Monday Morning Star Count - More of the Same

Week 13 of the temperature quilt 

July 23 - 29

85, 88, 86, 88, 83, 85, 84

Sarah at Sarah Did It!  is hosting a link up on Wednesdays for those making a temperature hexagon quilt.  Check it out and think about joining in.  You can start at any time.

This is my temperature/color (Fahrenheit) scheme: 

100 + Brown 

90-99 Red  

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow  

60-69 Green  

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

10-19 Black 

17 in 2017 - July Report

Happy World Embroidery Day!

This month, I stitched my July Cat, which is part of the 2017 Smalls Stitch A Long.

I finished stitching the last two pears, which all still need to be made into pear shapes.

I also worked on the House Quilt, adding several more borders.

The Scrappy Cat Quilt is pin-basted and waiting to be quilted.  

Today (World Embroidery Day) I plan to work on my beaded shawl and maybe have something to show next month.

No finishes, but still, not bad for the month.

To see all of my 17 in 2017 projects, check out this page.  To see the progress other participants have made, check it out here.

World Embroidery Day - Tomorrow

Tomorrow, July 30th, is World Embroidery Day. This day began in 2011 with Swedish Embroiderer's Guild and has been celebrated annually since then.  

I plan to stitch on this project of mine.  What will you do to celebrate?

2017 Smalls Stitch A Long - July

This year I plan to stitch the calendar cats (free charts at Happiness is Cross Stitching).  One small ornament per month, so this month is July.  I will wait to finish them all at the same time in December so that they will be the same size and somehow coordinate. 

I'm linking up with Heather, at Stitching Lotus, the hostess of this stitch a long.

Okitsu Part 3 - Okitsu Zagyoso

This is the restoration of the villa built by Saionji Kinmochi along the Tokaido Road in 1920, when he was 70 years old.  He died in 1940.  Like the Japanese Inn, when the highway was built, the ocean view and access was blocked. There is a lot of bamboo and other natural materials used in the house.

bathtub

Admission is free and it's only about a 15 minute walk from Okitsu Station.  I had a great day with my friends and received this gift of handkerchiefs to use in my projects.  Thank you!

Work In Progress Wednesday - House Borders

I made tiny nine patch blocks for the corners of the border I showed last week, then added another border.  (Yes, it needs to be pressed.)

It's coming along.

Crazy Afternoon

Four of us got together to work on our crazy bags. We are all having a good time with this project.  We try new things and are learning new stitches and new combinations.  Whatever we do, all is good.  

I added some buttons and started working on a little rose garden, but forgot to take a picture of mine.  I'll work on it a little more and have a photo soon.

Monday Morning Star Count - Hot Week 12

Week 12 of the temperature quilt July 16 - 22

91, 88, 92, 84, 86, 86, 88 

It has been a warm week.

Sarah at Sarah Did It!  is hosting a link up on Wednesdays for those making a temperature hexagon quilt.  Check it out and think about joining in.  You can start at any time.

This is my temperature/color (Fahrenheit) scheme: 

100 + Brown 

90-99 Red  

80-89 Orange 

70-79 Yellow  

60-69 Green  

50-59 Blue 

40-49 Purple 

30-39 Pink 

20-29 White 

10-19 Black 

Okitsu Part 2 - Seiken-ji Temple

After visiting the Minaguchiya Inn and eating lunch, the three of us went to the Seiken-ji Temple.  We were given a wonderful tour and the cost of admission was only 300 yen. I was happy to see there was some signage in English.

The temple grounds are split by the train tracks, which seems a little weird, but there is probably a reason. 

The grounds include some pretty garden areas. 

Be prepared to take off your shoes inside and bring a little hand held fan because there is no air conditioning. We saw some beautiful things both inside and out the windows. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about everything!  

The temple has been built and rebuilt many times over the years.  The original temple was founded here in the 7th century, as a temple associated with the barrier checkpoint at Kiyomi-ga-seki.  In 1261, the temple was re-established as a Rinzai Zen Temple.  In the 14th century, it was restored again by Shogun Ashikaga Takauji.

These are portraits of sailors in training, who all drowned when their ship went down.  The funerals were held at this temple.

We were able to see some ancient writings stored at the temple.

Below are the toilet and handwashing facilities.  No, we didn't try them out!

This was an interesting place. I think there are 500 statues and it is said that there is one that looks like every person. 

If you have the opportunity to visit Okitsu, you won't want to miss this temple.  I'll have part three of our visit to Okitsu in a few days, so please come back!