Finish One, Start Another

It has been snowing alot, which is good weather for staying inside and stitching.  I finished the little reindeer into an ornament.

 

I started a new piece that is part hardanger and part stumpwork.  It’s a design by Thea Dueck (The Victoria Sampler) called Dragonfly Lace Sampler. I bought the Accessory Pack with the silk threads, ribbons, and beads needed for the project when I purchased the instruction booklet. All I needed to add was 32 count linen and white perle cotton in #8 and #12.

 

The instructions and diagrams are good. I'm stitching in hand and so far I have completed part one – kloster block frame,

 

And part two – whitework square (eyelet surrounded by four sided stitch).

 

I hope to have more completed to show you tomorrow.

Small Things

I recently read an interesting article on Japan Times online about the many small things that Japan has to be proud of and I thought you’d like to hear (read) about a few of them.

The shortest escalator in the world is at the Okadaya Mores shopping mall in Kawasaki – just five steps high.

The Japanese language is considered one of the cleanest with the fewest profanities. (I have no idea how they translate American movies.)

Japan has the least number of gun-related homicides. The JT article quoted an article in The Atlantic, which stated Japan has as few as two gun-related homicides a year.

The flight of shortest duration is between two islands in Okinawa, Japan. The distance is 12 kilometers and it takes just three minutes.

The world’s smallest toilet, the nano-toilet was designed by Kaito Takahashi of SII nanotechnology.

The briefest festival, the Enrei Onodachi Memorial Festival in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture lasts just five seconds. Participants bow to commemorate the visits of two Japanese Emperors.

These are but a few, but you get the idea. Japan is proud of its smallness.

I finished stitching this small cross stitch piece and just need to make it into a small ornament. I changed the pattern to give the reindeer a blue eye and a red nose because the ornament is for Ted.

Three Overripe Bananas

This is a good example of why I don’t like to cook.

We had some bananas that were too “done” for regular eating.  They were the kind of overripe bananas that were perfect for making banana bread.  Too bad we don’t have an oven!  We do have a crock pot, so I looked up “crock pot banana bread” on the internet and found a recipe.  We didn’t have all of the ingredients, but I thought I could make do.  We didn’t have flour and sugar, but we had pancake mix that had flour and sugar as ingredients.  We also had little packets of sugar that come with the yogurt, so I added a few of those.  We didn’t have dark corn syrup, but we had maple syrup. We did have eggs and bananas.

It reminds me of a lesson I used in my English class about count and non-count nouns and when to use less and when to use fewer (count nouns get fewer, non-count get less).  Nancy wanted to make an apple cake, but she didn’t have all the ingredients.  She used less flour, fewer eggs, fewer raisins, less milk, etc. and the cake turned out terrible.

Back to the banana bread – it was heavy and not very sweet. The edges were rather well done.  We ate it, but it wasn’t as good as banana bread should be.  I should stick to stitching.

 

I did work on Butterfly and Blooms a bit yesterday.  I made the grapevine curly q’s (couched wool) and finished the Queen Anne’s lace flowers (beads and French knots with one strand of floss).

I bought this hoop in the US on the recommendation of my friend Anne, but hadn’t used it until recently. I used it on the Japanese picture and Miss Kitty’s Dragons and now on this and I really like it.  The outside has a ridge that fits into the inside and holds the fabric tight.

I didn’t like the butterfly that I had started in class so I started a new one and didn’t like it either.  I had to put it aside for the time being.

There are two pansies in the piece, each with five petals done with long and short stitch in silk.  I started one petal in class.  I finished it and the two yellow petals and buttonhole stitched the wire for two more.

 

Butterfly and Blooms Stumpwork Project

Butterfly and Blooms was a class I took about four or five years ago. I think it was a class organized by the Embroiderer’s Guild chapter.  Here’s a photo of the picture that came with the kit.

Even though I like stumpwork, I didn’t care for the class. I put the project away after the class and didn’t work on it again.  So, now I pull it out and take a look at what I’ve stitched so far and read over the instructions.  I’ll give it a day and see if I want to work on it and finish it.

 

Something about Money

People here handle their money differently than in the US.  I’m not talking about how they spend or save it.  I’m talking about how they physically handle the coins and bills.  In the US, people are rather careless with the money they carry.  They wad up their dollar bills and stuff them into wallets and pockets. One dollar bills are frequently faded and wrinkled and sometimes even torn. The bills don’t have to face the same direction and if coins fall on the floor, they aren’t always picked up. Who hasn’t found a penny on the ground?  It’s even considered good luck to find a penny. 

I never find coins on the ground here.  If anyone (usually me) drops coins at the grocery store or on the bus, everyone around scrambles to pick up the coins and return them.  When you give money to a store cashier, you put it in a little tray, not directly into the hand of the cashier.  When you get bills in your change from a cashier, she counts it one direction, turns it over and counts it the other direction, then pinches each bill to make sure two aren’t stuck together.  All cashiers do this.  The bills are always flat and unwrinkled, like they must get ironed at the bank before coming to the store.  There is definitely something different about the money here.

Dragonfly Finish

As it turned out, all of the cross stitches were already done on this little dragonfly, so it didn't take much to finish it.  I had to finish the beads, cut out the pieces and attach the top wings.  The kit was to be a pin, but I think it will be a better Christmas tree ornament.  Here it is my first ornament finish of 2013.

Japanese Picture Finish

This project made me feel rather nostalgic.  I first learned to stitch on stamped pillow cases and dresser scarves.  When I was a child all of the pillows and table tops in my home were covered with the cases and scarves I stitched, but I don’t know what happened to them over the years.  I bought J&P Coates embroidery floss at the dime store with my allowance. There were so many pretty colors of floss. I liked the variegated ones best.  I learned stem stitch, cross stitch, lazy daisy, French knot, and satin stitch and could sit stitching for hours with my stitching in a little plastic hoop. After I learned to do counted thread embroidery, I left stamped items behind, preferring the precision and exactness of the counted work.

Anyway, back to the present.  I finished the stitching and put the Japanese picture in the frame that came with the kit.  I used the thread colors as pictured in the kit photo and added the print fabric that came in the kit at the corners.

 Next, I plan to finish this little Mill Hill cross stitch and bead dragonfly.  It doesn’t look like there is much left to do.

Contemporary Ainu Arts and Crafts

The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido. According to Wikipedia, there were about 15,000 Ainu in Hokkaido in 1868. Because of intermarriage with the Japanese, there is no longer a pure Ainu ethnic group, but the official number of Ainu is estimated at 25,000 and the unofficial number at up to 200,000. In 2008, the Japanese government approved a resolution recognizing the Ainu people as "an indigenous people with a distinct language, religion and culture”. Although there is an Ainu language, most Ainu now speak Japanese or Russian. The language is considered endangered, with fewer than 100 people still speaking the language. 

 The Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in Sapporo has a special exhibit through 24 March on Contemporary Ainu Arts and Crafts.  Here is the flyer for the exhibit.

 

Ted and I have visited the Ainu Museum in Sapporo and seen exhibits at other museums in Japan, but these exhibits were more historical in nature.

I am especially interested in the textiles and clothing.  I met my friend Alicia at the museum and we were fascinated by all we saw!  There are some distinct patterns in the clothing designs and if I weren’t illiterate, I’d know what they meant.  Photographs were not allowed, unfortunately.  The first part of the exhibit had old clothing and wood carvings displayed. Next were more contemporary versions of utilitarian items.  That section was followed by sections with different artists and their works.  I think all of the work was in wood or textiles. The wood carvings were amazing, but like I said, I was especially interested in the textiles.  The patterns were made up of applique, couching, and chain stitch, sometimes all three, but not always.  I think Ted will be interested in this exhibit too, so I hope I get to go again with him before it closes.

I bought a magazine/booklet in the museum shop.  Even though it is in Japanese, I can still look at the pictures.  I want to make my own little Ainu design on a project.  I’ll have to study the pictures and give it more thought.

 

After seeing the exhibit and checking out the museum shop, we hung out and stitched and talked for a while.  Alicia worked on a cross stitch book mark and I started a little Christmas ornament for Ted.  I made this same ornament for one of his friends last year (photo at the end of this post) and he wanted one too.  It’s a free chart from dmc.com called Starry Night.

Miss Kitty's Dragons Needlebook is Finished

I like the cat print I found for the lining, even if it is covered up by the felt pages for the needles. 

 Here are the front and back of the closed needlebook.  There’s a ribbon at each corner to tie it closed.

 

I want to make a matching biscornu sometime, but not today. I think the center diamond that makes up the back of the needlebook will be just the right size.

This Japanese stitching kit is my next project.  It was a birthday gift from my friends Kaz and Yoh. The directions are in Japanese, but I think I can figure it out.  The kit came with everything beautifully packaged. The little white rectangle contains a tapestry needle, a beading needle, and a needle threader.  There’s even a frame! 

 

Who Knew Baking Soda was for Baking?

Recently someone who was at my house for lunch said I must do a lot of baking.  I was confused and tried to think of what I might have said that was misunderstood.  I’m not much of a cook and although I might have baked cookies once in a while in the US, I don’t have an oven for baking here. She pointed to this in my kitchen.

 

I bought this large bag of baking soda at Costco and use it for laundry and for cleaning the tea and coffee stains out of cups and for scrubbing the sink, stuff like that.  We both laughed.  She likes to bake, I like to clean.

More of Miss Kitty

I still need to stitch the charms on.  I think I will put the dragonflies on, but save the cat button.  I might stitch the center part of the design again and make a matching biscornu, using the cat button in the center.  For the lining of this needlebook, I plan to use this bali cat print.

Concert at Kitara

Our upstairs neighbor is a musician and she teaches in the music department at the University. We’ve seen her play the cello in concerts here, but we know she performs all over. She also conducts the orchestra.  Her orchestra had a concert at Kitara Hall in Sapporo, with her conducting, so we went to see it. We hadn’t been to Kintara, but had good directions. We took the bus to Sapporo, then the subway for three stops. We had about a five minute walk from the subway station to the concert hall.

 

Photographs were not allowed inside, so I can only show you these photos taken outside.

 

It is a beautiful new facility.  Our seats were third row center, so we could see and hear everything very well.  We met our friends Alicia and Miwako at Kitara and all sat together.

When we saw our neighbor performing at the cello concert, she wore a long gown and wore her hair up.  You can see photos on this post. As the conductor, she wore black shoes with gold heels, black leggings, a white blouse with lots of ruffles in front, and a black long tailed coat. Her hair was done in loose curls. She looked every bit the part of a conductor, even before she stepped out on the stage.

How do conductors know what to do and how do the orchestra members know what it all means?  It’s like a secret language. Are there conductor classes? Does each conductor teach his or her orchestra members what the signals mean?   It’s all very interesting.

We enjoyed the concert and now that we know how to get to the concert hall, we may go to another performance there.

I’m still working on Miss Kitty’s Dragons.  The colors are very appealing and with each stitch, I see more of the garden emerging.

The Yen - USD Exchange Rate

When I first moved to Japan, about 14 months ago, the exchange rate was around 100 yen = $1.28 USD.  It stayed in the range of 100 yen to $1.20 to $1.30 until about three months ago (November 2012). Now the exchange rate is about 100 yen to $1.07 or so. I don’t understand how the exchange rate is set or who or what controls this. Both the US and Japan have held elections in recent months, maybe that has something to do with the big change.  I’ve also read that the weaker yen is helping the Japanese economy, which sounds kind of strange at first.  If I’m from the US and want to go on an international vacation, I’m getting more for my buck when the rate is 100 yen to $1.07 than when it is $1.30, so a Japanese vacation is more attractive.  It works the same way with importing products from Japan to the US.  Now, if I’m working in Japan and have a few extra yennies that I want to send back to my bank account in the US, I’m getting fewer dollars than I used to so it’s not so good for me.

 I’ve made some progress on Miss Kitty’s Dragons.

 

Neko San no Tombo

(Otherwise known as Miss Kitty’s Dragons)

Yesterday I looked through my projects for what to work on and I just didn’t know what I felt like working on.  I pulled out this Just Nan chart and linen and decided to start another new project. The price stickers on the chart and the embellishment kit (four dragonfly charms and a cat button) said Persnickity, a needlework store in Zionsville, Indiana, outside of Indianapolis.  It had been many years since I had been there and so many needlework stores have gone out of business, so I googled “Persnickity” to see if I could find out if they were still in operation.  I found a website, but the online calendar was for November 2009, so I don’t know if it is out of date, or if the store is out of business.  The project is mostly cross stitch, with a few other stitches, done on 28 count linen with DMC floss. Here’s my first day’s start. I'm going to make a needlebook, not a framed piece.

Today is a National Holiday in Japan, known as Foundation Day. It is a day to reflect on the establishment of the nation and one's love of country.

 



Age and Weight

Do you think Americans are too touchy about the subjects of age and weight?  For the most part I think Japanese people are polite and reserved.  They don’t hesitate to ask one’s age or comment on one’s weight, though.  In the US I would never ask the age of a 50 something year old woman unless I knew her very well, and if I knew her very well I would probably already know how old she is and wouldn’t need to ask.  People always ask me how old I am here.  Also, people have no issue with commenting on weight.  At the bus station the other day, an elderly woman Ted had never seen before told him (in Japanese) that he should lose some weight or he would have health problems. While Ted is bigger than most Japanese, he’s athletic and not heavy, especially for an American who is the double nickel. The hula ladies have no problem telling me how maru (round) I am. One told me my “butt is high” (actual words in English). This comes under cultural differences, I guess.

The Queen’s Ruff

I had been hesitant, maybe reluctant, to work on this area.  You might say I was avoiding it all together.  With so much around it done, I finally had to work on the Queen’s Ruff (that big white thing around her neck).  It’s a pulled thread technique and I was afraid that if I did it wrong, I wouldn’t be able to correct it. Canvas isn’t forgiving with these things. Luckily, I didn’t have to try to correct anything.

I can see the cross stitches in the background clearly, but they don’t seem to photograph well.

Summer Sampler Box and Accessories

This is the class with Denise Harrington Pratt that I took at the Carolinas EGA Region Seminar.  I liked the class and the project and the teacher.  The fabric is 28 count linen and the threads beautiful overdyed silks.  The stitch variations and combinations were fun to work on.  I went home from the class and continued stitching until I had completed all of the stitching.  I even had the cording made for the different components.  What I didn’t do was finish the stitched pieces into the box and accessories. I know you must be thinking, How Horrible!  Finish the stitching and not finish the project, Unthinkable! Knowing that glue was involved, I was afraid to try to finish the box top.  I wanted it to be perfect.  Well, let me tell you, done is better than perfect.

After completing the Jubilation box the other day, I decided to pull this project out and take another look at it.

The little toolies were probably the deciding factor in taking this class.  I do like little toolies, and matching little toolies, well, I couldn’t resist. Here are before and after shots of the double sided pin keep. Padded mat board is in the inside. I had already finished the little needle threader fob in class.

 

The little scissor fob is also double sided.

 

Isn’t this needle book adorable? It really is like a little book.  The shape is held by thin plastic, the kind quilters make templates out of, covered with padding. The wool felt for the needles is stitched in place with little beads. You can see that I had already stitched the year – 2008.

 

Here is the top of the box.  I enjoyed stitching it.  This one is quite a bit larger than the Jubilation box and more difficult to assemble. 

 

I’ll say again, done is better than perfect. I’m so happy I decided to just do it.