Flower Power 6, and outings

Another little collage: 

I started with this little piece of vintage indigo.  It's impossible to see on the photo, but it has stitching on it.  I have no idea - maybe this was part of a mend to a futon cover.  In any case, it is beautiful old indigo and kasuri and it just looked like a good little flower vase to me.  I ended up turning it on end and then back again. 

Just playing around with shapes and layout: 

A little flannel board is nice.  The blue check is from one of Tommy's old shirts:  

Please visit Wendy's blog The Constant Quilter to see more minis!  Thank you Wendy! 

In other news, I've finished one week out of quarantine and I made it count!  I had something to do each day, whether it was a trip to the post office, or an outing.  

I went solo to an amazing exhibit of Hokusai sketches just ten minutes from our apartment, at Midtown: 

Even the carpeting was covered in his drawings: 

And I was invited to an English Flower Garden in Yokohama.  It was really small and just lovely.  We could stroll the whole thing in 30 minutes.  Got eaten by mosquitos and it felt like 100 degrees out, so, any longer would have been too long anyway!   There were five people, total, in the garden, from what I could tell.  

These glass "furin" (Japanese wind chimes) were just magical.  They sounded so pretty in the breeze, off and on: 

The gentle swaying of a Weeping Willow: 

I loved the various benches (I'm sure pre-Covid, they would have been occupied):  

Even vaccinated, I'm still being careful (no large group events and I'm not keen on a lot of indoor time outside the apartment) but it was very nice to have an outing with (vaccinated) friends and see something quiet and beautiful.  The world just seems to be blowing up on so many fronts.  It's hard to not be consumed with anxiety about it all.  

On a lighter note, earlier in the week I enjoyed some  kakigori  with another friend.  Kakigori is an old-timey dessert of shaved ice.  Lots of delicious options on a "feels like 100 degrees" day.  Mango and milk for me. 

 

Notice the Dixie-sized cup of water, next to the giant mountain of shaved ice, lol.  

The ice collapses down as you eat it, into a slushy sweet mess.  Yum.  

xo

Cynthia 

NHK Friendship block for 2021 - Love the Earth

Each year the Tokyo Quilt Festival includes a roundup of charity quilts, each made up of many 15cm x 15cm blocks donated by individuals.  Last year's theme was "My Favorite Animal" and this year's theme is Love the Earth. 

I kept procrastinating but the other day I came up with an idea, didn't overthink it, and just did it.  You know? 

My block is very abstract but here was my thinking: 

• Globe shape(s).   
• Aizome (indigo) background - indigo is an enduring gift from Mother Nature. 
• Green Japanese chirimen fabric has an ocean waves motif.  
• The large circles are Liberty prints - and if you look closely at the orange one, you see tiny creatures.  Let's take care of this planet for our sakes and for every little creature.  

Click here for more info and to see Queenie's blocks over many years.  She does a great job each year keeping us on track. 

With the 2021 show canceled, I wonder how these quilts will be made and auctioned. 

A bit of Mother Nature in the city on a windy rainy day.  Sitting at one of our favorite little restaurants, Hainan Jeefan Shokudo, al fresco, almost.  We were seated inside, but right up against what would be the floor to ceiling window, now open air.  Sheltered from the wind, but so much fresh air.  Such a treat. 

xo
Cynthia

baby Charlotte is born!

This week our first grandchild, Charlotte Jane, was born in Austin TX.  We are simply over the moon!  I laughed and cried with joy, at the wonderful news of her birth.

I've been on call almost 24/7 for Facetime, just excited for any glimpse of this little wonder and anxious to give any little advice or encouragement I can offer Kaela.  FaceTime, texting, videos, Marco Polo - it all helps bridge the gap between Tokyo and Austin, but, oh how I long to hold wee Charlotte.

Zero quilting this week.  

The shadow side of our joyful week has of course been the dismaying news, day after day, from the U.S.   

I'm doing a lot of personal soul searching, reading, listening, reaching that kind of new level of understanding about racism where you realize how little you really know and perhaps how blind you have really been. 

I can recommend:  The movie Just Mercy, and learning about the mission of  Equal Justice Initiative.  

In other news... here in our little Tokyo bubble.... mmm... David and I went to get lunch at our favorite soup place just a short walk away, for the first time since February.  It felt so amazing to just go do something special, yet normal.

They gave us each a little holder for our masks, for while we ate.  It is a given in Tokyo that everyone wears masks at all times (except for in extreme heat outdoors).  The other change was that now, instead of communal condiments, they gave us each little single portioned condiments.  

And, no photo, but our bakery is open again!  The simple pleasures of living here.  

xo

Cynthia 

October mini - sashiko wall hanging

Here's my mini quilt for October - a little indigo wall hanging with sashiko, using indigo from Nogawa that I got in March when I visited Japan (this was before we had any idea we'd be moving back here!).

I don't know why it's hard to photograph indigo (I know there's a scientific reason but I don't know what it is) but, the above photo shows the indigo color best.

These classic patterns are in Kazuko Yoshiura's book: 

The Dark indigo stained my fingers blue as I worked - I didn't mind;).  I hand quilted it simply in the ditch just to keep the layers together, and then finished with a self binding. 

I loved combining applique with sashiko.... will do that again sometime. 

A friend snapped this photo while I was doing a little sashiko show and tell.  Little did I know that my "Memories of Tokyo" quilt would live back in Japan;).  

In the meantime, Halloween time approaches... we do see glimpses of neighborhood parades or parties, and treats like these  (heavily stylized, packaged in plastic, and expensive) in the stores... 

I doubt we will get many trick or treaters - we live in a traditional Japanese apartment building - but I'm prepared with a bowl of Reeses and Skittles - precious loot brought to us from the U.S. last month by David's brother Joey;).  It's a miracle I haven't eaten all of it! 

On the healthier side, feeling like little kids, we are having fun with our little "Gawoow" (?!) bowl for microwaving popcorn, ha ha.  It collapses for easy storage.  

1/4 C popcorn, a splash of olive oil, cover, 3 minutes in the microwave, a shake of salt - YUM. 

On another note, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of listening to this novel on Audible - I highly recommend it -- you won't want it to end! 

When Wendy (The Constant Quilter) posts the October minis, I will link HERE.... so that you can go see some others!  Thanks for the challenge Wendy;).  

xo

Cynthia 

Food in Tokyo

Nothing quilt related, but just a few notes on how much we enjoy the food in Tokyo! 

Top of our list is Pizza Studio Tamaki  - the best!

We've known Tamaki ever since he opened his first place in Azabu Juban, minutes from where we lived our first time in Tokyo.  Now he has two of his own restaurants, and serves up THE best pizza we've ever eaten.  

In a city this huge it's also nice to feel like a "regular" somewhere;).  It's pricey but worth the treat. 

Last week a friend introduced me to a tiny Israeli restaurant called Ta-im - soooo good, the falafel pita sandwich:

A limited, perfect menu -

And then our nephew and his friend were in town and ramen was high on the list.  This is David's favorite place, 

The broth is yuzu flavored, for a little citrus lightness.  So yummy. 

Saturday it rained all day and we walked to the movie theatre to see Men in Black (it was so-so but it's so fun to see a movie here, that we will see just about anything).  We saw Aladdin last week and loved it!  

One huge change in Tokyo from when we lived here before, is that now credit cards and other automatic payments are encouraged.  Last time, in two years, I never once ever used anything but cash.  It's different now. 

We love getting the "set" with soda and both plain and caramel popcorn

One interesting thing is movie etiquette here - total silence, from previews through every last word of the credits.  You will think you are in a completely empty theatre!!  We really sometimes get the giggles with the lights finally go up after all those credits, the people start filing out in near silence.  Yes, people sit still and silent through every last word of the credits!  I think it's an extension of the "please don't disturb those around you" mentality.  

It's always a challenge to find drinkable milk.  I tried this new-to-us brand and really liked it.  Milk comes in these small containers - perfect for our small household and small fridge. 

Granola and milk, or milk and cookies: 

Those are family crest (kamon) butter cookies, so cute.  David's family crest is featured in the foreground.  It's one of the most common kamons.  

That's all for now.  Hopefully soon I will have something quilt related to show you!  Can hardly wait to get set up in our permanent apartment, in July.  I'm planning to put a small sewing table in the living room along here somewhere.  I look at this photo 10 times a day! 

xo

Cynthia