Work In Progress Wednesday - A Small Ornament, Fob Beginnings and More Mystery

One evening I stitched a small sleigh ornament pattern. I hope to get it finished into the ornament soon.

This week, I continued with some triangle fobs.  They are kind of addictive.  They only need small bits of fabric and some varigated threads for the first part.  Later, I'll get to the beads.

I had every intention of stitching this straight through as the clues were given, but went to Kyoto for the New Year Holiday week, and well, put it on hold for a long time.

You can see Parts 3 - 10 here, with links to parts 1 and 2. I guess it is time to continue on - there are 32 parts in total.

This is Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

I haven't looked ahead and am just working from one part to the next to keep the mystery.  More to come...

Sewing Machine Sales in Japan

With face masks in short supply in Japan this year because of the coronavirus, people have started making their own masks. As a result, sewing machine sales have sky rocketed. Companies are offering online instructions for making do-it-yourself masks. 

Brother Sales Ltd., based in Nagoya, saw a 30% rise in sewing machine orders in February and March compared with the previous year. Janome Sewing Machine Company, based in Tokyo, saw sales rise by 20% between March and early April compared with the previous year. The company representative said many customers bought entry-level machines costing 50,000 yen or less, but higher priced models at 100,000 yen or more are also selling well. 

I bought my entry-level Janome six years ago in Hokkaido and I have been very pleased with it.

Monday Morning Star Count - Week 1 of Year Four

Were you wondering if I would continue on with another year?

Year Four of the temperature quilt  

Week 1 

April 26 - May 2

75, 61, 64, 68 73, 77, 81

I am reporting the high temperature each day.  My Year Four temperature/color (Fahrenheit) scheme remains the same: 

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  

You can see my finished Year One Quilt here.

Seiganji Buddhist Temple

This is another temple within walking distance of my apartment.  It is up on a hill, with a view of Mt. Fuji.  Again, I was the only one there.

Japan's National Bird

I didn't even know Japan had a national bird, until Ted took these photos and told me.

The Japanese Green Pheasant (Phasianus versicolor) is the national bird of Japan. The male is a brighter green, with no white collar.  The female is not bright and has a white collar and a spotted underside. Many people claim that these birds are scared by earthquakes and "scream". 

Here is my version of a pheasant couple - in blackwork (design by Tanja Berlin).

Friday Finish - Blue and Yellow Ornament

I stitched this canvas ornament on the cruise last year and finally finished it into an ornament.  It measures three inches square.

Okamachi Shrine

I don't know the name of this shrine, but the entrance is next to the Okamachi bus stop, so maybe the name is Okamachi Shrine.  It looks like a small underused shrine.  Maybe it is used for seasonal neighborhood festivals. It was another safe place to visit, with no other people around.

Update: Thanks to Queenie, who researched the name of this shrine -  Kami Shimiu Hachiman gu.  Thank you!

Work In Progress Wednesday - Golden Week Progress

Today is the last day of my Golden Week holidays.  I love to travel, but staying home is good this year. 

These are the projects I worked on this week. I've made a little progress on some of the WIP/UFO's, as you can see by looking at the projects a week ago.

I finished the stitching on this small canvas piece.  It was one of the projects on the cruise with stitching teacher Sandy Arthur last fall.  I still need to attach the stitching to the bracelet part, but that will be a project for another day.

I worked on the cross stitch afghan one full day, but didn't even finish the square I had started.  The fabric is 14 count and I'm stitching over one.  This is going to be a long term project, I think.

I showed this finish last Friday.

This ornament is the June design from the Snowflower Diaries, stitched over one with one strand of DMC floss on 28 count linen.

I'm stitching this winter banner in silk thread.

I've done more Rhodes Stitches.

It's hard to see in the photo, but I've begun a new section with this multicolored thread.  

And one tiny new project - I found a bit of left over linen and started a triangle eyelet fob.

It's been a good stitching week.