Penny Rug progress
Home Again Afghan - When I recently rediscovered this UFO, I wondered why I quit working on it. Now I know. There are many color changes after just a few stitches and the colors are very close. There are too many 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 stitches. It's a cute little design, but it is a pain to stitch. This is my progress the last few days.
Three American Snack Coasters - I cut the braid border and backed them with fabric with batting in the middle. I will finish them by adding red binding.
Just two weeks before her 108th birthday, Tsuneko Sasamoto, Japan's first female photojournalist and a pioneering photographer, died of natural causes.
She was born in Tokyo and originally wanted to be a painter, but was discouraged from it by her father. She attended a home economics college, an institute of painting, and a dressmaking school before her career as a photographer began.
She was inspired by a black and white film she saw with a friend and decided to become a photographer. In 1940 she joined the Photographic Association of Japan and officially became Japan's first female photojournalist. Her subjects ranged from the famous, such as General Douglas MacArthur, who oversaw the post-World War II occupation of Japan, to the wives of coal miners and protesting students. In 2011, she published a book called Hyakusai no Finder or Centenarian's Finder and in 2015, published Inquisitive Girl at 101.
After her 107th birthday, she gave an interview to Art and Design Inspiration, saying a glass of red wine every day and a piece of chocolate every day were some of the keys to her longevity. She also said "It's essentional to remain positive about your life and never give up," as well as "You should never become lazy." She added, "You need to push yourself and stay aware, so you can move forward."
Let us be inspired by her.
I finished my table mat and I'm quite pleased with it. Here it is: front, back, and close up of the flip edge.
Here are some rediscovered unfinished projects. I will add them to my master list.
This is a cross stitch afghan. I don't remember when I started it or if it was going to be a gift for someone. That pattern is in the June 1996 issue of Leisure Arts magazine.
This is really old. I drew the pattern representing my parents' house (and the house I lived in until I went away to college) on graph paper. The floss used is J&P Coats. Primitive, I know.
These little nine patch blocks were from some kind of exchange when I belonged to the Shawnee Quilt Guild in Southern Illinois. I have multiples of some blocks but just one of most.
These are the Trixie blocks. Growing up, Trixie Belden was my favorite series of books. Trixie and her friends solved many mysteries in their home town of Sleepyside and elsewhere. As an adult, I discovered an online group of other Trixie fans and attended two Trixie camps (in Arizona and Missouri) with them.
In 2007, I participated in a block exchange with some of the people in that group. Each person made multiples of the same block, representing one of the books. We sent them to the organizer of the exchange, who packaged up one of each of the different blocks and redistributed them to the participants. When I got my package back, I didn't know what to do with them. They are different sizes and different types of materials. Anyway, here they are. This is my block, representing the Mystery of the Blinking Eye, which takes place in New York City.
This is another person's idea of The Mystery of the Binking Eye and is of the Statue of Liberty's crown.
This block is of a Bobwhite, which is the bird the secret club is named after (Bobwhites of the Glen).
This block represents the book Trixie Belden and the Mysterious Code.
Mystery on the Mississippi
There is no tag on this one. I think the dogs represent the dogs belonging to the club members.
This chicken is named Queenie and is from the Secret of the Mansion.
BWG means Bobwhites of the Glen. The club members all wore these red jackets, which were made by one of the club members.
Reddy is the name of one of the pets.
No idea about this one.
The Mystery of the Uninvited Guest.
This one represents where the club members swam and hung out.
Mystery on Cobbett's Island
The club members all rode horses.
Finding these blocks makes me want to reread the books, but I don't know about making them into a quilt.
Did you read any of the Trixie Belden books? Do you have any suggestions about what to do with these blocks?
The Fukui Coast Guard reports two adults suffered hand and elbow injuries after being bitten by a dolphin earlier this month. This incident follows a number of recent dolphin attacks at city beaches in Fukui.
A 39-year old Fukui woman who was swimming about fifteen meters off shore was slammed in the back by a dolphin, that then bit the palm of her left hand and left wrist as she tried to swim to shore. The dolphin continued attacking her by pulling at her swim suit. When a 50-year old man tried to save her, the dolphin also bit him on his right hand and left elbow. The man required three stitches to his right hand. Additional swimmers were attacked in late July.
City authorities are installing devices at some beaches that emit ultrasonic sound waves to ward off the mammals. Local officials are also putting up signs warning people to "Never touch dolphins". People think they are cute, but they are wild animals with sharp teeth.
What is going on with animals in Japan (first monkeys, now dolphins)?
This free chart is available here.
Lately strange crimes and the Yakuza have been in the news a lot. A self-professed member of the Yamaguchi-gumi from Yokkaichi City and an electrician from Ise City were arrested by Yokkaichi City (Mie Prefecture) police for allegedly breaking into a post office and stealing a cash machine containing about 10.6 million yen in cash.
The ATM machine (70 cm high, 80 cm long, 40 cm wide, weighing 230 kg) which was installed inside the Kasumi post office was found outside the building about 5 am on April 15th with the money still inside. Police believe the two gave up midway during the theft when they were unable to make off with the ATM. These two and another unidentified third man were seen on security camera footage breaking into the post office with a crow bar.
The first thing I'm wondering is why it took four months to arrest these two. Maybe it was difficult to make identifications on the security footage? And who is the third man? And finally what would make anyone think they could steal an ATM, built into a wall inside a locked post office, in the middle of the night, when it weighs over 500 pounds? Plus, ATMs always have cameras. What were they thinking?
The stitching is done on this little holiday design, now it needs to be finished into an ornament or something else.
This is a new project that I found on the EGA blog.
While taking a walk with a friend, we came across this little local temple near Funakoshi Park. You never know what you will find when out and about.
The hexagons are attached to the sashiko border fabric. I decided not to use batting and I chose a cat fabric for the backing. I will do a flip row of edging to keep the hexagon shape. I already have the random hexagons together and need to attach it and flip next.
After visiting Yasukuni Shrine, I decided it was time to head back to Tokyo Station and go home.
I passed by Kudanzaka Park. I was lucky this day that I saw very few people. It was a week day and was hot, so maybe people were working or staying inside to stay cool.
I hadn't planned this, but I saw the Imperial Palace/Edo Castle grounds on my right, so I was excited about that.
I didn't know I would be able to enter the grounds but was pleased to see this sign. There was security, but they just looked in my bag and waved me in.
Since I had to go back to the station anyway, it was a nice walk to get there. I knew I needed to get out of the garden/park somewhere, but I wasn't sure where. When I tried to check Google Maps, it didn't know where I was either. I wasn't on a time schedule, so I just kept walking and found my way to the station.
What a great day! Going to Tokyo is a little scary now because of the number of Covid infections, but I felt safe and had a wonderful day.
