The Stitching Chair

When Okuda San and I first started stitching together, we met in my apartment in the morning and stitched sitting in chairs at my table.  Her two year old son was enthusiastic about stitching and as a result, she wasn’t able to stitch much.  We changed to stitching at her apartment in the afternoon after her son went down for a nap.  She has a low table, but no chairs.  Sitting on the floor to stitch for three hours is very difficult for me.  First I would sit in the seiza position with my legs under me, then I would sit with my legs to the side, then I’d sit cross legged, then I’d put my legs out straight in front of me - you get the idea.  She can sit with her legs under her with no problem, as she has been doing it all of her life.  This seems to be the way it is for most Japanese people.  After sitting in chairs all my life, I am no longer able to sit on the floor comfortably, like I could when I was five.  Ted bought me this little fold up chair at the outdoor store and I now carry it along with my stitching bag down to her apartment and sit in it next to the low table when we stitch.

We have been working on the little coin purse (eyelets and rhodes stitches).  Okuda San chose red perle cotton and silver metallic thread.  I am working on another one with grey perle cotton and silver.  Next week we will start stitching the beads. I don’t know what color beads she is planning to use.  I’m not sure what color I will use!

Okuda San received two melons as a gift and gave one to me.  In North Carolina cantaloupes are common and not expensive.  In Hokkaido where they are grown, they are very expensive.  We have never purchased one here because of the cost, so were thrilled to receive this gift.

 Here is an article from the May 18, 2012 Japan Times online

Melons fall short at only Y1 million for two

A box set of two cantaloupe melons has been sold at auction in Japan for one million yen, but in a possible sign of the financial times, went for less than half the all-time record.
An unknown buyer snapped up the Yubari melons on the first day of the buying season, splashing out the equivalent of a small car for the pair of orange-fleshed fruit.
In a country where a single apple can cost more than 500 yen and a presentation pack of 20 cherries sells for over 10,000 yen, Japanese shoppers are used to paying high prices for their fruit.
But the eye-watering figures banded about at the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market in Hokkaido reflect the buyer’s desire for prestige as well as a degree of sympathy for the town that produces them, which went bust in 2007.
Top notch Yubari melons are perfect spheres with a smooth, evenly patterned rind. A T-shaped stalk is left on the fruit, which is usually sold in an ornate box.
In 2008 a pair of Yubari melons sold for 2.5 million yen at auction.