Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig

It was a great trip!

Shibori, Sashiko, Chiku Chiku, more beautiful quilts than there are butterflies, good company, quaint sights, and interesting food became the focus of my world for 2 wonderful weeks. Susan's Japanuary #18 , to quote her, "is not your typical see-the-countryside-from-the-window-of-a-bus tour." We walked, shared taxis, rode buses, the subway, and the bullet train. All the while, Susan was explaining, in depth, the world around us. Her friends pulled aside the fabric curtains and welcomed us inside their worlds of textiles and we all soaked it up like indigo dye on natural fiber. We stenciled our own cloths, tried our hands at Chiku Chiku, and some even dipped tied fabrics into the indigo vats.

I will be covering some of our free-time and other activities. Please see Susan's site for tour information.

Some things I will miss about Japan:

• Everything was sooooo clean!
• Heated toilet seats - everywhere
• Strangers coming to our aid immediately when there was a language barrier
• A nod of the head or a bow - even between businessmen on the street
• Civility, patience, and a sense of privacy even when you are elbow to elbow in people.
• The sense of pride everyone has in his/her job - no matter how large or small
• Cutting-edge technology everywhere
• How much can be tucked into any corner without the feeling of crowding
• The beauty of the gardens

Japanuary #18

As you read this, I have boarded my plane and
I am off.....

Have been looking forward to this trip for months! Can hardly believe the time is here. By the time you read this, I will be well on my way to Japan!
I don't really like "tours," but this one promises to be different. There are about 15 of us going and the focus is quilting and textiles. A quilting buddy from my guild is going so we will each know at least one person in the group. Participants are coming from all over the US , Canada, and one from Australia. It should be fun!

PB and I are going a day early and staying on another 3 days. No definite plan yet, but we will surely see some interesting things on our own time. The tour begins by spending a day at the quilt show in Tokyo. It is said to be one of the largest shows in the world. Our Nipponese sisters have only focused on quilting in the last few years. but have made quite an impact in that short time. Hopefully, I will have a lot of photos.

After Tokyo, we are headed to Kyoto for about 10 days. We will be exploring various techniques with textiles, the Shibori Tie-dyeing Museum. I believe we will even have a class in sashiko. It sounds quite exciting.

This will be my 3rd trip to Japan (besides stopovers), and I lived in Okinawa, so the tourist scene is not so high on my list this time. I imagine there have been a lot of changes since we were there previously.
Hopefully, I will have Internet access and can post some of our activities. I am sooo glad we are flying to Tokyo from Dallas. I cringed to think of swimming in the frozen Hudson River.
Sayonara for now.....