pinku

Well....

I was really hoping that I would have something to write about today like a new finished top, or maybe a funny Japan incident....but I have come up empty-handed. Thank you to everyone for their congratulations - I am glad that I kept the post up there for a week. We had some 'blast from the past' commenters - the Internet really is an amazing place. Work is super busy at the moment, so there has only been limited surfing. The good news is that my laptop at home has come alive all of a sudden. It has been sitting quietly in the corner for quite a while and I thought I would just give it one more go and off she went. I'm not asking questions - am just happy that it works although its fickle nature makes me slightly nervous.

The Japanese knitting mag offer was very popular, so I have been making trips to the bookstore and buying a bunch of magazines/books - they must think I am very strange buying many copies of the same book!!! I am thinking about selling a bunch of Japanese knitting magazines that I have sitting here at home and maybe some other fun Japanese crafty stuff, so stay tuned. If there are any products that you would be particularly interested in getting your hands on, let me know. I will probably put them up for auction on ebay - a friend of us all.

TWO interesting links for those in Japan/Tokyo:

* Salvation Army Bazaar - now I heard about this thrift store through a Japanese friend of mine (the very shrewd and cool owner of Tiny Cafe in Senkawa). I haven't been, but a Tokyo SNB girl, Claire has and she sent me a pic of her haul!!! It looked amazing. So if you like thrift stores at proper thrift store prices, then head to the Bazaar. It is held every Saturday from 9am to about 1pm and I hear it gets busy, so be there early!!! I heard there's a bunch of cheap yarn for sale (and it's not acrylic!!).

Ooh and you can donate old stuff that you don't want anymore - which makes a lot more sense than throwing stuff away in the gomi (trash)!!

* Bonheur (Diamond Yarn) - this is an online yarn shop here in Japan that sells only Diakeito yarn. They have a great bargain section where you can buy discontinued lines in bags of 10 for between 1260 and 2100 yen!! Cheap!!

Random photo post of the week - this is a shot of one of the floats at the Neputa Festival in Hirosaki, Aomori (northern Japan) last year.

Love is in the air!!

I've been sitting on some pretty exciting news for a while...... (drumroll)...... We have some friends coming to visit next week.

Nah only kidding that's not the news (although we really do have some great friends coming to stay at our place in Tokyo next week - can't wait to see ya - Casey and Jenn) - Darin and I are getting married!!! We made the decision together a couple of weeks ago, and have been trying to contact everyone to let them know in the meantime. Thanks to Kinki for her push to do the Internet announcement.

There was no proposal per se, but Daz has since gotten down on his knee at our nearby convenience store and asked me for my hand in marriage. I said yes. I met Darin 10 years ago here in Japan, I was a young and innocent 19 years old. There was something special about Mr Bendall that I just couldn't put my finger on - we were really good friends for the year that we spent in Osaka as exchange students. For the next six years we did not see one another, but stayed in touch through letters and email. After both of us had split up from our respective partners at nearly exactly the same time plus another year later, I decided to bite the bullet and fly to San Francisco from Brisbane Australia to visit this man that I could never seem to get out of my mind. Thank goodness I didn't leave my heart in San Francisco - it came with me to Tokyo. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Darin is the sweetest, funniest, smartest, most talented and creative person that I know. Love ya honey!

We are getting married in Thailand on the beach on New Year's Eve this year. It's the perfect venue - sort of halfway in between Australia and the US (ok not really, but symbolically yes) - we both love warm weather, white sand beaches, Thai food and 'no hassles' weddings.

We welcome any useful or funny marriage advice!!! Please leave it in the comments.

This is one of my favourite photos of us. It was taken when we first got together in Jan 2001 in San Francisco at the Covered Wagon Saloon. Umm, there is another photo from that night, but there are four of us holding a topless female clown - I thought this one is probably more appropriate :)

P.S. If anyone is seriously interested in obtaining a copy of the Japanese knitting mag that I mentioned in the previous post, email me. I am NOT currently doing any swaps (trying to save money), but can buy you a copy for $20 (this includes shipping+handling to the US). Paypal payments only. That is at least $5 to $6 cheaper than ordering on Amazon Japan.

Japanese knitting love

It's exciting people! I made my first Fall 2004 pattern book purchase and there was absolutely NO hesitation with this purchase. I think you'll love it. There are so many new pattern books out here in Japan - I just can't stand it. I like many of them, but this is the only one I truly love so far. So enough of this introduction already. Here's some photos (not so good as I didn't have any time to do proper scans) and details:

Title: Watashi no teami fuku
Publisher: the one and only, Ondori
Date: 30 September 2004
Designer: MISONO Asae
ISBN: 4-277-11375-3
Summary: Twenty knitting and crochet patterns (80 pages) - sweaters, cardigans, vests, hats, bag, dress, tank, etc

Cover

My favourite design is a crochet kaftan called 'Frida Kahlo'. If you've ever had doubts about the beauty of crochet, this should convince you otherwise.

Side View

Next favourite is another crochet garment - sorry knitting lovers!!! This piece is amazing. Four rectangles of single crochet attached to make a very elegant sweater for the fall. Shaping is achieved through using yarns with different guages. Noice!!

How cool is this - a hoodie scarf! I really want to make this in black and pink I think.

Beautiful sleeveless top/vest - just love that big floppy collar.

And to finish off. Crochet and Knitting fall in love - there is no prejudice here......just love.

Have a great weekend! It's a three-day one here in Japan and I'm gonna enjoy it!

Leggies for Miss Mia

Here's a few craft pictures for you:

I finished some little legwarmers for my three-year old niece Mia who is now learning ballet. I hope she likes them. They were kind of boring as plain hot pink tubes, so I sewed on some big shiny sequins. They wouldn't fit on my legs, but they make kind of nifty arm warmers!

The recipient and me

as armwarmers

Just to prove that I actually did finish knitting TWO socks - here's the proof. The DB baby cashmerino is so soft and cuddly - I'd love to make a cardie out of it if it wasn't so expensive. I do think I'll make a pair of socks out of the cashmerino for myself for the winter.

And to finish off, here is the tank that I am just about to finish. It's from Filatura Di Crosa's City Knits. It's a present for a friend. It's an easy knit and the Brilla is a great shiny yarn. I have sewn up the side seams and just have to finish one more I-cord strap and then I sew them on tonight. Might even have photos tomorrow. Unfortunately I couldn't get my hands on any Brilla Print quickly enough, so it's just in plain red.

Movie about a big gorilla

To watch the latest footage from the filming of P. Jackson's newest flick (not mentioning the name as I get hit with too many google/yahoo searches) , check out this site. J. Black and N. Watts (Australian if you didn't know) - an interesting combination indeed. I shouldn't really blog about these popular topics coz I just get hit with hundreds of google searches, which blows out my bandwidth. I am about to exceed my limit this month for the first time and we're not even halfway through the month.

Grouchy Smurf by Darin

I wanted to post some knitting photos (nearly finished a new Filatura Di Crosa tank which is going to be a present), and photos of my Secret Pal stuff, but the death of my computer has really dampened my blogging drive.

Had a great weekend just hanging out locally in Kichi. Went and spent some time at the Tiny Cafe in Senkawa, which is run by our friends, Oi and Hisari. Then we watched some totally mesmerizing fire throwing to techno music in our backyard (Inokashira park). Couldn't get enough of that - wish I'd had my camera with me. On Sunday morning we head out to brunch in Kichijoji at Lapancia with our buddy Josh from Bondi Books. They are having an anniversary darts competition night this Saturday, so email Josh if you are interested in coming. 3000 yen for all you can drink, darts playing and snack eating.

Then Daz and I bought a bottle of nice Australian red, rented a row boat and consumed the wine plus snacks on the boat. The weather was perfect and it was oh so much fun - except for that part where Darin convinced me to try and stand up in the boat and I nearly fell out. Photos tomorrow. Trust me - you will laugh.

My weekend tip if you live in Tokyo: come to Kichijoji on a nice sunny day, eat brunch at Lapancia, rent a row boat (600 yen for an hour) on the lake in Inokashira Park, take a bottle of red or your own choice of alcohol, dip your feet in the water and play with the big orange carp (see pic below). Check out the cool stuff for sale at the park flea market. Go check out Bondi Books and buy some books. Visit Yuzawaya/Avril and buy some yarn (for those local knitters out there). Go home.

Fall Knitty is Live!

Well apart from the fact that the weekend is only hours away, there is one other thing that can cheer me up on a dreary Friday afternoon - Fall Knitty Live on the Web!!

There are so many awesome feature articles and one of them covers a topic that always haunts me - weaving in ends!!! I will read through all of them in more detail on the weekend - this was my 15 minute work preview.

My faves so far are Clapotis which I will definitely be making, Cozy - a pretty lacy wrap, ZigZag by Veronik Avery, Tigger (shame winter has just ended in Australia where my niece Mia lives), and the Hallowig (how fun is that!).

As I have mentioned before I am totally psyched about the new Deb Stoller book, Stitch n Bitch Nation.　Here is an outline of some of the projects in the new book to be released in Oct/Nov. It's already on my wishlist!!

Written by Stitch 'n Bitch author Debbie Stoller, Stitch 'n Bitch Nation features 50 hip, new, even funkier and more fabulous patterns by Stitch 'n Bitch designers, who come from San Francisco to Brooklyn, Chicago to Cambridge to St. Paul, Minnesota. The Om Yoga Mat Bag. Felted Monster Slippers. The London Calling Union Jack Sweater, because even punks get cold in winter. A Double-Duty Shrug. Polka Dot Tankini. That '70s Poncho. The Boob Tube. Spiderweb Capelet, Cabled Newsboy Cap, Chunky Baby Booties and Baby Bunny Hat. And the most ingenius project, a Knit-Your-Own Rock Star doll--with a choice of Joey Ramone or Henry Rollins. All designs are complete with full-color photographs and step-by-step instructions, and are made from sexy, contemporary yarns, including multicolored angora, alpaca, lace, and mohair. Includes the best tips, shortcuts, and techniques from Stitch 'n Bitchers, profiles of knitters and their groups, and a how-to refresher on all the stitches used in the book.

Have a great weekend!!!

ps A big shout-out to Darin for my new banner. There are a few versions and I have put up the gif. I think it is cute, but if you find the fact that it moves annoying, please let me know. I do have a non-moving version.

Update

Well I have deleted Miss Universe's name from the previous post because I have been getting way too many hits from search engines. I have learnt my lesson. Don't blog about a pretty girl in her undies because you'll end up paying for it in exceeded bandwidth. The Internet gods are punishing me. Back to knitting and Japan.

I haven't knit much in the last week - just didn't feel like it. But I picked up my needles yesterday to do some knitting before the Tokyo Stitch + Bitch and I felt happy. Hmm, I will get back into knitting tonight. I don't know what it is about it, but I really enjoy it. Another reason to get back into knitting, after a relatively short one week hiatus, is that I have to finish a special project as a present for a close friend. I will try and take some pictures after it is completed - hopefully in the next couple of weeks. I am still working on the Debbie Bliss cabled jacket for my nephew and am eager to start another Carla with pink Muench Bergamo.

That's about it knitting wise. Oh how could I forget. I received my September surprise from my Secret Pal - it was totally unexpected and oh so cute. Thank you so much! Photos by the end of the week!!!

Poor Miss Universe!

If you didn't already know, and it's highly likely that you didn't know, this year's Miss Universe is a little Aussie girl. We're proud of her, but you can't help feeling sorry for the poor girl when you hear this story:

Miss Universe stumbles during a fashion show at Westfield shopping centre in the Sydney suburb of Miranda yesterday, snagging her dress on her shoe and losing the lot. Her modesty was saved by a g-string. With little more than her dignity, she hurried off the stage.

Photos here (you know you all want to look)!!

For those of you horrified at this lame blog content, here's a couple of cool Japanese knitting links to keep you happy!!!

Moutif - knit and design - Japanese knitwear designer, Kanako Kobayashi - cute stuff (no patterns but selling finished pieces!!

One Japanese knit blogger's gallery of finished pieces

New Autumn & Winter yarns from Ski yarn

I was right...

I got in the elevator today just before noon to go out for lunch and I had this really funny feeling that the elevator was shaking. Anyway, it turns out that I was right!! There was an earthquake AND today just happens to be 81st anniversary of Japan's worst earthquake which hit Tokyo on 1 Sept 1923 killing about 140,000 people.

I hate earthquakes.

Here is another couple of photos from our trip to Shimoda:

we came across this snake in the parking lot near the beach. If you look closely he has a big lump in his tummy - seems he just had lunch!!!

The following photos are care of fellow beach traveller, Martine at Frangipani.info. She is a fabbo photographer - check out the rest of her cool Japan photos on her site.

The crew

daz and me

daz in the beach cave

daz and me (shielding my face from the wind)