Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The feathers are flying



Well, here is the pattern I drafted to fill the triangular parts of the border. It doesn't show up very well against the print but I think it will work out OK.

I wonder if I need a small bit of quilting in the open area on the sides.
I rather like quilting feathers because I can use a very long piece of thread and do not have to stop as often. I have two triangles quilted already and am finding the best way to order the sewing so that it goes quickly. Of course,being along the edge makes it a bit easier to handle too.

We live in a "NO MAN'S LAND".

I was communicating with my blogging friend, Cassandra, who has been tidying up her place and getting rid of things and organizing others.

I, too, have been sorting and trying to get rid of stuff that is taking up space and am stuck on three items.

One is the infant seat I picked up at the church's flea market. Another is a dead computer of my husband's that is blocking my cupboard door. And another is a dead printer my husband has piled in front of the computer making it impossible to open the cupboard at all.

I remember back in the stone ages, the first TV that entered our house was something my kid brother picked up on the curb. It had caught fire and was waiting for the trash collectors. He brought it home and restored it and my mother allowed it to stay.

What you see in this picture, sitting in front of my tricycle and Paul's red bike, is an old TV with a note attached. About a month ago, a shopping cart appeared in this area. It was soon followed by the TV. Finally, the apartment owner took the shopping cart to the main street and found a store it might belong to but the TV is altogether another story.

These days, when you buy an electrical appliance in Tokyo, added on to the price is the cost of disposal. This TV, like our old computer and printer were purchased too long ago.
There is a system to pay to dispose of large items.You pay for a ticket to stick on the item and call the gomi place and they will come and pick it up. Of course you cannot set a bed or sofa out on the street so you need to be home when the truck arrives. (and if you live on a street like mine that is too narrow for the truck, you have to lug it to the place the truck waits ... and I have done that with a lounge chair while two big hefty guys stood and watched my struggle).

BUT ... the TV cannot be trashed... even though it was dumped by an unknown person.You can't pay to have it removed. SO ... my husband calls our local Ku office to get the city to remove it. They come out for a look, BUT ... our street is really just an ally and this TV is setting on "private property" because, until this tiny narrow street is turned into a wide street that cars can come down, it is a no-man's-land and doesn't belong to our Ku.

This lane was a dirt path fifty years ago and now it is paved. the street in front of the light pole has curbing and a drainage system but our side of the pole where the TV sits is only a part of "Greater Tokyo" where no one is responsible because it is surrounded by Nerima-Ku.

When we lived in Suginami-Ku, I used to run Nikko to the park along the river every morning. I was often surprised to see piles of trash ... furniture, appliances, bedding, all kinds of junk ... dumped along the edge of the park. (in the dark of night)

I am feeling great sympathy for those dumpers. Just think ... if I am moving house, I would not be there to wait weeks for the paid gomi truck to show up. If I had a job, I wouldn't be able to be there either. And if the stuff was electronic and old, no one would take it. We can't even move that TV to the larger street because the Ku office took a photograph of it sitting in this no-man's land. AND, this may not be the end because someone has figured out a place to dump their un-wanted stuff, Maybe the shopping cart was the first test.

Now, if I could take a saw and cut the unwanted stuff into smaller pieces, I might be able to slip it little-by-little into the un-burnable trash that is collected once a month... maybe hide it in a broken flowerpot ... I really would like to get my clean tablecloth out of the cupboard and change the runner on my coffee table (that has been there since Christmas)!!


12 comments:

  1. GORGEOUS QUILT ! :))

    Decluttering is always a challenge....and a never-ending job . I made a huuuge dent into my clothes, giving away (thrift shop) anything I didn't wear for more than 2 years. I'm aiming to destash my quilt fabrics, as well : too many fabrics I bought years ago (my tastes changed since), also manyof them bought on impulse (why-oh-why did I ever buy these? What was I thinking ?) ... Many small decorative objects should go out, as well, but some of them are sweet memories, even if "uggly" .... I'm also getting sick, when seeing all those shoe boxes, full of old pictures, that have to get sorted out and put into albums (my ideal plan being to make a special photo album for each of my 4 children)...

    There's really A LOT on the stove - not to mention about 10 big quilts UFO's.

    Wish me luck !

    XOXOXOXOXOXO
    NADINE

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  2. Here, we paid $5 to have our old TV disposed of, when the new digital system was in last year. Great service, there was a container full. Love those feathers. suits the corner so well, and the crossed braiding on the blue fabric, lovely length for the crossovers.

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  3. Love the feathers on the quilt - looks perfect. In Washington State there is free recycling of all electronics. You take them to Goodwill and they are required to take them and send them off to be deconstructed - and all reusable or recyclable parts are separated - leaving only a small portion of the original to be thrown in the trash. There are also companies springing up that take donations of old electronics and then they hire the handicapped to take them apart and salvage what can be reused or recycled. They make good money doing this and there are shops all over town now.

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  4. The feathers are flying off your needle and landing beautifully on the quilt!
    A cat that is run over by a car and left in the gutter will be removed by the local government. However, a stray cat that walked onto our land and died under a bush (unknown cause) was considered 'our' problem and we had to pay to have the body removed.
    The problem with rubbish left in the street is that soon there will be more things dumped there.

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  5. The feathers are looking lovely!
    You make me realise how lucky I am here with rubbish disposal. Twice a year we have a special collection of all things that are too big for normal rubbish bins. I know you would love that!

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  6. That sounds like an incredible snafu! Well your feathers - and all the quilting - is lovely. Hopefully the fun of that can take your mind off of that danged tv. We would just take ours to the dump - but I wish there was a recycle program for them here.

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  7. Your feather is lovel. Since I figured out how to by machine, I use feather with any excuse. Trying not over use though. Trash is a huge problem in Ireland because some still think leaving them on a side of road makes the nature to take care of! Hope somebody sort you out soon.

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  8. I agree that the garbage laws in Japan need some renewed thinking. It is SO easy for people to just bring their garbage and dump it in the forest because they don't want to pay for permits and hauling. Beds, washing machines, computers, refrigerators... They all end up in the forest and pretty soon the place looks like a dump and people KEEP bringing stuff. I will pick up the cans and bottles and burnables but my pocket book doesn't allow me to PAY for other people's trash... Which reminds me, we have a TV that needs to be taken to the dump but I need to budget my money to pay for the permit! So the dead TV stays in the extra room for months. I'm not taking it to the forest...

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  9. HI Julie, your quilt is so pretty ! We love the elegant feathers and the cable stitch on the blue stashing. The quilting shows up well and is the perfect design for that quilt pattern.
    We can surely relate to the problem of electronics recycling. Here, we can call for recycling services, but it takes the company about 3 months to send the truck out. So, it's a long time. Dumping stuff on the street is such a problem, especially when no one will take responsibility.
    We hope that you can get your cupboard open soon and change the coffee table runner. We always enjoy your blog ! Hugs and blessings, from Marina and Daryl

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  10. So sorry about your rubbish collection - it seems silly to have a system which leads to fly tipping and mess. I like the idea of paying for disposal when you buy, especially for fast food! As for quilting on busy areas, quilts are very tactile and I like to feel the quilting with my hand in the dark when I can't see the patterns.

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  11. Your quilt is coming along beautifully!
    I'm sorry that it's so hard to dispose of things. It's almost like they are trying to encourage people not to buy in the first place because then you don't have to worry about getting rid of it. I've been trying to be conscious about what I bring into the house so that I don't have to declutter again later but stuff sneaks in! It's the weirdest thing... I'll look around and wonder how we ended up with Stuff again. lol Someone tried to throw away a door recently. The trash guy left it next to the dumpster. So the following week they put the door IN the dumpster... sheesh. Taking up all that room in the dumpster that the complex needs for normal daily use. I wish they had hauled it off to the dump themselves!

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