Cross Stitch Mania

Remember this craft book I bought a while back? I started to work on something but didn't get very far. Then I forgot about it until a couple of weeks ago. Oops.

To be honest, I wasn't the biggest of fans of cross stitch at first. But the more I worked on it, the more addicting it became. Once I reached this point: That's when I started finding cross stitch relaxing and exciting even? There's something about a bunch of small stitches coming together to form a picture. It almost felt like a puzzle. And I like puzzles. I used to do big puzzles when I was a kid and then glue them together. Yeah, I was that cool. Anyway, back to cross stitch. It's great to do in the in-between times of the day. Especially when I get home from work and just want to unwind. I get the same feeling cross stitching as I do when I knit. It's something that doesn't take much thought. You can do it while you listen to music, podcasts or watching TV.

You don't see much cross stitch these days. Or maybe I just don't see much cross stitch. I want to see more of it in my future. Perhaps a larger project next time with a wider color palate.

My first, finished cross stitch project of my adult life. Woo hoooo, I'm done!

Finished Pottery

I finally picked up my finished pieces from Mashiko this past weekend. I took a pottery class (in Japanese and didn't catch much of anything...) there in mid-June and was waiting for them to be fired. They were ready in August...but I didn't have time to pick them up until now.

I made three pieces: 1 bowl and 2 cups. You can clearly see that my throwing technique is elementary (notice the huge divet in the bottom of my bowl and mug on the left). Regardless, I had a blast making them and when I get back to the states I plan on signing up for a class where I can understand what's happening. I think my favorite piece is the bowl. I love the dark glaze and the size. I'm excited to use it for something! I think it'd be especially cute even filled with water and a few floating candles.

After we picked up these little gems, Ryan wanted to try his hand at painting his own pottery. He picked out a mug to paint and I chose a medium-sized plate. It was super duper fun! Let's be honest, Ryan isn't the most crafy guy in the world. But his mug turned out pretty awesome, I was pretty darn impressed!

Well, that's all for now folks. Hope you're enjoying your weekend! Ryan's coming back from work in about an hour and then he's taking me out on a hot date. :) I should probably go change out of my pajamas.

this is linked to: Metamorphasis Monoday, Mad Skills, Motivate Me Monday and Making the World Cuter

Day excursion - Ameyoko Market

Last Friday Ryan and I decided to hop over to the Ameyoko Market in Ueno. After going to tons of awesome, cheap-o markets in China it was a bit of a shock seeing secondhand clothes sold for 2,000 yen ($20US). Regardless of the pricey goods, it was still pretty interesting.

After the market, we stopped by a local museum where they had a tour guide that spoke English. Score! Right outside of the museum was this pond, completely covered with giant lilly pads. Tomorrow we're heading back to Mashiko to pick up my finished pottery, woo hoo!

Fun day, fun times.