More new obi

Here are the rest of the obi I received from Kimono Lily. They are almost sold out of everything, so get it while you can!
Here is the yellow and orange cotton  hanhaba (half-width) obi. It's a lovely bright yellow on one side and orange on the other with tiny plum blossoms in yellow. I wore it today with the yellow side out for Carnaval. Both sides have a hemp-leaf pattern (asanoha) woven in. It's soft enough to tie easily but no too floppy. It's made from really nice cotton.

Next up was the one I was very excited about: a crimson hakata obi. It's a hanhaba as well and it's cotton. It is in such great condition! I own a few other hakata obi and they are very special; the others are mostly silk, so I'm not sure how common cotton is. Hakata weave is one of my favorite obi fabrics. There is some great information and photos on hakata-weave fabrics on Lucky Manekineko's blog, including a great film reference!

The other obi is also a hanhaba for wearing with yukata and is cotton. I bought it because the color combination is almost the same as a yellow/red yukata obi I have that is made out of  cheap polyester. I like the colors of the poly obi (Goes with almost anything!) but hate the fabric. It's hot and icky. I paid way too much for it about five years ago. Oh well.
This new obi has a stiff, almost crisp feel to it and still had the original label on it when it arrived. The yellow isn't as bright as the asanoha obi, it's more of a honey yellow and the red is a true red. It will be an ideal obi to lend out to friends. It's just very simple, bright, and plain.

I will probably wear one of these next weekend at Matsuri...maybe the hakata obi.
Until next weekend, arigato!
~Reb