Last month I returned from a holiday in Japan…I’ve been wanting to go to Japan for so many years and I can’t believe that I’ve been there and come back already. We stayed a week in Tokyo:
And another week in Kyoto:
“We” means my husband…my youngest daughter, who acted as our guide as she’s been to Japan before…and my little friend, Pengi:
Pengi had a great time and made lots of friends…
…ate lots of matcha (green tea) ice cream…
…and introduced me to a friend who has been living in Japan and elected himself President of Sew A Softie Japan and undertook to oversee all Sew A Softie events in Japan this year:
While in Kyoto I also gave a softie making workshop to a group of about 15 girl guides aged from 6 to 12 years old at the Kyoto International School…it was a great opportunity to teach in Kyoto as a lead up to this year’s Sew A Softie in July.
Kyoto is a fantastic place for anyone who loves to sew. I was lucky enough to track down a hard-to-find 360 year old needle shop, Misuyabari, that still sells amazing hand-made needles. And there’s a fabric shop in Kyoto called Nomura Tailor which I loved…they have such a incredible range of beautiful fabrics that I found it really hard to restrain myself and say “OK, now you have enough”.
Since we’ve been back I’ve put up a Sew A Softie website which now has 12 kid ambassadors who are going to teach a friend how to sew a softie or host a Sew A Softie party with friends who can already sew. You can check them out at sewasoftie.com.