Finding Santa

I made it a promise to buy one Santa Clause ornament every year when we got our first Christmas tree (imitation) in the US. When we don't buy a tree, that is.

So far, I got

2004; a tree (~7 ft. tall, from Garden Ridge, which we said "good bye" to before moving back to Japan - it's not practical to have anything taller than my husband inside)

2005; a Santa (with cute eyes)

2006; a Santa (carrying winter sports gears)

2007; a Santa (standing in front of his house, from Santa's Workshop at Colorado)

2008; a tree (~5 ft. tall, from nearby home center)

This year is a Santa year. I visited some stores where they have Christmas trees, "box-full at 1,000 yen" kind of ornaments, colorful lights.... but found no singleton Santa. Not yet.

I will try a little harder, but, if I can't find any lone Santa in anytime soon, I'll make one. Why not? I am a knitter/crocheter.

impulse and planning

Recently, I finished two garments for my daughter.

Pattern based on; DROPS 112-38 Jacket in "Alpaca" and Kid-Silk" with long sleeves

Yarn; Omega Sinfonia, in various colors... please see my Ravelry project page

Needles; JP 5 bamboo circular, US 3 Knitpicks Harmony circular and 2 1/2 Knitpicks Harmony DPNs

Pattern; my own, just plain knit-in-round vest.

Yarn; SKI yarn fingering, colorway 1786 - one of my mom's stash yarns, used only 75g for the vest, 20g for swach, which means I still have four balls (200g) of it

Needles; US 2 1/2 (for rib) and 3 (for body) KnitPicks Nickel-Plated circulars

Note; about the yarn... My husband cannot wipe off the image of "Chinese stir-fry veggie mix with Jew's ear mushroom" when he sees this color mix. I'd go with "trail mix with lots of dried fruits".

Each started with my sudden realization of the temperature outside. My daughter was going to feel cold if I didn't make these.

Today, the low dropped down to low-40F from mid-50F of last week's. The school vest had been finished in a week and blocked yesterday. Phew.

Yesterday, I went sit'n'knit to a nearby café with my daughter. My knitting friend on Ravelry was coming, too, but she had to cancel. So the "meeting" ended up in mother and daughter time, with cappuccino (for me) and iced cocoa (for my daughter), We had a lovely time, though. I worked on my husband's socks (almost black but so comfortable to work with) and my daughter's socks (another colorful project). My daughter drew some pictures (and gave one of those to the model - squishy bear in café), knit 10 stitches, and took a nap.

It was just me and my daughter this time, but I and Betsy of Kansai Knitters Meetup Group hope this grows as the "Kyoto branch" of our meetup group. The main meetups at Sept Mignon in Osaka on Saturdays doesn't always work for me, as my daughter's swimming class happens on Saturdays.

I could be an assistant organizer in Kyoto. It's a very small step, but my first one to follow the great people who works to spread the yarn/fiber love, like all the podcasters and event organizers.

Spread the love. I feel I'm on a mission.