A Sight for Sore Eyes

Guess what? Our first shipment arrived in Japan!

For overseas moves, the military sends belongings in two separate shipments. The first “fast shipment” goes by air and the second “slow” shipment goes by boat. The first shipment is intended to include necessary items, and can’t include any furniture, tvs, etc. The amount (determined by weight) that we’re allowed to send is dependent on your family size. For us, we were allowed to send up to 900lbs of stuff. That is a LOT more stuff than I anticipated. After sending all of our clothes, cookware, and cleaning supplies, I had plenty of room left to send some of my quilting tools.  Yay!

My new sewing room isn’t glamorous but at least I now have a sewing machine, cutting mat, iron and ironing board. Phew!

Since I don’t have any of my furniture yet, I picked up a cheapo folding table that will work for the time being.  My hubby tried to convince me to sew on the floor until our next shipment arrives, sometime in April.  Can you imagine doing all that cutting and stitching on the carpet?  No. Thank. You.

Not only did I get my quilting tools this weekend, but I also found a craft store! There doesn’t seem to be a fabric shop in our little town, but we made the trip to Hachinohe, which is a slightly larger town 45 minutes away from Misawa.  In both Misawa and Hachinohe, there aren’t street names so all directions are given by landmarks or GPS coordinates.  Thankfully, we didn’t get lost on our way there and Mike even managed to find a Starbucks close by.

Check out those sale signs – There’s much more English here than I anticipated!

Fabric shopping was much-needed. I didn’t end up finding any selvages that had English descriptions, so I really don’t know the quality or brands of the fabric, but I had fun picking up a few prints. I did find the kanji for “cotton” so at least I know they are 100% cotton!

I couldn’t pass up this Hello Kitty print.  So stereotypical! I’m thinking it will turn into a little boxy pouch? 
Each fat quarter that I purchased came with this little piece of paper stuffed inside.  I’m assuming its just a description of the fabric grain and bias? Our weekend adventures didn’t stop at the fabric shop. Hachinohe is right on the water, with a huge fishing industry.  We went back to a fish market we had been shown our first week to pick up some dinner ingredients.  We purchased this massive, freshly caught salmon for under $20. Salmon for every meal!

We’re thankful for all these new experiences and a few old creature comforts.  My butterfly quilt may have snuck on the first shipment.  It sure makes our rental furniture look better.

Time to get stitching!