sharing the linky love is key to building a better blog. This includes reading and commenting on others blogs, but also an mentioning on your blog the work of those whom you admire. You can have a links section, but more important is a mention within your post of fellow crafters who have inspired you, or whose pattern/project/tutorial you have used. Share the love and you will get more back in return.

Have you seen or heard of the new sewing book Weekend Sewing: More Than 40 Projects and Ideas for Inspired Stitching
by Heather Ross? Heather is participating in a blog tour, whipup will be one stop on the tour, the tour looks promising with lots of secrets revealed.

Here is the tour:

26 February: An introduction from The Purl Bee

9 March the tour begins at Make , Grow , Gather with an interview and tales and pics of young Heather growing up in Vermont.

11 March Heart Handmade is hosting a Day in the Life of Heather Ross.

12 March Disdressed will have a Q and A and expose.

13 March Freshly Blended will be have a fresh review of Heather and Weekend Sewing.

16 March Whipup is hosting an illustrated sewing demo – learn fun tricks!

17 March Erin from House on Hill Road will shows off her lovely finished projects, and ask Heather about her inspiration for each.

18 March Belle Epoque will have Heather discussing fit and style. Know what you sew and win a book

19 March True up will host the first part of a lesson in fabric design – the process and inspiration.

20 March Heather burns rubber heading to signings in DC and Baltimore, with the Charm City Craft Maffia blog in hot pursuit!

23 March Heather is on the road again…this time to a sewing weekend at Spool in Philly. The Philly Etsy Team blog investigates, and throws the book at a lucky winner!

25 March part 2 of Fit and style. Know what you sew, and win a book! is hosted by Knotions

26 March Heather discusses her old school inspirations and aesthetic with Cathy of California.

30 March A chance to win a book at Wardrobe Re-fashion

31 March Thisisloveforever hosts part 2 of Heathers Fabric design – Process and inspiration with a fabric giveaway

1 April Craftypod does a book review and another chance to win a copy.

7 April Etsy’s The Storque hosts Heather on their How-to Tuesday! with a virtual project demo from the Etsy Headquarters!

crazy mom quilts offers this stacked coins baby quilt tutorial using moda charm packs on the the new moda fabric project blog – moda bake shop – online recipes which you can use with the wide range of Moda Pre-cuts

Thanks Kath for hosting my first stop of my Color Mastery blog tour at WhipUp! I’m an avid reader and am so excited to share my latest news with WhipUp readers. My new book, Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts, is all about helping quilters have more fun and be successful in coming up with their own color palettes for their quilts.

I’ve taught color classes to quilters and fiber artists for years, and I was frustrated by the lack of a practical book I could use in class. Before I became a mom, I was Director of Courseware Development for a large computer training company, so I decided to develop exercises, handouts, and quilt projects I could use in my color classes. I was soon spending a small fortune on paper and ink, and decided it was finally time for me to gather it all into a book.

I make an eclectic range of quilts, from funky traditional to fine art, and for a loooong time I was frustrated in coordinating colors for my quilts. I’m passionate about color and it’s the reason I’ve stayed a quilter when so many other art forms appealed to me. Quilts allow me to put color, texture, scale, line, and gorgeous design all in one piece that I can hang on my wall, keep me warm, or give to a loved one. What other art form can do that?

In these tough economic times I know a lot of quilters have resolved to use more of their fabric stash, so I’ve shot a video that shows how to coordinate six different color palettes starting from one piece of fabric – and all from your stash. I love those pre-coordinated fat quarter bundles from my local shop, and I challenged myself to develop my own gorgeous combinations from my stash, and now you can too!

[Thanks Maria for the fabulous video and for guest posting over here at whipup, I hope whipup readers enjoyed the video and will now go and delve into the stash to make lots of little bundles. Check out the rest of Maria's blog tour - tomorrow over at Trueup.]

Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts by Maria Peagler published by Willow Ridge Press; (December 1, 2008)

A great looking book, super title and idea Betz. Congrats on the new book. Link and a peek here.