This is how history feels

One of the vintage fabric pieces I bought in Tokyo was a small roll of silk. When I unrolled it, it turned out to be the sleeve of a kimono lined with soft silk with a pink edge. I wanted to use it immediately but realised the sleeve was still stitched together. I remembered being told that kimonos were stored flat in pieces. They were stitched together in such a way that the stitches were easy to undo to store and to launder the pieces.  I examined the piece thoroughly before I started with  the seam ripper. What a treasure trove. There were tiny running stitches, ladder stitch, larger running stitches all beautifully even. Someone had very carefully stitched this sleeve together. I wondered who she was. Maybe a servant of the rich person who owned this beautiful silk kimono. I wondered if she had enough to eat, what her name was. I knew that she was the last person to touch the silk thread. The photo shows some of the stitching she did on the lining and some of the gorgeous kimono fabric. I  thought that despite our cultural differences, I could empathise with this woman who, many years ago, placed these stitches. I pay my respects to her now, unpicking the seams by hand.

WILCOCK/DUNN Memory Quilt

Here is the memory quilt I was making for my "Show-and-Tell" in Japan. Each of the participants had to come to the tour with a story to tell and something they  had made themselves to show the others. I decided to tie the two together and so this memory quilt echoes the story I had to tell about two families and how they enriched on another's lives. It's not quite finished yet as I need to embroider the name of the quilt on the dark pink border. I will give this to Margaret Wilcock in memory of the close association over many year between our two families. Last year I made quilts for most of the Wilcock women (still have one or two to go though). I have  Natima to thank for generously helping me to get the photos onto the fabric. Shes very experienced at doing this!

Vintage silk from Japan

I've been playing with the beautiful fabrics i bought in Japan. I have decided I cannot bear to cut this one  and so am faced with "What will I make from it?" I have decided to quilt it as is for a table topper. If you have any better suggestions please  - I'm wanting some! It's too fragile to make a bag from it. The beautiful design is too big to cut up. I think I will free quilt it by hand around the flowers and leaves first, then maybe do the red bits in a kind of contour quilting. What do you reckon?

Oriental Table Runner

Here is the table runner I have just finished. It's a gift for a friend. The second photo shows the flowers I made from my new toy. They were fun and easy to to do and I'll use them again for decoration,

Felix's New Jammies

Just finished making Felix four pairs of pyjama pants for his birthday. Teamed with longsleeved chainstore tops they'll be great for winter. So much better than that awful licensed stuff!

Upholstery - My First Effort

Here is my first effort at upholstery. This is the fourth chair and the best.

Sewing day at Myra's place

Here we are at my place today doing various different crafts : beading, applique, embroidery, crochet, origami fabric blocks, handsewing, stripping (fabric of course) AND a lot of eating,  talking and drinking tea. What fun! Nice day.