Lately I have been organizing and trying to find uses for things I’ve been saving. I want to finish projects and use up the things I’ve been saving. Heaven forbid if I should get too old to stitch and someone else has to clean out my stash!
Anyway, I prepared more fabric to make 26 mm hexagons. I cut fabric into 2 1/2 inch squares, then paper clipped the fabric squares to the paper hexagon template.
There are different ways to make hexagons and bigger pieces. This is how I do it.
I fold over the corners and do a tacking stitch, removing the paper clips as I go along.
I need a center and six petals to make the flower shape.
Without cutting the thread, I attach one side of the center to one side of each petal. When all six petals are attached, I use the point of the scissors to pop out the center template. That template gets reused over and over. I leave the template in until it is supported on all six sides by other hexagons.
With the center template out, I can fold the center to easily join the side of the petals together.
So, one more hexagon flower finished, for a total of 43.
Today is the Shizuoka Marathon. It’s held every year at the end of February or the beginning of March. Some years I’ve gone out to cheer for people I’ve known who were competing. I understand how it feels having someone cheering for you.
When I lived in the US, one of the things on my Bucket List was to run a marathon in each of the 50 US states. I was never a fast runner (translation - I was a slow runner), but I had endurance. Since I will never be going back to the US, I no longer have this goal on my bucket list. Below are the races I ran before I left.
My first marathon was the Grandfather Mountain Marathon in North Carolina. July 1984
At the time, I thought it would be my only marathon, so I saved the shirt.
St. Louis, Missouri November 1989
This race was chosen because it was just a few hours from where I was living at the time. When I finished, I thought I would probably do another sometime.
Las Vegas, Nevada February 1991
When I was in law school, I belonged to a running club that met every Sunday to run and eat a pot luck brunch together. A group of us went to Las Vegas for the marathon, including my law school professor in the picture with me. (My behind isn’t as big as it looks in the picture - I have a long sleeved shirt tied around my waist.)
Memphis, Tennessee December 1998
I visited Elvis Presley’s home on this trip, in addition to the marathon.
London, Ontario Canada May 2000
One thing I remember about this race was that it was measured in kilometers, not miles!
Wichita, Kansas October 2002
Louisville, Kentucky Marathon April 2003
I went to this race with quite a few friends from my running club. Three of us stayed in a hotel room together, like a slumber party.
Tecumseh Trail Marathon, Indiana December 2003.
This was probably the most difficult marathon. It was freezing cold, there were streams to go through and big hills, and a dead deer on the course. The friend who I traveled with had to drop out of the race. I was sad for her, but I felt so good to be able to finish.
Columbus, Ohio October 2005
My high school friend and her family hosted me in Columbus. It was good to catch up with her that weekend.
Huntington, West Virginia November 2005
This was a very small marathon and I was running alone for much of the race.
Jacksonville, Florida December 2005
This race was held on a rainy day. I remember a delicious seafood dinner after the race.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina February 2006
This was a lively race, with lots of runners who were having a good time.
Callaway Gardens, Georgia January 2008
I had been to Callaway Gardens for needlework classes with many other stitchers, but this was the first time to be there alone.
Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach, Virginia March 2008
This race was sponsored by a beer company and there was free beer at the finish.
Triple Lakes Trail Marathon North Carolina October 2010
This marathon was rugged. The trail was steep and rocky in places, and had big tree roots in other places. I finished this marathon with dirty bloody knees.
Huntsville, Alabama December 2010
This was a large crowded race. It was my last before moving to Japan in 2011.
Yuko Yamaguchi, the designer behind Hello Kitty, is stepping down after 46 years. During this time, she oversaw the character achieve world wide recognition. She took over design duties in 1980, just five years after Hello Kitty was launched. Yamaguchi, now 70 years old, “has grown Hello Kitty into a character loved by everyone.” Another designer in the Sanrio Company has been working with Yamaguchi, and will be ready to take over later this year.
The Hello Kitty character has appeared on clothes, accessories, video games and has even been a Macy’s Thanksgiving parade balloon. There are Hello Kitty cafes and a theme park. According to Sanrio, she was born in London, and has a twin sister Mimmy, and a boyfriend named Dear Daniel. All this and she doesn’t even talk. Sanrio says she speaks from the heart.
I came across the Prairie Schooler pattern for these two little animals. I started stitching them on Wednesday morning and had them finished into little pin cushions by Thursday afternoon.
I attended a traditional oral Japanese storytelling event called Kodan, in Fuji City. This event was special because it was performed with English subtitles on the side. I was happy to attend this rare performance and be able to understand the story by reading the translation as it was spoken in Japanese. Although it was once very popular, Kodan is now rather rare, with only four schools and very few performers.
There are three traditional classifications of Kodan - Gundan, Gokirokumono, and Sewamono, meaning war stories, true stories, and contemporary stories. Kodan is performed sitting behind a lectern, called a shakudai, using a folding fan to mark the rhythm of the recitation.
If I have the chance to attend another Kodan event, I will definitely attend!
Bookmark - I had a scrap of canvas and wanted to make a bookmark, using a freebie pattern from the Design DIY Blog Suzi. Unfortunately, the thread I chose for the leaves is too close to the color of the background. I will either outline the leaves, or pick out the leaves and change colors.
Zipper Pouch progress - just a little progress. The pieces are small and I’m trying to keep it accurate.
The Tale of Genji progress
Knot Garden progress
I’ve seen reports on this gadget in multiple places. It was on display at the Osaka Expo 2025 and garnered a great deal of attention. It is a 2.3 meter long cleaning capsule, developed by Osaka tech company, Science, which calls it a 15 minute full body spa session. After the user lies down and the lid closes, micro-bubbles and fine mist showers do the cleaning. The human washing machine is equipped with sensors that monitor the bather’s vital signs, as well as soothing music and visuals.
All this is available for purchase for 60 million yen (about USD 387,000 at today’s exchange rate). I don’t have the space or the funds to acquire one, but I would like to try it out.
This week, I cut a stack of two and a half inch square pieces of fabric. To make the hexagons, I paperclip the fabric to the paper hexagons. Then, I fold the fabric, removing the paper clips as I stitch the tucks of fabric. I do not stitch the paper hexagons. I pry out the paper hexagons and reuse them.
I made seven new hexagon flowers, for a total of 42.
This seems to be common in Japan, but it still feels very strange to me. Last May, a 70 year old man jumped from the 43rd floor of an apartment building, killing himself and a cyclist riding on the sidewalk below. As a result, the Osaka Prefectural Police have now referred the dead 70 year old to prosecutors with the charge of gross negligence resulting in death. Relatives of the man told police that he talked of suicide because of medical problems, and there were indications that he had climbed over the railing. Autopsies determined the causes of death for both the 70 year old man and the cyclist were due to multiple traumatic injuries.
I posted about another case of a dead man being indicted here. That case was also in Osaka Prefecture.
