Quilt Blocks to Cheer the Tsunami Victims

Weather Explorer and I set out for an Ikebana board meeting the other day but wound up at a quilt exhibit in the lobby of the Mercure Hotel instead.

It's not like we didn't try our best to find the board meeting. When they told us we would be meeting at the Yokosuka Support Center, we thought they meant the community center right outside the main gate of the Navy base. We rode the elevator to the seventh floor and then worked our way down and through the building, poking our noses into every classroom and stairwell to no avail. When we reached the ground floor, we even asked the lady seated behind the lobby information desk but she didn't have a reservation for Ikebana.

All dressed up with no board meeting in sight, we decided to check out the quilt exhibit at the hotel across the street. Shinagawa-san has asked us to prepare quilt blocks like these for display next month and subsequent donation to benefit the tsunami victims. I am hoping "donation" translates to "buy your own quilt block" since I cannot imagine anything I could throw together would bring happiness to a tsunami victim.

Although I pieced together six quilt blocks as part of a Tidewater Oakleaf Club project several years ago, I have never attached batting or come anywhere close to finishing a block. I could use a shot of confidence and a flash of inspiration along about now.

"I'm ruling out circles," I decided.

"Rectangles and squares are good," agreed Weather (the brat had already whipped up a practice block by the time we visited the exhibit).

"I'm also ruling out Japanese characters lest I mistakenly communicate something that would offend someone."

"Not offending anyone is a good idea," agreed Weather, "although it is somewhat out of character for you."

We later learned that the Yokosuka Support Center is located on the ground floor of the building adjacent to the Mercure Hotel, so we were right next door to the board meeting the entire time we were viewing the quilt exhibit.

Duh.