Hodge Podge

I actually had to think of what I wanted to do today! Not even 24 hours finished with my Autumn Blossom and I don't know what to do! Not really... I don't think I'll get another Feathered Star block finished like I've written for my February goal, but I did start cutting out the pieces. One problem is that I'd used up the diamond point fabric and the center fabric that I'd been using for the rest of the blocks so I've needed to find something similar. Not such a difficult goal. They were just very dark blue... but it hasn't been so easy. I finally decided to go in to Utsunomiya to check out a patchwork store.

In Nikko where I live, there are zero fabric stores. The department store has a notions section but I've never been able to find anything there. If I go 30 minutes into Utsuonimya I can get to three or four possible stores but there isn't a lot of choice and the fabric is pricey. Actually, yesterday I visited one of the stores where I've sometimes found "treasures" in a cardboard box that sits on the floor, but nothing yesterday. This store is tiny! I mean you are bumping shoulders if there are more than 4 people shopping! The owner, while she's a nice lady, has no organizational skills, so her fabric is stacked in bolts on the tables, on the floor, behind boxes etc. I feel like a Bekins worker as I shift boxes and bolts from one table or shelf to another! She also has a table where she teaches at the most one or two people, and that blocks off at least a third of her shop so I never did get to see any of the fabric on that side of the room. I gave up after a few minutes there.

The shop I went to today is larger but I wasn't swooning over anything. I picked out some remnants and then checked for thread and needles but no one had much advice about machine quilting supplies. This is a new art form in Japan. Asked about a quilting foot for my machine but they didn't seems to know anything about machines either. I did find a ball of yarn though so I bought that. Why? I don't know. I don't need another project, but the scarf was pretty and you can make it with one ball of yarn so I bought it. They gave me the instructions in Japanese and who knows if I'll be able to figure it out! Anyway, this is my hodge podge of purchases. No, I'm not planning to use the fabric together...

I'm reminded of the day when my friend Jane took me to a fabric store near her home in Laguna, California a few years ago. She knew enough to leave me to myself and after dropping me off, she went off for an hour to do errands. (She's not a quilter). Talk about swooning!!!! I actually hyperventilated myself to dizziness with the hundreds and hundreds of bolts and books and creations on the walls, and knick-knacks and kits and classroom set-ups to look at! Now I'm not saying that Japan may not have some wonderful stores somewhere, but at least not in my vicinity, and I hadn't known that heaven like that California store even existed! I actually bought very little that day just because there was too much to choose from! I carried bolts from one side of the store to the other making combinations and trying to figure out what I was doing and the hour went way too fast!

Ah well. I will wash up today's fabric and use some for the Feathered Stars and prepare some for practice machine quilting blocks.