Catching up

Sometimes it seems the faster I run, the behinder I get.

It seems every weekend I have to pick and choose my priorities and something is bound to get left in the dust. Today there is a boy scout Merit Badge day, and probably the first one in years I have missed. That is also doubled up with a outdoor leader training that I have also declined to help on.

I don't know who is going to do the nature section of that training but the materials I have assembled over nearly 40 years would not work at the chosen location. In addition, the training which is supposed to include an overnight has been shortened to part of one day. How can we teach scouts to go by the rules when leaders (and the executive in charge) are cutting corners? Yes, he gets more "trained leaders" to his credit but... which comes to merit badge requirements ... where a scout is expected to "tell" or "explain", the leader does the talking and signs the kid off.

Anyway, Sunday afternoon and evening I have a pinewood derby to manage ... with a new track and inexperienced leaders. I think for one weekend, that is enough. And ... next weekend is the district pinewood derby but since the "Gate List" is closed (as it is on a military facility) none of the civilian packs will be able to attend ... they need to know the names and details of attendees (winners) 60 days out... before we even run our own pack events.

So ... besides whittling my derby car, what have I been up to?

Blue and White

At the end of each teaching day, I walk downhill to the train station at 

"the Ju-ban"

That is, as in Azabu-juban.

Along the way I often have stopped at the shop. Blue and White, 

not so much as to shop but to have a bit of a visit and look around.

This little shop with it's charmingly decorated show window has been an icon in the area for many years.

Recently, the "Peacock" grocery store on the property was taken out of the building and new shops were put in.

Amy Kato, who owns the Blue and White was told ... after all these years ... that her shop does not meet building standards and was to be torn down so she had to move. 

As I have said, that shop is an icon of the area  ... so where was she to move too? Well, the shop closed and the building was torn down ... but a sign on the fence declares it will re-open in April on the second floor of the renovated building. I do not know all the details but I hope they will get a show window and be visible still to passers by.

I have known Amy since the early 70's as her husband and mine worked at the same company. I wish I could afford a big bouquet of flowers for the opening, but when life gives you scraps, you make quilts instead. 

Thus two mug rugs ... hoping they can use them for their tea or coffee or even a glass of celebratory wine. 

  

For Amy, a tai, or sea bream, regarded as a celebratory fish and is often served at ceremonious occasions. In the upper corner, a birds-in-the-air block representing the new location on the second floor, and in the lower corner below the waves are a daruma wishing good fortune ... always rising from a fall ... a good luck cat, (I think those are coins it is tossing), and a mallet of good fortune. Amy's shop is known to hold lessons in sashiko but since I have never taken any, ordinary quilting will have to do.

For her assistant, I can see her jumping up from her work ... done in bits and pieces ... while greeting friends (often with a hug in my case). Over the years bits and pieces of yukata fabric from the shop have gone into ASIJ quilts and also my stash, so her little mat will get a selection. 

For some reason I had trouble making the binding behave but at least I had enough to bind two 8x11 inch mats. 

As for mola, it is now creeping along at a turtle's pace. Under the green is a lighter green ... kind of reverse of the regular molas that usually put the lighter colors on top.

I'm not at all certain where I am going with this and maybe that is why it is moving so slowly.

My original drawing crawled off to some unknown place.

In most cases when this happens, the minute I go to the trouble of doing a task over, the original reappears. BUT, this time it seems to be gone for good ... along with the color plan. This is definitely not what I had in mind at the beginning, but now I hate to start over once more.  I guess if this is a learning experience, I should be happy ... that is ...  if I really have learned how NOT to make mistakes.

A busy weekend

I thought that once the Gala quilt was finished, I would have all kinds of time to spend on quilting. Silly, foolish me! Do you know the theory of the "Dark Sucker"?  Well, electric bulbs suck light. Anyone who goes camping, knows that when you have a portable dark sucker, it is much less dark next to it than elsewhere.

A candle is a primitive dark sucker. You may notice that a new candle has a white wick. You can see that from after the first use, the wick turns black from all the dark that has been sucked into it. Of course one of the disadvantages of a primitive dark sucker is their rather limited range.

Unlike stationary dark suckers, the portable ones cannot handle all the dark by themselves, and need to be aided by dark storage units. That means that when the dark storage unit is full, it needs to be emptied or replaced before the portable dark sucker can work again.

Dark has mass. When dark goes into a dark sucker, friction from the mass creates heat, thus it is not wise to touch an operating dark sucker. This is particularly true with candles, where the dark travels through a solid wick instead of glass, and therefore generates a great amount of heat.

Also, dark is heavier than light. You can observe this when you go swimming in a lake. It is light just below the surface, but the dark which is heavier, sinks to the bottom so it is darker the deeper you go.  The lighter light floats to the top and that is why it is called "light'.

Finally, it can be proved that dark is faster than light. If you stand in a lit room in front of a closed, dark closet, and slowly open the door, you would see the light slowly enter the closet. But, since dark is so fast, you can't see the dark leave the closet.

Of course these things are easy to understand and explain. What I need to understand is the "Time Sucker".
I am certain there is a working theory out there because my time is getting gobbled up right and left. I don't have  whole lot to show for it as yet.

The blue table runner got itself done. I used yukata fabric for the bias binding and I think I like the end result.

Here it is on the table. It doesn't go all the way to the edge but I think that close will probably protect most of the table.

The next time sucker was my first block for the Quilter's Book Club. If you love to read as much as I, go and check out Starwood Quilter. Our first book was The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas. I really enjoyed reading this book and discussing it with my on-line friends. I read all the time but it is rare for me to have any interactivity connected with reading.

I pulled out a bit of paisley ( Persian pickle) fabric from my stash and made a "Prairie Queen" block.
I thought the corn print would go nicely with the Kansas setting. I made my block 12 inches. If we make a block each month, I think I will have a nice cover for my bed by next year. I am thinking of putting a large friendship block in the center because this book club is just as much about friendship as it is reading and quilting.

Another time sucker is this project. My mom made a quilt for each of my six children for their second birthday. This quilt was made for my son, Ken. Now that Ken will have a son of his own, I thought he might like to have his own baby quilt. The problem, however, is that my mother always bought the cheapest thread she could find and very little of her quilting remains. On the other hand, my great grandmother's quilt still has every tiny stitch, so I know they could make strong thread back 40 years ago.

I have done this on other baby quilts and this is the last one. It will need a lot of help and the binding, which was sewed on by heavy fancy machine stitching, is all fallen apart too. Maybe Ken's wife will be horrified to put this old quilt on her brand new baby. Should I ask her first before this sucks up more time? I still have a baby quilt of my own to make.

Meanwhile,  I have finished quilting one edge of the + and x quilt ... four more sides to go.
I have  spent lots of time with Scouting. My pack had a "rough-cut day" for making pinewood derbies. The kids get a block of wood, four nails for axles and four wheels, and they will turn that into a car to race sometime before the end of the month. Since most families do not have the necessary tools, we bring all the stuff to the meeting place and help the kids get that block of wood into the shape they want. It also helps to prevent the dads from taking over the activity and making the kid's car.

We had one rough-cut Sunday night, another Friday night, and another tonight. I hope that will be a chance for everyone to get their cars done.

 We have an open competition for any leaders or dads or siblings who want to join the challenge. My car got roughed out yesterday Luckily, my granddaughter came for the weekend and brought with her Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". I need to find something to use for the antenna, and now that I sanded it during another Scout Staff training meeting this morning, I can look at Leia's book to put on the paint.
This will not be slow because the caterpillar is hungry for all kinds of things (including VICTORY)!

Meanwhile, in case there is any time left to suck, I am singing with a special group from the choir ... meaning extra rehearsals beyond the regular choir practice... And a very early departure Sunday to sing two services.

Each time I go racing out for one more activity, dragging a ton of supplies up and down hundreds of stairs, I wonder when it happens that the old lady gets to slow down and take it easy. Then I see other elderly people who have slowed down so much they are never coming out of their houses. I think about the joy of singing in a group and am thankful my voice is still holding out. I think about the young kids whose life I am touching, the fun we are having, and how I wish I might know them when they are all grown up. "Back off, time sucker, I still have a lot to do"!!!

And, just to let you know that spring is around the corner, here are some flowers in my garden. Have you ever seen this kind of tree? This is the very first time for this tree to bloom. It came as a seedling in a pot five years ago. In Japanese it is called a "Biwa", the Eriobotrya japonica, is called "Loquat" in English. It is a very fast-growing tree with leaves that are 12 - 25 cm in length. The  fruits ripen in the spring and are edible but are not sold in stores as they do not keep well. They can be made into jam or alcoholic drinks.
Like all the other flowering plants around here, this is late in the season because the fruit should be set by now. I don't know if this will actually have fruit. We shall see what is left when that old time-sucker gets through.

Side trips and progress report

Quiet quilting at home has brought me to the last two rows of the + and X blocks. The big hoop will center those bottom two rows so I am moving around the edge, four blocks at a time. The end is almost in sight. At least it should be ready for binding before the end of winter.

The blue runner is also enjoying a dark blue sashing. Thanks to all the advice from blogging friends. This is my take-along work and making some progress. I am still thinking about the binding and possibly using some dark blue yukata fabric  for that thin outer edge.

Meanwhile, I got together with another member of the auction quilt committee to plan the next move.

Well, this is a bit hard to figure out, but those are big carp. I enlarged the chosen sketches and we laid them out with thoughts of what needs to be done next. There will be a lighter blue inner border and a wider outer border... maybe a wave print in a dark blue. While that is put together, we will get the carp ready to applique over that beautiful kasuri.

At least that is the plan. Knowing how I hate last-minute tasks, I am beginning to feel better about this project.

Thursday afternoon, I had to take my car for its half-year check. The place I go is in my old neighborhood so Nikko comes with me and we walk down our old street, past our house to the park along the river.

Sometimes we meet old neighbors.
Always we notice changes in the area.

The first change was this big green item. It is something I had been advocating while living there.
This green screen opens up into a big square box in which to put trash on collection days.
The collection site was right in front of our old house. In those days, the trash was piled in plastic bags and covered with a large green net. The public was supposed to tuck the net under the trash bags and many living in the houses there did it correctly. The problem was the apartment dwellers who tended to have small bags often containing unwanted food. Those bags weren't heavy enough to anchor the net ... and usually were just tossed under with no thought. The problem was the Jungle crows. They knew where to hang out and they could easily pull out those light bags and rip them up all over the street. It was the home-dwellers that ended up having to pick up trash every collection day and I can say I certainly did a lot of cleaning up because others in the neighborhood were at work during the day or just too old to get out and clean the street.

I remember more than one person complaining that we had a "Crow problem". No... it was a "People problem". Crows were only taking advantage of the situation. I noticed the whole street had finally gotten these folding bins and the sound of crows was much reduced.

Nikko and I walked down to the park. When we lived there, we went to the park every morning where Nikko could run and play with other big dogs. The owners stood and talked and enjoyed the fellowship as much as the dogs.

Nikko had lots of smells to check out.

Right inside the entrance, hanging on this big Keyaki tree was a sign. It says "Beware of the CROWS"! Hmmm, maybe without garbage to attack, the crows are attacking people?

And here is another!  It even says "Caution" in English.


Well, when the young crows have fledged, you really need to be careful. You may not even realize they are baby crows because they are so big, but if you accidentally near one on the ground, you will be attacked by the parent that will follow you all the way home pecking you on the head! Not a fun experience.

Wadabori Park stretches along the bank of the Zempukuji River.

Like the majority of rivers in Japan, the Zempukuji
is encased in concrete. During heavy rains, this river can rise to over a meter  above it's banks, flooding roads, bridges, and near-by homes.

Over the years, as people move out, the city has bought up the properties and turned the acquired land into park space. Some will be evacuation areas in case of an earthquake. The city has put large tunnels under the baseball field to take in some of the river overflow during storms.  Though rather engineered, it is a nice big park with attractive wildlife.(mostly birds) This sign shows the birds that winter in the area. On weekends you can see scads of men with their telephoto lenses taking pictures of the Common Kingfisher, a flying jewel of a bird. In the early morning there was always a group doing Tai Chi. There are stocked fish ponds and a bicycle course park for kids. Joggers are found at all times of the day, trotting along the river bank trails.

Nikko and I walked along the bank and saw many more birds than on the poster, Too bad I do not possess my Daughter-in-law"s skill in bird photography. I did see plenty of moving targets to practice on.

Here is a Japanese Wagtail running along the river embankment.

And one of those huge Jungle Crows wondering if I will drop some trash.

A whole family of Rufous Turtle Doves was along the other side of the path turning over leaves and looking for goodies.

They hardly blinked or stopped their work when we walked past.

Pintails are regular winter visitors in Tokyo.

The female was not far behind.

The resident Spot-billed Ducks didn't mind sharing their pond with friends.

And a whole family of Gray Herons were busily grooming themselves in the trees on the small island.

Those weren't even on the poster.


An Azure-winged Magpie was dashing in and out of the branches below the herons.

In fact, I saw all the birds on the poster but the Daurian Redstart  and I know he hangs our along the back road so, if I had had more time, he would have been checked off the list as well.





I grew up on the edge of the Euclid Creek Reservation, East of Cleveland and nature was so much a part of my life. It is probably the thing I miss most where I live now.

Nikko and I walked back along the river and through our old neighborhood. We met and talked with two past neighbors.

The gate posts of one of the homes that were destroyed in the earthquake are slowly being repaired, The mailbox is hanging on the gate and the hole in the limestone block wall is where it used to be.

The house where we used to live is still enjoying the lovely winter sun that warms the whole downstairs. Oh, how I miss those sunny rooms and that spacious garden!

And, on the corner of our former street, the apartment building continues to rise where a parking lot once lived. Luckily, the tallest section is along the main road so the homes will not have their sun cut off as much as expected.

The neighbors are wondering how the area will change. Certainly the building of all these apartments will add to the crowding on the trains to downtown. This train line has been one model of politeness, with seats offered to elderly and handicapped passengers. The anonymity that apartment dwelling brings may bring changes to that line as it has to the one I live on now. Even with seats marked "Priority" and regular announcements on the train to that effect, it is almost impossible to get a seat ... unless you live in the terminal station and are willing to stand in line until the next train arrives.

The car was waiting, having passed it's check-up, when Nikko and I returned to the shop. The joy of driving is that Nikko can go with me and we both can sit. I can't piece or quilt when I am driving but I can sit!

The Bloggers are hopping again

I am not very good at the technical aspects of Blog Hops but I tried this before and it was fun, so I will give it another shot. Earlier in the week I went to "Fabric Town" (the fabric wholesale district of Tokyo) and picked up two panels for the give-away. The first one is a panel of the twelve animals of the oriental zodiac.

This panel is about 19" x 44" or 48cm. x 112cm.

The second panel is a child-friendly print of bears. The block pattern around the border says baby baby baby.
It might make a nice backing for a baby quilt.
The size is 44.5" x 35" ... or 113cm x 89cm.

Both panels are cotton.



So... what do you need to do to win one of these useful objects? You might try bribing my dog, Nikko. (She will do anything for cheese and she will get to pick the winners on Christmas Eve.)

Please leave a comment saying which of the panels you might like to own.......

And while you are at it, I have a problem you might help me solve......

I have assembled the blue and white blocks for my table runner.

As you can see in this picture, the runner is a wee bit narrow for my coffee table.

It would probably be OK except I have a husband who fills glasses of water, or tea, or whatever with ice, and then puts them on the table and forgets them, thus leaving white rings (like the one in the upper left). Another inch in width might save the table from further destruction.

I could add one-inch blocks along the outer edge using fabrics found in the mixed blocks.
Or, I could add a one-inch strip  of yukata fabric along each side.
Then, again, I might add a border of darker blue around the whole thing. Perhaps there is a better idea I have not considered.

Well, Nikko is watching to see what comments come our way. She is also thinking of how Mama will use cheese to reward her for picking two winners.

Have fun hopping to the other blogs I'm sure there will be plenty to see and lovely give-aways and friends to be made. 

or here... Blog Hop Party  Having begun my third year in the blogging world, I celebrate the friendships I have made, both personal and virtual, and wish you all peace nd joy this holiday season.

Time flies when you're having fun

Has it really been over two weeks since I last posted?

I knew it was a while but it seems time really got away from me. Our church celebrated it's 140th anniversary with many activities. I had a pack meeting with my Cub Scouts so couldn't make one of the events but the choir held a concert and there were many long-time friends returning for the festivities. I cut strips of white fabric and left them to be signed by those attending. I have some ideas in my head for a quilted banner using those strips but haven't picked them up yet.
I have to admit, when you have said good-bye to so many people over the years, it is quite a blessing to see them again, even for a short time.

In the midst of this, my daughter's best friend was in town and I had saved days to spend with her (Above is the view from her hotel room window. These buildings are so unusual in shape but certainly hard to find at ground level.) One trip was to the fabric wholesale district, "fabric town", and I was pretty proud that I managed to come away without buying more than two tiny pieces of fabric for my polka-dot stash. As for the friend, after that trip I had to take her shopping for another suitcase! We had a great time and some great food, joined by my food-loving husband, and I do believe my daughter is an expert at picking friends.

 This past weekend was our choir retreat. Our site is at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The weather couldn't have been nicer. Here is a view from the window at the foot of my bed. Now, THAT is something to wake up to!

Each year we return to the YMCA facility to work on our music for "Choir Sunday" ,in early December. This year we are singing The Magnificat by John Rutter. I have sung it several times in the past so it was not such hard work for me. The fellowship is always great and that choir knows how to party!

I cut sashing from a piece of blue fabric that had come from a friend. I have lots of solid blues but this was the shade that seemed to go best with those blocks.
(and it was right there for take-along work).

There is a slight problem, however. As you can see by the picture, the fabric has faded streaks where it has been folded and possibly left in the sun. It isn't a problem for cutting five inch sashing bits and I can probably manage the 18 inches across without difficulty.
There is no difference between the back and front except the back is less faded. Getting a long strip for each side might be a stretch

I tried laying it out with cornerstones. I still have lots of one-inch pieces but I thought the effect was a bit distracting. Someone suggested red cornerstones but I am not sure I want to add another color. I may just go with the faded fabric and cut very carefully.

I am rather pleased with the random blocks. I have four left over and am now thinking of bringing that number up to nine and making a pillow cover to match the table runner. Today, after a lovely visit with Cynthia , http://aquilterbynight.blogspot.com and a small group of her friends, I stopped off at "Blue and White" (sorry, I don't have the link) as they have a basket of scraps. I was happy to see Amy Katoh, the owner, there and we had a nice chat which ended in a gift of a few more scraps ... seen in the picture above. A pillow cover is now looking even more possible.

And now, for today's flower. This is the season for Kin-mokusei. I think I posted about this last year.
Osmanthus fragrans , is called Sweet Olive in English and you smell it long before you see it hiding among the leaves. This particular plant is growing in a large pot in front of a neighborhood garage. It is about six feet tall and has a Southern exposure and it is the most flower-covered specimen I have ever seen.

This is a hardy garden evergreen plant originally from China. I understand that in warm climates, this plant shows its relationship to the olive by developing small purple-black fruits. Interestingly, most mokusei plants in Japan are male.

Fall brings cooler weather which is such a relief from the hot humid days of summer. The leaves only have a hint of fall color as yet. First to turn are the dogwoods and first to bloom are the spider-lilies. Now we will have the
Sweet Olive until rain washes them all away and soon the other leaves will begin to turn. Halloween decorations are in the shop windows all over town. Friends are getting together after a summer away and following my birthday, I will have a visit from my first son and his wife. If posts don't happen, you will know I am still busy having fun.

Blue and white scraps

As I may have mentioned in earlier posts, I like to organize my scraps. When I have bits and pieces left over from other projects, I mark them and cut them into whatever size will comfortably fit on the scrap, and store them in a tin. I have a tin of 4x4" pieces, 3x3' pieces, 2x2" pieces and lots of one inch sorted into baggies by color.

When it comes to tenugui and yukata fabrics, I cut those scraps within an inch (not only squares but 4x2" or 3x2" and the like). Those I put together in a container with no plan in mind other than not to waste them.

Friday my quilt group met and I needed something to work on so I took out the little box and laid a bunch of those bits and pieces into five inch squares. One of my friends went off and returned with a few more yukata scraps she had been saving. I don't have so many of these scraps saved but I might end up with enough five-inch blocks to make a table runner. Here they are laid out on my design table. Some were made yesterday and some were done today while at the school's "Taisokai".

Every October, Jiyu Gakkuen, where I teach an English group, holds a gymnastics/sports day.

This Saturday started out cloudy with the prediction of rain but around the starting time, the sun came out.

There were races beginning with the pre-school and those have not changed at all in format since my eldest daughter was three ... over 40 years ago!

The Jr. and Sr. high students do Danish gymnastics and a May pole dance is always part of the program.

The campus buildings were all built by disciples of Frank Lloyd Wright, who built the first building on the then main campus in Mejiro, while in Tokyo building the Imperial Hotel. His hotel building has been partly moved to an architectural  village. It was used as headquarters during the Tokyo Olympics and later taken down to make a larger building. The school campus is in a beautiful setting and the buildings, though old, are very "Wrightish" or "Wrightesque"?.

The grass field is a bit greener than it appears in the picture. It was torn up in the spring to fix a channel for a stream that runs underneath,

All the buildings and grounds are maintained by the students. They weed this field and rake any leaves that fall. In autumn they pick up ginkgo nuts and clean them. They also have garden plots where they grow some produce that is used in meals.

This area has a history going back to Jomon days and there is a wonderful collection of pottery from this sight. In order to build any modern building, a certain amount of time has to be spent on a "dig". To some degree I believe the students get to take part and the school is allowed to display the items found.

Here are a few more gymnastics by ... I think, college boys.

This is part of the afternoon program. The sky clouded over and there were a very few sprinkles.

Because the rain was expected, the afternoon program was moved up by half an hour. I saw a bit of lightening far off to the west but before the program was over, the sun came back out.

The marching band that had led the parade of students on to the field at the start, played for the final march-by and the school flag was retired.


To some degree or other, this is a scene that plays out in every school throughout Japan during the first few weeks of October. These students practiced very hard and considering not every kid is an athlete or a dancer, the group effort was stunning.

My husband is a graduate of this school and my eldest daughter went to the pre-school here. I have had an association here through the College Women's Association of Japan, and teaching in the high school. This is a place that knows how to make people feel welcome and this crowd of over 2700 people had a fine day.

A trip back in time

When I began my quilt diary, the pages of a plain paper book were filled one by one with photographs of completed quilts. That was before the days of digital cameras and for most of my quilts those are the only pictures I have. Some of them left home without a picture and I have no record at all.

When the theme for this week's Quilting Gallery contest was given as two-color quilts I thought it a good opportunity to drag this relic to the park and get a picture. Other than the challenge of submitting a picture I have few expectations. Having looked at previous "winners" I suspect the contest has more to do with the number of friends one can rally to vote than either skill or creativity of the quilter.

If you are wondering about this quilt, it is made of Japanese yukata fabrics. (Except for center and sashings) I drafted the 12" blocks for a quilt-as-you-g0 class. The blocks are made and quilted one-by-one and joined at the sashing. Then the sashing is quilted. This is a good take-along project and ideal for someone without much space as it never has to be laid out for basting in this size. (227cm. square). For the backing it works best to use a non-directional busy print that will hide the seams. This quilt has had a lot of wear and held up quite well.

If you click on the Quilting Gallery logo, you can visit the site and see a lot of very nice two-color quilts. Some are really worth checking out.