Last week I ventured solo to Tomato in Nippori, to find some fabric to try (heavy emphasis on TRY, because sewing garments is just not my thing) making a myself a tunic. I've been having some issues keeping me from outings, but really trying to get back into my walking habit again.
I chose out some inexpensive light blue cotton/linen -
My pattern is from Grainline Studio and the instructions are very clear, for beginners like me. Still ... hours and days later... I'd rather be quilting;). I'm more or less stuck at this point because of a dart issue - no pun intended;). I'm thinking of this as practice. My mind has a hard time with 3-D things. Quilts are flat - clothing is not;).
And today my friend Julie W and I went to Sakurahorikiri, a washi paper and craft shop in Asakusabashi. We drove and it was a short walk from the little parking spot. I'm in awe of my friends who drive here in Tokyo. Grateful, too.
Isn't it hard to believe this is paper, not fabric? I picked out two of two sheets for a little project.
Only after returning home, did I notice on the map that we'd been very close to a shop called Cotton Family. It might be a good resource for ordering fabric online (!) at least from within Japan.
Meanwhile, at home... in the evenings I am steadily making progress on my hand appliqué projects...
Poppy's Polka Dot Garden (free patterns each month from Sentimental Stitches)
I've also decided to call it quits and go ahead and make a quilt top with the blocks I've already made from Barbara's Hands All Around pattern posts. I'm alternating my stars with various blue and white
tenugui, with some simple blue sashing in between. It's going to be a simple graphic quilt and will hold good memories from Tokyo.
I love organizing projects in drawers like this:
My sewing area gets messy (here's some napkins waiting for ironing;)).... but I'm so grateful for it!
Also grateful to quilting friends.... local (I'm starting a little "stitching with friends" interest group at our church)... semi-local over a recent Zoom meet-up... and long distance over blogging. I know I'm not alone in just simply loving quilts!
xo
