The Wednesday class is now busy creating cushions! 水曜日のクラスはクッション作り！
A class of color!
Today's Tuesday class was full of color as many of the ladies completed the afghan (hizakake) blanket project. 膝掛け完成、色鮮やかな火曜日クラスです！
Sakura finally in Sendai!
The blossoms are finally showing all their glory here in Sendai! Here's Yarn Alive's tribute to Sakura (cherry blossoms). 桜前線はついに仙台に到着しました！ヤーンアライブの桜トリビュート。
Cowichan vest
And another Cowichan design made from 100% wool! Love this lady's work!
Cowichan Sweater
A Cowichan sweater made from 100% wool from one of our very talented ladies, Masayou Aikawa!
Profile of the Week
Meet Masayou Aikawa, also known as Sensei (teacher) as she has an extraordinary ability to whip something up and teach everyone how to do it. Every week she has a new project that she is working on. She always amazes us with her creativity and skill.
She lives in Hanabuchihama a minute’s walk away from the beach. Her mother-in-law use to live in the house in front but that was washed out by the tsunami in 2011. Her own house received about a meter of water. Her mother–in-law now lives with her and comes every week to Yarn Alive with her. Masayou started going to Yarn Alive in the Autumn of 2011. She thinks Yarn Alive is a lot of fun. She prefers knitting to crocheting. Her favorite color is blue and her favorite projects are ponchos and sweaters. Over the next couple of days, we will be featuring her latest creations which she recently made for her husband. Get ready to see some amazing Cowichan sweaters!
Onagawa Mothers
The Onagawa Mother's group is another group of incredible women who come together each week to share life and create beautiful hand made cards.
We love these knitting cards!!!
They have many more styles all priced at 350 yen each. Last year they sold about 3000 cards!
Thanks to your generous support, Yarn Alive was able to provide the Onagawa Mothers with yarn and needles in order to make Ruffle Scarves. We love being able to work with other groups!
For more information, please feel free to email us at yarnalive@gmail.com
Apr 8 - Supporting one another!
The 2011 Great Eastern Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan left unimaginable destruction. However, from destruction has come joy and new life. This week we will be introducing a couple of other groups similar to Yarn Alive. These groups provide a safe haven for women to develop friendships, creativity and renewed dignity. We love being able to support one another as we all share similar goals! Let us first introduce you to the Ezer Project. Next door to Shichigahama is the well known Shiogama which is famous for its fishing industry (apparently the city unloads more fresh tuna here than anywhere else in Japan!)
Shiogama's name means "salt cauldron" which leads us to Ezer Project's logo - a salt shaker:
Ezer means "one who has something to offer the one who is in need of aid or is helpless." This project aims to help tsunami victims who are now living in temporary housing in Shiogama and give them an opportunity to earn a sustainable income.
They have so many creative and beautiful things. Here's a snippet of some of them:
Apr 5 - Happy Birthday Teddy!
It's Teddy Sawka's birthday on April 6 so we thought this postcard was appropriate!
Happy Birthday Teddy! Thank you for all the hard work that you do and the care that you give!
We love you!
Apr 4 - Vest Project
The Wednesday class has been busy with their new project of making vests. One lady said "I never thought that I would be making clothes for my own body!". It is very exciting to see how skilful these ladies have become!
