Stitched Up

Bittersweet

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the things I’m going to miss about Japan, and funnily enough, many of them have to do with toilets and bathing! Here is a list, not in any particular order, of such things:

• onsen – it really is thanks to this traditional form of bathing in Japan that I have learned to truly enjoy the art of bath taking. Before coming to this country, I had never bathed with a tub full of strangers. But after the initial embarrassment of walking around in the buff in front of other naked women, I embraced the tradition wholeheartedly. There is nothing more wonderful than being submerged in the healing waters of the Japanese hot spring.
• heated toilet seats – now these are the bomb, especially in the winter.
• clean public toilets – of course, there are unclean ones, too, but you notice when they’re unclean.
• hand dryers that work – it’s true, the blowers here actually remove the water from your hands. 

OK, enough about toilets. I will also miss the quaint little streets I walk through each day to and from Asagaya station, and the fact that I feel safe doing so at any time of day or night. Here is one of my views along the way.

I will also miss izakayas, although I miss them now anyway, since they are not the most baby-friendly of places. What else? Hanami, Cottonfield, Yuzawaya, drinking a cold beer on the street on a hot day (the operative word being "on the street"), department store basements filled with amazing displays of food that you can taste, awesome public transportation (but not the crowds), kaitenzushi, Shizen yoga, our apartment (but not our crazy neighbors), and all the wonderful memories, to name a few things. Of course, I will miss all the awesome friends I have made here (you know who you are!), but I have every confidence that this is just the beginning for us.

So, in a felicitous turn of events, Paul (AKA Husband) was hired by a company in L.A. and in five short weeks, we will be completely uprooting ourselves from life in Japan and embarking on a whole new journey. The last time I moved countries I was 23 and fresh out of college. It's now 15 years later and I am married with a 5-month-old baby. I have a feeling I'm in for a big shock. But I'm looking forward to the change and it will be wonderful to have my family so close by.

At long last, I have an FO to share. It's based on the Artsy Clutch from Bend the Rules Sewing, but I have adjusted the size into a diaper pouch.

 

Fits three diapers and a pack of wipes. Fun!

Lastly, here is Sienna as of this morning. Couldn't you just eat her up?

The Perfect Day

Yesterday N and I took a walk down to Zenpukuji Park. It was a day that poetry is made of. The sun sprinkled through the cherry trees lining the "river" and as we strolled, sakura petals fluttered down kissing our cheeks and peppering our hair. N is the kind of person you feel comfortable with immediately. I will surely miss our rendezvous, infrequent though they were. She shared a story with me. That very morning she noticed two men walking together along the tree-lined road near her home. One man was clearly blind, but he was enjoying himself immensely, moreso than any of the other passersby. He seemed to be floating along, she said, basking in the sunlight and cool breeze. Her words touched me and enhanced the beauty of the day I was experiencing. I love spring.

Here are some of the views we enjoyed. The photos don't really do it justice, unfortunately.

The "river"

Petal carpet

Me n Sienna

Gratuitous baby shot

Why so concerned, little one?

Pants

My husband is sitting here giving me a hard time about my infrequent blog posts. "But I just had a baby," I say in my defense. "No excuse," he replies. "All you need is to take 30 minutes a day to put something up." That is definitely easier said than done in my case, but he may have a point nonetheless. I could write more than I do, especially now that life with baby is settling into some semblance of a rhythm. At some point you do just have to get on with it. So here I pledge: I will TRY to write more often. I'm afraid that's all the commitment I can muster at the moment.

So at long last I have an FO to share. I finally was able to pick up these baby pants while Sienna slept in her bassinet on the airplane en route from L.A. to Tokyo a couple of weeks ago. I finished them in the nick of time as they're more long shorts than pants on S now. Nevermind the fact that they are soon to be too warm for her to wear as spring is finally upon us and with it the Hanami season. I'm so excited about the cherry blossoms this year since it's going to be my last enjoying them as a Tokyoite--it's official: we're moving to the States this summer. Which is why we happened to be on that flight that afforded me knitting time. We went to L.A. to see if there were any job opportunities for Husband, and it looks like there are. With a new baby, we want to be closer to family, but it's also time to leave Japan. After 15 years--pretty much my whole adult life--the bazillions of people are finally getting to me. Granted, we'll be trading in all the people here for cars and traffic there, but I'm ready for a change regardless. But I digress. This is about pants.

These pants:

Like I said, they're a bit short now, but I think they're adorable anyway. Maybe it's just because the model is so adorable ;-). They're the baby pants from Bella Knitting. I couldn't be bothered to make the pocket or the i-chord for the tie and the bottom cuffs on the legs I left as they were without turning them up. They roll instead, which I think is cute. I became a knitter while living in Japan, so I have the discovery of yarn stores to look forward to in L.A. I'm open to recommendations if you have any!

When we were in L.A. my aunt Jean, a photographer, took some great shots of S. In fact, if anyone reading is living in the L.A. area and is in need of a great family photographer, I highly recommend her. A sample of her work can be found here http://www.jeanapritchard.com/.

I leave you with a collage of S:

Resurfacing

It really does feel like I'm just now coming up for air after the intensity of the past 6 weeks. It's been all baby and boobs! Since Sienna was born, my life has been consumed with the challenges of breastfeeding, not to mention all the other wonderful surprises that having a newborn baby brings. I had no idea that breastfeeding could be so difficult. I won't go into too much detail here, but from ending up with a C-section to not having a strong milk supply, nothing has gone the way I hoped or expected. It has been a solid lesson in learning how to "go with the flow" (or lack thereof in this case) and maintaining a sense of humor in the face of difficulty. Through the support of a lactation consultant, Husband, and good friends here, I've persisted, and am at last close to my goal of being able to breastfeed my daughter. Most importantly, Sienna is healthy and adorable. She is just starting to crack a smile, which is such encouragement in itself.

I have to say, I have a newfound appreciation for mothers and I look at women on the street carrying their children with tremendous respect.

Here's Sienna in the shrug I knitted for her:

And here she is with her eyes open:

It's a new year and a new beginning, so I thought I'd give the blog a new look. Hope you like it!

Meet Sienna

Sienna Emi Belle Blagbrough

Born: 5:54 p.m. on December 20, 2007

Weight: 3170 grams -- 6.9 pounds

Length: 52 centimeters -- 20.5 inches

Like her mom, she was born two weeks early. I guess she just couldn't wait to come into this crazy world. Two weeks have now passed and my head is definitely in a fog. Fortunately, it's a holiday time of year and I've had my mom, sis, and Husband on hand to help me make the adjustment. As far as the birth was concerned, nothing went to plan, and I ended up having to have a caesarean, but I will write that story later. At the end of the day, though, I had my beautiful, healthy baby girl in my arms, and that is all that matters.

Here are some photos from the past couple of weeks:

With Daddy

She enjoys having her hair washed

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2008! Happy New Year!

Santa has come early

Well, what was due to be a New Year's baby is now going to be an early X-mas baby! I am experiencing contractions as I type and will be heading back to the clinic in a couple of hours where hopefully all will come out smoothly. Merry Christmas to all and stay tuned for the gorey details later. Oh Happy Day!

Won't be long now!

I just had the best massage I think I've ever had, and it was specifically for pregnancy. I don't know about other countries, but I've experienced a real reluctance in most places here that do massage, including manicurists, to work on a pregnant woman. And we need it the most! I'm three weeks away from my due date and man, my back is sore, not to mention the pain in my hands from water retention (no, Husband, it's not from knitting ;-), and the swollen feet that will only fit into Birkenstocks or Keens. But this woman worked on me for 2 solid hours and I feel like a new person! Bring on the next 3 weeks, I say.

Well, the above was written four days ago, and I already need another massage. I wake up in the morning and stiffly creak around for about an hour until things start moving the way they should. It's not that I dislike this pregnancy business; actually, it's not so bad. Though it will be nice to wear clothes that fit properly and be able to get up and down from the sofa without the odd groan escaping from my lips, it's actually quite pleasurable. And I'm just so curious about this little life growing inside of me. What kind of person will she be? What kind of food will she like? What will her interests be? What kind of mother will I be? It's all new territory--I hope I can traverse it with grace and an open mind.

So here's the latest scan, taken at 37 weeks, 2 days.

Hello squishy!

And here's a recent one of Mom, taken in the subway two weeks ago after going to see the Blue Man Group, which I highly recommend.

In crafty news, my hands pretty much haven't stopped moving. Of course, I continue to make things for baby, but now with the holidays upon us, gifts for others have also been in the works. I can't show you those as some recipients might be reading, but here are the latest baby knits.

I can't believe there's just over two weeks to go until my due date. That means that there's just over two weeks to go until 2008. Where did this year go?

Grammie Part 2

And here she is, pulling me around in my favorite red wagon eons ago.

Ode to Grammie

My Grammie left this world in 1999, but I find my thoughts turning to her often these days. The imminent arrival of my own child in two months has prompted these feelings, as has my recent obsession with crafting. She was quite the crafty lady herself and I only wish that I had taken advantage of her knowledge and talents more when I was younger. I share with you now a poem I wrote in her memory those many years ago:

The light in your eyes has gone out,

but the light of your spirit burns ever brightly in my heart.

I shut my eyes and memories of our time together

come flooding back to dry my tears

and spread a smile across my face.

As a child, I was always secure in your care,

my unconditionally loving Grammie.

In my mind's eye we sit playing with that magnificent dollhouse.

We sing songs--you, Monica, and I--together.

I was a princess, I was a rabbit--thanks to your skillful stitching.

Oh, how many hems did you sew, holes did you patch, sequins did you tack, zippers did you mend.

You are everywhere Grammie--

in the music of birds, the vibrant flowers of the seasons, the tantalizing smells of the holidays.

How moved was I by your passion for the square dance

and how I enjoyed receiving your beautifully scripted letters from across the sea.

Like beams of sunlight raining down from the heavens,

your memory will eternally keep me warm.

You are my sunshine.

Rest now, Grammie, for I know we will meet again--

and sing and dance and play

and rejoice in the mysteries of life.

Grandmothers are truly amazing creatures. I seem to be channeling her these days as I sit at my sewing machine fumbling my way through various projects. I have nowhere near the talent she had, but I am enjoying the process of trial and error. And Amy Karol's book Bend the Rules Sewing is making the endeavor extremely enjoyable. Her attitude of "you can learn a ton from making mistakes" is just the kind of encouragement I require and that I hope to be able to pass on to others. Another piece of wisdom Amy bequeaths is: "We all make rules for ourselves, even if we don't realize we do. Are the rules you have made for yourself holding you back? Creating should be fun. If your rules cause you stress, guilt, or any other negative emotion, take a step back and look at what is going on." I love that.

That said, here are a few new projects I have tackled with Amy's help:

Curtains for the baby's room!

Cute pouches for some friends! Those are some vintage buttons I found. And here are the insides:

And with the courage I've gained from these fun projects, I attempted this sleeping bag for baby Jake, who recently made his appearance in the world.

I won't show you the close-up image, so that I can maintain the facade of perfection. A closer view will reveal crooked stitches, a haphazard lining, and unmatched lines. But from a distance it looks pretty darn good! At any rate, I'm confident it will keep that little cutie warm.

Lastly, I present you with a pair of felt slippers fashioned for my own bun:

And now back to the knitting....

You can't always get what you want

It's interesting the advice you get from people when you're pregnant. In Japan, particularly, people have very distinct ideas about how a woman with child should conduct herself. One of my favorite pieces of advice is "Don't fall down." I realize that your center of gravity is altered with pregnancy, but this particular gem of wisdom never ceases to make me chuckle. Another one is "Keep warm." Coming out of this recent Japanese summer, which saw the mercury rising higher than usual, combined with a body temperature that is definitely a few degrees higher than usual, the last thing I need to do is try to keep warm. It's how to cool down that's on my mind. Last night, I had another good laugh when the manager at the restaurant we went to for a friend's birthday offered me some apple or orange juice in place of the ginger ale I requested. In my confusion, rather than repeat my order, I said "Okay, I'll have some apple juice." At the end of the night, on our way out, he asked when my due date is. On hearing that our ETA is January, he shared that his wife is also due then and proceeded to explain that his experience with her made him extra sensitive to my situation which was why he had offered me apple juice instead of the ginger ale I had wanted. I didn't know whether to be touched or offended! I laughed and thanked him for his concern, but come on. In retrospect, I should have warned him against coming in between a pregnant woman and her small pleasures! 

Here's me and Husband at said restaurant:

It was our friend S's birthday, so I whipped up a zippered pouch for her:

That's a pattern from that wonderful book Bend the Rules Sewing. And here's the inside:

While I was at the sewing machine, I also cranked out a few more bibs:

I leave you with some classic English that one often stumbles upon on the streets of Tokyo:

Shooting massage or foot pot course, anyone?