DONE!!!!!

And here it is ... last stitches put in and pet hair removed.  On Sunday morning I passed the quilt to Kendra, (in the picture with me) and she added the binding and made the hanging sleeve. Monday the group met to turn the binding and quilt the corners and fix  "toe-grabbers" that they could find. Today just four of us joined to finish tacking the sleeve and give the quilt a good going-over with sticky tape.

Without a proper hanging pole we had to use two Scout flagpoles that didn't fit together very securely so the center of the top is not all that smooth. Since Kendra and I are the only pair of gorilla-arms in the group, we got the job of holding that quilt off the floor. Finished size is 86" x 101". I like this picture. Both of us are smiling and the deadline has been met with time to spare. Kendra and I have been working on the Gala quilts since the very beginning when her daughter was in the pre-school where we met.

After the photo-op, we sat down for a delicious gluten-free lunch and wrote down ideas for next year's quilt. Have you ever lived in or visited Tokyo? What place or view comes to your mind?
I sure would like to have a plan that can be ready for an early fall start. I have had enough stress to last the next twelve years.

Here is a view of the back side.(getting the sticky treatment) The hanging sleeve matches so well it can't be seen without a closer view.

Believe it or not, this design is not a print, but a weave. It was very soft and easy to quilt through. I have never seen anything like it before.

I suppose now I can begin another project ... but before that, I will be teaching the "Whittlin' chit" (That is knife skills) to a bunch of Cub Scouts on Sunday and there is a lot to prepare before then ... not involving needles and thread but saws and sharpening knives. Somehow the challenges and opportunities never end.

By the way....
We discussed the title for the quilt. My favorite was "FAN-tastic Sensu"  (Sensu is the Japanese word for the folding fan)

Great workday!

When I went off to the Gala quilt day on Tuesday, I was very discouraged. (well, probably tired as well). I had been working solidly on quilting the background of the blocks since our last session, my fingers were sore and there was still so much left to do. I have to admit I rather felt like giving up.

Sunday I worked to midnight and got up at four to deliver rice. Instead of going back to bed upon our return, I went back to work on quilting.

I had an afternoon English class but returned to quilting upon my return and kept at it until midnight again. As ten is my usual bedtime, I think my brain is getting a bit foggy.

Tuesday we met for a full day of work and I was able to mark more of the borders but it is too difficult to quilt in the middle when the group is working around the border so last night I stayed up to midnight again. I work with a large hoop and sit with the quilt all bunched up so it is hard to tell how much is done and I was still feeling panic about the amount left to do.

This morning when we began our second all day session, the quilt was laid out on the table and we could see that only part of the two bottom rows are left to do. We were able to finish marking the borders and with many hands, a lot of those borders were finished.

We were also able to come up with a plan for the corners that will make the borders easy to finish off. We decided at the end of the day to lay the quilt out on the floor and take a picture. I think everyone was happy at the progress and the end is in sight. We will make the deadline ... maybe with time to spare. The positive mood of the group did much to make me feel happier.

Our lovely quilt inspector got close and personal to check out the work.

Does this look like an approval to you?

Since returning home, I have been quilting the outlines for the corners. Three of those are far enough done for the group to finish.

Maybe another hour and I will go to bed.




In January, when Queenie and I met up with Tanya at the Tokyo Dome show, Tanya came bearing gifts for each of us.

Tanya had made us each a little quilt with a flower and the message, "Bloom Where You're Planted".

I just love it and I already have a nice table center Tanya made a while ago.

I was sorry I had nothing to give in return. The gala quilt has really been consuming all my time and energy. BUT, now that the quilting was in progress, I did need something to do while riding the train and sitting in meetings.

I had picked out the print fabric at the Dome show and thought it would be a good reminder of the short time we had to meet.

I know Tanya's six cats are not this color but I pulled a few prints out of my stash that would show up fairly well in a group.

In a box of fabric gifted by my friend in Maryland I found a bright cat print for the backing and I had some of the "night patrol" cats, left over from a quilt made for my son, that could be used for the border.

Several Scout committee meetings and many train rides later, he cats were ready to take a trip to their new home. Today, someone in my group asked if I had finished the cats. Well, yes I had but I had been waiting until they arrived at their new home to post a picture.

It was 1992 that I drafted this pattern on graph paper with my white cat, Pearl, as the model. Two of my daughters have used it for baby quilts for their friends and I have lost count of how many I have made. At one time I was working on a draft for tessellating cats and dogs. One of these days I should dig it out and put it together. Next in line is another baby quilt for a friend. It will be my next take-along project and it could be next week I will actually have time to play in my stash boxes.

slowly moving along

Last week's snow is slowly melting and the snow that was predicted for this week did not make a showing.

Each day more and more of the street pavement is showing. The piles are getting more and more dirty as they freeze each night.

The paths in front of single family dwellings have been pretty well cleared...

But the apartment buildings are a different story.

Each year, more and more of these huge condominiums and apartment buildings are going up.

Not only do they add a few hundred more people to our sardine-can trains, but I find that everyone's property is no one's responsibility.

Though the single dwellings beyond have the walks cleared, those around the apartment buildings are left for nature to clear ... and certainly add to the time it takes to walk any where.

Monday I had to go out to an afternoon English class and Wednesday morning the Gala quilt group met for a few hours of work.

My daughter and granddaughter came over and while I was reading to Leya, Norie took over my quilting for me.

Other than those times, I was glad to stay indoors working on quilting the background of the fan blocks, Friday's new group ... well, new to me ... met in a home that had a large wooden floor behind the sitting area. It was warm and sunny and I could spread the Gala quilt on the floor and mark the remaining background and one border for quilting.

That was a really big help, even if I didn't get any quilting done. I quilted all day today until I had to leave for an evening Scout meeting.

I think this is about a quarter of the blocks done. The quilting in to border will be a straight line cable. This is not really heavily quilted but the thinsulate batting is not going to shift even if the quilt should get heavy wear.

On the wall outside my window I enjoyed the winter visitors.

This Brown-eared Bulbul was working on that apple almost before the door was shut.

I don't know where they hang out but they really keep a close eye on the wall.

 The feeder is just a piece of plywood with two groups of nails hammered up from the bottom and some side pieces to hold it on the wall.

Sometimes I put tangerines and sometimes apples.

This little Japanese White-eye was waiting on the laundry poles for his turn.



This afternoon I put out a glass of juice for these guys but I was too busy working on the quilt to stop for pictures.


Tomorrow after church I have to take part in a special music practice,  then return home for more quilting.

My fingers are getting rather sore. I have a thin rubber thimble that helps  ... if I remember to wear it. Usually I have to stab my fingers a few times before hunting it up.

A good night's sleep and a break tomorrow morning are going to help even more.

Tokyo Dome part 7 ... a few more things that caught my eye

As with all Tokyo Dome shows, there was a theme, this year, "Moomin" characters. There were wonderful little quilted wall-hangings very closely resembling the book illustrations.

Ms Kuroha had a large display area that included her earlier quilts, an exhibit of a loom and thread dyed for kasuri weaving,

and in the midst, Kuroha-san, herself, (all day, every day, speaking with her many fans.

It was impossible to get close enough to see or hear her.
I have seen her at other quilt shows and she is a very engaging quilter.

Another great exhibit was a "Junior" category. Groups of Junior high quilters participated and there were all degrees of creativity, as you might imagine. There was also a section in that exhibit where teachers were engaging young children in a fabric art project.

There has been a Junior category for many years but this is the first time it became one of the show features. Not a bad way to encourage the next generation of quilters. (I was given the pattern for the kid's project to bring home to my granddaughter).

Of course I took pictures of these exhibits but Queeniepatch has already made much better posts than I might do on these. If you haven't checked out her posts, you need to rush right over there.
There was also a wonderful exhibit of Swedish embroidery where no photos were allowed.

 This fine quilt caught my eye and must have caught a few others because it won a corporate award.

This "Piling up Flowers" is the creation of Akemi Sugiyama.

How did I get here?

In the late 1980's I bought a blank notebook thinking I could use it as an album for quilt pictures and some details about the quilts in my life.

I referred to that as "my quilt diary". Not all the quilts I have been involved with have made it into that notebook. Some had the final stitches put in place only minutes before they were passed to the new owner and many had no  photographic record made ... but by in large, most items made it into the record book. I guess it is a good thing there is some record because most have no labels at all.

This poor notebook was not designed to have photos pasted in but it was well made and stitched and has held up remarkably well, considering.

Each time I traveled to the States, my kids requested me to bring my quilt diary so they could see what I was up to. Note the small blue strip.
That is the original back of the notebook. Yes, it was falling apart and consigned to a zipper pouch to save it from further damage.

Last week, I cut a new cardboard spine and using some old denim from recycled jeans, added a new back to hold the book together. A cloth ribbon keeps the denim from fraying. Hopefully, the notebook will hold up until the last dozen or so pages are filled.

It was a number of years ago, while I was attending a Scout Jamboree in Virginia that my son took the diary and scanned it and put it on a blog. We have a family blog to share photos and events and as far as I knew about blogs and blogging, this was a way my kids could keep up with my quilting.
Other than our family's, I had never seen any blogs (about quilting or anything). To improve the design, my son added a side bar with some other quilt blogs he had found.

One of those other blogs was "Taniwa", so before I even knew what a "follower" was, I was following Tanya's blog. I think it is quite accurate to say, Tanya was my blogging "sensei"... and she didn't even know it. She posted nearly every day and I not only learned about writing replies, but I checked out those who wrote comments I found interesting and made new friends through her blog. Over the years we have become virtual friends. There is a beautiful table runner on the table in front of me that was a gift made by Tanya. It keeps a smile on my face each day that it greets me.

I have been blessed to meet a few blogging friends and every one has been as wonderful in person as in the virtual world. Starting Thursday, Tokyo Dome will hold the annual week-long quilt show. It is always a super event but this year offers a bigger reward than looking at spectacular quilts. The opening ceremony will be a special treat with my blogging-buddy-turned real-life-friend, "Queenie" (also known in real life as Carin) ... And the next day, the two of us will be lurking at the entrance to meet Tanya and her friends. Would that make you excited? Well, it does me! Thank you, Jon! (I wonder if you knew where this all was leading).

This past Friday was also special in that I was invited to visit a group of women that also meet to quilt or stitch and share some fellowship right here in Tokyo. It was lots of fun and there were a few people I already knew. I plan to continue meeting with this group and am looking forward to making new friends.

I took along my homework for the Gala quilt and managed to put together all 11 blocks. I think marking and cutting them was the hardest part and that had been done for the most part on Wednesday afternoon.


We still have a rough up-hill challenge to finish but we are on the way.

I hope you all have a great week! I know I will!

December book club block is finished.

Considering all the trouble I had drafting this feathered star for a twelve inch block, I am satisfied... and a little surprised at how nicely all those little pieces went together. Yes, fabric is forgiving.

I considered doing some applique in the corners, but I think I like it as is.

If you read "The Christmas Quilt" by Jennifer Chiaverini, you will understand the significance of the eight-pointed star with red tips, and the feather star block. It is a fairly easy read, since I have managed to finish it within the month. My copy was sent me by my elder son and also includes "The New Year's Quilt" which I have almost finished. I am enjoying the Quilter's Book Club reads and some day may even have a reading quilt to snuggle in.

Yesterday was "mochi pounding" with the Scouts. Every year the Japanese Scouts invite our group to their Taito group 4 event.

Rice is steamed and then pounded in these "usu", mortars made from tree trunks. The sticky paste then goes into delicious soup or is eaten with an assortment of garnishes such as seaweed or bean paste.
The American scouts take Christmas cookies to share and we enjoy the cultural exchange, We even get some mochi to take home and we enjoyed some with our breakfast soup.

 There is a bit of seasonal entertainment on the temple stairs.

There was singing (I led one song ... repeat-after-me ... with lots of motions), and some presentations and speeches.

Many members of my Cub Pack travel over the holidays so we bring in other packs from the Tokyo Zone to share the festivities.

I don't remember how long ago we began this activity, but probably from the beginning of the current emperor's reign, 25 years ago, as this event is held on the emperor's birthday which is a national holiday.

The first three scouters in this picture and the lady just left of me have been my friends for all those years. The young man with arms folded is my Committee Chairman and assistant Cubmaster and the reason I still survive as a leader at all.


One benefit of the long ride there and back was time to finish the next bit of Gala quilt homework.

Too bad I only had eight blocks to complete. Other members of the group also took blocks to work on and this is all I could gather up. They look a bit washed out on the sunny floor of my greenhouse bedroom.

The turkey has flown in the door. Several church services await my singing, and tomorrow promises to be a busy day with family and friends'

Here's wishing a Blessed Christmas to my blogging friends.

Going to the "Gala"

Our group is far behind the curve in making the auction quilt for the Gala.

After a meeting last week, we decided to re-visit the Japanese fans.

The theme of the gala is the "Great Gatsby" We considered a Mondrian type pattern but that would have taken a lot more meetings to put together.

Next year is "the year of the horse" and the school team is "Mustangs" but a large black horse across the quilt would have also taken more time than we have left to work with. Our 2005 quilt was the fan design. A lot of the work can be taken home and worked on by the team members.

Last week, we met again with a bit larger group and pulled out Japanese prints and coordinated solids. These are the six that I took home to assemble. We will add the corners when we have the blue background purchased and marked.

Do you see the fish print? That came to me from one of our quilters who has left up, returning to the states. (Cynthia, we all thought longingly of you as we marked that section. You will always be a part of our worker-bees)

After many gusty days, things calmed down and I took this old quilt to the park for a photo. Maybe the sun is too bright because the green fabrics look rather grey. This quilt, "Sunny Glade" was made back in 1990, and one of my earlier quilts. I had no idea what I was doing  I had seen a tree hanging in a local store and liked the scrappy trees. I made a quick sketch (as I often do of ideas I like) and drafted the pattern in seven inch blocks.

I had been thinking of grading the background from the yellow to gradually darker greens but when it came time to put the blocks together, they came to a bigger challenge than I was ready for and I ended up adding sashing. In the end, the quilt turned out to be 6'3 x 8'3 and was too large to be used on my daughter's futon.

There are some blue fabrics that came from one of my cub scouts whose mother was a member of the International Quilters of Tokyo, a group I ended up joining (now down to only a few aging members).

This color shot is a bit closer but still not quite as green.

I didn't want to make a seasonal quilt but if you look closely, you may find a few trees in Christmas fabric.

My granddaughter, Leia, came over the weekend and helped me decorate our little tree.

After putting on one little box of pieces, she began to take them off so she could do it again. Can you guess how much she was looking forward to this activity?

She was very happy when I came up with two more boxes of ornaments.

My table has lost some of it's space but we are now feeling very festive.


Next week, my little assistant will come back to help me make and decorate cookies.

Note Leia dressed the boy doll in a tuxedo for the photo. Those dolls get lots of loving and clothes changing each time she comes, and even get to sleep in a real bed.

I hope you are all having fun making holiday preparations too.

The Gala quilt is done!

Today the binding and the hanging sleeve were added and the quilt is now hanging in the stairway at the Early Learning Center. This picture was taken at the foot of the stairway at the ELC.

The quilt is not easy to photograph in the stairwell, but the lighting shows the fish and quilting off to the best advantage.

Goldie

Peachie

and Spot.

Well, they don't really have names ... and if they did, they should have something a whole lot classier.

Tomorrow morning, the arriving children and their parents will have a surprise where a painting usually hangs. Saturday will be the Gala. Yes, we finished in time! Next week there will be no quilting day but our group will meet to celebrate.

This is our tenth year of quilt making. My husband would like to make a set of all ten quilts on note cards and has begun asking around for printers.

I have no idea how cards would sell but I sure wouldn't mind having a few sets. Each quilt is a reminder of friends made, ideas shared, problems solved and goals met.

Today I had a call from Kuraishi-sensei. This is the block she made for my friendship quilt.

Tomorrow she will come to the meeting with our former member.

Afterwards, she has invited me to a quilt show.

It is going to be a great day!!!

Asayama-san made this Ohio Star block. She is our best member for keeping in touch with those who have moved away. I'm so happy I will see her tomorrow too.

I'm sure Haeno-san will be there too because she is the member who was first to call and tell me about the meeting.

This block called "Nocturne", is the one she made.








Five other members of the group that made blocks for this quilt are still in the area but have not attended for at least a year or more. One member is living in San Jose, California and has returned several times. Another was living in Oregon and some of our group visited her one year for the "Sisters" show.

I have joined the Book Quilt Club and finished the first reading of The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas. One thing I liked about the story was that even when members of the quilt group had issues with the others, they counted friendship and loyalty to the group stronger than little irritations.  No member was quitting because of something someone said without thinking how it might sound to others ... or some other silly reason that needed to be forgiven and forgotten. I wish I could make a gift of that book to five friends.

My blue runner is almost ready to bind and I am sketching a plan for a baby quilt for my coming grandson.
My book club block for February will soon be underway. My + and x blocks are moving ever so slowly. 14 more blocks left to quilt on the first border. While wishing it would go faster, I am enjoying re-visiting all those fabric scraps. Now in the hoop, a block from my son's stash, Fabric from a quilt my daughters and I made for a friend's first baby, two bits from daughter's dresses, several more scraps from grandbaby quilts, batik from my daughter's quilt finished last year and Paul's "big boy" quilt. only a few scraps have never appeared in one of my former quilts. Plenty to do, plenty to enjoy. I hope you are enjoying your days too.

Waiting in the wings.

It's all over but the shouting ... or, in this case, adding the binding and the sleeve. I don't know what kind of a picture I will get next Tuesday after the last stitch is put in so Nikko and I went off with the carp, to the park for a photo shoot. I'm sure the orange silky-looking binding will be the frosting on the cake but I am quite satisfied with what our group has managed to do in such a short tiime.

My oval hoops have returned to their hanging spot and my big round hoop is embracing the last two rows of the + and X quilt ... that I may complete the quilting before the weather warms up. A few more stitches are needed in the blue table runner, then the binding. Tonight't train ride may get that finished.

So.... a new project is waiting in the wings. There is a baby quilt to make ... and a birthday gift ... but...
The thing that really excites me right now has to do with three things I love, quilting, reading, and friendship!

The last post, I shared a picture of the friendship quilt block made by my friend, Linda.  Here is another block from that quilt. The flower basket was made by me. The feature fabric got some fussy-cutting and the color I pulled out was brown and gold.

Along beside the block is friendship in the form of a book. Even though I am the world's slowest reader, I love to read. When Susan came up with the idea of a Quilters' Book Club, I really wanted to take part even though I was not sure I could get the books. While I was still plotting as to how to find the first book here in Japan, friend, June, sends me an e-mail saying she has an extra copy she can send me.

Last night, on my way up to bed, I checked the postbox and found her book waiting for me. I was so excited I could hardly get to sleep. (in fact, I fell asleep with the light on and my head on the book. Now I will be dreaming of the blocks to make for each book. I may make more than one block per book. The only thing I know for sure is that this quilt will not be made for the guestroom bed. It will be made for my semi-single futon on the greenhouse floor! Quilting, Reading, and Friendship! (And the comfort of a finished quilt ... no matter how long it takes or how many interruptions life tosses in).

Monday holidays

Setsubun

The first Monday in February was not really a holiday ... as in "day off" but was celebrated by households throughout Japan. 

The traditional first day of Spring by one of those ancient solar calendars, is a day for scattering beans (mamemaki) for dispelling demons and welcoming good luck.

This picture is of a shop window where traditional sweets are sold

You can see the shop window at "Blue and White" also got on the mood for the festival.

On Setsubun, beans ... usually roasted soy beans... are tossed out the opened doors, shouting "Oni wa soto", then into the house, crying "Fuku wa uchi".

(Out with the demons! In with good luck!).

My kids had a big laugh over this because O-niwa (the honorable garden) is outside, sure enough. And our home was full of "Fuku", eight of us to be exact.

This lovely quilt was hanging in the window as part of the celebration. Made by Reiko Okunushi.

This traditional face of Lady Luck can also be found in a traditional New Years game of "Fuku warai", kind of the Japanese version of pin the tail on the donkey.

Players take the face parts and try to place them while blindfolded. 

The stacked boxes contain beans and I hear it is tradition to eat the number of beans, one for each year of age. 

I reckon "tradition" is a mistake that has been allowed to happen more than once, and they no longer put that many beans in one container so only Nikko ran around sniffing out the tossed beans.

There is also something about eating a super-big sushi roll while facing South by South-east. Paul and Nikko took care of that one too.

National Foundation Day

Yesterday was a real holiday ... as in "Day off". In truth, that is all it was. The origin was in the traditional lunar calendar when the Emperor Jimmu ascended to the throne on the first day of the first month.

It was designated as a national holiday during the Meiji era when Japan switched to the Gregorian calendar.

Originally called "Kigensetsu", it was intended to bolster the legitimacy of the imperial family over the Tokugawa Shogunate, and was a major holiday.

The holiday was abolished following World War ll. Ironically the day General MacArthur approved the draft of the model Constitution in 1946.

In 1966 it was re-established as a holiday but now watered down to a day to hang out the flag and reflect on the meaning of Japanese citizenship. Sorry, Nikko, no beans!

The carp quilt is moving along. I was glad for a few quiet days to work on the fish and the inner water circles. We have only a few more weeks to get this finished. I planned to get the center mostly quilted so that the group can work around the edges. Today the lovely ladies got a lot done and we had to lay it out on the floor and mark some more circles.

The good thing about those karisma white lead pencils is that they mark very accurately and the chalk disappears as it is quilted. The bad part is that the markings get lighter and lighter while working and often have to be re-drawn. 

No more holidays coming up this month and the fish and I will be battling it out until we meet again next week. 

Here is a look at the back side. It looks pretty good for a group effort. I hope we can keep up the momentum.

Way too busy

It was a long weekend, beginning on Thursday morning. There were many things to get done before the Conference began.

I was not the brains of the committee but the person who helps with the tasks,driving, setting up the labyrinth, preparing the name tags, moving tables, hanging banners, setting up flowers and candles, etc. Thursday night I slept very well.

Friday, after lunch, the participants began to arrive and everything picked up steam. It was such fun to see old friends and make new ones.  The sign-up sheet for my workshop began to fill up and then overflow. I couldn't believe how many people wanted to try their hand at making that small quilted piece. All Friday night, my brain kept racing in circles as to how I could manage all those participants. I honestly wonder if I even slept at all.

The workshop went well enough. Many met with me in open time for extra help and a number actually finished. Very few had any sewing skills at all. Looking back, I wonder if I could have done something even more simple. I will have to study up on that. One hour is really short!

The conference itself was one of the best I have attended. The first timers mixed in well and many new friendships were formed. Sunday we reversed Thursday's activities, tying up loose ends, trying to fold up the labyrinth and get it back into the bags ... no easy task...taking down banners, loading up the car, and driving home in weekend rush-hour. We stopped to admire a beautiful view of Mt Fuji. I took my camera but not one picture!

Today's early rise into a freezing morning was for onigiri delivery. We returned home by 6:am and I went back up to my greenhouse to finish my sleep.

What did I see out me windows, but snow! Already coating the neighbor's roof. I'm glad it waited until I was back home.

By 9:am, though, It had stopped and the sun was making its way out .

Good thing too!





One of my Scout parents came by bringing thousands of packaged sweets to donate to the homeless. I'm sure they will be welcome in this cold weather.
My husband took her to my car parking lot to load the boxes into my van.
(Paul is in charge of the homeless ministry and will make sure they are used)

.

My in-box contained a message from the school that the girls want to learn how to quilt too. I had to hustle to prepare something for the class.

My husband rose to the occasion and made up a vocabulary list with some explanations in Japanese, and I gathered together some ideas for them ... I didn't really think they would want to make pot holders.

Four days away ... class prep ... bird cage needing cleaning big time ... (Piper must be the world's most messy bird, tossing apple and carrot bits against the window and on to the bureau). (Only to be exceeded by four days of dog hair on the floor).

There on the outside was a Brown-eared Bulbul wondering if he was getting fed too. Sorry fella, that orange juice is a bit old and diluted with melting snow.

Fine, I'll make it do.

Those nails sticking up through the board beside him usually have some fruit ... apples or orange halves.

Maybe tomorrow I will have some time. The feeders are all empty too.

The sky was beautiful as I left the campus. The girls were excited. Next week will come all too soon.


Meanwhile I have tickets for the Tokyo Dome quilt show.

There are only two days left.

Tomorrow morning I have to face the carp. at least they are together and there will be hands to help.

I hope I can get in at least half a day to visit the show. Then I can see the rest on Wednesday. I wonder why I was expecting things to slow down a bit when I got older.

Where did that day go, anyway???

Wrestling with a giant fish

I think I know how Jonah felt after wrestling most of the day with this big carp.

The fins and tail will get embroidery or quilting in black. The eyes on both fish will be black with a white margin.

I brought home some fabric scraps for the eyes but forgot to pick up stabilizer.

Tomorrow our group meets again. The golden carp is left to be assembled.



My other project for the week has been preparing for a class at the Women's Conference this weekend.

My class is, "When life gives you scraps, make quilts".

The theme for this year's conference is "Treasuring Our Gifts".The aim is to enable each of us to recognize our God-given gifts and to identify how we can better use and expand those gifts to glorify God and increase our joy.

I have been thinking how I can teach something in a one hour workshop that will be a learning experience and leave the participants with a small reminder.

Well, I cut squares from solid color fabric and triangles from different prints, a nine inch piece of batting and a ten inch piece of backing. The plan is to teach the process of sewing (by hand) the four triangles to the square. Then marking the center with a quilt design, baste top to batting and backing, quilt in the ditch, then quilt the small center design and turn the backing to make a binding.

The result could be a mug-rug or hot pad.

I am not sure how much learners can do in the given time but I can leave the materials out for finishing later.

I prepared 20 kits but I don't think there will be that many people who want to try the class so there will be a choice of colors and fabrics. One of my quilting friends thought what I can do in half an hour will probably take a lot longer for someone new to do. I haven't had anyone to try this out on yet, so will just go as prepared as I can and then fly blind.

I marked and cut the pieces from my plentiful stash and hardly made a dent. I still have to print out a selection of simple quilt patterns for the members to trace. I am also toying with the idea of making up felt pieces with needle and pins for each kit.

I have bought my ticket for the Tokyo Dome quilt show which begins on Thursday this week. Since the first few days are always jam-packed, I don't mind that I will have to wait until next week to go. I am also looking forward to meeting a few quilting friends in the coming weeks.

Tomorrow's weather report is more snow. That should add to the fun!

Getting serious

This week the quilt group for the American School Auction quilt got serious.

The plan is three carp appliqued over a lovely background pieced of Kasuri.

The center has been figured out and mostly pieced for well over a month but the three carp have remained nothing more but drawings on a piece of paper, enlarged to scale.

The due date is looming and if we are to do this, the time is NOW.

Today we met for adding borders to the background and putting together the carp. This silk fabric is very flimsy so we used an iron-on stabilizer. The orange carp will be coming down from the top. There will be a gold fish coming in from the left and a tri-color coming up from the bottom right.

Today I brought home the cut pieces, arranged and pinned in place on the drawing for two of the fish.
This evening I sewed the orange on together. This is made from five or six different pieces of cloth. We had to cut around patterns on the narrow kimono fabric.

Even with the stabilizer, the fabric is quite see-through. Since it will be put on top of dark blue fabric, we are thinking of what we can do to keep the dark color from showing through. One idea was to put a layer of batting between the fish and the background. It might add some depth to the carp which could be interesting.

It is a bit difficult hunting solutions when everything in the stores comes encased in plastic. There is no way to know what you are getting without paying for it first.
Has anyone ever used fabric for applique that needed some treatment first? I would certainly welcome any thoughts along these lines. Meanwhile... one more fish to go ... but not tonight!

Tomorrow is a nature hike with the Boy Scouts for identifying trees and animals (birds).  Then also with my Cub Scouts, a trip to watch Sumo in the late afternoon. Snow is still on the ground and it won't be melting tonight as temps are below freezing.  I am off to the nest to catch some zzzzzs!