First thing this morning on my iPhone came the group chat message that my niece has gotten engaged!
Kiana's long-time boyfriend proposed to her on Halloween and she sent us a pictures of her dressed as a witch or a vampire or something (gory make-up) taken just after the proposal! Kiana and Justin have been dating for a few years and last year after Leiya's wedding, we were able to get to know Justin better while traveling to Indiana and Niagara Falls with my brother's family and Justin (who had already been considered part of the family).
As I told Kiana this morning when I wished her our congratulations, Year 2020 was crummy in general but for the Watanabe and Logan families it has been a great year! One pregnancy announced (Leiya and Tony), one Covid wedding celebrated (Takumi and Julieta) and now an engagement to celebrate (Kiana and Justin)! We are counting our blessings!
As for what is going on in quiet Nikko, Japan... I finished knitting Tetsu's Christmas vest with yarn left over. We won't know if it fits him until he tries it on on Christmas but it is done and I may play around with the left over yarn and make something for myself. This year the vest was made from an old vest I must have knitted up years ago and I unraveled that and then added left-over yarn from last year (but had to buy one more skein of that). I also used left-over cream yarn to make the stripes. That labor of love can be struck from my to-do list!
I am still making flowers for my applique quilt and need to think about what the next step might be for the alternating strips. Probably something using the leader/enders I have piling up again! The applique project was good for my back ailments and I was glad I'd prepped quite a lot of flower petals ahead of time. (It took a week for my back to stop twinging but I think I'm back to almost normal...)
I wanted to show some pictures from a photo booklet that I ordered last week. I'd been in touch with my friend Noriko-san who has been a quilting buddy for years even though she lives quite far away and we only get to see each other once a year or so. Noriko-san and I started machine piecing and quilting 30 years ago and from there she has become an accomplished patchwork teacher, has been published in major Japanese quilting magazines and has a quilt exhibition once a year.
She considers the Stained Glass technique as her life work and she does a lot of Christian themes and depicts Japanese churches in this style. However, her most recent exhibition was about the sights of Abiko, the city where she lives, and she made 15 quilts showing some of the most memorable places and buildings and scenery.
Noriko-san said she would send me the postcard booklet that she had made for the exhibit but I went ahead and bought one (to give to Mrs. Furui who was part of our threesome those 30 years ago). Isn't her work beautiful! I love the thought that she puts into the borders for these.
All these random but good things going on in my life this week!
Congratulations all around! In spite of the pandemic your families have had good news.
ReplyDeleteCraft + recycling are two popular trends this year. The vest is a good combination of both.
I love your floral border and your friend's stained glass quilts.
Best of all - your back is on the mend.
Queenie
your flower applique quilt looks gorgeous, so fresh and happy looking, you must so enjoy gazing at the finished panels Irene in N Ireland
ReplyDeleteWow, a lot of work in that applique! It's beautiful. I guess we are all tryin to get through 2020 by counting our blessings. The stained glass quilts are beautiful. Hope your back is all better soon.
ReplyDeleteI am so loving your flower applique! Beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, the next generation is so very busy getting engaged, married, and having babies! Congratulations to all! I love seeing all of your projects, too! Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty exciting random news. :) It's been a creative and memorable year for your two families.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your back is feeling better. I love Tetsu's sweater and your appliqué.
Noriko-san's work is exquisite.
Congratulations on the engagement! Your family is definitely going through a lot of happy changes this year. I am glad your back is feeling better. That stained glass is really stunning. How big are the pieces? I have a stained glass quilt kit I still haven't put together yet.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, during this year you gave given us so much to smile about. Hope your back is on the mend.
ReplyDeleteI love those appliqué flowers. I think I’d be tempted to make them into curtains - they are sooo pretty!
ReplyDeleteLynne in the UK
Your applique project is lovely! Congrats to your precious family, you are blessed indeed. I do love the leaded-glass style pictorial scenes; she is abundantly talented, they're very, very nice.
ReplyDelete