Next on the list

Last night I put the final stitches into the next "I-Spy" quilt.
This one for a little baby boy.


I took this picture in the park during Nikko's morning walk.

Then I dug through the stash and found some fabric that will work on the back, pieced it, and then pin-basted it.

Now the quilting has begun, starting in the middle and working out in all directions.


Once I got to the borders it was a bit too large for take-along work. Hopefully I will have enough home time the next few weeks to get this finished up.
The center block area is all in-the-ditch and I may put a cable in the two-inch grey border ... then maybe quilt the parking lots in the border fabric.

Last week was over-busy and Friday was spent meeting the English class of some friends. Saturday was the wake for a good Scouting friend. I was pleased to see much of the scouting community stepping up to help with many of the duties. After the main service, the scouts and leaders linked arms in the hall to sing "Scout Vespers". It was quite a moving end to the ceremony.

Sunday after church I had to gather things together for my Cub pack's pinewood derby. I did not have a car to race because we were short kits this year, but I was busy helping the scouts adjust the weight and add graphite to their cars.
Some of the track was missing and, because we had booked the activity room and set the date, we decided to make do as best as possible. With the help of duct tape and the wonderful parents and leaders, we were able to pull off the event ... even without the computerised gates. What a relief, as the date to submit the winners names to the district event was the next day.

Monday began with my usual rice delivery and school. As I was going up the very long escalator at the train station, their was a loud noise in the neighboring down escalator, and everyone looked to that side to see a huge hard case suitcase sliding down the moving steps, picking up speed as it went.
At the bottom it hit a lady from behind and wiped her off her feet. Two people waiting on the up-side rushed over to grab her up before she got caught in the stairs at the bottom. Then two guards rushed in.
The young man owner of the bag, who had been too busy on his cell phone to hang on to the bag, rode slowly down and was talking with the group as I got off at the top. It was a very scary event that has stayed with me ever since. I remember when Ken was just a little boy, he got too close to the edge of the stairs, and the escalator grabbed his shoe, pulling it off his foot (Luckily) and grinding it up in the stairs. I also remember a little boy in the hospital who had lost fingers in an escalator. That is not a place one would fall casually.
Even more scary, was on the three more sections going up, I saw two bags with young people not holding them ... one with a girl turned around talking to someone behind her, and another young man on his device. Neither was as big as the one that came careening down the steps, but still....

The days are still cold. Rain over the last week finally removed the last of the dirty snow drifts.

The plum is in no hurry but a few brave buds have defied the cold and are beginning to open.



Today is the birthday of my third daughter.
We didn't have a chance to get together other than last Saturday at the wake.

The Sweet Daphne planted for her seems to be thinking about opening ...but taking it's time in tune with the plum.


I did see a few bushes in bloom in gardens that get full days of sun.

Tomorrow begins another month.
Friday I have a quilt group meeting so my work can go with me.

The busy days help me to appreciate the down time.

I'm back ... more or less

Yesterday was my first daughter's birthday.

When she was born, we planted this plum tree in celebration, and usually we enjoy her birthday along with the blooms at the South-west corner of our house.


Not only have we had the construction during the last few years of three-story buildings blocking all the sun in the neighborhood, but this winter has brought record cold to the area.

Although no snow is seen in downtown areas, piles of dirty icy snow still remain within sight of my front gate. Yesterday I took my shovel out to chop up a number of ice patches pressed by car tires two weeks ago and still slippery for walkers.

In a few more weeks it will be my third daughter's birthday and her Sweet Daphne buds are formed and seem to be watching the plum for clues to open.

Last week, though I took a bit of time off to recover from my cold, the days got jammed with the usual activities. Choir practice went on longer than usual on Thursday night ... trying to polish up our performance for Saturday but with only half the participants there.

Friday I was to go to a quilt meeting, but I also had to prepare for my Cub Scout pack meeting so there was no time to enjoy my quilting friends. As it was, our pack meeting went on very long because we were doing a "rough-cut" day for the coming pinewood derby.  When I was down on the floor trying to replace a broken blade on the electric saw, I took off my glasses to get my face closer to the lower parts of the saw, and then smashed the frames getting back up. The blade was fixed but the saw gave up five minutes later so all cutting from then on had to be done by hand.

It was midnight by the time I got home and there was a request for the choir members to show up Saturday by 11:am ... though the program was scheduled from 3:00pm to 5:00pm. I gave up on dinner and went right to bed after walking the dog. Morning... walk the dog, grab a banana, and get out the door.

The concert went well and a great time was had by all, but I think my part was the worst I have ever done since we began practicing a few months ago. By the time of the performance I had used up most of my high notes and was getting two notes for the price of one ... neither perfect.

Sunday I was handed a sewing project for a home decorator. Oh my, very heavy canvass it was ...
I had a communications meeting that went on and on into the afternoon, and finally excused myself so I could go and find a glasses store. The one in my neighborhood had closed. I went to Ikebukuro where I had purchased the last pair and that shop had closed. I found the police box and they told me there was a shop on the other side of the station. Not easy finding places when you are too nearsighted to read the signs, but finally I found the shop. they no longer carried my old frames but could find a very expensive pair that would take my lenses. Luckily I did not have to order new lenses and wait more days. Also, luckily I had the money I had been advanced for the sewing job.

Then... rush home, grab the dog and take the car to the pet store to buy dog food ... being all out. It was wan-wan day (11) when I can get extra points on my card for purchases ... meaning a free bag of food several times a year. After waiting in the street for half an hour because the parking lot was full, I decided since I was already blocking the lane along with a long row of waiting cars, I drove up to the entrance and put on my flashers, dashed in and they knew what I wanted, grabbed the big bag of kibble and was out the door in no time.

That was it for what was left of Sunday. Monday mornings I am out the door for onigiri delivery by 4:am.
Sadly, one of the homeless I have been serving over the years had died during the weekend. Strangely, I had had a dream about him that night.
Well, then off to school.

Getting home at dinner time, I thought since I had to turn in the sewing project the next day, I had better get to it. I ended up basting the seams because that canvass was very thick and could not take pins.

Next morning I brought down my sewing machine and began setting it up. All the pieces had been basted and were ready for sewing but my machine just would not cooperate and jammed after only two or three stitches every time. Finally, the clock said it was after noon and I did not know if I could ever get the machine working. I decided if I didn't start sewing the project by hand, there would not be enough time to finish.

It was a simple curtain, long and narrow with a hanging sleeve at the top and hemmed at the bottom. Luckily I finished it all by 5:00pm, just in time to get into town and meet up with the decorator before my regular Tuesday night meeting. I still had one more drape to finish and I did that one by hand too, finishing yesterday. It will be passed off on Sunday. I still don't know how to get the machine working and I hesitate to put it back in its box in a non-working state.

My frustration level with machines has hit an all-time high. Even my computer has taken a turn for the worse, when I try to open my email, I get the message "Network connection timed out. Please try again". "Try again" has no meaning so all I can do is shut the computer off and re-start it many times a day. This began ever since I was forced to take the "New Yahoo" I sure do wish those yahoo and google guys would find something else to mess with rather than messing with things that aren't broke!

Next post will be quilt show stuff. I am hoping to collect the names of those wonderfully creative quilters whose work I photographed.

Taking a bit of "down time"

It's cold out here, Mom, could you step out and remove the ice from my drink? Pretty please?

A few years ago, our choir-room chairs were changed from folding ones to some rigid stacking ones.

At that time, the shape of the raised ridge along the front, hit my legs at a place that made it hard for me to sit longer than five or so minutes. To fix the problem, I made a cushion for my chair.

Ever since then, the choir president has been asking, "Where is my cushion?"

Finally I asked her what colors she wanted, and I have to say, fuchsia and yellow were not easy to find among music prints.

Last Wednesday I finished the assembling and embroidered her initial in the center, and passed the cushion to her during the Thursday evening practice.

As she and her husband are both string players, I thought this bit of fabric worked well for the backing.


I think she took it home rather than placed it on her choir chair, but she was happy and said she was only joking about getting one.


This sixteen inch "Swoon" block I found on several blogs long ago and made a sketch on graph paper so the pattern was easy to draft.

There are a lot of set-in seams which take time and patience and the zipper was set in by hand.

The weekend included the Women's Conference, and with snow still falling on Friday morning, we took the train instead of driving. Too bad I had not prepared handwork for the train because the ride was long. Unfortunately, my sore throat turned into a cough and my voice was rather shot.

I started my regular week with onigiri delivery and school but now I am taking some down time, hoping my voice will recover in time for the Saturday valentine concert. I tried singing along with yutube and can get all my notes but the trick will be not to break into coughing.

I have yet to post on the Tokyo Dome show but both Tanya and Carin have made a number of lovely posts. I am thinking of going to their posts and eliminating duplicate pictures from my camera to see what I might have beyond what they have shown. For me, there is still the challenge of giving credit to those creative quilters whose names were printed only in Kanji. Only the "Teacher's" quilts had Roman letters included. This year I did not bother to fill out a questionnaire, as it appears  it is never read other than to get your address for sending you advertisements.

The Tokyo Dome show has begun!

Prepare for a string of posts .....

I would not have thought of attending that big quilt show on the opening day. I knew there would be thousands of people cramming every open space ... BUT ... Quilting has as much to do with friends as it does with quilts.

Long ago I joined a group of quilters .. The Tokyo International Quilters ... it was in the days of many ex-pats temporarily assigned to Tokyo and it was a group of the revolving door. We celebrated new members coming in and were saddened by their departure. I think the average assignment was about three years but there were always members coming and going.

Yesterday, my trip to the show was focused on a visit with a former member, now from Texas. Ah, how the years flew away, and we were back to those good old days. Another long-term member, Kuraishi-sensei, set up the meeting over lunch in the coffee shop ... ah, friendship and coffee ... what could be better?

It was a good thing I left home early because though the line to buy tickets was short, the line to get into the stadium went almost the entire way around the building. It must have taken close to an hour to get in, but a lucky thing is that quilters are friendly and I could get to visit with those in line (even in my miserable Japanese).

 After lunch, the three of us wandered around the show, looking at interesting areas that Sensei lead us to and gave an insider's view.

Our last visit was to the partnership quilt #8, where I got to see my Ohio cardinal guarding his nest at the top of the quilt.

Even though the blocks were made smaller this year, there were still 60 finished quilts.

A number had blocks that were all the same except for fabric choices.

I think the quilter that joins with NHK on this activity, issues a selection of patterns for those who need an idea.

After looking at many of the quilts, it seems this one containing my block got the most creative donations.

Next to Mr. cardinal is a patterned block

but those surrounding ones are original ideas of the quilters.

Panda with bamboo (it may be a tree of life for the panda, but bamboo is a grass)

The woodpecker...

This rabbit by the stump gazing at the sprout coming from that stump and the roots below...

And, how about these trees?


Or the squirrel gathering acorns?


A tree with a swing

a Twitter shaped bird ...

a pink squirrel ...

There were lots of apples but this one was made of hexagons.

These cats were so cute framing that sprout.

More creative apples and trees.


That one on the bottom has a tree house at the top of the ladder.

There were a few of these cat blocks that had been arranged in circles on a few quilts.

The giraffe is one of a kind


not sure about the footprint ...


I have to admit, though I hardly ever win anything... I had to buy a raffle ticket for this one. And my friend, Linda bought one too.

My usual camera suddenly stopped working after the snow day and the alternative camera battery was not charged and soon gave up.

Saturday will be another chance. Along with the friendship worth cancelling my english class, I will get another chance at picture taking.

This year the contest quilts all included names in English, but alas, the other exhibits of traditional, Wa, Original design etc. were not translated. All I got for many years of filling out those questionnaires, was a pile of postcards advertising the show.

Good day to stay inside

This was the view outside my garden door this morning.

I didn't even try to open the door to access the compost pile.


It had begun snowing Monday while I was at school, and while I was washing up the paint pallets and brushes, the director came by and urged me to go home.

Well, there was still work to do and I ride a subway, now how was that going to be disturbed by snow? When I finally left, the snow was still falling and the sidewalks were quite slippery in places, especially on the downhill grade.
Luckily I made it to the station with lots of slips but no falls.

The train, about 8 levels or more below ground , was running but it seems every boss had nagged their employees to leave early. The usual sardine-can was crammed with people. In fact, at each station, more tried to shove in and the doors could hardly close over the bodies.
The only people I say sitting were young and dry and looked like they had been sitting a long time with a number sleeping. People were packed so tightly there was nothing left to hang on to.

I took Nikko on her evening walk as soon as I arrived home to save going out and getting wet all over again.

The sun came out in the morning but the snow had piled up to the point that opening the front door was like plowing the snow and even opening the front gate a challenge.

Nikko was very excited ... like a kid on a "snow day" with no school.

I fished out the shovel and cleared a path to the corner. One lady on the corner had "fixed" the problem in front of her house with hot water.

The snow was heavy and wet, and where people had walked since the evening, thick sheets of ice.


The snow was about a foot deep and broad-leaf evergreen trees had branches bending way down.

When we got to the park, I let Nikko off her leash.

She made three or four wide laps round and round the edges of the park before trotting back to continue her walk.

It is hard to believe, looking at her run, that she will be turning 15 in a few weeks.


My usual Tuesday schedule had been cancelled so I took the opportunity to work on the tree quilt for the conference.

I finished appliqueing the tree.

Then I found four prints that seemed to represent the four seasons, measured and cut some strips and sewed them on the border.

Half-way through I remembered I had wanted to put a one-inch strip of green on first for an inner border.

I thought of un-sewing what was done but as I considered that possibility, I realized that if I did, the seasonal prints would be too short to meet and I would have to come up with more solutions for the corners.
So, I left it as planned.
Now looking at it, I might have added some solid corner pieces with appliqued kanji for each season. Well, I could still do something like that for an outer border.

Nikko and I walked to the station area for a bit of shopping and there was quite a bit of shovelling going on ... as well as kids playing in the snow and an igloo near the train crossing. The crescent moon was out and now the wind is rattling the windows.

How nice to spend a day with a bit of sewing. Now I will have to prepare some material for leaves. I wonder what the members will like ... many colored solids? small prints? stripes or plaids? Something they could embroider veins or initials on? Well, I still have a little over a week to prepare...

Next on the list

• Somehow this went to the family blog.  I guess I need to pay better attention when writing a post.

  Jan 18 at 3:29 PM

  
  

  

  Coming up the first weekend in February, is the Women's Conference... WOCON.
  
  For the last few years I have taught a quilting basics class where the participants can make a small pot holder or mug-rug and learn the basics of piecing, basting, quilting and binding.
  
  This year I am thinking of something like a drop-in class covering applique and needlework or simple embroidery.
  
  The theme is "Changing with the Seasons", and after discussions with the planners, we are thinking of having participants select fabrics for seasons they love best and applique a leaf on the tree of life.
  
  This is about one day's work ... but I sat through a loooong meeting last night which moved things along. I am kind of thinking of a border to represent each season.
  
  Today Norie took some pictures of my vest.
  
  

  

  Usually I wear a light down vest around the house but I think this one is a bit warmer.
  (Maybe it is all the dog hair it has picked up in the process).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  I think when time allows, I will add a bit more quilting around the owl's tail, otherwise I am satisfied.
  
  The thinsulate is intended for use in clothing and is what I most often use in quilts.
  
  It is a bit tacky but, though it makes it a bit hard to line up the front and back for basting (unless you have extra hands to place the top), For all the quilts I have used it, it never pills or shifts and washes well... even when the quilting is widely spaced.
  
  I once heard that 3M was going to make quilt battings but that may never have happened. I just take it off the bolt and if needed, whip the edges together to make it larger. 

Having way too much fun

 I am beginning to wonder how I will know when I am done.

As long as there are little spaces, there is possibility for adding embellishments.


The pocket is now in place but it is really way too big. I am thinking of adding a button loop at the top and a button below the frog to keep things from falling out.

I might have a few nice pearl buttons left from my button blanket that will work.

I needed to quilt the area underneath the pocket but that work will never show.

I decided to use a "morning star" and "evening star" design that I have used in in the past on a star quilt.

The variegated thread  was rather fun to use and the cloud design is in the same pale blue that I used on the back.

I chose a herringbone stitch on the owl's tail feathers, but since the stitches were rather wide and might get caught on something, I back-stitched over all the places where they crossed.

There are a few open spaces left for some quilting or stitchery but they will have to wait for another day.

Yesterday Norie and Paul's sister and I met for a meal to celebrate the second anniversary of Paul's passing. It is kind of a special tradition in Japan and we met at the same place as last year.

Don't we look well fed?

We even had room for a bit of dessert.

Norie took this picture outside the restaurant where they have a small weeping cherry.

This is one of the trees we are considering to plant in Paul's memory in the chapel garden of ARI (Asian Rural Institute)
that Paul supported for so many years,  a school where community leaders from mainly Asia and Africa come to improve their leadership skills and knowledge of sustainable farming and grassroots community development.


ARI's motto, "That We May Live Together" is found in every aspect of community, food, labor, diversity, and mutual respect for servant leadership.

OK, enough for now. Cub pack meeting tonight and I had better get packin'!

Attention to detail

Here is a picture of a real Mola that has been in my collection for many years.  After assembling my pseudo-mola vest, I have begun to focus on the details and looked to this piece for inspiration.

The zig-zag lines are made with a single thread in a chain stitch. Those chains are really tiny with about eight links in a one centimetre length. The running stitches are done with two strands of thread and are three stitches to one cm. There are also tiny Y stitches in the neck area that I want to try. Those are with one thread and spaced about four per cm.

This is my attempt.

My stitches are about six per cm. and I doubt I can make them any smaller. (or feel a need to do so)

I am glad for my collection of needles that includes some S. Thomas & Sons that are short and fine but yet have an eye large enough to get the thread through easily.

Of course, I did not practice first but just jumped right in (and as usual, learning as I go).

I was able to find the hidden fabric and add a border of patchwork to the bottom edge of the back.

It still needs a bit of in-the-ditch quilting.

I decided that with the owl and turtle, I will stick to Native American designs.

Being originally from Ohio, I am preferring those designs from the Northeastern  Woodlands.

This area on either side of the turtle has been quilted with light blue thread.

I plan to fill the larger areas with this kind of quilting and then add detail as time allows. That way, I might even be able to call this a finish before long ... with maybe room for more creative embellishment as time goes on.

The pocket is yet to be assembled and added.  (But I still have a bit of time until "due date").

Last year at the quilt show, I received a spool of Coats "multicolor' hand quilting thread and I am eager to try that out at one point. I think it will work well on this navy background.

So, with the baby quilt on the way to it's new owner, I now have another warm item on my lap to work on. Pretty good timing for this cold blustery weather...

Making up for lost time

If I am going to finish this project by the end of this month, it is time to stop procrastinating and get going.

I think by now I have an idea of the basics of Mola and that was more or less the goal of the year-long challenge. Basically, the colorful reverse applique designs created by the Cuna indians of the San Blas islands along the Atlantic coast of Panama, are intended to be worn in clothing.

In studying up on the technique, I read these words ... "Every mola is a thoughtful statement of the creator's personality and relationship with her culture". Therefore, rather than copy directly from the Cuna designs, I decided to make this statement completely mine.

The butterfly was once a symbol of the hidden Christians. 50+ years ago when I came to Japan. there were many young people wearing big fancy crosses. They were only an ornament with no meaning at all. It was then that I decided to join my husband's ancestors as a hidden Christian and exchanged by silver Celtic cross for a tiny gold filagree butterfly. My goal was to express my faith by my actions and deeds. Thus the butterfly. 

Then, there is the frog. He too is reminding me to Fully Rely On God.

The sun was my first attempt where I learned the most as what to do and what I should be doing. I'm sure it will remind me to remain sunny, even in the face of adversity, and learn by my mistakes. I intend this to become a pocket.

The owl and the turtle are the real me ... a relationship with my own culture, so I decided not to include distracting colorful bits. I was hoping to add a strip of quilting across the bottom but since I "cleaned up" for Christmas visitors, I have not been able to find where I hid those pieces. I am still hoping to locate them before the final assembling.

The Owl and the Turtle are more native American designs. As a child, my name was "turtle song", called by my great grandmother. I still remember how happy I was at around June 1944, when I was presented with my own Bible and opened it to the first page of the Song of Solomon, reading ...

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone: 

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; ....

Could that be part of my love of singing?

Driving to my first home, what was going before me but a turtle ... right down the middle of the street!

The Owl is my "spirit helper". A number of my friends have heard my owl stories. Certainly when I was a child camping in the woods with my family, having a screech owl calling above my tent each night was scary, even when my great grandmother told me it was watching over me.  Over the years, wherever I have traveled and lived and camped, an owl has found me bringing greetings and even aide.

I am thinking of adding a bit of stitchery on some of these. I have begun quilting the patchwork parts in the ditch using navy thread which will not show in the back. The patchwork and quilting is also a part of who I am.

So, though the mola origin is with the Cuna indians, This project has evolved to meet me where I am in life.

I am still experimenting on the finishing and hope I will have time to get my act together. In the cold weather we are having now, one can't have too many warm wearables.

First finish of the year

Right on the edge, this was either to be the last quilt of 2017 or the first this year. I finished turning the binding yesterday, put a label on the back, and took it out to pose in the bright sunshine of a new day.

As you might notice, I decided to quilt a cable in the border as I think the edges of quilts ... especially for children, get heavier use than those just draped over a bed.

 The new year began with a project begun by my husband, a special New Years meal for the homeless.
I was worried that without his input, the project might be scrapped but, though the person in charge had been worried about the lack of members signing up to make it happen, not only did the project continue but there were plenty of people willing to lend their helping hands.
I am in my scout uniform because my cub pack contributed to the number of helpers. Washing dishes at my right side is Leia ... a chip off the old block. She was there bright and early with Mom Norie and Pop Hiro.

Norie brought flowers from her garden for me to arrange.
Pine ... Plum in the bud ... Jonquils ... Nandina ... Robai (Wintersweet).

There were also some gigantic needles from a pine donated by Norie's friend. I had never seen such a pine and could not find it in my tree book.

Can't say this is my best arrangement but the best I could do with what I had to work with.

We finished up around noon and took a family picture with the flowers moved to the church lobby before going off in different directions.

Being the "year of the dog", Wumpy, Leia's buddy, had to get into the picture.

Nikko was glad for my return ....

The heater goes on when mom is home, and though it doesn't heat the whole house, Nikko claims the spot that gets the first blast.

Here she sits, waiting for the magic word.


Most of the words she obeys are in english ... things like come, heel, sit, stay, down (or go lie down) off, NO!

But when the word is "wait", it means something good is coming. The magic word is "Itadakimasu" (I am about to partake ... said before taking your first bite).


This dog is hardly starving but perhaps she still remembers her early months in the wild. Any item remotely resembling food is high on her list of attention getters.

Happy Dog Year 

From me and Nikko

Happy year of the dog

Are you ready to greet the new year?

Though varying from region to region, in the types of trees used and arrangement, the "Kadomatsu" is the most common arrangement seen in the Tokyo area.

The kadomatsu literally means "gate pine", and when displayed outside the house, are arranged in pairs to the left and right side of the entryway.

Inside the house they are arranged singly.



This very fancy one is part of a pair outside a hotel.

This one seen in a shop window is a fancy version of what might be found in the entrance of a private home.


The origin of this custom lies in the fact that kadomatsu are
believed to serve as a dwelling place for the God who brings good luck at the beginning of the year.

This version is at the door of a private home.

And here is a smaller version decorating a mail box.

Even a tea shop gets in the holiday mood.

The holiday decorations at our house were always handled by my husband.

I was not thinking of adding anything this year but when my daughter and granddaughter visited earlier in the month, they festooned the outside garden with colored lights and this pine was added to the gate.

The timing is rather fussy and all need to come down by the 7th of January (usually depending on region as well)

The night before New Years, many people visit Buddhist temples to hear the temple bells rung 108 times at midnight to dispel the evils of the past year.

It is also customary to eat "toshikoshi soba" ... year-crossing noodles ...
in the hope that one's family fortunes will extend like the long noodles.

The time is usually spent with family. Maybe the holiday will include a trip to a shrine to draw a fortune written on a piece of paper or to the imperial palace to wave to the emperor and his family.
New Years cards are sent ahead of time and delivered in a mass on New Years day.

2018 will be the year of the dog according to the Oriental calendar. All the fine traits of human nature are in the possession of those born in the year of the dog. They have a deep sense of duty and loyalty, are extremely honest, and always do their best in their relationships with people.

They can also be somewhat selfish and terribly stubborn and exceedingly eccentric.

Since the 12 animals and 5 elements, wood,fire, earth, metal and water, rotate in 60 year cycles, 2018 is the year of the Earth Dog. Earth is a stabilizing and conserving force, marking a shift from the fire element of the last two years which brought disharmony and impulsiveness.

Highly perceptive, the Earth Dog is kind, efficient, and skilled in communication. The year is expected to bring prosperity, particularly to those who, like the dog, are proactive, work hard, and communicate well. It is predicted that those who show generosity to others will reap the greatest benefits throughout the year.

Interestingly, it has been noted that the dog population in Japan has declined dramatically in the past year. The ageing population may find care of dogs more troublesome and they are also required to vaccinate their dog and have it registered. Cats, on the other hand are allowed to roam and howl and multiply in the city parks. Dogs also cost much more as there has been a crack-down on puppy mills.

My dog year will begin with a walk with Nikko ... like every other day. Then I will be off to church where we will serve a traditional New Years meal to the homeless. (a tradition begun by my husband, Paul, and where he spent the last day on his feet two years ago)

Quilting has now reached the border ... being quilted with a simple cable. I expect to add the binding later in the week. I have two hurry-up baby quilts to make but with days home, I really need to give my mola some attention before the end of January creeps up on me.

Here's hoping your dog year will be off to a good start.

It's in the hoop

Saturday I finished widening the backing by adding a strip of the same yellow print that I used on the front inner border.

This pastel piece of fabric came from a friend among quite a few large pieces.
It is so soft and seemed to be speaking out to be used.


Saturday afternoon I went to the cold empty apartment and was able to pin-baste the little quilt before it began to get dark. It is nice to have one small piece of floor that is not completely covered in dog hair.

By now the top is about half quilted in the ditch. I have to admit that on these cold days, sitting under this quilt while working is a double win.

When I made the last I-spy quilt, I used five-inch picture blocks. Those I quilted inside each block after doing the in-the-ditch quilting. On this quilt, the picture blocks are only four inches and I used #80 thinsulate for the batting. I rather like the puffiness of the quilted blocks and thinsulate is probably intended for clothing and the batting is quite tacky and extremely unlikely to shift. I am seriously considering leaving those blocks puffy and free of stitching. With other battings, I usually quilt more densely with the widest area without any quilting three-finger's width, or about two inches.

Looking at assorted table cloths and runners which get a lot of use and washing, there has never been a problem with thinsulate shifting. I think soft and a bit fluffy will be nice for a February baby.
With that in mind, I will be finished before long ... especially with my last day of school for this year, being yesterday. This will not take a month ... not that I don't have other things on my schedule to complete....

Unfortunately, the hot sauce plan didn't work for long and my door has new teeth-marks.

I think since this behavior worked twice for Nikko, it takes a long time to find that it no longer works. (maybe never, because she still remembers where she found some stinky rotten fish to roll in ten years ago and never passes that place without checking it out).
I am not happy with the scratched up door but considering the damage she could do in the livingroom while I am away, and the number of things she might find that smell like me to chew on ... oh yes, she has chewed several quilts ... I will varnish over the scratches and maybe cover the area with some stick-on covering that I use for book covers.

Eventually, I have an idea to reverse the two doors. Both can be slid into the wall to open the entire door space... and actually, the two doors are reversed with a metal stopper to keep the inner door from going too far to the left. It often confuses guests because most Japanese sliding doors have the little dented grips to meet at the center, thus moving the doors left or right, so when exiting the room, they often try to move the door to the left with no success.

Well, time to get back under that hoop and warm up. Quilting, what a nice hobby to have! and a gift that rewards the giftee....

Flimsy done

Yesterday included a long trip into town for a District Scout meeting. Usually, I just attend on line but that meeting was a chance to meet the newly appointed District Executive. Actually, that part was rather a dud as she only spoke up to give her name during the hour and a half I was sitting there. The only other thing I heard from her was after the meeting when I introduced myself was that she lived on a base and was here for three years with her husband's assignment. I guess for time spent, the best results were two long inner borders added to the quilt on the train ride in, three outer borders added during the meeting and the ride home. Now the flimsy is finished and I need to hunt up something for the backing.

I used a light yellow pseudo-quilt block print for the inner border and an animal print for the outer one. Next year is "the year of the dog" so maybe I can find some doggy print to use on the back.
That will be my next task to see what I can dig out of my stash. Too bad the baby is not a girl because I have lots of florals in large amounts.

This will no longer be take-along work but now I am satisfied with the size.

Another trip into town tonight for choir so I will need to prep some more take-along work. Guess it is back to the stash for more than one solution.....

Two more rows ...

Two more row have now been added to the latest I-spy.

Having decided it would be easier to add one more row to the length and width than to quilt a wider border, I dug through my scraps to mark and cut more 4"prints and sashing strips.

There was only a little left to do today to sew those new strips in place. It was a busy week and a number of train trips I was unable to get a seat, but the times I did, I could complete at least three blocks each way.

Sunday, as I was sitting at the end of the car with an open seat beside me, a lady moved from farther down the car to the seat beside me to complain about my sewing. It is bad manners, unsafe, I might endanger children ... on and on until her stop came up. I felt like telling her I have been doing this for over 50 years and so far, no one has ever been hurt including my own six kids and four foster babies... but I didn't see any point in arguing so just said "sorry" and kept going with her ranting in the background.

At other times strangers do talk to me about what I am doing out of curiosity or because they are interested in making things too. In all these years the only other time I was yelled at was while in a hospital waiting room in the late 1960s. And once, while I was darning socks in a Dr's waiting room, the doctor came walking through and, though he said nothing, he went and rounded up his nursing staff and returned with them, asking them if they knew what "this lady was doing." Then lectured about what I was doing called darning and how women used to be thrifty by making repairs. I wonder if every woman had a darning gourd in her sewing basket.

So ... now I have to go back to my stash to find border material ... and put away all the other scraps in piles on my sofa. Once it becomes a flimsy and is ready to quilt, it will no longer be take-along work and I need to prep some more stitching so that lady will have something to be irritated about. Just think how brave she must have been to confront a foreigner on a public transport.

Meanwhile, the "Cookie Factory", run by my granddaughter Leia, finished up a double batch of very fancy Christmas cookies.That little girl who could not part with one of her cookies a few years ago is now making more to share with all her friends. We also set up the tree and decorated it with a new string of lights and many years of collected ornaments. Now that my assistant can reach the top of the tree, my work was more about taking boxes in and out of their storage space. Then, on Sunday, when I returned home after church and a concert, I turned the corner of the street to see twinkling lights adorning my garden strip. The elves (named Norie and Leia) had found the outdoor lights and strung them up and down the strip from tree to tree and bush to bush. I guess when Christmas comes, I won't be able to claim it snuck up on me. (still a few weeks to get my act together.)

So far, so good

The I-Spy quilt is now 31" x 40".

Much of this stitching was completed either on the train or in meetings.

I have decided to add another row of blocks to both the side and the bottom.
It will take some time to cut and audition blocks but then I can sew them in odd moments while travelling.

That will bring the total size to 36" x 47".
Then, with some added sashing and a three-inch border, it should come to a decent size that can be simply quilted in the ditch.

The days are getting shorter but also sunnier.
Somehow they are also getting busier. With "Choir Sunday" now past, we are working on a program for February, and being pare of a barber-shop quartet and a small choral group, my calendar is getting filled in quickly.


This week my Scout meeting and a teacher's party are conflicting for time and I have more requests for Saturday than there are hours in the day. I know I am going to have to tell somebody "sorry!"

Nikko has not been happy with long days left alone. I have blocked her from the living room with too many things to get into.... but she seems to be more determined to get in and several times broke the barrier leaving teeth-marks in the door. It is a sliding door with no way to lock it. Today I sanded the worst part and then painted the area with tabasco sauce. I am hoping that will keep her teeth off the door while I am out. Her food and water dish are in the lavatory so that is not a problem. When I am home these days, she lies under the heating vent, but I turn off the AC when I go out.

I tried putting her in her crate for half an hour last week but I could hear her barking all the way down the street as I was returning. I'm sure the neighbors would not like more of that. Japanese houses are not very soundproof. It is easy on a walk to know who has a dog or plays a musical instrument. (or who watches the morning news on TV).

Oh well, onward!

How big is big enough?

The last two I-Spy quilts I made, I used five-inch prints with a one inch colored sashing.

This one on the right used a two inch border and another one inch sash. The size came out 43" x 55".

I quilted inside the print blocks but I didn't need to quilt the borders other than in-the-ditch.

This one I added an outer one-inch sashing and a  three -inch border so the size came to 45" x 57".

These seem to be good crib-size quilts or maybe something that could be tossed over a child napping on the sofa.


Now I have begun to assemble the next baby quilt ... also an I-Spy ... but this time I am using my stash of four-inch prints.

I have added the one-inch sashing and plan to put another one inch of a solid color as in this one on the left.

Using the same number of squares, that gives me the size of 33" x 43". If I stick to that size, I would have to add at least a six inch border and maybe an outer one-inch sashing. That would mean a lot of quilting in the border.

If I decide to add another row of blocks, I have ten cut so would have to cut five more plus more of those inch sashings. Then a three inch border and outer sashing... making the total 46" x 56". It would be a lot more piecing work but less quilting than a wide border.

In the end, it is mot such a large quilt and being less "babyish" might be used longer but still not big enough for a youth bed.
The last quilts I have made to be gifted to friend's new babies have been ... I-Spy, 45x49, 43x55, 47x48, and alphabet ... 43x49, 48x54, 45x50, 45x48, and 46x47 for a counting quilt.

To tell the truth, I have no idea anymore how big a crib is. I am wondering if my quilting friends out there have any suggestions as to what size might be most useful. Anyway, I have plenty of take-along work lined up before I get to time to decide.

Progress???

Well, if there is some progress, it is not on the Mola.

It is hard to work on a Mola while riding a train or sitting in a meeting.
It takes more concentration than in those places.

Meanwhile, there are babies coming at full speed and I have a number of cut pieces I can assemble for an I-spy quilt.

This one is for a boy due in February so I started with my tin of four-inch blocks. That means a lot more work because more blocks are needed to make a decent size quilt.

Also, at a certain point ... which is now ... I have to lay out the blocks and do some planning as to which blocks to put side-by-side and what color of sashing gives a better balance.
I wish I had a better space to lay this out flat. Well, there is the floor, but that is covered with dog hair. Then there is a bed in the second floor loft ... but that would mean a lot of climbing up and down the ladder to get more fabrics, carrying them up to try and in the end, back down to put away.

This baby will get a scout block as he has two scout brothers already and parents that are involved.
Putting the sashing on the blocks and joining the blocks once they have been decided can be done on the train. Rain is expected for today so hopefully I can get this little project organized before another busy weekend arrives.

Fall has arrived.

Our pink house has plenty of competition.

This year the Enkianthus was trimmed and makes a big ball of red behind the azalea hedge.

Behind are the three Maples, a tall Vine-leaafed shagbark maple, then the lacy cut-leaf maple, followed by a Japanese maple in a large pot that came from a friend's balcony  when she had to move.

The sweet daphne have set their buds for spring so the promise for next year is in the bud as these leaves are swept away.

Along the way to the park with Nikko or to the train station I can enjoy bright persimmons hanging on their bare branches and winter oranges among their dark leaves. Against bright blue skies, this is a lovely season.

Our final rehearsal for "Choir Sunday" is tonight.
Wally and I have been assigned the lighting of the first Advent candle. As fall leaves fall, Advent appears and the dys move along... Time to stop playing with the computer and get things moving too.