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 

Mt. Fuji outing, and indigo sofa throw progress

In the evenings I'm slowly working on my indigo sofa throw  - it's so fun to add these simple sashiko stitches.   I love handling these new and vintage indigo fabrics. 

A bit of red here and there and I like exposing knots now and then: 

Recently some young friends who are leaving Tokyo soon, invited us along on a day trip to the fifth station of Mount Fuji.  We had a wonderful time (they have the cutest 2 year old, need I say more?), and it was just so nice to get out of Tokyo.  They are very careful about COVID precautions and so are we.  We all stayed masked the whole time in the car, and we ate our lunch at separate tables separated by plastic sheeting.  

Another lion-dog (I am seeing them everywhere now)

Super cold and windy up at the fifth station - David bought a sweatshirt at the gift shop.  I think he looks so cute! 

Mt. Fuji is closed to hikers.  There were so many empty bus parking spots, and the place was nearly empty.  It was nice for us, but I really feel for the small business people trying to make a living. 

We ate at a little restaurant up there.  The food was so-so but the presentation was spot on - Fuji-san themed - and on a cold windy day, it was nice to have a hot meal.   This is katsu curry - a chicken cutlet, with a curry sauce, over rice.  Don't you love the pickled "lava"? 

Such a cute display at the restaurant: 

I can't help but see "QUILT" in grids like these! 

Masks off for a quick photo: 

The days are flying by.  One month until we leave for our U.S. vacation.  

In a few minutes I'm joining in a Zoom book group with ladies from my church.  We will discuss the Y.A. novel The Hired Girl, by Laura Amy Schlitz.  I listened to it on Audible and absolutely loved it.  

xo gratefully, 

Cynthia 

Indigo sofa throw progress, and another shrine

 

I always want something handy to work on in the evenings watching TV, and my latest project is really fun.  I pieced together a small sofa throw out of indigo - some new pieces, and mostly vintage.  

I used the instructions from Susan Briscoe's excellent book The Book of Boro.   Mine has slightly different layout and proportions.   It measures about 45" x 65".  

It was so fun to put together.  I backed it with some beautiful, heavy new indigo purchased recently (no batting).  I basted it the other day, then stitched in the ditch everywhere, and then slip- stitched the hem.  

And now each evening I'm working on adding sashiko stitching in each "patch" - my goal being to have stitching every 1 1/2 inches or so.  

I'm using these beautiful sashiko threads from Blue and White.  

I love working on something so simple - just a ruler, chalk pencil, thread, needle.   Actually I'm now reminded that I do want to add some red sashiko stitches here and there too.  

Meanwhile, the weeks are flying by!  I'm getting busier and have a real sense now of this being our third and last year in Tokyo.   It already feels bittersweet when I think about it!   

This morning, I went on a brief outing with two friends to Konno Hachimon Shrine in Shibuya.  

I love spotting Japanese kamon (crests).  This one is tomoe:  

EDITED TO ADD:  these statues are "Lion Dogs".  

From wikipedia:  

Komainu (狛犬), often called lion-dogs in English, are statue pairs of lion-like creatures either guarding the entrance or the honden, or inner shrine of many Japanese Shinto shrines or kept inside the inner shrine itself, where they are not visible to the public.

This old tree must be sacred.  

It is being so carefully propped up: 

If there's anything tangible I dearly miss, it's living among trees - so I always relish the chance to be in a setting like this - 

Heaven - 

xo

Cynthia