Mola Fish
The Scarf
Floral Bouquet - I added a thistle flower and two leaves
The Miniature Carpet - after finishing the companion pieces, I brought the carpet out again. Unfortunately, this week's work was for nothing, as I made major counting mistakes and will have to unstitch.
Part 30
This is not a good surprise. A post I wrote in 2012 contains a link to what was at the time I wrote the post, the website of a needlework designer and teacher. I was surprised when I clicked on the link this week that it now leads to a pornographic site. Of course I want to delete that link, but I don't know how to get back to that post from my dashboard page.
I tried scrolling back from the post page. I post every day, so there are many posts to scroll back through and it is slow. When I got to mid-2017, it quit going backwards and brought me to the current posts again. There must be a way to get back and change that. Can anyone help me? Another request, if you see something else like that, can you tell me?
I often post links to give designers credit or to give readers the place to get more information. I never imagined this would happen. I hope someone can help me!
Year five of the temperature quilt
Week 4
May 23 - 29
75, 81, 82, 77, 66, 77, 84
I am reporting the high temperature each day. My Year Five temperature/color scheme remains the same as previous years:
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
You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.
I'm always interested in what make the national crime pages of the Japanese news. This is what I learned this week about crime in Japan.
Arrested for Spitting
In Osaka, a man in his 60's was arrested for spitting in front of a pickle shop. In the Autumn of 2019, a customer got into a dispute with the pickle shop owner over a point card. The customer was not satisfied with the result of the dispute and left the shop. After that, the customer returned to the shop several times a month from January to October 2020, cursing and spitting on the sidewalk outside the shop. Finally the shop owner called the police (why he didn't call them when it first happened is unknown). Spitting on the sidewalk is a violation of the Minor Crimes Act in Japan. On October 29th, Osaka Prefectural Police caught the man in the act of spitting. This resulted in further investigation and the man was charged criminally on May 31, 2021 after it was determined the spitter's actions were "highly malicious". Punishment for violating the Minor Crimes Act are up to 30 days in jail or a fine between 1,000 and 10,000 yen.
Arrested for Toilet Paper Theft
On June 3rd, Saitama Prefectural Police Chief Takashi Tanaka of the Fukaya Station was charged for stealing five rolls of toilet paper on May 29th. After drinking on his day off, the police chief used a public toilet near JR Konosu Station and stole the five rolls of TP. Another person saw him and alerted security that a drunk man was stealing toilet paper. On June 3rd, he was given a one month suspension from his duties, but decided to take early retirement that same day. That sounds like a sad way to end a police career.
Man Arrested for Ruining Fruit
A 71 year old man in Koryo, Nara Prefecture was arrested on suspicion of property destruction after he ruined fruit at a supermarket. He was observed poking his finger into kiwi, bananas, and other fruit around 6:30 pm on May 10th, ruining 16 pieces of fruit worth 4,145 yen. He was arrested this past Monday. He admitted to the charge, saying he did it to release his stress and anxiety and had done it about 30 times since April.
Reading about these "serious" crimes makes me happy I live in Japan.
Jo at Serendipidous Stitching is hosting a Stitch A Long the first Saturday of the month, with the topics chosen by her readers. This month's topic is Butterflies. Here are mine.
A Matching Needlebook, Pinkeep and Scissor Fob
A Butterfly Charm and a Tiny Cross Stitch Butterfly
A Make Up Bag - cross stitch
Brazilian Embroidery Pin
Coasters
Kitchen Towels and a Summer Purse
Handkerchief Butterfly Bags
Hexagon Butterfly Bags
That's all.
The design for this afghan comes from the book by Sam McBratney and illustrated by Anita Jeram.
After finishing the cross stitch and back stitching, I made a fringe edging by pulling out threads.
Have you read this book? It's a children's book, but I didn't know of it until I was older. If you haven't read it, please do!
When I'm traveling again, this is another place I want to visit. It is in my prefecture, not that far from where I live, but I didn't know about it until last week! This unstaffed station is on a cliff in the middle of a lake. The Ikawa Train Line uses Japan's last rack and pinion mechanism to navigate the steepest railway in Japan to get the 70 meters above the lake. The incline to get to the station is 5.1 degrees. The lake was created by a partial dam on the Oigawa River and the bridge is 70 meters above the lake.
To get there from Shizuoka Station, take the Hamamatsu Line to Kanaya Station, then take the Oigawa Tetsudo Line to Senzu Station, then the Oigawa Tetsudo Ikawa Line to Okuoikojo Station. What do you think? Would you like to join me on this trip?
Floral Bouquet
This was a class I took at the Houston International Quilt Show in November 2002. I enjoyed the teacher, Karen Kay Buckley, and the project, but for some reason, I didn't work on it again after the class. In the class we learned to make some of the flowers and leaves, but we didn't do much on the actual project. This week, I pulled out the directions and was able to start putting together the two pansies. I think there will be about nine flowers plus some leaves in the bouquet.
The Scarf - I started two more shapes on one side.
"Guess How Much I Love You" bunny afghan
NYE SAL
Part 26
Japan has some of the world's strictest gun control laws. As a result, the number of gun deaths each year in this country of about 126 million people are in the single figures.
I didn't realize how strict the laws were until I read about the 2020/21 Tokyo Olympics shooting events. Coaches are not allowed to touch the firearms, (not to mention fire one), only the participants. There are also strict limits on ammunition. Japan has a limit of 800 rounds of ammunition per shooter at any one time. This is less than other competitions and previous Olympics. There are designated contractors who are allowed to ship the ammunition into Japan specifically for the Olympic Games. A 16 page guide was created for teams to warn about Japan's regulations.
Wikipedia has compiled a list of gun laws by country if you are interested. This is what it says about Japan.
Japan
The weapons law of Japan begins by stating "No one shall possess a firearm or firearms or a sword or swords", and very few exceptions are allowed. Citizens are permitted to possess firearms for hunting and sport shooting, but only after submitting to a lengthy licensing procedure. As part of the procedure, a shooting-range test must be passed with a "mark of at least 95%". A mental-health evaluation taking place at a hospital, and a thorough background check where one's family and friends are interviewed, are also part of the procedure.
A gun license expires after three years, at which time license tests must be repeated. After ten years of shotgun ownership, a license-holder may apply to obtain a rifle.
Japan has been described as the country with "perhaps the first ever gun buyback initiative" in 1685, and is the first nation to have imposed gun laws in the world; as such, gun ownership is very rare: 0.6 guns per 100 people in 2007. In 2014, Japan saw 6 gun deaths.
Each prefecture in the country can operate a total of three gun shops. New cartridges can only be purchased after turning in expended cartridges. In turn, new magazines can be bought only by trading in old ones. If a gun owner dies, their relatives must surrender their firearms. Off-duty police are not allowed to carry weapons, and arrests are generally made without firearms; instead, police are expected to be proficient in judo.
Here is one Wikipedia illustration about handgun possession.
