ginkgo nuts

Happy Thanksgiving!

(^o^)

le bonnet

One done. as the pattern says, started at the rim and knit in flat.

One more, alternated colorway, to go.
May be in round and top-down?

Yarns: Surnaturelle of la droguerie, colorway 63(brown) and 91(pale violet), doubled

Needles: JP 8(4.5mm) bamboo

Pattern: le bonnet de Maman by la droguerie
(^o^)

under suspended sentence

I had a test at the hospital yesterday, with a result which tells me my blood sugar is considered to be on the level of diabetes.
When I told my doctor that I just downloaded an app for recording diet and exercises a couple of weeks ago and lost a kilogram since, she gave me another 10 weeks before starting medicines.
We will see if my glucose level improves. My short-time goal at Christmas is losing another 3 kilograms and lower my HbA1c down to 6.0.

I'm not sure about my blood sugar behaves good or not. All I know for sure is a normal weight diabeteic is better than a overweight diabetic. I believe in modern medicines.

It's just I want to show my daughter that one's weight is controllable.

(^o^)

last resort

I think I'm in a sort of depression. Gardening looks a clear way to failure after this summer's disastrous dry episode (an intentional neglect by going out for a 10-day trip). Somehow even knitting has stopped appealing its beauty for me.
But me, being me, can't just spend everyday doing nothing crafty.

Darn. I AM DARNING!

Can I be proud of myself?

Radio taiso

Each day, my ToDo list starts like this;
 - do Radio taiso at 6:30
And this will be checked almost every day, without a fail.
I've been doing it for ... almost three months now.

It was my grandmother's daily routine.  She used to go to taiso group at nearby kids' park every morning, have a chat with other members, come home and take breakfast.
It's considered to be elders' activity, or a school children's activity only during their long summer break (to keep their sleep habit regular and healthy). While I as at school, I have joined my neighborhood group only three days over two summers.  I was not an early bird, and most of all, I don't like "group activity" thing.  I am not the person who enjoys "the feeling of unite".  Those "Get together!"  "Do it together, everyone!" thing gives me ... well, unhappiness.  Let's not say more.

This July, it just came to me that I need something to wake up for.  Radio taiso, perhaps?
And realized that I don't need to do it with somebody else.  I don't need to go out to find a group to join.  I can do it in my living room.  Just myself, and a radio (actually a tablet with Internet Radio App).

And it just started so.  I'm completely happy doing it every morning all by myself,  sometimes remembering my grandmother's cheerful voice.
My daughter joined me only for her summer break,  every morning still half-sleeping.  Her school has started, and I'm alone again.  Our living room is too small for two of us, anyway.


I'm getting old.  I welcome that.

test

Testing post from my mobile. Hope attaching photo goes well, too. (^o^)

For your information (which you may not care)

I still use the bag I posted on the beginning of this blog.  It's my "school bag" which contains everything I need for the PTA meeting.

Change of strategy

I have an account on Twitter (who doesn't?), and on Facebook (again, who doesn't?).  And constantly am disappointed by them.  Not by my friends posts, but by the COMMERCIALISM I see there.  I know I can't hide away from the world, and I buy things.  But it's too much when they "recommend" English schools and cosmetics made with what-sounds-exotic animal organs (ugh).

So, I quit.  From now on, at least until yet another change of mind comes, I stop posting on Twitter or FB.  I'll keep them only as emergency communication tools with my families and friends, and only to look up others' posts from time to time.  (I have been treating them like that for a while already, but this is official now.)

Instead, when I want to murmur something (like I was doing on Twitter), I'll do so here.  (So I could say something in 141 letters? Yeah, that is a part of reason, too.)
I think I have been trying a little too much to make this blog fancier than my everyday life.  Sometimes it will be OK to dress up, but it's a ha-ha when you can't go out "because I don't have anything to wear other than these 182 dresses!"

I go out in my denim pants I mended twice.  That's me.
I don't sneak out by the backdoor.  I always use the front door (because that's the only door my house has), and I always say hello to my neighbors.
That's what I do here.

Lighter, but more.  Oh, it sounds like the title of another diet recipe book!

And the 14-15 season had already started

I knew I have neglected this poor blog for longer than I intend to.

This morning, I was shocked to see my last post was about Superbowl dinner.  What was I doing, not opening blogger in the first half (and plus) of this year?

... USUALS.  Everyday whatnots.

My husband has taken a lot of business trips during the time.  He made his first trip to South America just after the Soccer World Cup, and safely made his way home.  Thank goodness.

My daughter is now a 4th grader and doing some complicated math drill as homeworks (and of course, a lot of Kanjis to memorize).  Now she wears shoes as big as mine.  Honestly, we have switched each others' shoes more than once, like, after going out all day and her feet get tired too much.

My family members has exciting life of their own, I see.

And what about me?

"What about me?" - Is this a common, cheap self question of mid-40 wife/mother's?

Ok, let's see.  I've started something new, yes.  I am learning Italian on the NHK radio program since this April.  At the same time, I am trying to blush up my Spanish also on the radio programs.  It IS confusing learning TWO latin-based languages at the same time.  My Spanish was mucho, mucho mejor than my newcomer, Italian.  While I try to memorize one new word in Italian, it was read in Spanish pronunciation twice (which is not really a problem, they are so alike).  I mis-spelled the word like Spanish.  I asked myself why I don't just stick to Spanish,  which I still can't make proper past-tense sentence and have tons to learn.  Why?  Because Italian is NEW to me.  Close enough to make me want to learn, but new.

Now, after 5 month of doodling and murmuring, my Italian has improved.  A little.  I think I can order a coffee and a sandwich (Vorrei un cafe e un panino con tonno, per favore.)  

Well, listening to 15 minutes programs on the radio is the most exciting thing in my life.  And I think I am completely satisfied by that.

That's me.  And I needed this post to realize that.

Using a foreign language is a time-consuming process.  Take this Blog?  I spent more than 50 minutes just to post this much.  Blog post in Spanish or Italian?  No way.

But it's not about me speaking out loud.  It's about understanding.  It's about understanding myself (like today).  Composing foreign language sentence requires a good amount of analyzing and constructing, re-constructing pieces.  Pieces of thought, that is.

And of course, it's about learning what other people does.  I just want to understand those interviews on the news without Japanese subtitles.  Real words.  Not watered-down version.

Maybe, I learn other languages so I can read Sports News websites without translation.

Go, Texans!  2 - 0 is a nice start.

Superbowl dinner

My husband is a HUGE football fan.  He used to have a day off on Superbowl Day ( it's Monday morning here in Japan), but as increasing responsibility at work set in, it became a kind of luxury to have a whole day for just one sports event.  After we came back again to japan from USA (oh, happy 5 years of watching the game on Sunday evening), he decided to have a "time-shift" strategy.

We record the live broadcast on HDD, and have a Superbowl evening on MONDAY after he comes home.  He never enjoys a game if he already knew the result - so he has to be very careful, very, very careful to shut out all the news on every media.  Thanks to a rather minor popularity of the sports in Japan, it's not impossible to keep it away but difficult enough because of the size of the event.  It's a no-no to visit Yahoo! or any news page on the internet, accidentally flip the channel on TV to evening news.

And I, as a BIG football and a cooking fan, prepare a meal honoring the teams and the city where the game is hosted.  It's great to look up history and recipes, spending hours in front of my computer.  Love internet.

This year, though, it is a challenge to decide what to have.  If it were the Patriots, Cream-type clam chowder is a no-doubt choice, or if it were the Cowboys, I would have ordered chili meat online and bought the biggest bag of tortilla chips I can find.  Ravens? Crab cakes.  49ers?  Great excuse to try making a sour bread starter.  Saints?  Mufellettas and Po-Boys.  Gumbo, Jambalaya… I can celebrate a whole week.  But, oh, Seattle vs. Denver?  In New Jersey?

My plan after some research is ..
1. Campbell Tomato Soup (which I always have on hand for our "earthquake / typhoon care bag") representing the State of New Jersey
2. Salmon vs Rainbow Trout (both grilled) representing the teams, salmon for Seattle and trout for Denver
3. Coors Beer for my husband
4. Welch grape juice for me and my daughter
Veggies, bread and desert is not decided yet.  Corn hush, plain dinner roll and apple sauce, perhaps?

Yeah, I don't deny.  A bit depressed.

Go, please, Texans, next season.  Give me a chance to bake Kolaches.

hibernation, and waking up

Last year came and went like a fizz.  I feel I didn't do anything new, but hope that it's an underrating to myself.  As long as a person is living and doing everyday OK, he/she never stops finding something newer and better, whether or not he/she notices.

When I look back, I have to admit I had a not-so-creative year, knitting-wise.  Almost all my knitting project was for my aunt, who was diagnosed with a breast cancer and started chemotherapy immediately.  Thank goodness it was found in the very early stage and was treated well. As of today, she is very well recovered from the surgery. After 2 month, prognosis is very good.

I knit her chemo caps, a preyer shawl, and toeless socks (all her nail fell off as a side-effect of chemotherapy. Toe nails are slower to grow back). She is the best recipient of my knittings - she always gives me appreciations (and good motivations to knit MORE for her), and treats my gifts in the most respectful way.  You know, she WEARs them and hand-washes them properly.  Every single pieces I knit for her is in use.  My husband and daughter do wear what I knit for them, too, but all the washings are on my hand and they don't express the admiration my aunt gives me by words.  

Words.  Yes, words have power.

Last year was the record low blogging year for me.  Not that I gave up on it, but…. I think I needed a little vacation from it.  

I didn't Twitter much, neither.  I didn't visit Ravely so often, neither.  I did take pictures but didn't upload them on Flickr! so much, neither.

One reason that I don't use Twitter or Pinterest neither recently, is the "recommended" or "related" pieces they slip in on my board.  I want to choose what I see, that was the concept of "following", right?  Until when I can opt out from "related pins" and such, I'd look away from Twitter-verse and Pinterest boards.

Which, I look more often on blog-sphere these days.  It has a slower traffic, and I have more control on what shows up.

Keeping a blog becomes a task, a burden, when you stop updating it often.  What you feel in everyday life, the tone of your speech, they changes like the river flow.  Looks the same everyday, but what's right in front of you is not the same as the water of yesterday flown away from you and gone forever.  Do you want to record all of your everyday life?  Or do you want to let them go, just let them go unmentioned, "just like yesterday, nothing new"?

And suddenly, the river shows us a completely different face.  A rainstorm.  Those brown, fierce gush of water breaks peaceful routines and bring them away.  After the event, the river looks just like before, but it's not the same anymore. Do you want to write about the stuff you are not seeing anymore in your life? 

I have been keeping this blog for over six years.  I moved back from Texas, USA to Kyoto, Japan. My daughter is growing up, my grown-up families are growing older in that six years.  Japan has experienced a major disaster, which gave me no harm in my material life but crashed some of what I believed in.  I got a part-time but responsible job that eats off my precious time with fiber.

Blog has to change, too, when the writer's life experiences changes.  There are blogs closed when the writer "outgrows" of them or "finds different ways of expressing him/herself".   A closed blog makes itself eternal, in a way.  It may an act of respect to the blog to keep/freeze it as it is.

I was thinking about this blog while I was away from it.

Do I want to close it?  Just like a completed photo album, and stash away in the attic? Scrap, frame and keep the six-plus years of my life (not everything, but the essence of it)?

… No, I don't.

Life is a continuous act.  And writing about it gives me the power to face it.  Not may be the perfect control of it, but to cut out pieces from it and think over it, is a way to keep it rolling on.  I have not done, and will not try, recording everything in my life, hoarding murmuring "I got have this, too!*  I'll just keep on scrapbooking my life here, keeping only pretty/kawaii and important/moving stuffs.  As my life continues, without quitting and restarting, my blog, too, will continue on, if changes its face in a long-run.

I'll just visit here a little bit more often this year. At least more (three times, ha!) than last year.  And that's my new year's resolution.

New persona

First, I wanted to make it to St. Valentine's Day.
Next, I set the due day to March the 1st.
I missed both, but now, at last.  On my 44th birthday.

I made myself a knitting (and hopefully, crochet) designer.
I can't say "professional" because I'm not paid.  I just set up a website and a blog.  When I said "my new office is still under construction", the construction was being made by none else by myself, and only on the cyber space.

Atelier PawPrint
https://sites.google.com/site/atelierpawprint/

and its blog, PawPrint on the floor
http://atelier-pawprint.blogspot.jp/

It's my place as an artist-kind-of-persona.
And, I'll go bilingual, writing every post, every pattern both in English and Japanese.
I'm not going to teach anything.  So, no "basics" or "101s".  There are so many wonderful books and teachers in the fiber world that I guess I don't need to set a classroom myself.

Until now, I have been posting occasional "not by a pattern" projects here, but I'll make them into words and post them on PawPrint website from now on.  I will not abandon this blog, nor am thinking of making a fortune as a designer. I am not a "creative" person in my honest opinion, but a "make-doer".  I am not a person of originality, but of small ideas. I think original designs should be traded at proper prices, but my ideas are none like that.  At least for now.  That's why I'm not selling anything on PawPrint website but asking donations if any of the visitors want to pay for my works.  Not asking for money is an excuse, too, of not making them in a perfect package for downloading and all.  (It's a terrible pdf now, but this is the best I could make for now.)   I'll learn more to make them better, of course, as soon as possible.

Here, I'm a knitter who has too much stash and too much "other stuff".
There, I'll be an artist who can't stop expressing herself through fiber-ish materials.
I hope having these two places does me good.

PS. I noticed I have written many "not"s above.  What do I want to deny?

redos

On last post, I wrote about my daughter's grown-out-in-length jeans.  We were glad my friend gave me a clear view to my somewhat vague idea about adding a fancy tape on the post-hem line (Thanks, Janet!) and talked a bit about designs, and...

Here.  Little crochet ribbons and a heart.  From the books I bought for exactly a project like this.
Books;

Edging & Braid Variation 106 (エジングとブレード かぎ針で編む、とびきりかわいいデザイン１０６

Crochet Heart Pattern はじめてのかぎ針あみ　ハートパターン100 

(Link to Ravelry pages.)

Heart pattern is #64 Heart Doily by Atsuko Takeda (link also to Ravelry page).

The air here is warming up these days.  One more stretch for these plain jeans.

I am finding more and more comfortable myself doing these "fancy mending" kind of work.  I knew I have an old-time set of mind, but these days, more and more so.  My age?

Change, and Forward

OK.  No excuse for my neglect for this blog.  It was not so bad as I was afraid, a little less than three months hiatus, but nonetheless.  Just I deeply regret about it.
(See my choice of words is probably being influenced by the book I'm listening on Audible right now? It's New Spring, the prequel of the Wheel of Time novels by Robert Jordan.  And you see what I have finished listening before that?  Yes, Mistborn trilogy and the sequel, by Brandon Sanderson.  My life is simple enough.)

It occurred to me this time of last year, too.  There, I find a problem, small but recognizable situation which requires some attention.

I need to change, re-organize rather, the way I spend my time on the internet.  Not only on the internet, I know.  The way I spend my time, period.

These 4 week or so, I've been busy taking care of the end-of-the-term paperworks at my teaching job and long ignored houseworks, like choosing and installing a sofa to our living room.  And at the same time, been working on starting my new project as, kind of, a designer.  It's not that I'm hoping to make money as an artist or a designer anytime soon, but I think it's about time to give  my inner artist a place to express herself.

It's time, to start.
To go forward.

But this blog is my home.  I'm not closing it nor abandoning it.
Mom just need to go out for a work some time, you know.

And the workplace is still under construction. I hope I can invite you all to my new office (blush) soon.

At home now? I'm working on my daughter's jeans.


She outgrew the hems I made. Today, I found out that I just can't roll those out and let her wear. It's just too obvious. "If it just can't be hidden, show it." is the basic strategy for a flaw. Decorative patches are the way to go. How?

A quick one before the Holiday season

I haven't forgotten this blog.  Just.... doing this and that other than writing here.

Like spinning cotton with a tahkli.  These days, though, I do almost all the cotton spinning on my handmade ahka-style spindle.  Handmade with a bamboo barbecue skewer and a plastic dish for flower pots (you know, the one you put under a flower pot to catch excess water).

My cotton spinning has become a part of my daughter's going-to-bed routine.  When she gets ready to sleep (done snack and brushing her teeth and all), I go with her to her bedside, start Stephenie Gausted's "Spinning Cotton" video on my iPad.  She watches the video for a while, from wherever the point that starts, enjoys it and wants to do (one day) all the "fancy jobs" - ginning, willowing, carding, making the fiber into puni, and spinning with a charkha.  Then, she just listens Miss Stephenie's voice.  Like listening to a bedtime story read by her favorite great-aunt.  And I spin, rather slowly, talking (or not talking) this and that, until she goes to sleep.

It's a bit sad that my daughter has lost her English language skills almost completely.  No wonder.  More than four years in complete Japanese-only environment, going to school and everything.
But, she says she loves listening to Miss Stephenie (Stephenie-san).  Norman Kennedy's singing-and-spinning video doesn't work for her, nor Maggie Casey's calming voice.
I believe she still remembers fondly of the teachers she met at KinderCare Learning Center more than half of her whole life (four years) ago.  Hearing Stephenie-san's Southwestern US English gives home-coming feeling to her.  Happily, and warmly, she goes to a good night's sleep.

My cotton-spinning evening may or may not continue because December is coming.  Last year's advent project was so fun and satisfying that I've decided to do that this year, too.
This year, it's Angels project.  I'll knit or crochet one angel a day.  I am going to use the same pattern many times, because finding 24 different angel patterns which finishes in one day is not likely to possible.  I may use lots of different yarns, and also the same yarn many times.  My point is, making Angels.

Like, this one.


Pattern; Tiny Christmas Angel by Elizabeth Ann White
Yarn; my handspun, the first batch I tried with my tahkli.

Now, I gotta go to 100-yen store to get a display wall-pocket.  I can't find the one I bought last year.

Happy before-Holiday weeks, my friends!

Connecting

Inspired by my friend's recent endeavor for an "old but new for me" world, I decided that I'd follow my inner voice.

Spin some cotton.

With a spindle.

I am not a spindle enthusiast.  It's just a storage and work space limitation.  And I'm not a perfectionist nor an "all by myself" kind of person. I mean, I don't aim having a shirt-worth of yarn. Spindle spinning will give me a good-enough experience and a whole new sight to store-bought cotton yarns.

I just want to try.  Try to find out what my ancestors' ancestors did.  While trying, I'd be able to connect to my ancestors.. not to the housewives, but to the girls who learned the skill from their mothers so that they could keep their own family dressed comfortably.  Beginners' lucks and mistakes shouldn't be so different even after a few thousand years.

For the first step, I made this today.


It's made with a chopstick (leftover from the New Year dinner), and a couple of coins.  I'm not sure which came first to my country, spinning wheels or coins.



5 yen coin has a hole which fits to a 5mm knitting needle, too.  I used a chopstick rather than a knitting needle because I don't want any dent on my needles.  I just pushed the coins from the tapered tip (sharpened beforehand with a pencil sharpener) hard enough to go as far as possible.  Friction, I love you.

My teacher is Stephenie Gaustad.  The video is on my iPad (named Iris, because she has Retina display). Check.

Now, I need some cotton fiber.  That part would not be so hard.  Oh, I feel IT.
If I don't come back, tell all the sheep in the world that I loved them.

Random because it's March and March means Madness

Some thoughts related to knitting and crocheting, randomly.
1. Bordhi-nized, the word which I made up and used on the last post and the one before it, was not good.  I knew it, but I didn't thought up anything else.  Yesterday, it hit me.  Bordhi-fied is better.  Not a whole lot, but a bit.  And it took me so long.  It's OK.  English is not my born-into language.
2. I'm in sock and legwarmer craze.  I've been in it for a while, and not really going through of it anytime soon.  My current projects in progress contain one pair of socks (for my daughter, knee-high) , one pair of legwarmer for my friend's newborn boy, and one pair of leg/arm warmer (anyway the recipient likes).  And on my "queued" list, I have one pair of Re-discovery socks for me (means, using my footprint, making "Discovery sock" by Cat Bordhi again to make a better fit), and Sandalwood socks.
3. My "queued" list on Ravelry is getting unrealistically long.  I am seriously thinking of deleting all and making a realistic list.
4. And cast on whatever I want to knit right now.
5. Which will not be so many, just a couple of bags and a pair of gloves.
6. I am away from working for about two months by now, and not really wanting to be back soon.  I enjoy the mornings and evenings I watch Mythbusters or GoodEats DVD while knitting.  These choice of shows causes knitting too many rounds before switching stitch patterns or start increase/decrease on sock foot, but just can't stop.
7. Maybe that means it's about time to stop.
8. I finished these Discovery socks, by the way;

for my daughter.
And;

for my husband.
I'm happy they like theirs.

So, give me more time to knit.  Please.

Bordhi-nized room shoes

When I first made Cat Bordhi's "Discovery" socks, I was afraid of snipping the yarn in the middle of my knitting.  After I made a couple of garments with steeks, I still have my fears.
Can I open the "mouth" without cutting ?

I have been thinking of making a pair of room shoes for warmth all along this autumn/winter, say, for three months.  I was eyeing a nice knit/crochet pattern, but I had almost used up my colorful bits and pieces of fingering yarns suitable for it (they turned into armwarmers).  And, I wanted my shoes to be practical if not fancy.  It can be in awful acrylic or anything, if it stays on my feet snugly and keep them warm.
Then, "stays on my feet" rang the bell.

What if I made just the foot part of Cat Bordhi socks, in thick acrylic?
And if I crochet them, I could open the mouth with chain loop without cutting, with a bonus of a speedy finish!

So the project began, at around 9:30 AM.

1. Start circularly, making increases every other round or so, to cover your toe.
(I like slip-stitch my final sc on the first ch to finish the round, by the way.  You can spiral up the rounds if it suits you.)


2. Once the circumference reaches your foot circumference, just crochet up to "leg" line, adding increases if needed.  The yarn was worsted-weight-ish thick, so I only made a 2 sts and a 4 sts increase once each.

3. Fun part made easy.  When you reach the leg line, make 1 ch st like you start every round (for sc), and add half the numbers of one round chain stitches.  I had 36 stitches, so I made (1 + 18) = 19 chain stitches.

And attach on the opposite side of the round with sc. Continue in sc like former rounds to the end of the round.

4. Crochet on the chain, 1 sc on 1 ch, for the first half and sc on for the second half of the next round.


5. Continue up to "heel" line.


6. Make decreases to finish the heel, just reversing the toe making process.


And Voila!  A shoe.


I added picot edging around the mouth, to strengthen the sides where instep and heel meets, and to make it a bit cuter.  I should have used, say, white yarn for edging to make it even cuter.

It took less than 3 hours for one shoe for me, including taking notes and ripping a round or two here and there.

Naturally, the second shoe was finished a lot faster and a bit tighter (my crochet skill is not as good as my knitting).

See the right one is a bit smaller?

Still, I'm satisfied that I finished before my daughter comes home from school at 3:00PM.  Warm feet make a happy smiling mom.

I think this is going to be one of my "no-pattern-patterns" which I can work whenever, wherever I got enough yarn and a matching needles & hooks.
(And my Personal Footprint, to make my world easy.)

So Bordhi-nized

I bought Cat Bordhi's 2nd sock constructing book almost as soon as it appeared.  The idea is fascinating, to make perfectly fitting socks by making your own footprints.  I don't know why I try the method sooner.

I started last week, made my own footprint and a sock.

Somehow the result was a bit loose on my ankle and heel.


I added ribbings and decreased several stitches at ankle, and made another sock that way.  Now I have a confortable pair, but, it doesn't seem right. It shouldn't be like that.  But I couldn't point out where I made a mistake.

Anyway, I was satisfied enough that I took my daughter's footprint and started hers.  While I was trying the "discovery" piece on her sleeping foot at night, I had a sort of Aha! moment.  I should have made increase only once, a little longer instep, stand up and pull the piece up over my foot while my leg stands vertically.  (I was just too lazy to try it on while I sit on the floor.. warmed floor.  Shame.)

Talking about my daughter's foot,

she is growing up fast.  I'll draw a new footprint every autumn until she gets an adult size foot.


I'm definitely making another Discovery sock of my own, after making my daughter's and my husband's sock but before making them matching pair.
You don't need to make a pair of Discovery socks if you follow the book word by word.. she doesn't say "make another and enjoy" after closing the heel.  You can make just one sock for sizing and start a new pair with fun design. Nevertheless it looks that everybody on Ravelry who tries this patten (method) makes it as a pair.  I, too, did so on my first try.  That's natural, because you're just one sock away from a perfectly fitting pair, and you know the next one comes up fast now you know how things go.


I got so excited when I realized I could crochet room shoes in no time if I use this strategy.  And the idea worked.  I'll make another post for it.

Charged.

After all the classes in the fall semester and related paperwork is done, I was in no mood for anything classified as "obligation. "  I knit, knit, knit, cutting housework time and sleep, on these.

Two pairs of Kitten MIttens by Alyssa Lynough, using stashed Hamanaka Wanpaku Dennis double-stranded.  Yellow/brown stripe brothers for me, white/brown stripe with colorful ears and tail brothers for my daughter (her pair is used only for playing, not as hand warmers).  Although double-stranded and thick, it isn't really wind-proof because they are knit single layer.  I learned that Scandinavian/FairIsle colorwork is necessary to resist the windchill.

I like this yarn.  70% Acrylic and 30% wool, machine-washable gently, colorful, reasonably priced.  It's not the softest and loveliest yarn in the market, but a good go-to yarn for school goer's garment.


Finished my "donut" vest.  I reinforced the steeks with crochet.  Highlight was executing the cutting while my friend was watching and making her scream (I have to mention she did so very lady-likely.)  I gave up the bottom rib (too short and too weak) and hemmed it, added a row of single crochet at the folding line.


Two coffee sleeves, just to try a motif (dancing lady) and a technique (intarsia in the round).


A skirt for me, double-stranding my stashed fingering yarns.  Love the pattern. It's simple, versatile, and fun to make.  I'm literally living inside this skirt.  It's a "Mary's little lamb" lapwarmer - follows everywhere I go.


Of course, the colorful skirt made my daughter want hers, too.  It's made of Hamanaka Wanpaku Dennis, bought to make a bean-brothers toy (like this - Ravelry project link) but I was too slow to start and she has outgrown the book.  The  color reminds us of her favorite pokémon, Tsutarja (Snivy) .  She even claims herself as Grass type, because her name (written in Kanji - Chinese characters) contains the grass radicals.
(The paper under the skirt, is her homework from school.)


These legwarmers are still in progress, but I'll finish them in a couple days or so.  The pattern  was in Kurashi-no-Techo, the bi-monthly magazine which has 60 years history.  The contents are so wide-ranged - book review, craft, cooking, to health and sometimes a hard-core educational or environmental debate.  Everything house-keeping, you know.   My mother bought December  2011/ January 2012 issue at hospital news stand, and gave me the craft page.  I wasn't really thinking of materializing it, but as usual, leftover yarns nudged me.  It's a good motif sampler design, so I can change the yarn on any round.

This weekend, my husband and I had our 16th anniversary, which means we have known each other for a little more than 20 years now.  Speechless.
We (Me, my husband and my - our - daughter) went for a two-days trip to Kinosaki Onsen to have a good time and good meal.


There were good inspirations for color and texture, too.




I feel so good.  It's about time for a Spring cleaning!

PS; About the Ambitious gansey sweater I mentioned on the last post?  I brought it for the trip and made progress, up to 8 of 10 repeats of pattern A. Two more repeats and underarm gussets starts.  Looks loose stitch-wisely, but I believe the yarn will plump up after a wet block.