Auditioning ideas

It is now the end of a very busy week.

Five days of leading games and crafts at Vacation Bible School gave me lots of train time and sapped a lot of energy.

Of course since morning train time was also commuter time, the very thought of being able to sit was a wild dream.
Even in the "Silver Seats", which are reserved for handicapped, senior citizens, and pregnant women, there was no possibility of sitting ... in fact, one could hardly find enough room for one's feet when standing.
Had it not been so crowded, I would have loved to take a picture of what was happening in those seats. Young women putting on makeup, young men playing games on their smart phones, young people texting like crazy beneath the sigh saying "OFF" with a picture of a phone, and of course ... readers and sleepers with and without ear-buds.
I am always most amazed with those girls using eye-lash curlers or putting on eye-liner on a rocking moving train.

At any rate, I managed to assemble this much of my chatelaine during the week and decided to wear it on Friday so as to see what or where to make changes in my plan.

The glasses pocket is very handy. I used the notebook and pencil more than once. My "Clover" cutting disc was in the scissors pocket but I can wear that around my neck and there are occasions the scissors are of more use. I am thinking of where to tie a cord for scissors ... a ring above the pocket?

My thread is still in my tin and, though not too often, I have to get out the tin to cut another piece.

I put the spool on a large pin that is made for holding knitting stitches. If I add a grommet on each front, I could place that pin across and it would also keep the fronts in line.

They are pretty well balanced in weight but walking in a breeze as I did yesterday sends the sides flying. I have set grommets in leather objects but have not much experience with how they would wear in quilted fabric.

I am also thinking if I do this, I can add a small pin and needle book of felt to the other side of the pin. When I am working while travelling or in meetings, I don't really need a large number of pins or needles, but I do need to have them handier than going back to my tin.

I have not yet designed the pocket for the cool/hot pack at the back of the neck.

I was thinking that pocket could pad the neck and also be used as a pocket to hold the entire chatelaine.

I also noted that when the sides are folded, the neck area goes neatly into the pocket with the notebook.

One more thing I am hunting for with no luck is a six inch ruler. I have one that is broken but so handy. It is one inch wide and has inches on one edge and centimeters on the other. I had thought I might find such a thing here in Japan and stopped off at a lot of craft and DIY stores, but it seems, though I could find rulers in a perfect size in metal, plastic, and bamboo, there were none with inch marks. I guess all my rulers with both have been bought in the states. I have a small template I have made from plastic that I can use temporarily but I may have to visit the other side of the pond to get inches.

While thinking about where to go from here, I worked on a few more four-inch blocks.

While Leia was visiting, she sorted through my one-inch scrap box and arranged these blocks in my take-along baggie. I decided to assemble them as she has arranged them. There are a few more to go.

I have thought of turning these blocks into stars but I am already working with eight-inch star blocks. I think I will set these on point with triangles in each featured color ... maybe solids or fabrics that read "solid" with tone on tone prints. That might make it more possible to make use of the light diagonal blocks when I put the blocks together..

It has been a very hot and humid week. This is what greeted my going and coming for the week.

This volunteer lily came up this year in my bay-leaf tree's pot. I do have a few different types of lilies in the garden strip but nothing like this. The leaves are thin and spiky. At first I thought it was a weed but since it seemed to be growing like a lily, I decided to wait and see. This was the reward.

I hope you all had a few happy rewards in your week too.

Organizing handwork supplies

How do you keep all the necessities on hand while you are working?

I have a tin box about 3.5" x 5.5" x 3.5" with a clip closing and a cloth strap on one end.

Inside I carry a spool of thread, a pin cushion, a pencil, a white fabric marker, a needle case, my "Thread Heaven", several pairs of small scissors and a tiny folding ruler.

When I travel, I carry that tin in my bag along with a zip-lock holding the pieces I am working on.

I usually have a long thread on the needle and a clover cutter on a string around mt neck, but there are times I run out of thread and have to go to my tin for more supplies ... usually thread or sharp scissors or additional pins.

Even visiting with friends in a sewing group, the tin sometimes gets dumped and I have to chase the supplies across the floor, trying to make sure I am leaving nothing behind.

I have seen a number of handy fold-up kits but I am thinking of making a chatelaine that I can wear around my neck and keep things handy. The above is a sketch I made of my idea. I am wondering if anyone has such a thing. I certainly need a place to hold my glasses. Maybe the pocket at the neck could be engineered so that the whole thing would fold up inside when not in use.

I have pieced a few scrappy blocks BUT NOW is the time to put some ideas together.

If anyone out there has suggestions ... Please offer them.





My #3 daughter, Norie, and little Leia came for a few days visit. While Norie helped sort through countless piles of papa's stuff and help organize his computer room, Leia and I got to play. Pictures are a bit dark as the drapes were pulled to block out some of the hot sun.

One of my friends gifted me a few pieces of fleece fabric.

We selected a cat print and a solid orange and Leia pinned the two back-to-back.

Then I began to make six-inch  cuts about an inch wide around the edge.

Leia took each pair and tied them together with a double knot.

Those little hands were just flying and before I even made it to the end of the first side, she was at my elbow.

Somehow, I had thought this would be a longer project but I had not counted on such a fast-working assistant.






Here we are half-way done!

Isn't that a cute cat print?

Here is the finished "quilt".


It is a bit too warm for the weather we are having now but it is very soft and snugly. I suppose it will come in handy in three or four months.

After going home, Norie called to say that Leia was required as homework to write a report on several of  her summer activities.

This project was one of the subjects she picked and had quickly written a report with illustrations. I have just seen a copy of what she has produced and am glad that idea was a hit.

Monday was our 51st wedding anniversary.

Norie took this picture outside our front gate as were going out to celebrate with pizza.

Last year for our 50th, I was camping at the Jamboree so we missed the big one.

Monday after my English class, I went to a shop one of my students recommended and bought Paul a nice light summer hat. It is woven of hemp and will allow air to pass through.

I don't know how long it will last because he tends to lose hats and gloves and umbrellas and things that are not tied to his body but he was pleased with this addition and so may be a bit more careful where he puts it.

A typhoon is on its way but probably will cross the country to the west. I am hoping it will generate a bit of rain for our area to cool things down a bit. Today's clouds moving in are a nice break from the hot sun.

Celebrating my 400th post

I have added quite a number of 4 inch blocks to my zip-lock bag. In fact, I had to get a bigger bag to hold them all. I still have no idea what I am going to do with them and I think until I decide, you have probably seen enough.

I decided for this post I would see if I can share something I made a while ago. I did not write the date this book was made. Many years ago, the Kindergarten teacher at the American School asked me  to illustrate the poem, "What is Pink" by Rossetti.,  because she used it to teach her class.

 Using pen and ink and watercolor. plus a Japanese Sparrow, I put these pictures on a 10.5 x 8.5 inch sketch book.

When the book was finished, it was given to the teacher but my husband took it and made copies of the original for my file.

Since these are copies of copies, the color is not equal to the original but I thought my blogging friends might enjoy a simple book break.

The sparrow, having done his job, is flying off.


I hope you enjoyed this post.

When I was in High school, I was dismayed with illustrations in text books. Especially those in science books that looked not much like the object we were to be viewing in real life. I thought I could become an illustrator of science books after college but ... my parents would not let me go to art school (because I might turn into a "hippy"). At the college I went to, I could not stand the smell in the science building coming from the chemistry floor. To top it off, the art teacher took my paint brush and taped it to the end of a yardstick because he thought my paintings were "too tight".

I switched my double major from art and science to art and education because, by then, I was determined to find ways to help kids learn to love art rather than be turned off by teachers.

My life as an illustrator never got off the ground but I have added one more book. In 1991, I was taking the "Doctors" course in the "College of Commissioner Science" for the Boy Scouts. (The first year one takes the course, for a "Masters" one teaches the course, and for a "PHD" you do a one year project). I submitted several proposals and the one that was selected was a book of plants.

Many advancement requirements for Scouts include identifying plants and living in Japan, there was no information in English at all. Over the year, I made a book of "Descriptions and Illustrations of 65 Woody Plants Common to the Kanto Area". It is still the only information available today in English.

Last week, a Scouting friend took all my drawings and information for that book and will scan it and put it on line for Scouts all over the Far East Council to use. As it is, I have been copying it on to A4 paper which is then folded in half and stapled at the open edge to be bound into a book. As often happens, we end up with a copy of a copy .

Last week I sat down with my Scouting friend and we were able to go over it and make changes. (I had put maps at the back of the book of different areas the Scouts use, and numbers to identify different trees. That way, a leader who has no knowledge of Japanese plants can take a group to that spot, read the description of the plant, and let the boys use their observation skills to find the tree). Over the years the red pines had died and some trees had been cut down while some new trees had come up in other places within the map area.)

That year-long project had been done on a word processor so I am glad it will be moving to the digital age and still be of use to anyone who loves nature as much as I.

Behind the scenes, my husband helped with making copies and putting them into a format I could access for blog posts. Neither of us is a technical wizard so there was a lot of trial and error. I keep reminding myself that none of my "old"friends even have a computer so, though we are running to keep up, we are still in the race.

Stealth weeding

This has nothing to do with quilting but a lot to do with life in Nerima.

Here is a picture taken from outside my front gate.

My little set-back garden is on the left inside the low brick wall. It includes a cut-leaf maple (low and leafy), a vine-leafed maple (tall and out of control), tiger lilies pushing out above the azalea bushes, enkianthus, and the plum (apricot) planted to celebrate our first daughter's birth.

One can view the lovely job the city did of paving the road and leaving my little flower strip below the wall.

Every morning I sweep the street, starting at my gate and then the house to the north and the whole street to the south as far as this picture shows.

Sweeping the street makes a big difference in the way those passing through respect the neighborhood.

The neighbor to the south is a librarian and works 30 minutes away, going out each day by car. Her bright red car spends the night parked beyond the wall behind the plum tree. The van parked on the right belongs to someone living in the 3rd floor apartment. (apartment dwellers do not clean as it is not their property).

To the south of the library lady is an elderly lady taking care of an even more elderly mother ... a full time job. She has lots of trees that drop leaves. flowers, seeds, fruit, all year around. She is very happy that I am taking care of our street.

At the end of the street on the right, there is an apartment with the door standing open. That is occupied by an elderly gentleman who is recovering from a stroke. Behind that apartment on the corner is a house occupied by a very elderly couple, and not seen on the left end of the street is a small house where up until a month ago, the wife ran a day-care in her home. (now she has found a place outside her home to run the facility).

  That green thing sitting on my step is my handy sweeper.  The little broom clips to the handle of the bin and is always ready to go.

As I return, I dump the contents into a plastic bag that hangs to the left of my door. You can see this is not a huge task just to keep the area looking clean and respectable.

I rather enjoy taking a few minutes each morning to step outside. Oh, yes, and as I go along, I pull a few weeds.
Often I chat with the neighbors too.

That chat brings us to the little parking area beside the small apartment. Until about four weeks ago, it was waist-deep in weeds. (Well, at least above the knees for me).

For years there have been signs posted by the neighbors that people pick up after their dogs ... but, let's face it ... I doubt anyone could find the poo among all those weeds. The other complaint was about mosquitoes.

I decided it was time to stop complaining and start acting, so each day I added to my little bin, weeds. I began with the wild grass that was about to go to seed. First I cut off the flower ends of the bunches and took them away. Then I pulled out the bunches one-by-one and disposed of those.

Next I attacked the leafy plants in the same way.

The ground is all made up of rocks so pulling the clumps of weeds brought up lots of rocks and dirt.  I had to bring some big bags to haul off the trash and plants (which I chopped into smaller pieces).

One lady came by and stopped to ask me if I was collecting herbs. I told her I was just removing weeds and she asked why ... they will just grow back.

I told her that was true if I allowed them to go to seed and we would have the neighborhood we deserve. Ah, that is true, she said and thanked me.

Last Sunday as I was pulling out the last row of weeds along the fence, the neighbor to the left came out with garden gloves on and helped to pull the last of that row. She said that mosquitoes were fewer and there had been no doggy-doo for weeks.

A parent with a child riding on the back of his bike passed through on the way to the pre-school and exclaimed to the child how much nicer the area looked.

The care-giver for the man with the stroke came out and handed me a chilled bottle of tea.

Yesterday the car-owner (who had exclaimed to my husband about how much nicer the area looked) drove off and left the lot vacant. I took the opportunity to finish off the section under and behind the car. No longer in stealth mode, I guess. The gentleman came out with his cane and finished off the weeds on his side of that fence saying the mosquito problem was much less. AND, no one is tossing trash into the lot any more.

The neighbors are standing out and visiting with each other. We all exchange pleasantries as we pass along the street. I checked with the flower shop lady as to what flower would grow best with least care and she recommended salvias. If you look closely you can see a row of five along the fence.

I still am working on the weeds behind the house of the elderly couple. It is a bit of a challenge because of the fence but the flowering weeds have been cut and another week may have that spot looking clean too.

Sunday's Sermon was about Matthew: 13 - 24, the man sowing good seed and it coming up among weeds. We take care of the good stuff and let God dispose of the weeds. Hmm, Have I been wasting my time? I just might look at my neighborhood as the good stuff. the trash and doggy-doo and mosquitoes have been taken care of as a result.

And, as to quilting, the pile of 4-inch blocks got too big for its zip-lock bag. Still no idea what to do with them but they have  been up-graded into a larger bag.

Celebrating friendship

Another star is being added to my collection of followers blocks.

Four inches for the center is always a bit of a challenge. This is supposed to be a compass.

This friend likes blue, green, and purple. (the green points look a bit off in the picture but in real life, they are identify-ably green)

For the star points, I tried to find fabric resembling a sunset.

Can you guess who this block represents? If not, go to All Points of the Compass and pay a visit to Jean.

Long ago I accompanied my husband on a business trip to New Zealand.  I got to do some sightseeing while my husband was working, and was impressed with the friendliness of all those I met along the way.

Around the time of that visit, my family of eight made a holiday trip to Shiobara, and in the resort area we met many young people from Auckland, which was their "sister city". It was New Years and those kids were working in the hotels, many earning money for college. They worked so hard until late at night serving the guests and again from early morning, always with smiling friendly attitudes.

Before we returned to Tokyo, my husband gave those youngsters his card and told them if they ever wanted a break in Tokyo, they would be welcome to stay at our house. From then began a series of visits from the most wonderful kids. We were even blessed to meet the parents of one of those youngsters. I think if New Zealand had wanted to send ambassadors, they couldn't have found better people.

Jean has only reinforced my attitude as all those who have passed through my life in Tokyo have done. Thanks Jean for your comments and warm friendship. New Zealand has more than sheep and beautiful scenery.

Another friend is remembered with a block.

One more block will be added to my growing collection of "followers blocks"

This one is for Janet, another of my long time friends. You may already know her because we seem to visit many of the same blogs.

In a way this was easy to decide on.
Janet is fond of bright and scrappy so I have made her block a rainbow.

The harder part was adding the Caribou ...crossing the block.
After all, her blog is Caribou Crossing Chroicles.

I tried another piece of the "Japanese taupe". It is soft and flexible but a bit tricky for details like antlers. I did this on the bus ride out to my English class and I think my fellow passengers were wondering what that strange foreigner was up to.   By the way, did you spot the Canada goose? I couldn't resist that one.

I might add to beware of bunnies, as they tend to multiply when given too much attention.  Sunday I was gifted two new bunnies. I'm not sure how they are to be used as they are a bit too light to make bookends.

They are cut from wood and just a wee bit tall to fit under the slanting eves above my pillow.

They were, however, welcomed by the rest of the gang. They are all sitting on the boxes that hold my Scout patches ... that too is a growing collection. I used to sew the patches from scout events on to a patch blanket but after two blankets. enough is enough. Still they keep coming, event after event. A number of them I even designed for the Far East Council.


Well, that is about it for today.  Thank you, Janet, for your continued friendship. This should make up for all the dog hair I send in your direction on the Northerly winds.

A little stitching brings out the sun

Other than hot and humid, the weatherman can't seem to make up his mind....

one minute sun, and then looming dark clouds and hard rain ... now it is back to sun

I thought I could make my own sun with another follower's block.

I decided to celebrate a long friendship with Debbie over at Woolensails. I have tried to add a link with no success but you can probably visit her by going to my side bar.

Debbie and I seem to have a lot in common. We even tend to visit the same set of blogs.

I thought of putting a little sailboat on the center square but opted instead for a bunny. My bunny is not wool or tea-dyed. Instead of two carrots, he is holding a heart. (well, this is about friendship) for the first time I used "Japanese taupe" fabric. I can see why it is so popular with Japanese quilters for applique.

I took the block up to my bed and my bunnies approved.

Here they are, sitting at the head of my bed.

The Knuffle bunny came from school ... needed for nap time. (and is it ever cuddly)!

 The black bunny followed me home from the Tokyo Dome quilt show a few years ago.

The Bluberry-Jambo-Bunny has been to 6 Nippon Jamborees, 5 BSA Jamborees, 2 Nippon Venture Jamborees, 2 AGONOREES (for handicapped Scouts), and one World Jamboree. He is also Woodbadge trained ... wearing beads and a scarf, and a Vigil member of the Order of the Arrow. The button blanket is his.    In a house where owls rule the roost, it is good for the bunnies to stick together.

Many thanks, Debbie, for your continuing friendship.

Thursday challenges

Last Thursday the choir went to a summer schedule ... meaning no Thursday night rehearsal.
I read in the Sunday bulletin that the Women's Fellowship would be holding a "Summer Coffee": "Be a Japanese Artist", Thursday at 10:30 in the library.

Mostly, because of the time it takes to
travel into town twice, I seldom take part in
these gatherings...

... but ... "be a Japanese artist" got my attention and I decided to go and find out how that was done.

I'm not sure what I expected ... maybe some ink and brush drawing ...

a craft... origami creation ... tie-dying ?

Well, when I arrived, the teacher laid out a lot of little colored pictures on two and a half by three and a half slips of paper and asked us to choose a picture.

I picked out the "Yamabuki" or Kerria  because I have a bush at home in my garden and know what it looks like.

We were then given a torn-out page from a coloring book and a choice of water colors ... paint pencils ... or crayons ... and told to copy the picture on the little slip on to the printed picture on the page. (and pay 100 yen)

Hmmm ... I guess I could do that. I chose the watercolors, which was a challenge because they were only black and white and primary colors ... I was lucky by then I had selected the kerria because those primary colors were not very true.

Did I become an artist?

At the left is a picture of some marigolds I painted very long ago when I was just a kid.

I painted two pictures then. The other was a rose and it hung in my parent's home for many years and now hangs in my brother's home

This one hangs in my genkan to brighten the entryway.


When I returned home and re-read the bulletin, I realized that there hadn't been any coffee.

I did get two 4x4 inch blocks completed on the trip into town and back.

 I did manage to finish one other item this week.

I had begun this tissue box cover to go with the sample toilet paper roll cover I thought might be a good plan for teaching in Tohoku. Actually, I think the box cover is a bit too ambitious for a beginner.

Well, our house has an open tank on each toilet so there is no place to set the tissue box in the rest-room.

I took it up to my bedroom and suppose it will live there until needed in some other place.

We are now awaiting what remains of the typhoon. Passing up from the south-west I suppose much of the power will be already spent by the time it arrives.

Rainy week activities

This has been a dark rainy week....
Sometimes heavy rain with loud crashing thunder and a very trembling, drooling dog at my feet.

A few more four inch blocks were added to my four inch collection. I have yet to decide what I will do with these eventually.  My one-inch box is getting a bit tight to close and these, I hope, will cut the stash a bit. Maybe I should be making the blocks larger but this is just about the right size for take-along work.

I arrange the squares between scraps of thinsulate batting and put them in a zip-lock baggie. This size block can be carried conveniently and finished on a train ride into town.

This week I also finished reading "Sarah's Quilt", the book club read for June by Nancy E. Turner.
I thought I might make the block for this book by copying the quilt on the book cover. Actually, not much of that quilt was shown but it seemed to be a lot of diamonds arranged into hexagons. It seemed a bit complicated to figure out for a 12 inch block.

Here is what I came up with. The dark paisley and white are to represent the windmills that were built to overcome the drought. (The small one was the damaged one and the dark, the new replacement.)

The nine patches represent the close family ties in the story, those homes where the story took place. I thought of using a log cabin piecing but at only three inches, the nine-patch worked better.

The reds are all different fabrics and they are joined to the rest with a small heart print.

The resulting block is rather bright and red but I hope it will work with the others. I have not laid them all out as yet. It is really to dark on rainy days for photos and the flash does not add much to the picture as you may note in the picture above.

Now I am waiting to learn the next book pick. Meanwhile I get the feeling there may be one more book added to this story. I hope so, because Turner can spin a really good tale from the first page to the last word.

The last picture is a "stealth flower".

The Magnolia is one of the first blooming trees in our neighborhood. It is setting buds for next spring's blooming already, and they usually open long before the first leaves appear. All winter we watch those fuzzy buds swell.

I guess some of those buds just couldn't wait for next spring because almost every tree has a bloom or two hiding among the leaves.

The power cord to my laptop gave up working and I am faced with a computer problem. The connector came with the computer from the States and in made in China and not sold in Japan. I can still charge the battery by setting the computer on the "audio station" but it can't be used while in this mode.

I wish Dell had made a stronger wire than the the one connected to the converter. I think the last laptop my husband had, died for the same reason. I can read e-mail on my call phone but I think my computer time has been severely cut.
Time to do some house cleaning? Sigh!

one more picture

Okay, this is what I will send in.

I have added the forgotten feet.

I wanted to try a picture with my canon to see if the color would be better and have spent the last few days hunting that camera ... the last two days very seriously.

I know I used it Monday night to transfer pictures of my 4-inch squares to my laptop. I did that sitting in my usual spot on the sofa and when finished, returned the little cable to the drawstring bag where it lives along with the spare battery and battery charger. I set the camera with the bag on the coffee table, made my post, and went up to bed ... since it had been a very early morning rise for rice delivery. The rest of the week until I began hunting that camera, I was not out of the house much except for choir practice Thursday night. My husband has begun sitting in my spot at both the dining room table and sofa, perhaps because all other places  (including his chairs) are piled to overflowing with his stuff.

Thursday even I began moving some of the stuff off the table and hunting my camera. Well, it was not on the table ... or under it, or behind the sofa, or beside the sofa, or moved to another horizontal surface or buried under fabric piles. All day Friday I took the house apart and it is nowhere that I can think of.

That made me recall things that disappeared while I was away travelling or at camp ... like the wooden tray on the trash bin counter. Now I am thinking it may have been pushed off the table into the wastebasket and tossed out with Wednesday's trash. (I went through today's collection material in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep and it was not there.) I am wondering if I will ever know what happened to it. Meanwhile during last night, Nikko went into my bag and dragged out my music for Sunday's anthem and ate more than half of it ... and she can't even sing!
I doubt that a camera would be on her menu but one never knows in this house.

Anyway, I tried another picture on my little canon IXY (that is the one that was purchased once before when my husband borrowed my regular camera and lost it.) The colors are a bit closer to those in the block.

I went back to Queenie's post and followed it to the NHK website information. It is all in Japanese and was too small on my screen for my husband to read so I tried the "translation". For anyone out there who translates for a living, your job is safe ... the English that appeared on my screen was just as confusing and meaningless as the Japanese and only good for a laugh. There is something about sending a pre-paid postcard along with a note. As I recall this year we were sent a printed card with a notation of which number quilt to locate one's block. All that was asked was for a note with name, address, telephone number, and email address. OK... I still have a bit over a month to get this out ... just don't leave it sitting on the coffee table or trash bin counter! Ah, life at the Fukuda household ... never a dull moment!
(Now you know what I loved most about working in a library... a place for everything and everything in it's place!

Done ... I think

Maybe I should have ironed this block before taking a picture. I was just trying to get a shot before the sun went down. As it is, the greens are not true. The leaves look gray and the back and upper wings look yellow. Maybe I should try again.

As it turned out, I didn't have room for all the feathers I cut and had to leave three out. Oh well, with so many blocks in one quilt, I doubt anyone will get too critical.

If you are interested in the details concerning the partnership quilt blocks, take a visit to Queenie.
She has been making blocks for years. Or, have a peek at the block made by Tanya.

It may just be that when you become friends with Queenie, you too will end up making a block. Now, wouldn't it be fun if our blocks all ended up in the same quilt?

Fixed!

Well, it seems I was not the only person giving negative feedback. Blogger has returned my list if blogs. It all makes me wonder what was going on. Was the change an accident or on purpose, and if on purpose... what was the purpose?

I think if they want to make improvements they could start with a feature to rotate photographs.

The last time I made a complaint, I was getting lots of pornographic videos in my blog feed. Believe me, that is something I would never follow and in fact, didn't know existed. It took about three days to get those removed. At the end of cyber-space there may be a human being.

Anyway, I'm glad it wasn't just me and enough complaints went out to get their attention.

With that frustration over, I have added another.

I have begun working on the block for the "partnership" quilt.

Last year Queeniepatch encouraged me to make one. This year she managed to talk Tanya into making one and both of them have finished already.

The subject of the blocks for this year is "Sweet".

Well, I was thinking of maybe gingerbread cookie people or maybe a taiyaki ... those bean-jam-filled fish-shaped things like waffles.

While I was still trying to decide, my husband suggested a hummingbird.

I am still not sure how I am going to do this. Maybe I should use Japanese fabrics and make a Japanese hummer. We have lots of flowers here that they would love and it is just a bit sad to see all those flowers without the birds.

So... this is how far I have done. If it doesn't come out... I can always go back to plan B or plan C.
I have until August to pull it off.

The latest edition of "Birds and Blooms"had lots of information on hummingbirds and even a picture of a pillow appliqued with two hummingbirds.... granted, a bit larger than this little guy on a 22 cm. block and all those tiny feathers waiting for needle-turning.

What do you think? Will it be sweet enough to meet the criteria?

While I was away......

Now What!!!

I returned home from camp Saturday and spent remainder of the day unloading the car and doing wash and putting things away.
I am happy to say there were 52 merit badge completions to file so I must have been some use while I was at camp.
The house was still standing and the plants were still alive. All horizontal surfaces were piled high with papers and clothing and who knows what as it is all in Japanese, dirty dishes waiting in the sink and the vacuum cleaner untouched.

Now some remedy has been made and there is at least a place to sit.

I thought I would take a cleaning break and check out the blogs I like to read and have missed the past week. WRONG!!!
When I go to my blog list, there is only one blog posted ... seemingly the most recent one.
Underneath there is a place to click on saying something like read more but when I click on that I get a very tiny message saying "loading" (which disappears when I release the key) and no matter how long I wait... no other posts appear.

Having a reading list I could scroll down was something that didn't need any "fixing"!

Anyone else out there having this problem or a solution? Today I have only been able to look at two blogs. (one each time I try). Bloglovin does come to my e-mail but I am unable to comment on many of those posts.
Why? I have no idea.

The only sewing that has been done is adding a few more blocks of one inch pieces.

I don't even know what I am going to make with them... maybe turn them into eight inch stars in some kind of arrangement.

Meanwhile I am thinking about my "partnership" block.
I asked my husband what he thought the word sweet might bring to mind and he said, "how about a hummingbird and a flower?"

This morning when I came downstairs, there was a pile of print-outs he had pulled from the computer. Nothing much that I could use, but then I opened my "Birds and Blooms" magazine that  my cousin sends me, and it is full of hummingbird information and pictures. Certainly that is something sweet that I have long missed living in Japan.
A plan is slowly forming in my brain. (and I will have lots of time if I can only read one blog a day!)

Quilting on the back burner

I am off today for a week in the woods with the Scouts.

Very few electrical connections and no internet.
Even cell phone connections are poor.

Nikko and I will share a tent and I hope to leave a ton of dog hair behind for nesting birds.

The bird and the plants will be taking pot-luck and the neighbors will be surprised to see how many leaves and trash litters the street on a daily basis (or weekly as the case will be).

Other than sorting fabric, nothing is done in the quilting department other than set aside some one-inch pieces for four x four blocks.

The picture was taken on my roof in a space behind the heating unit. This prickly pear cactus was given me by a neighbor when we lived in Suginami. He has a tall one on his front porch. This cutting  began blooming about three years ago and I usually miss the blooms because they open while I am at Scout camp.

Last winter was hard on all the outside plants but the Easter cactus came back several weeks ago and, though battered and bent, the prickly pear is joining in the celebration of spring.

Somehow this seems like the way my life is going, so is a good reminder to not give up, no matter where the chips fall.

Even from it's little corner ...

it seems to have it's arms and face turned upward ...



A plea?

A prayer of thanks?

Maybe a smile of encouragement?





I will carry it in my heart ... along with my blogging friends.
I hope you all have a fine week and there will be fun stuff to view upon my return.

Gift for a neighbor

At the end of last October, I posted this picture of a plant growing in my neighbor's garden.

Having a daughter with as much curiosity and more computer skills than I, it was soon identified as Euphorbia marginata ...  Common  English name of "Snow-on-the-mountain".

A week or so ago, as I was passing this garden on my way to the train station, the neighbor looked up from where she was working in her garden and called to me saying they had made me a pot of this plant and I would find it sitting outside their gate upon my return.

Sure enough, now it is sitting outside my gate and I am looking forward to watching the progress from green leaves in the spring to this autumn beauty.

I only know this couple in passing but wanted to make something as a thank you gift. Only problem, what might be useful? I don't even know if they have western style furniture. Well, probably they have a geta bako in their genkan. ( a place in their entryway for storing shoes). I checked the size of ours and made this little quilted runner, hoping it will do.

The pattern is "birds in the air" and makes me think of flying over their gate as I pass each day and enjoying all the flowers on display. Most of those are in pots and set out along their path to be enjoyed. (At present, a hibiscus with huge yellow flowers).

The size is about 12.5 x 21.5 inches. Hopefully a useful size.

Yesterday's English class included a quote from a newspaper article, "One small flower in a room changes the atmosphere. It sits there looking pretty and peaceful and creates beauty for people. Imagine the difference a person can make."

It brought to mind something that happened much earlier in the day. My husband Paul, dog Nikko, and I go out at 4:am each Monday to deliver rice balls to the homeless in Shibuya. The onigiri are made each day by our church as part of our "Mission to Our Homeless Neighbors". I seldom help with the production but I have been delivering the packs to the station area for about 21 years. A number of times I have had one of the homeless press a one-yen coin in my hand but yesterday was a "first" to me. We had a few extra packs left after the delivery and rather than take them home, passed them to one of the homeless men still lingering in the area. Imagine the surprise when that man came after us, and offered this rose. wrapped up and tied with a red ribbon.

Each time I see it sitting quietly there in my great-aunt's crystal vase I have to smile.
The quote was right.

A gift of a plant ... a gift of a rose ... the gift of friendship

imagine the difference a person can make!

... and a time for every purpose under heaven.....

Or, I might entitle this....

 "Who's in charge here?"

More than once in my relatively short blogging history, I have found coincidences that seem to be orchestrated by a higher being ... the meeting of friends that were, until then, names with e-mail addresses ... on-line friends that share backgrounds, passions, histories and even other friends. Each time it becomes harder to look at these happenings as just a coincidence.

During times when I have a lot to worry about and even sleep becomes a problem, even a small diversion is a real blessing and not to be taken lightly.

With that in mind, out of the blue comes an e-mail from an unknown person by the name of Glenn Okamoto. As one who is a bit more savvy of the internet than I, he has found a picture of the fan quilt made for the ASIJ Gala auction. He has been charged with contributing a block ... or two ... to a quilt being assembled for his future Grandson, and looking for advice ... or help ... or both.

Well, how could I not help? Each of my grandchildren has been met with a quilt. I can only think of how that little one will feel, coming into a world of love and care and welcome bits of fabric messages from those around him.

We began an exchange of messages back and forth. It was determined by me that the quilt will be made by another relative and that the fabric pieces handed out will actually finish at two inches square. OH MY! That is not very big! No way I could piece a fan block that tiny. It would be all seams. He is allowed more than one square. Could his squares be combined to a larger block? Well, maybe ... No one knows the vision of the finished piece in the mind of the quilter.

So, once my Cub camp was over, I returned to our discussion and we came up with the fan, a Japanese kite, and the Okamoto family crest.

Here are the pieces I was able to come up with and post to Glenn, hoping they would satisfy the requirements for the quilt. Today he notified me that they had arrived in the mail and gave me permission to share the story. He also promised me a picture of the quilt when assembled and ... I hope ... there will be a family picture with the baby and the proud Grandpa.

The diversion has given me a bit of creative challenge, knowledge of wood sorrel as a family crest, and a new friend across the pond in California. During these few weeks, a few wrinkles in the road of life have been somewhat smoothed and I was able to get a bit more sleep. Was there a bigger "purpose" here? Maybe so. Who am I to judge? But I know who I will be thanking in my prayers.