Progress ... indoors and out.

No peeking Jon ... come back in a week!

Yes, I have actually kept myself on task. 

The advent calendar made lots of progress once I got serious. After all, it needs to reach the states by the beginning of December to be much use. 

I really should have started sooner. Have I noted that lesson? We shall see.

Last week I used time at meetings ad on the train to sew those fiddly numbers on to the pockets, line the pockets, and quilt the numbers.

I wasted a lot of time hunting for fabric I "thought" I had left from last year. It was a piney-looking print in a more yellowish green. I finally did find some but it wasn't as much as I had expected. I guess that is good because it may mean I am using up stash faster than I thought.

I went back to the green bin and found a few large pieces of green prints to try. This is the candidate I selected and it looks fine now that the hooks and yellow balls are in place.

I found a dark green star print that tends to fade in the sun but worked well for the backing. Now the binding is all sewed on and I have turned it half way. I think the train ride to choir practice will be just the right amount of time to finish it up. 

The wooden pieces are all cut and I have begun to whittle the details. That is a messy job but the floor is covered in dog hair anyway so I may as well sweep up wood chips at the same time when I clean. This weekend we will have a bit of family time. Our family blog has been filled with wonderful pictures of the west-coast gang and two east-coast siblings. Now it will be our turn for a photo op. (but sometime before then I will have to clear some space to sit) 

I love the toad lilies along my back walk.  They have somehow survived with less sun that they were getting at our last house. These were rescued one day when a house in the neighborhood was torn down. I had been enjoying them along the street for years, and when I saw the bulldozers turning the area into a parking lot, I went home and got my trowel and a bag and went back. I dug along the border where I knew those roots were, and ssure enough, was able to rescue a good bit... some of which went off to my daughter's house. I suppose even a dark garden is better than rocks and gravel.

The Biwi tree is full of promise in the bud.

Last year there were several bud clusters but this year almost every limb has a bug clump.

This tree is growing out of a very small pot tipped on its side and I have had to trim it regularly because the leaves are big and leathery and I don't want them to annoy the neighbor to the south. Some people consider this a "junk tree" . This one is only six or seven years old and I don't want it to get out of control.

 A few nights with temperatures hovering around 2 c, got the attention of the maples. Now we are getting a bit of color outside the gate.

Three kinds of maple, and all are showing color.

The Enkianthus is turning dark red as well.

The pavement is brown from dirt washing in from the construction site every time it rains.

And, up in my little greenhouse - laundry room - bedroom, the step-tansu  is decorated with a cute little yellow flower on one of the succulents and just peeking out from among the leaves in the plant behind you might be able to spot two red spiky flowers on this strange orchid... it's second year to bloom. I also notice buds on the Christmas cactus.

I have also been surprised to see that without doing anything, my picture arrangement has returned to left and right display. Maybe the computer thought it had given me enough frustration for one post. Am I happy? you bet! Happy with the progress, happy with the blooms and colors, and happy with my laptop.

Another piece of the Yokohama quilt show

 Carin has done such a good job of showing the quilts at the Yokohama Quilt show. that there is not a lot for me to add.

She has mentioned both the white chains that keep the visitors behind the lines (and make photography ... where allowed ... rather difficult) and the rather generous amount of space for the viewers to wander through the exhibits.

There were very few places where passing other viewers was a problem.

Quite a few of the outer display walls were this deep red.

Here is a small detail of a contemporary quilt, made by Wang? from Taiwan.

The title is "Blue Rhapsody".

 Many of the quilts, you could have stood an looked at all day without seeing all the details. This "Message Quilt" by Hoysue Yamana, roughly translated as "our town", was only one of such quilts.

 This quilt called "With You" by Tomoko Kamata, had block after block of these little people in all kinds of poses.

There were other quilts in one-artist displays. Many of those I wish I had been allowed to photograph. Just fantastic! At a few of those exhibits, I had the opportunity to talk with the quilt artists. What a special treat that was.

Carin mentioned several times that she had seen one or another of the quilts at the Tokyo Dome show. Earlier, I went back to my older posts to fix some of the labels, and sure enough, I found she was very observant. There were quite a few.

 I was not the only one with a friend. Isn't it fun to poke through the stalls and discuss the items?

Or to have your picture taken in front of a featured quilt?  Better not miss the rest of this show.
Queenie has two more posts with wonderful pictures.

For some reason, my pictures are playing hard to arrange, and rather than raise my frustration level any more, I think I will give the computer its own way and get back to work on my project ... before the deadline is kicked all to _ _ _ _ _ _!

International Quilt Week Yokohama 2013

What a wonderful way to spend a day!  Under the giant banner quilts, you may think the day was all about quilting. Indeed, there were so many beautiful quilts to examine that my eyes were practically spinning.

Compared to previous shows here. (this is the 21st), the viewing spaces seemed much better organized with areas large enough to accommodate
the hoards of viewers.

It was the second of three days (how it is called a "week" must remain a mystery of translation)

Certainly, this show was all about quilts, but it was also, for me, all about friendship. I often attend the quilt shows alone. Even if I attend with my quilt group, moving at the pace of the group, I come back later to spend more time studying the things that interest me.

Yesterday was not only an exception, but a lesson in the form of a blessing. Two sets of eyes can see more than twice as much!

After a few e-mails to coordinate, I met Carin at the train station (well, actually she spotted me before I got lost looking for the way out) . Have you ever made a blogging friend and met in person?  From my experience, every one has been even better than I had imagined. I don't know about other types of blogs and bloggers, but quilt bloggers are a cut above.

We moved through the exhibits in an orderly fashion and at a pace that seemed to suit us both. We noticed different things to point out to each other. We ran into other friends from my quilt group. Kuraishi-sensei was scheduled to teach a workshop in the afternoon and other members were attending her class. It was fun to see them, but then we were back to examining quilts. Not only looking but we had opportunities to talk with some of the quilt artists.

It was rather late in the day that I remembered that I had brought my camera and thought maybe a few pictures to post would be in the offing. Luckily, I have looked at Carin's post. Her pictures and information are far better than anything I might be able to put together.

Here she is with her camera, and you can see the wonderful pictures she has posted HERE.

I find we took photos of almost the same things.
Her first post is of the floral quilts and I only have a few that are different.

This is a detail of "Night Rose" by Yuko Hatano.

I found it interesting for the fabrics she selected as parts of the flowers and leaves ... not the usual solids one might expect.

This quilt with multiple cherry blossoms, by Noriko Tada, was also shown by Carin, who picked out the interesting blue petals in an upper section of the quilt.

This (Flower) "bed cover", by Yoshiko Ogawa
was very softly toned and hand quilted in great detail.

Indeed, though there were fused and machine-quilted pieces on display, the amount of hand-quilting was astonishing.

I can hardly imagine the time that some of these quilts must have taken. I haven't the slightest idea how someone can quilt through three layers with fifteen stitches to the inch. I don't think I could get stitches that small even through one layer.

 These "Field Flowers" (my rough translation)
were made by Shizuko Yoshizawa.

Those Xs in the border gave me a few ideas for a signature quilt I have yet to begin.

















Since Carin's pictures are so much better, I think I should wait for her next post before adding my two bits.

Since I have emphasized the friendship link, I have one more interesting occurrence to note.
One of the last areas we checked out was, as I understand it, Groups of small quilts, one each from 90 quilters from Japan, U.S.A., and France. Titled "14th Anniversary "World Painters" International Challenge Quilt Exhibition"
, each group had been given the name of a well-known artist, and created a quilted piece representing the style of that artist.

Having been a student and a teacher of art, I found the whole idea quite interesting and well done.
There was a table in the area with three women sitting there, so a rather natural exchange about the exhibit took place. Then, suddenly, the conversation stopped, and the person to whom I was speaking suddenly recognized me as the blogger who had posted a picture of her quilt from the Tokyo Dome show way back in January! Now, how in the world did she connect ME with my blog post? I am still amazed.

This morning, I came to my computer to find a lovely note from this friend.

Here is the picture I posted earlier in the  year.


"The Vines of Earth" is a creation of Chikako Ueno.

I have learned an important lesson through this quilt that has nothing to do with quilting and everything to do with blogging. I could not go back to my original post and find what I had put there because I am a lousy at adding labels!

Anyway, I was able to look in my cluttered picture file and re-visit her quilt.

The result Was a photo op. and a new friend. Here we are, me, Ueno-san, and Queenie, standing in front of her art quilt.  Now, how special is that? She will be at the Tokyo Dome show in January. Will I be able to pick her out of the crowd as easily as she picked me? For that kind of luck, I think I will have to team up again with Carin.

For the day of quilts and friendship, I give my thanks.

sweeping up

With the state of my house, it seems easiest to begin the cleaning at the front door.

While I was away at camp, I asked my husband to take the time he usually uses with the dog, to sweep the street by our house. This is a daily task that doesn't take but a few minutes. (Well, sometimes neighbors stop to chat, adding to the time in a pleasant way)

Actually, though we call this a "street", it is little more than a path about the width of my outspread arms. As with even wider streets that can accommodate vehicles larger than two passing bicycles, the streets in Tokyo have no names.
(only larger avenues have names or numbers and those names can sometimes change at a crossroads or become confusing).

As soon as I returned, I suspected the street had never been swept. It is interesting that the clean street stays clean but with the path left covered in leaves,   passers-by begin to drop other things. First it is cigarette butts. (We are about that far from the nearest cigarette machine). Next, it is wrappers from assorted items ... candy or other packages. Then comes the bigger stuff ... drink cups from McDonalds or Starbucks ... yes, we are about that far from there ... then shopping bags and bigger items.

After little more than a week, it was clear that no cleaning had been done just by what was festooning the street ans shrubbery.

The task is not a hard one ... actually quite pleasant and rewarding. A breath of fresh air, and a job that stays longer than sweeping up dog hair inside.

The total amount fits nicely in my little handy dust pan... dirt from the construction site, persimmon leaves from the garden to the north, and the usual contribution from our plum tree.

While I am at it, I sweep the street in front of both the house to the south and the one to the north ... not as a service, but if I don't do it today, it will be in front of my wall tomorrow.

I also trim the ends of the pink-headed knot weed,
which I do not consider a weed. It tends to get crushed by passing bikes but is easy to keep neat with a pair of scissors.

Now, back inside, I am faced with the real challenge. I can put it off a few minutes by playing with my blog... but time has come to get going if I am to meet my self-imposed deadlines.

NO MORE POSTING UNTIL THE NEXT PROJECT IS STARTED!!!

Just a hint of fall

After over a week in a small orderly tent in the quiet woods, I returned to the REAL world .... laundry, a sink full of dishes and stuff piled on every horizontal surface to the point of avalanche as one walks past.

Choir Thursday night, Pack meeting preparations for Friday, New Leader Essentials training Saturday morning, collections merit badge Saturday afternoon, and a "Children's sermon" to give in two services Sunday, and early morning rise for rice delivery today.  Though the leadership course at camp was labor intensive, (and It the time I thought it was going on forever) it all seems quite placid and organized compared to real life.

The sauna that was summer is now over. Chilly nights have arrived all to quickly and I have dug out my warm sleeping bag and fleece jackets. While driving to Saturday's activities I passed a number of parks, all still with trees in deep green. Sunday I took my camera with me, looking for just a hint of fall color. See above ... one small branch on the Japanese maple down the street.

There is just a wee touch of brown on the outer branches of the Zelkova lining both sides of Omotesando blvd. (and the trucks are out each night decorating them with strings of LED lights to prepare for Christmas).


Here and there a gingko displays a few yellow leaves. Their time will come a bit later.

   The Dogwoods look a bit ragged, but also have a few colorful leaves and the flower buds are all lined up and ready to go when spring arrives.

One local tree has a good crop of mikans.
(what I called tangerines before coming to Japan)

Orange is a good color and the gardenia plants have a good crop of seed pods among the dark shiny leaves.

Persimmons will look even more striking once the leaves fall and you can see the fruit among the bare branches against the blue winter sky.



Yes, I am waiting for that blue sky because we have had plenty of cloudy days with rain.

It is really early for these camellia. The "Sazanqua" usually open during the winter, followed by the regular Camellia just before spring.

And, though I have not had even a minute to work on any quilting, my stash has practically doubled!

My friend in Maryland has "gifted" me with a generous supply ... sent with the home furnishings of her son who is returning to Japan.

I already have to live to 200 to use up what I have. I think the women in Tohoku are going to have to help me find a use for some of these goodies.

Tomorrow I am going to have to dig out my Christmas fabric and get busy on a gift. Guess I'll have to do that before I put these things away or I won't be able to find it. I usually sort fabrics by color but going through all this is going to take more time and energy than I can muster at this point.

So much for a few weeks off. At least I have to thank Cheryl for her advice on my yahoo mail. The inbox is back to a more sane format. Now, if only my laptop would stop taking days off....
Like Nikko, it must have enjoyed the days off and wanted more.

Taking a blogging break

October is running out,

 Halloween is all but over, even though the 31st has not yet come.

Sunday saw crowds of people along the streets of Harajuku.
dressed in costumes and taking pictures.

Of course, children were not the only ones in costume. I can't imagine Nikko smiling under this hat and mask.

"Kiddyland", the toy store usually sponsors a parade the last Sunday in the month. I rather imagine they sell a lot of costumes too.

That was really the day of the photo op.

Monday morning,  as we drove along this street on the way to rice delivery, the trucks were out stringing LED lights on the Zelkova trees in preparation for the Christmas season.

That's it. I have successfully dodged Halloween and another birthday. As soon as I get my camping gear into the car, I will be off to the woods for a little over a week.

It is raining and cold. The sore throat I woke up with yesterday has been joined by a runny nose. I am not at all prepared for the classes I will be teaching. AND ... there will be no internet connection.

I have to admit, I need a break from yahoo. I can't imagine how they think they have improved anything at all in the "new" look. My contacts list that was all organized with real names and e-mail addresses ... and sometimes other information , is GONE. In its place is nothing but a list of e-mail addresses. No more typing in the name of someone I want to contact ... if I don't remember their address, I can't write them,

Also, suddenly everything that comes to the in box gets lumped together by subject. The little arrow that appears when you responded to mail is gone. You have to remember to whom you have written because the computer isn't going to let you know any more. And, if you want to delete one of the messages, it deletes everything on that subject.

If I have not answered someone who left a comment, I will have to blame yahoo. I honestly can't figure out why they changed something that wasn't broken in the first place.

I am also finding a few of my posts have been hijacked by several people using them to send advertisements. I am truly sorry if those messages have come to you. I delete the comment as it appears but I will need some technical help to fix those attacks.

Perhaps it will be a positive thing to take a computer break ... but I will miss reading all that my friends are up to.

A dozen little four inch blocks are done but Nikko ate my sketchbook with the plan Saturday while Paul was away to the homeless dinner and I was away to the Cub Scout Rally. I guess she did not like spending such a long day alone. Oh well, I have more notebooks of graph paper. Nikko will go with me to camp so remaining notes should be safe.

I leave you with this seasonal picture. The plant is growing in a garden down the street. I don't know what it is called but as it prepares to bloom, the leaves turn white on the edges, then the tiny flowers appear. They have lasted a long time. The neighbor has several of these small shrubs lining their front walk.

At a time we look forward to the warm hues of fall, this is also a treat.

Singin' in the rain

This weekend was our choir retreat in Gotemba, in the foothills near Mt Fuji. Every year about this time, the choir takes a pleasant get-away to the YMCA facility for a bit of fellowship and to work on a presentation for "Choir Sunday" in early December.

This year's piece is "Stella Natalis" by Karl Jenkins. This is our second time to try one of his compositions and they are quite a challenge, though once I work my way through the discordant parts, it begins to grow on me. Unfortunately, I was the only tenor able to attend this year so it will be even more of a challenge to hold the section together.

We drove up on Friday evening and this was the view from our fourth floor room Saturday morning.

Rather a good thing I got this picture because, within an hour, Fuji-san had disappeared into the clouds.

The rain began soon after, and though not heavy, it had been rather persistent throughout the weekend.

Many groups within the church are in constant flux, and though members come and go, it is likely that the choir contains the largest group of long-term members and dedicates the largest amount of time with mid-week rehearsals as well as Sunday practice and singing. It is a joy to be part of this group.

I didn't have any big take-along work, but grabbed my container of one-inch scraps and put together six four-inch squares. I have a plan of a pattern to try. I have made it once from three inch blocks and thought I might try it again a bit larger.

After getting this far, I decided this might be a bit wasteful because I have more light scraps that any other and only four in each block are light. I'll have to think how many of these I need to make a small piece like a table runner.
My plan was just to try out a star pattern in my sketchbook.

The rain fell lightly all Saturday night and on through Sunday, and I returned home without an umbrella but not all that wet until I got to the front of our house.

Ever since my neighbor's house and garden were ripped out and two houses were begun in that place, there is no where for the water to go when it rains

From the corner where I am standing to the far end of the street, side to side, is several inches of muddy water. The soil around the construction site has washed into this swamp and when it stops raining, we get a veneer mud, turning to cracked chunks of dirt. (Which then comes into the house on the feet of people and dogs).

Earlier this year, the city tore up and repaved the street, installing this drain.

A lot of good that drain is doing. It is way too high to drain off any water until the water reaches ankle depth. Rather than running toward the drain, the slope of the street goes straight for the neighbor's wall and the puddle fills sections of the street in the other direction to the left.

I wonder if it would do any good to complain to the city? I tend to think this was better when it was just a gravel path.

I guess this may become the new normal. Time to buy a new pair of rain boots!

One more block done

Well, this is the final plan. It sure is scrappy. So... my stealth readers,
(AKA children), can you find a scrap from a quilt you have in your home?

The lower corner is a piece from "Paul's Plaid Stars" that I made papa 20 years ago for our 30th anniversary. I found enough of those blocks that I can probably go back and make repairs where Nikko has chewed holes.

I went up to the loft and laid the blocks I have so far on the floor.

Now I have two rather scrappy blocks. They all contain a piece of the pickle fabric and they all represent one of the books we have read together, but the last two I have made are not looking like they are going to blend in with the rest.

Maybe the next book will bring up a block that will calm things down a bit.I have begun to read "State Fair" by Earlene Fowler. It shouldn't take me long, as I read it once before.

That being said, I had also read "The Quilter's Apprentice" by Jennifer Chiaverini and hardly remembered very much of the story.

Since "The Goodbye Quilt" turned out to be more of a memory quilt for the maker, I think the scrappy block at least fits the theme. Hopefully, those memories are not all mine.

So, now I need to get a new activity going so I will have take-along work for the weekend. At least the activity of the past few days has shown me there is no shortage of fabric to use,

Searching the scrap heap

Plan A was never going to work because I have kept fewer scraps than I thought. I guess that is what happens when most of my quilts are scrap quilts.

Today I went through the one-inch box and found a few other fabrics from former quilts.

I laid them out on a piece of batting in a 12 inch square. Then I pulled out my picture diary and checked to see that there is at least one piece representing every household.

My eldest daughter still does not have a quilt made especially for her but when we had to give up our queen sized bed, I passed my quilt to her. "Amish Tulips" was made in 2001 and I loved the applique blocks set in pinwheels. I stuck in a one-inch black square to represent that one, and of course there are bits from the three baby quilts and the "I Spy" and Paul's "Big Boy" quilt so her household is well represented.

Of course I added one piece of pickle fabric so there will be a connection to the book club.

Now I am playing around with different arrangements. I think I like this one a bit better.

I also liked a suggestion from my friend, Queenie, that I add one bit of fabric and put that into future quilts. Wouldn't that be fun!
I could hide it somewhere in every quilt from now on. Of course, in order to do that I would have to get enough to last a few years and then remember WHERE I PUT IT. That might just be a bigger challenge than keeping up with the book club.

A change of plans

Wasn't it Robert Burns who said ... the best laid plans of mice and men, gang oft awa?

Well, I thought I had a plan. With the banner out of the way, I thought I would get busy with my book club block to represent "The Goodbye Quilt". In the story, the mother is making a memory quilt with bits and pieces she remembers from her daughter's life.

My grand plan was to make a 12 inch block using fabrics from quilts I have made for my kids and grandkids. I drew up a pattern of 16 squares and was planning to use two fabrics from each quilt. Oh, it was going to be great fun to make. I cut out the templates and planned to trace and cut the pieces for take-along work. ..... Then .... I went sifting through my scrap collection to find the left-over fabric.

Five hours later, this tiny pile is about all I could come up with. Yes, I still had leftovers from the two most recent baby quilts but darn little else.

I still have not made it all the way through the thousands of one inch blocks so I might find a few more. The truth is, the idea I had in mind is not going to work

So ....... it's back to the drawing board. Maybe I can use the design and templates for something else.

The Taisokai at school was wonderful ... perhaps one of the best I have seen in all the years I have been going. The day was sunny and still a bit warm. The grass area was a bit browner than in past years, not surprising for such a hot summer.

There was an announcement of the number of people attending but I am lousy at remembering numbers ... even long enough to write them down.

Each year the event begins with a march past, the band playing and classes beginning with the college students all the way down to the pre-schoolers marching in ant lining up on the field. I was sitting at the back and it was difficult to take pictures over the heads of the crowd.

The little kids do relay races

The middle school through college do Danish gymnastics. Each year a Danish man and lady come to the school to supervise and teach the classes. To me, little seems to change from year to year except the choice of music to with they perform.

There is always a maypole dance by the 1st and 2nd year JR High and 1st year SR high girls.

This year the weaving of the ribbons on the poles was the best ever.

The high school boys department always make a human pyramid.

Even that seemed a bit more skillful this year.


It is always pleasant to sit in this peaceful setting, meet with friends and catch up with former students. The original buildings were done by Frank Lloyd Wright and this campus was designed by one of his disciples. This sight has history going back to the Jomon era. It is truly a treasure, as are the students who follow in the tradition of Mr. and Mrs. Hani, the founders.

And behind the scenes was the fragrant smell of the "Kinmokusei". Like the spider lilies, the Sweet Olive is one of October's offerings.

Since the flowers are small and hidden among the leaves, you are more likely to notice the smell first.

They will last until the first big rain storm and we will all forget until next year when they are sure to return with the shortening daylight hours.


Tonight I am off to review Scouts for advancement. There is no take-along-work for my block. I will have to see what the one inch box has to offer before coming up with plan B.
Luckily, I have a good book to read.

Deadline met!

Yesterday I finished the quilting on the banner. I am not completely happy with it because the background quilting seems a bit distracting.

The weather is very gray so the colors do not show well in the picture either.

In real life, the bible verse shows up better. Since it was my addition to someone else's design, I didn't want the verse to stand out too strongly.

This is a shot of the lettering.

Not beautiful, but it can be read hanging at eye level. I came pretty close to taking it out and giving up.

Next up will be my book club block and maybe I will have a bit of time to get back to my followers blocks.

This month's calendar is pretty crammed with stuff and I have a whittling assignment that needs to be completed by the end of the month.

Some days I feel like that guy who jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions at once!

Off and running

At last the banner is together and I am beginning to quilt it.


The plan was to reverse applique the center cross, but in the end, it was easier to applique it on top. I cut away the yellow fabric in back to minimize the shadowing, but it still shows.


Looking through my scrap fabric for a large enough piece to use as backing, I found a piece of light purple gingham one of my church friends had given me earlier this year. There was just enough including a strip for hanging sleeves.


I used pins to baste this because I am using a hoop for quilting. I got enough dog hair laying it out on the carpet that I didn't need to get more by crawling around on top.

Today is a rainy day so the picture is  bit dark. I pieced one-inch solids for the upper and lower borders and I think I will go with white for the binding. I am still deciding on a bible verse that I will embroider over the lower group of arms.

When I was at my quilt group on Friday, my friend gave me a spool of Mettler quilting cotton.

It is a bit heavier than the Coats and Clarks I usually use and much stronger than using embroidery cotton.

I am doing a back-stitch around the hands and I think that will be just enough.

I picked up a little container of "thread heaven" at the Tokyo Dome shops. I don't like starting and stopping when working, so tend to use a rather long piece of thread. So far, this seems to be working well to avoid fraying and knotting.

There will be a few large areas of background between the arms. I wonder if I need to actually quilt those spaces. I really don't want to put quilting in the area around the cross. If I do, maybe echo quilting would work. The batting I used was from the end of my thinsulate roll ... 60 weight.
I would have preferred to use thinner (like 40 weight) but taking the day to go into town hoping to find some ... nah, I gotta get goin'.

Nothing is engraved in stone so any suggestions are certainly welcome.