E.M. Otani
banner
permanentstranger.bsky.social
E.M. Otani
@permanentstranger.bsky.social
Writer, maker, woman-about-town.
West coaster in NYC.
I look Japanese, and my name sounds Japanese, but turns out I'm American.
I watch lots of sports. I knit. I bake. I like stories. I tell stories.
April in the city has been cold and drab, but we’ve had a couple of sunny days recently and the flower boxes in my neighborhood are in full bloom!
April 21, 2025 at 2:50 AM
Two of my favorite kimono fabrics from my mom’s collection. Both are lightweight wool ikat, or “kasuri” as it’s known in Japanese. #kimono #japan #fabric #textile #art #sewing #weaving
April 8, 2025 at 8:57 PM
More of my mother’s kimono. Tradition dictates a fidelity to the seasons, so here are some pretty springtime motifs. 🪡 #sewing #japan #textile #fabric #kimono #spring
April 7, 2025 at 9:39 PM
My mother needed to downsize and so I’m now the owner of many kimono. She says these designs are very old fashioned — these are Showa era/mid century designs. I think they’re quite chic, modern and quite beautiful. Here’s cotton yukata and complementary obi.
#kimono #textile #japan #sewing 🪡
April 7, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Let’s celebrate the beauty of this amazing culture, its creations, and its crafts.
Pysanka is the Ukrainian art of egg decorating. (Photo by Iryna Stavynska). The process uses wax and paint. It is beautiful & unique.
To find out more about crafts of Ukraine from Iryna Stavynska, a Fulbright scholar from Ukraine, go here: news.uoregon.edu/content/ukra...
#art #eastereggs #ukraine
March 2, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I’ve only begun knitting lace, mostly because my mother loves it. I happen to be visiting her now, so I can share the first lace pattern I’ve ever done (“so that’s what a yarn over is for!”) and a shawl I gifted to her over the holidays. #showmeyourknits 🧶 #knitsky
February 22, 2025 at 6:32 PM
One of my favorite things I’ve seen on here. Just beautiful!
Going to give this platform a try! Sharing this piece that won first place in the mixed media category at the international quilt and fiber arts festival this last October.
#art #fiberart #portrait #queerart
January 28, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Wonderful cable patterns (and colorwork, and lace) in this great book of accessories by Brooklyn Tweed’s Jared Flood. I made this hat, #showmeyourknits. The styling of the accessories as pictured in the book are also fantastic. #knitsky
January 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
OK, #showmeyourknits, I made cabled hand warmers. Free pattern available on Purl SoHo’s site and designed by Gina Rockenwagner. (For those who like a set, there’s also a matching hat pattern.)
January 27, 2025 at 2:25 PM