Full circle and wows

A horse at the farm where my niece Alyssa is living - she took this photo when it snowed the other day - gorgeous! 

Thank you everyone who left such kind and encouraging comments on my last post!  I mostly haven't regretted my decision!   David is already starting to clean out/give away items in the Tokyo apartment with my remote help and he has moved his home office from a basically windowless room, out in to where I used to quilt - a major upgrade for him.   We FaceTime at least once a day, usually twice. 

The great news is that I have found a townhouse to rent here in NC.  There's a perfect spot for David's home office... and a tiny bedroom perfect for a little sewing room, yes!  I get the keys next week.  I'm working on all the details that moving requires.   I will breathe easier once our household goods are moved out of storage in NH and arrive down here in NC. 

In the meantime, I am staying with Noelle and Keenan and trying to keep a low profile, lol.  I am staying in their spare room and have my own bathroom and a beautiful view out of my window - well it might not be a beautiful time of year, but for me, coming from such city views, this is beautiful (it even snowed the other day). 

A little baking on a Sunday morning - these are such good cinnamon rolls from King Arthur Flour  and the recipe utilizes the Japanese milk bread method.  And I'm back in the U.S. which means no more tiny oven.  Eight big rolls, big cookie sheet, big oven. 

Noelle and Keenan's work from home vibe: 

It is amazing how you can't really predict life events.  Ten years ago we had been in Japan (the first time) for six months. Noelle was in art school in Boston.  I had made this quilt for her. 

Now ten years later, full circle, I'm the one sleeping under it, crashing at her place while I wait to get into my own.  During a worldwide pandemic.  While she and her husband work their tech jobs from home.  Wow.

I feel like I've made 100 of these square on square quilts.   This one qualifies as wabi sabi at this point, after 10 years of use and many washings.  

It needs some repairs, which will be a pleasure to do at some point! 

Faded label but the love never fades for my beautiful sensitive artistic first born child. 

People rarely think about how it is when expats return to their home countries, not just to visit, but to live at home again.  We have done it before so I knew what to expect but yes I am having the usual reverse culture shock.  Things seem big, loud, messy, friendly, easy.   I'm learning how to drive around comfortably again.  It's a pure pleasure to listen to music and NPR in the car.  I had to mail something overnight at FedEx, which I have never done before, and it was easy... finding the place, no language barrier, no 1000 step process for the simplest thing.  Did I mention EASY? 

I went to Target the other day and walked down nearly every aisle completely overwhelmed, not in a bad way, but in a "wow" way.  I just sort of thought "all of this feels relevant to me and I'd like one of everything, thank you" - ha ha.  I looked at bath towels.  Colorful, big, wow.  I bought myself a pillow and pillowcases, some Pepperidge Farm cookies, and the smallest water bottle I could find that wasn't a child's water bottle, and it's still at least twice as big as my Japanese water bottle.  I could read and understand everything.... and understand what anyone around me was saying.  Self checkout, wow.  Easy 15 minute drive from Noelle's.  Just, wow.  

I haven't been doing any hand work.   I want to get back in the groove.  I need to break the ice with my  appliqué again!  

One thing I still do everyday (easy, on my phone) is the NYT crossword which I love.  

The Monday puzzle from a couple days ago had an old-fashioned quilting reference that made me smile.

Speaking of word games, I'm also having fun doing Wordle once a day - I know many of us are!  I guess it's become a whole worldwide phenomenon!  It is not an app (beware imitations!).  

My goal is that before I post again, I will be back in the groove working on the two appliqué projects I brought with me. 

Hurray for January being almost over... 

xo

Cynthia 

Soft Quilt sort-of finish...

Reached the next level of my Soft Quilt for Hard Times. 

I piece a large quilt this way - in four sections, then two, then one:

I used Dream Cotton Request (lowest loft) batting.  Stitched in the ditch just around the blocks. 

I had some of this soft pink/cream left over from another quilt - I love a striped binding: 

I'm tacking back the binding now.  Then I will add some simple hand quilting to each block.  Eighty blocks.  Two blocks per day, forty days?  I can try.  I am certainly home.... a lot. 

I love binding a quilt early - so that I can use and enjoy it while I finish the quilting. 

Rainy gray day in Tokyo.  Sometimes I get a hankering for these yummy nutty chocolate chip cookie bars, so easy and simple: 

Combine in a bowl with a wooden spoon:

1 stick butter (113 grams) melted
3/4 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1/2 C oats (I use quick cooking)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C chocolate chips - I use a little less
1 C chopped pecans - I use a little more

Spread into an 8"x8" pan lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 about 20 min.  (160 degrees C in my little Japanese convection oven).
Let cool in pan.  Remove, cut into bars, and try to make them last;).

x

Cynthia 

Progress on "A Soft Quilt for Hard Times"

I'm almost finished making these simple blocks.  Inspired by Fun with Barb's "soft quilt for hard times" concept.

Lots of rainy days lately....

I cut the logs to size.  It's easy piecing, four blocks at a time. 

This will be a "Spring/summer" version of a quilt I've made over and over, it seems.  I wrote about it here on my old blog.  Square in square,  raw edge appliquéd.   Combination of machine and hand quilting. 

Very improvisational, casual and scrappy, fall/winter.  The blocks are 8 or 9 inch square.  Over time, wabi sabi for sure.

The first one I made, in 2003,  has seen lots of very hard use.... and I've repaired it a lot through the years - just layering patches on very casually by machine.

This time, I'm going for a cool and smooth look.  That's why I'm piecing it in a traditional way, log cabin style, no raw edges. 

All the while, trying to keep positive.  Daily FaceTime with little Charlotte is a treat.  (When will Japan open its borders..... and when would I feel OK about traveling to the U.S.?)

What else these past couple weeks?  Masks masks and more masks...

A visit to the ever whimsical and refreshing Blue and White - limited hours these days:

My little needle books still on offer:

AND.... lastly.... I can recommend this breath-of-fresh-air animated musical series - Central Park - all star cast, a lot of heart, big laughs, catchy music. 

Quilters - "we gotta do it while we can"! 

xo

Cynthia