Instead of working through the puzzles (crossword, codewords and two sudoku grids) on the back page of
The Times each evening, I decided to put my evening relaxing time to more productive use – stitching. The new sashiko throw has been completed in next to no time - I'm really pleased with it. The roundels are family crests of famous Kabuki actors (don't ask me which, I just like the motifs), the designs are geometric representations of plants and flowers and they were used on costumes and accessories. But it was much more complex than that – the names of the plants in Japanese are puns describing the actor, and these phrases were shouted by the audience as a way of applauding.
I let the studio assistants sit on the new sashiko – this was a bribe to get them to pose for a portrait for their second birthday. May Day is their approximate birthday, as they were found abandoned in a cardboard box in May 2006 nobody knows exactly where or when they were born. Thank you to the kind volunteers at
Haverhill and Stour Valley Cats Protection who took them in and allowed us to adopt them.
Cue the cute video . . .
