Continued mending on Two's quilt, quick trip to Boston

I have finished patching the (mostly purple) nine-patches on my great-grandma's nine patch, for my sister-in-law Janette. 

The quilting stitches are so so tiny! 

I used 25 weight thread to patch things up... with my giant stitches... 

Sometimes in the ditch: 

Where ever I have pins in the quilt, I need to patch up the muslin.  That's next.   

David and I got up to Boston for a few days.  Sometimes we just need a dose of "back home." 

He fished, we both caught up with some dear friends, we ate great food, we enjoyed the Museum of Fine Arts.  

What do we have here.... Prince's Feather, Mary Price Hall, about 1860, Ohio  - 

David was amazed at these teeny tiny reverse appliqué circles: 

In Boston we also saw an absolutely stunning musical,  Gatsby.  We have always enjoyed productions by A.R.T. (often pre-Broadway) and I love their entire ethos.  

Then David went on to Tokyo, and I returned home to North Carolina.  It felt good to walk in the door.  I think because we have lived so many places, many places feel like "home" and we miss them all when we aren't there. I guess you can't live in three places at once?? 

I am always trying to pack lightly (freedom!).   When I'm with David, we carry-on.  When I'm on my own, I check my bag, even though it is carry-on sized.  I hate the stress of boarding, wondering if there will be room above for my suitcase.   

My quest for the perfect carryon 'personal item' is also never ending.  I have a couple of small backpacks, but I think I'm really more of a "zippered tote" person.  I love this old Cath Kidston oilcloth tote and I tend to turn back to it again and again.  

Tomorrow is July 4th.  It will be a quiet, solo, indoors (cool) day for me.  Hopeful thoughts for democracy. 

xo

Cynthia 

Boston and Maine... and Indigo Sofa Throw finish

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