Progress ... I think

Friday evening we set out for our choir retreat.

Each fall we take a weekend to tackle the music selected for the Holiday season.

The first Sunday of Advent we have a "Choir Sunday" where the sermon in both services is replaced with a choral presentation .

This year, Bob Chilcott, "A Little Jazz Mass" is the selection.  It was good to work on that complicated rhythm and clashing notes until it became a little easier to handle.

Saturday morning we awoke to a stunning view of Mt. Fuji with it's first cap of snow. I really need to study how to get views on my camera. The point and click picture I got on my cell phone was much better but I don't yet know how to transfer those pictures to my computer.

No danger of me ever becoming a computer geek!

Of course I took my four-inch (well, now six inch) blocks to work on joining. Evenings and breaks and car rides I sewed them together in groups of four. I was really happy to complete that goal but also a little sad because now joining four twelve-inch blocks is a bit more difficult to count as take-along-work.  I haven't tried it yet but I am thinking that all those pins to hold the pieces as I sew might be a challenge to keep under control.

The sun set on a wonderful weekend.



The weather was warm and sunny.

Whatever rain that was predicted must have blown off with the wind.


The bits of music are playing over and over in my head.
(which is probably a good thing because it means I remember a lot of it)

and the quilt sits patiently beside me, waiting for some more togetherness.

Meanwhile, a huge task of sorting storage items and figuring out what to do with them is taking time and energy and more space than I have to spare.

The nights have become cold and another cover has been added to my bed.
It reminds me a little of my Grandmother's house ... always a quilt ... or two ... or three on every bed.
Who will keep warm under this one, I wonder ... and when will I have time to finish it?

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.

A Banner Day!

Have you ever heard the expression, "Busier than a one-arm paper-hanger"? Well, that seems to describe my week so far. Monday began with the usual wee-hour start for rice patrol, then putting my gear back to the car. ( had put baby seat and camping gear into the house to make room for passengers to the conference). Then a date to meet a friend for most of the rest of the day. Tuesday was a work day on the auction quilt and my English class. Meanwhile, when I returned from the conference, the fridge was making lots of noise and though it stopped or got less from time to time, I asked my husband to call the repairman. The fridge has reached the 13 year point and after 9 years they stop making parts. If we wait too long to have it fixed, we might have to pay to have it replaced instead...so... That visit being set for Thursday, I decided to take in the Tokyo Dome quilt show while I had time to spend.


So, here I am, the week more than half gone, and yet to report on the Conference class.

I am so grateful for the advice and also the encouragement from my blogging friends. The class went fine and you can see on the left, all the work that got done. I didn't count the attendees but it seemed there were perhaps more than 15 or so. Some were real beginners at sewing and maybe some could have taught the class. I let them select any colored strips they wanted to put together. It seems the total effect is balanced enough. We managed to get signatures of all and two borders have been added. I plan to finish off the top and bottom border, binding, and quilting and we will hang it at next years conference.

The day started off with snow and the weekend was cold, gray, and rainy. I usually take advantage of the location to pick "Sugi" flowers. Pollen from the male Cryptomeria flowers is wind borne and responsible for severe allergies each spring. I pick the flowers and make a tea by boiling them. I do not have that allergy but my husband has gone from great suffering in the past, to barely a sniffle, even last year which was a boon year for pollen.

The rain stopped and a hint of sun emerged as we left the conference. Suddenly Fuji-San appeared and I was able to pull off the highway so everyone could get out and snap a few photos.
I must have tons of pictures of Fuji but couldn't resist one more.

Wednesday I set off to the Tokyo Dome. Here is a shot taken from the upper deck where one enters the arena. Look at those crowds!

I found there were fewer restrictions on picture taking this year.

Then, again, look at the challenges faced when trying to get a picture!

How many cell-phone cameras can you count?

I was holding the camera up above the crowd. I never did get close enough to see what they were photographing but a lady in the back told me it was a quilt with a connection to some celebrity.

Although this is supposed to be an "international" quilt show, there were very few labels with any English at all (other than international entries). If I show a picture, I would like to give credit to the artist and some I copied down the names in kanji and will ask my husband to read them for me before I post.

In general, it was a better arranged show than former years. I understand I selected the most crowded day, according to some friends with vendor stalls. It was HOT. (over-heated to the max) There is a lot of walking and though I stayed until the visitors thinned a bit, my back was just too tired to walk another step.

I took the train the long way around the loop just so I could sit on the way home. No view of Fuji, I had my nose in a book on Hawaiian quilts ... yes, I broke down and spent the money my husband gave me for a snack on a book I don't need... quilt history... just jumped off that shelf and I had to pay or get caught shop-lifting.

Mt. Fuji in the rain

This past weekend was our yearly choir retreat. Every year we take the music we will be learning and will present at "Choir Sunday" in early December and hold a retreat at the YMCA building in Gotemba, at the foot of Mt Fuji.

This year the weather forecast was rain, and indeed, it did begin sprinkling Friday night on the drive down from Tokyo. By Saturday morning we were having off and on heavy downpour. What is usually a very scenic spot was missing the usual fall color and lovely view.

We practiced hard all day Saturday and into Sunday until noon. There are a few very good musicians in the group. Most of us are only those who love to sing good music and will work hard to do our best to contribute to the success of the whole. There is a great feeling of sharing and camaraderie that is hard to find in groups that gather only Sunday morning or show up for a Thursday evening rehearsal once in a while.

I'm sure Mr Vivaldi was smiling down from above at what was happening to his lovely music.

There is a small chapel in the hills with a view of Fuji that might better any attempt at stained glass and we look forward to a small worship service there. But then, Sunday we saw no sign of anything but rain clouds.

Finally we packed up and started down the hill for our return to Tokyo. At the foot of the hill, just across from the YMCA entrance there is a small museum and coffee shop run by Kathy Nakajima. Here in Japan she is well known as a teacher and maker of Hawaiian quilts and other articles using traditional Hawaiian designs. I especially appreciate her work because in this day and age of quickie quilts, all her work is done by hand, and done expertly too. In a show of the 50 top Japanese teachers, many are machine pieced and quilted but I can count on hers to be all hand work and artistically designed. My riding companion suggested we stop for a quick look-see and we ended up sipping some coffee at a little table with hand-made mats as decoration and little quilts on the walls. AND... as we sat, the sun came out and what should appear but Mt Fuji, above the mist.

I had to pull the car over as we left the area toward the expressway to grab a shot. Even with power lines and buildings, Fuji-san can be an awesome sight.

If you recognize Japanese writing, you will see that many of the lines in the quilted block are up-side-down. Although that bothers me a bit, I am now thinking that it is like the rain lifting so Fuji-san will show.

Today the small group met to begin the ASIJ auction quilt and next week we will begin in earnest. Too bad I didn't have a camera with me to document the onset, fabrics laid out on the floor and pieces being arranged and re-arranged until they fell into place.

In this way it is not unlike the choir, each effort and idea combined for an outcome that will bring satisfaction to all. And so may it be.

Back from camp

I thought my blogging friends would like to see a view of Mt Fuji. From the forested camp grounds it is not too easy to get a view.


The winter is the very best time for viewing Mt Fuji, when the days are clear. At that time it can even be seen from Tokyo.

In Summer, the air is so humid and low clouds sit in the foothills. To get a view, the best time is at sunrise and the view of a "Red Fuji", reflecting the morning sun is quite famous. BUT, You had better find a high place above the surrounding forest and be there just as the sun begins to rise. As you can see, the moon has not yet set and the clouds are beginning to creep up from the valley floor.


So, for my blogging friends, Nikko and I set off in the early morning to catch you all a view. We reached the high spot just as the sun was rising but the clouds were too and the view did not last very long.

When we returned to our campsite, the sun was working its way through the mist of morning and the air was beginning to heat up.

Camp was fun with Scouts from BSA, Taiwan, and Nagoya. There were young Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Venture Scouts.

I was asked to do a craft. The Camp's symbol is an Owl so I had the Scouts make owl neckerchief slides out of wood picked up in the surrounding forest.

I had a number of samples but the kids were quite quick to jump in and do their own thing. Some of the kids even returned another day to try making more, bringing twigs from the camping area.

I cut the larger slices of wood but let the kids cut their own eye pieces and bamboo for the back ring.

They sanded and glued and varnished and came up with not only owls but a few other animals as well.

Even leaders caught the creative bug and were making their own. I was especially happy to see that because it meant they were not interfering with what the kids were doing.

Many were surprised that a craft could be done without great expense by using what is available in nature and that the kids could use sharp saws and knives following my safety instructions. (in my rather crude Japanese, I might add.)

Now it is just over five months since the earthquake and tsunami. It is the season of Obon, when it is the Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of ancestors. It is travel time back to one's home town and the roads resembled parking lots. Because of the early rise for picture taking, I was able to get my gear stowed and be on the road to beat the rush. I found Tokyo just as hot and humid as when I left but Papa was glad to have Nikko back and my toe was glad to leave the shoes in the entry-way.

The banner will get a sash for hanging and I can get on to other things once Vacation Bible School is over. Yea!

If I had a design wall

If I had a design wall I don't know where I would put it but I know what I would put on it.

The Choir retreat at the foot of Mt. Fuji was great. The picture is of Fuji with the sunrise reflected on its flanks. No matter how many times I glimpse this mountain it is always different yet the same and takes my breath away.

I finished the large blocks in the odd moments. I can't imagine what it would be like to go on a quilt retreat! This project has no particular purpose other than for something to do as take-along work. It was given me by a friend during summer travels and I have added some of my own fabrics as well. There is still a lot to go but since it is a spare time activity there is no rush. Some of my children have asked,"Who are you making that for?" Well, right now, for my sanity. I guess I won't have trouble finding it a home some day!