During my month in the U.S. we went to Massachusetts for a few days and reconnected with several good old friends (I wish I'd taken some selfies with each of them!).
I do love Boston and it was so great to be back home-home for a few days.
Then Tommy arrived and we headed to New Hampshire to our storage unit.... he found a few things he wanted to take back to college, and I sifted through some old photos for fun.
The Christmas my brother and I got new bicycles, 1975:
We rented a little house in Ogunquit, Maine for a week. It was so cozy and homey. I loved the trees and it was walking distance to cute shops and restaurants as well as the little beach. We watched the Olympics each night. I did a tiny bit of handwork. I brought so much, but just worked on ONE block, lol.
Beautiful gardens to admire in the neighborhood -
Kaela, Joe and Charlotte were with us all week -
Playing with Grandad on the beach:
Soaking up Charlotte time:
Noelle and Keenan joined us from North Carolina for a few days:
My three children - my heart:
Sweet Noelle:
Kaela did some haircuts on the porch:
Beach baby:
In our happy place:
We celebrated Tommy's birthday and I gave him the indigo sofa throw. How I forgot to take photos, I don't know. But later he sent me some:
It measures about 45"x65" - I used a mix of new and vintage indigo. No batting. Soft thick indigo backing.
Susan Briscoe gives excellent instructions in her book The Book of Boro. Highly recommended.
When the throw was "finished" I added little patches here and there - with needle turn appliqué - to create the balance I wanted.
Without batting, it is very compact but substantive with the heavy backing.
I added our family's Pawlonia kamon to the lower left hand corner.
David flew back to Tokyo from Boston and I flew back to Texas for an extra week with Charlotte. You know the rest of the story from my whiny previous post, lol. I am now back home in Tokyo with ten more days of quarantine - but we are allowed to take walks close to home, so it doesn't feel too restrictive at all.
xo
Cynthia
Family is everything and your photos attest to that. Grandpa looks so happy with sweet little Charlotte!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had some wonderful time with your family.
ReplyDeleteI know your hotel 'stay' was hard, but balance that with the wonderful time you had with family and friends. You have much to look back on.
ReplyDeleteThe boro throw will look very good in a man's room, and the man will know mum's love is in every stitch.
Looks like such a precious time with your family. I love all the family photos--and that sweet little girl. Don't they grow fast?
ReplyDeleteI am following your footsteps--heading to Maine soon, chasing down ancestors and hopefully meeting up with blog friends. Then it is on to Massachusetts for more ancestor seeking in Plymouth, and a visit to the New England Quilt Museum before flying home. Too bad timing didn't work out so that our paths might have crossed. Glad you get to take walks close to home. That can make a big difference!
What a wonderful reunion you all had--must have been so comforting to reunite.
ReplyDeleteI love the boro quilt--so pretty nice work!
hugs for your last 10 days to go by fast!! :)))Julierose
Nothing better than family time! So glad you had a great visit! The indigo throw is gorgeous! Have a safe and happy weekend!
ReplyDeletei love boston too....it'll always be what i think of with the word "home"...trying hard to be content here in MD far from the ocean....
ReplyDeleteIfound your blog when I was looking for quilt information in Japan a few years back. I had to change emails and lost the info. I am glad to find it again. I moved to Texas from Chapel Hill, NC. It is interesting to see we have been to the same places. Stay safe and I am glad you are home.
ReplyDeleteOh hi Cissa, I'm glad you found my blog again. It's a small world. You are a "no reply" blogger so I can't answer you by email!
DeleteOh what fun! It must have been so hard to leave all these lovely people. I hope your time left in Tokyo will go smoothly and quickly. You must have travelled so light on your way home after dropping off al those wonderful quilts! Enjoy the day!
ReplyDeleteSpending time with family will get any of us through hard times. The indigo quilt us gorgeous. Just the color of the water and sky.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful pictures! Everyone looks so happy to be together. Love the quilt, I'm going to check out the book, thanks! Charlotte is such a little cutie! I hope you brought stitching to do during your quarantine! Jan in MA
ReplyDeleteThank goodness you spent time with Charlotte. I have never even met my Aoife!!! The quilt is stunning. Perfect...wonderful.. great family pix...sigh...I just know it was worth the crazy back in Tokyo
ReplyDeleteSuch wonderful memories despite these crazy times!
ReplyDeleteThe indigo throw is fantastic! So glad you had the wonderful times with your family. It must be hard to live so far away from them. Your quarantine sounds miserable and yes, very stressful. Definitely something worth whining about!:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all the family photos. The indigo throw is lovely. So glad you had all that time together with your family.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely family! Everyone looks so warm and friendly! Love your Indigo quilt. What a wonderful present for your son!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful family trip. You did get a lot in. Thanks for sharing your beautiful family with us. Tommy's throw came out perfectly imperfect. I'm sure he will love it. He must miss you so much.
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