Quilting for Japan.

Thank you for writing, in regards to previous post. I truly appreciate the comforting words. 
Since then, there doesn't seem much we can do from here ..... except sew. 
I am making this quilt & giving it to my children's school 
(Deutsche International Schule Dubai), who will then hold a raffle, with all proceeds going to
 the German Lutheran Church in Tokyo, towards helping the people of Japan.  

This quilt is called "Ganbatte“.  In  Japanese, it means  “persevere, you can make it". 

Made entirely with Japanese fabrics, reminding us so much of beautiful Japan. 

In Red & White,  the national flag colours of a red rising sun on a white background.

“8” for luck as in the 8 appliquéd kimonos.

The Japanese children in the fabric design,  represent the families & citizens in unity,

bunnies as it's the Year of the Rabbit, fishes for strength, courage & luck. 

The gracious people of Japan will pass through these times of suffering, 

like fishes swimming through turbulent water. 

“ Ganbatte, Nippon ! “ 

Sad, guilty & lucky - a post with no pics.

It's been weeks & months since I've posted. We are now living in Dubai, amidst lots of boxes still waiting to be unpacked. This past weekend, we enjoyed our first dip in our own pool, at our new home. Enjoying happily... till we learnt that miles away, in Japan, in the country that we used to call home for the past 5 years, a massive earthquake had struck. By now, most of you would have seen footages of the disaster. We used to live in Tokyo & still have friends there. We tried calling our friends in Japan but in the initial hours, were unable to reach anyone. Slowly, we started getting emails from friends in Tokyo & from people who thought we were still in Tokyo.  

We were also having breakfast then & felt so bad & guilty when this happened. This is probably the "big one" that all Japan residents have been waiting for. When we lived there, we had an emergency backpack (copies of passports, cash, wipes, face-masks, inhaler, medicines, chocolates, walkie-talkies...) & in the garden shed; boxes of canned food, more sugar items, water, first aid kits. When Martin & I had to fly to Dubai for the look-see trip, we made sure the kids knew what to do/where to go, just in case.... . 

Maybe this is stupid but to be honest, the kids & I kind of wished we were still in Tokyo. I feel callous for wishing that we were there & then feel lucky too that we are not there. We have since gotten emails that our friends are alright & that some have left Japan, for fear of worst to come. 

Mothers waited anxiously at home & it was hours before they were together with the children again. Husbands were trapped in the offices & if they left, had to make the way home on foot as the public transportation had shut down. A couple of the kids' old classmates wrote to us already. Quite a number of schoolmates were crying & most thought that they were going to die. All these kids in fear & their parents were seperated from them, during all those hours! 

It happened shortly before 3pm on a Friday. The school buses would have left just after 3pm so the result was, most children had to remain in school till past 9pm since the roads were closed. The German school there is located in Yokohama, with a big river & overhead highway, between Yokohama & Tokyo. That highway was closed. We used to sign a form, allowing the school to take care of the children, if an earthquake should occur. Of course, a parent can also choose to go "rescue" one's kids from the school.   We always hope that if an earthquake does happen, that the kids would be in school since the school is equipped to have the kids there for 4 days, with food. 

Many walked home from the office & that was something which (when we lived there), my husband had also practised doing occasionally, to prepare himself. But then, it would have been a more difficult walk home now with thousands of people doing the same thing & the danger of aftershocks & falling debris from damaged buildings. He too, had an emergency backpack & an extra pair of good walking shoes, in his office. 

Keiko Goke, an incredible quilter & fabric designer, whom we met in the Tokyo Quilt Fest - she lives in Sendai, Miyagi Perfecture where it was most devastated, I pray that she is alright as so many are missing after the earthquake & tsunamis of over 30 feet in height. More than half the city has been wiped out. We are glad especially for our families' sakes, that we have left Tokyo. And we feel guilty & worry though, for our friends who are still there. (Edited on 15 March : Keiko & her family are alright & still in her own house in Sendai, which is so amazing!)

Autumn, Quilts & Mt Fuji.

Just got back from a few days by Lake Yamanakako near Mt Fuji, enjoying autumn in all its glory. 

We relaxed at a cosy inn, owned by a Japanese family & ate too much delicious Japanese food 

cooked by the innkeeper's wife, who also folded original wrappers for our chopsticks. 

Unfortunately, Fuji-san was behind a thick mist all those days so no nice pic of it. 
You can imagine that it's still there, across the lake, in the mist. 

Luckily, we still have good memories of this beautiful mountain, as you can see in this pic from a previous visit. 

Fishes were abundant in the lake !!! Our 10 year old Annika took these pics since so I can blog about them. 

And I did what most quilters would do...take along a pile of quilts 

& quilt tops to be photographed against the incredible autumn colours. 

Unfortunately, the typhoon was there at the same time so we had to take quick pics in between the rain. 

Brought along some metal clips & an extension pole. I know the rigid pole is not so pretty but luckily I did,  since the fences were mostly wet & there wasn't any low, sturdy, horizontal branches that we could use. 

 It kept raining & stopping & raining. Only dropped a quilt once, down on that wet floor! 

Some quilts, some quilt tops & some waiting for more quilting to be done. 

One even have a needle & thread in it (if you can spot it!). 

I love the pics that we managed to take. A big thank you to my 2 men who patiently held up the quilts! 

Also brought along scraps so I could cut & trim - a collection of many favourite fabrics for another project. 

( My attempt at stash busting, Alia ! ).

Probably breaking another quilt rule as the scraps are of different thickness & texture. 

It's a real colourful mish-mash & I love it & that will be for my next post. 

Happy Autumn days! 

Fabrics all around & a teenager too !

A friend asked what fabrics do I have & how much.  

So, here's a part of my ever-growing stash. 

Some are folded.

Some are lying around, 

patiently waiting to be sorted out, by colours, theme or by designers. 

The hardest part of my projects, is always selecting the fabrics, 

which seem to be oozing out from every corner of my small & crowded studio. 

...and a new quilt top...    

Today, our Niklas, is 13 years old. He sure loves to read.

He has been waiting a long time for this day, to be a teenager.

And we waited a long time for Niklas to be in our lives. 

Whenever I pick him up in school, he hugs & kisses me which really means a lot to me.

I am happy that he does that, whenever he sees me or his sister. 

He holds his sister's hand when she is frightened. And removes her shoes for her, 

when her hands are full with schoolbag & ice cream. 

生日快乐，权权! Shen ri kuai le, Quan Quan !

You are finally a teenager. Have fun with your new Kindle.

Lots of sewing & reading.

I have a few quilt tops that I need to work on, so they are all over the house.

Sometimes I sew in the studio, the living room & the terrace too.

Especially ever since the landlord built us a roof !

Our terrace isn't big but pretty cosy to us. Most Saturdays, we eat pancakes out here.

In between, I am happily distracted by presents.

New quilting books, lovely flowers & drawings by the children

& more books that came with my new Kindle.

All wonderful birthday presents from my children & husband

as we celebrated special days (see previous post).

When asked which cover should they order to go with the Kindle,

the children said "No Papa, Mama would want to make her own cover!".

And so I did...with a Laura Gunn oilcloth & a cheery Japanese fabric too.

It's been lovely days!

A special day. A special quilt.

In the past months, we have traveled quite a bit & I have sewn quite a bit too. And blogging always gets more difficult the longer I stay away. But it is that special time of the year again so I am finally back, with some pics.

It is also my Chinese birthday when the moon is at its fullest tonight. It is a special time for us because it's mid-Autumn & it's our traditional Lantern Night & Mooncake Festival, all rolled into one! We shall drink tea & eat mooncakes & walk around the park with our home-made lanterns. Make wishes with huge flying lanterns. And eat homemade jiaozi (Chinese dumplings in soup).

For the first time, I sew for my mother. A quilt with lanterns on the front & bamboo shoots on the back. I worked on it as we went from city to city. By the time we reached Singapore, it was pretty crumpled !

"Red Lanterns" for my mother as she loves red & because she found me during a Lantern Festival, when I was a few days old.

Happy Mid-

Autumn everyone!

Happy Mooncake Fest!

A quilt named 很可爱 ... & some pins

While waiting for my kids after school, I normally sew under a tree. A mother passed by, was smitten by this quilt & soon, it will be on its way to USA !

This quilt is named 很可爱 ( "Hen Ke Ai" in Mandarin ), which means "very adorable". It has my favourite children-print fabrics & the little girls in the design reminds me of my own little girl. Ok, not so little since she's now 10.

The label is hand-sewn onto the back of the quilt ; handwritten & with our homemade stamp designs, a round applique & some free-motion stitching plus the buyer's message.

We start our summer break today so the blogging process will sloooww down even more :) . Next week, we head first towards Osaka & Kyoto, & then back to Tokyo. Then we will leave Tokyo again, this time for Germany, London & Singapore.

A couple of English bloggers had been very kind in recommending quilt shops in London. Thank you Melanie & Shev for your suggestions! I won't be buying fabrics ( I think! ) but I sure look forward to books, notions, gadgets & what-nots galore!

This is the very kawaii Baby Liam, who loves his new quilt as much as his parents. Sadly they have left for Germany & we will miss them very much. 

PINS ( & I don't mean those that's used for sewing ! ) : 

An update on my previous post, about my 12 year old son who broke 2 bones in his arm. 

Niklas says "Thank you!" to those kind people who commented & sent good wishes to him.

Unfortunately, things got worst for awhile & he was operated on, 

when an x-ray showed that the gap between bones, had widened. 

After many painful nights in the hospital, he is now back home again, with stainless steel pins holding the bones together, & a new cast for his friends to sign on.

Happy summer everyone! Stay cool & have fun!

Quilts, lanterns & broken bones

When I started quilting, I thought I will be making quilts for family & friends.

Didn't think anyone would buy, let alone place an order.

And then, I sold 2 quilts & am working on a custom order for a single bed quilt! Can you see me hopping around still ?!!

These are the 2 quilts sold.

- Calming Pinks & Greens.

Very soft & luxurious fabrics with fleece batting. It's for a mother, at the end of a long day.

- Playing with Animals in Blue.

Cotton fabrics with toys motifs (western & asian designs). 2 very lovely new parents bought this for their equally adorable baby.

With a wonderful Bernina, you can make wonderful personalised labels too! Now I understand why quilters have more than 1 project at a time. I have so many ideas running around in my head & I want to sew so many quilts - all at the same time!

The latest project in the making is "Red Lanterns". I am making it with my mother in mind.

She found me during the Lantern Festival, one mid-autumn. She loves red & she loves lanterns in the wind. It will be the first time, I am sewing just for her.

And we had an excitement recently. My 12 year old Niklas fell out of a tree & broke 2 bones in his right arm. He climbed to get his ball & fell 2 metres (over 6 feet) to the ground.

When you are suddenly one-armed, almost everything is more tricky. His little sister, Annika helps him patiently with everyday normal things.

I help him, with lots of scoldings in between the concern & care. I still scold, when I think of the worst that could have happened.

Annika said his arm (before the cast) looks like Harry Potter's arm when it became boneless & was all floppy. She also said that if we dotted Niklas' hand, the broken arm will look like a swan's head.