Japan we are done, thanks for the memories.

Our second visit to Japan, has been just as wonderful as the first time, we visited, we are pleased to have travelled all over Japan, and had the wonderful company of the gracious Japanese people. Thank you for sharing your country with us, the food, culture and experiences that Japan has to offer are a delight and that one should partake of, if you ever get the opportunity. "Origato domas"

Even Ginza district, Tokyo has a Hooters.

Staying at the Ginza Grand, my sister has capitulated and started sewing hexagons, to make a coin purse.

Harijuku, the trendy area of Tokyo, very crowded and wait times for meals.

Horse meat on the menu in Ginza.

Osaka, Universal studios.

Kyoto, Golden Palace.

Hiroshima, trams

This actual tram was working in 1945, when the atomic bomb was dropped.

Miyajima Misen and free roaming deer.

Snow in Sendai

Light show, Tokyo Dome.

Sumo, Endo the Japanese sumo.

Goodbye Japan, onto our next adventure, hello France.

Play, fun and limited time.

It has been  2 weeks since my return from Japan, worked 8 days, 4 day shifts and 4 night shifts and I am now on days off so time to get cracking with some creations. I have completed my 56 Lucy Boston blocks so onto sewing in the 1 inch squares, not a project that I am liking so I am taking some time out to do other things. I will place the blocks on my design wall soon. Below I will share a few things that I have on the go at the moment.

This is  " ME", a small fun quilt that was fun to put together, the idea came from a miniature quilt that Chris Jurd had on the back of her sewing room door. The design idea came from Chris's Art Deco lamp pattern.  Pattern available from Patchwork Fundamentals.

This is the start of another quilt, it is a combination of two quilts in one, Margaret Sampson has published this quilt in a recent copy of Quiltmania. Margaret has called the quilt  "Anna Levens" and in the centre of the quilt advertised, she has seven centres fussy cut and the picture is surrounded by hexagons.

Off course, I do big quilts, so my centre will have sixteen fussy cut centres. This was the easy part, now onto multiple, 100's,  of hexagons to form a rectangle, did I say easy, never !.

On the countdown to Christmas, seeing I am working and we are going on holidays overseas late December, I will not be getting out all the Christmas decorations, but I could not resist making this Christmas tree, with the help of my son, I am very pleased with the result, now for some decorations, and "whola" a rustic Christmas tree.

Before I went to Japan! my interest was piked in Japanese fabrics and to make a Japanese quilt, but I held off until my trip to japan, hoping that I would find some great fabrics to fussy cut for the centres. This proved difficult, lots of Japanese fabrics but none suitable for centres, I did manage to  buy 6 metres of backing fabric and a silk design from the textile museum in Kyoto. Below is a photo of the first of nine blocks, and this is where I used the silk design. Another Chris Jurd design from Patchwork Fundmentals. The quilt is called "Noodle Box"

That's all for this week folks!.