nuime

2007-02-21T13:39:00.000+09:00

QUICK

Hello - this is a quick post to say that I will soon be leaving for hospital and coming back home in a week with a tiny little baby girl.
Sorry to those who are waiting for an e-mail reply from me but haven't got one yet.
Thanks for all the support!

2007-01-24T16:17:00.000+09:00

POINTED

I finally got to make something. It's a pointed hat for the baby.
I hadn't knit for so long that I almost forgot how to...
The pattern is loosely based on the Gnomey Hat form helloyarn. I never really get to follow knitting patterns, because I always substitute the yarn with locally made stuff in a different gauge (in this case Munsell Merino 150 King, a bulky, 100% soft merino Yuzawaya brand yarn).
I got a bag of the yarn (10 skeins of 40g each), and planning to knit a cardigan with that. The plan is to combine the grey with the striping reddish yarn I used for the hat flower, but we'll see what comes of that!

2007-01-20T12:52:00.000+09:00

AND A FEW STRANGE THINGS ABOUT ME

My life has been far from calm lately, with so many things to do before the big deadline. There’s only one more month and a bit until the baby is born and we still need to remodel and move to a new place (last minute find after months of searching), my mother is coming soon, and baby shopping lists still need to be filled and ticked.
While I have been slowly doing things on the crafty front, there’s not much I can show yet so I’ll just go on and list up a few strange things about me as prompted by the ongoing (is it still ongoing?) meme:

1. I am 30. Yes that is strange. I recently turned 30 despite the fact I had thought I was still 26 for quite a few years (“so what if that would make my younger brother older than me?”). But what with the big fuss, I don’t feel anything in particular about turning 30.

2. I live in Japan. That is another strange thing. I mean, figure-wise, I have spent one third of my life here. Not that I had planned it. It feels a bit funny – am I going to live here for the rest of my life?

3. My mother cannot sew on the machine, but we did have a good sewing machine at home. It was my father’s. He even made me a flowery night-gown when I was a kid, and a beautiful wool jumper skirt for my mother (I got to wear that too later), and a few other things. They were all straight line sewing – he never actually learned tailoring or sewing, but he was an architect and I guess that made up for it. Otherwise, my father was an untalkative, enigmatic and even frightening man (in my eyes), so the sewing part really is quite strange.

4. I had a real bad crush when I was in highschool (who didn’t?), so bad I sometimes wonder if I am over it yet. My highschool crush happened to be a genius in geometry but careless about other subjects he didn’t like, and at the same time the class bully. When I met him again a while ago for our 10 year reunion, he told me he had set up a succesful software firm with a friend. He said he was really happy to be doing what he really liked, using a lot of geometry. They make clothing pattern CAD software for industrial use.

5. Talking about highschool, I used to dance like crazy at birthday parties. I loved it. My classmates were sometimes shocked because I would usually be a very serious looking girl, some people may have thought I was a bookworm or something (the truth – too lazy to be a bookworm). My favourite dance music at the time: MC Hammer, Snap, Salt-N-Pepa, yes really.

6. I used to hate baking cakes. The process all looked too gooey, so I didn’t feel like trying. I love baking now. The cleaning up not so much :)

2006-12-27T23:30:00.000+09:00

LAST DAY OF CHRISTMAS

So today was the last Christmas Day, or at least that's how we consider it back home.
I hope you all enjoyed the Holidays! Heading for New Year's Eve!

2006-11-13T17:19:00.000+09:00

SUPERBUZZY IN TOKYO

Mariko and Kelly were here!
It was great meeting them, they are so bright and fun, and getting along with them was just so easy!
I guess they must be back home by now, taking a deep breath after the Japanese trip whirl, and will soon be telling the whole story on their blogs. Here's just a shot to prove they were here and that we even had a small crafty people gathering in Tokyo.

That is, from left to right, back row: Kat, Kelly, Ms. Minato - the Ebisu Rowan-Jaeger store manager; front row: Chiko - Mariko's friend and talented illustrator, me, Mariko and Jun.
We also had a couple of male supporters but they are behind the camera(s) here.

I accompanied Mariko and Kelly in their Nippori Textile Town adventure, as well as to the Yokohama International Quilt Festival.

The Nippori shopping campaign felt sooo good - just watching the girls buy several whole rolls of fabric made me feel like I am buying the store for myself. I'll be watching out for the new cute stuff at Superbuzzy!

In Yokohama, the quilt show was a bit overwhelming, and quite hard to cruise through the crowds of Japanese middle-aged ladies that had gathered for the first day of the show. Business-wise, it was a very fruitful day, and the girls were thrilled to make lots of useful contacts with fabric and craft-supplies firms. I was impressed with how prepared and efficient Kelly and Mariko were, hardly ever giving in to temptations and keeping focused on the important things.
I have a lot to learn from them!
As for the quilts at the show - I wish I could show some samples, but basically the ones I really liked could not be photographed. I did take a few pics but they turned out too blurry.
Here are a couple of cute patchwork bags:

This being said, I'll get back to some crafting tonight, while listening to Right Said Fred just because (I must be the only person on Earth who still listens to this silly stuff, but I so need it sometimes!).

2006-11-04T21:05:00.000+09:00

PUMPKIN BREAD AND GENKI SHAKE

Progress in the crafty area has been almost inexistent, but I have managed to get back to some cooking and baking lately. I was getting sick of bentos and eatouts - so much lacking the warmth and simplicity of home-made food. That was what we had during the first months of pregnancy, when the kitchen was not the place for me to be...

So, I recently tried pumpkin bread (after a recipe from Mollycoddle, with mashed steamed pumpkin - we don't have pumpkin cans around here - and with a handful of walnuts added):
It was a success! Moist and spicy. I have made it twice already.

Then, here is a morning shake recipe I recommend.
Knowing I had this in the morning helps me stress less about "having to eat healthy" and getting a variety of vitamins, minerals and such:
(Pictured here with homemade Danish bread from the bread machine).
The recipe is simple, it's not my original - I just saw it on TV once.
The shake contains banana, plain yoghurt, milk, raw brown sugar, kinako (roasted soy bean powder), ground black sesame and wheatgrass powder. I don't like the kinako and the wheatgrass powder in their original form, but this combination tastes great!
My wheatgrass powder is not the vivid green it was at first, and I use brown sugar instead of the honey the original recipe asked for, so the final colour is not so attractive - but if you see this in a fresher green, it really looks like a kiwi shake, with all those tiny black specks.
You should give it a try!

2006-10-03T19:45:00.000+09:00

HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU

It's been a while again.
During the summer I spent some time away from the net, but by now I am back again to the addictive blog reading.
I promised myself I would post here as soon as I have any crafting news, so here you go, my first bag, done last Sunday:

It is based on a pattern for a shopping bag in this book; the original is a quilted bag though. I borrowed the book from the library but I got so charmed I might have to buy it..!
The front of the bag is a canvas-like cotton print, and the lining (with pocket) is a thinner cotton fabric. Both fabrics are from the 100 yen section in the Tomato shop in Nippori, so there was no worry or fussing about wasting fabric on this bag experiment.

Tomato is probably the biggest (and often cheapest) fabric store on Nippori Fabric Street, and I always end up spending quite some time there...
Last week I headed there with specific purposes; they were partially fulfilled, partially changed, prey to the moment's whim (or should we call it inspiration?).
I came home with two sets of fabrics.

The first is a double layer gauze selection, and the second is a set of cotton prints and solids for what will hopefully be my first quilt.
All this stuff is destined for a new someone due to arrive next spring.
I am actually pregnant (first time) and starting to feel better after the first hard months.
Hope to get a few things made before the baby is born.

The quilt colour combination was something I decided on the spot with surprising ease - it almost makes me think it wasn't me who took the decision!
I am imagining something simple, in stripes of various widths, something like Mollychicken's "quick baby quilt" here.

I intend to keep record of any progress here, so.. wish me luck!

2006-06-19T14:53:00.000+09:00

JUST DO IT

I was (again) just about to give up posting because I couldn't think of a title. But I guess I should just do it or nothing will happen, right?

As of what I have been doing... - To make it short, my batteries have been running low lately. Looking back, I have been kind of racing through things ever since I came to Japan as a foreign student 9 years ago. Now I just need to stop and take some time for myself.
This means I can make time for more creative things - which will hopefully be food for future posts.

My posting today was actually prompted by Molly, whose trip to the city was a great surprise. We spent some times together wandering through Omotesando and Harajuku and then Shibuya, stopping by a couple of craft-related shops and basically just enjoying the walk through the pleasant neighbourhood despite the teasing rain. We did not really document the outing with pictures of each other - although now I kind of regret it because I am sure there is someone out there who would definitely like to see pictures (promise to do that next time!).
We had a good time together - and talked a lot! Hope to see you again soon, Molly!

And finally today, a long-postponed picture-posting. This is one of the first things I knit when the knitting urge struck me last year. It is the Pixie ribbed hat, a free pattern from Crystal Palace Yarns (you can find very helpful additional instructions and hints on how to make a grown-up version here); yes I was charmed by the pics and just had to make it.
When I heard one of my best and oldest friends back home was expecting her first baby, I headed out to get the yarn. It is a Japanese cotton baby-yarn.
My friend sent me a picture of her son wearing the hat this spring - so, with her permission, there you go.

He is about 11 months old in this picture, and really my type of baby :)!

PS: About the sudden blog title change - it just struck me one night as I was walking home and had to do it right away. "Nuime" means "sewing stitch" or "seam" in Japanese; "me" means stitch, but can also mean "eye" and "sprout".

2006-02-19T23:14:00.000+09:00

STILL ALIVE..

Well yes I am still alive even though my "blog life" seems to be at a standstill. Was from the very start, to put it straight.

But let me get to the facts. To the pictures.
Because I still am making things and still taking pictures, planning new entries.
All the planning and daydreaming.
I don't really have time for daydreaming now, it has been so busy at work recently, and I have reached a stage where I come home in the evenings and IGNORE the net. How can that be?
Isn't this as if a smoker just forgot to smoke?

So, as I said, to the facts.

My Clementine's Cardi is almost there. I just need a quiet evening and a cleared floor to cast off 2 pieces and match the puzzle.

Meanwhile, I worked on a few smaller projects, like sewing a woolen vest that I knit one (!) year ago (pics to come after washing etc.), and I answered my first knitting "order".
This is it:

It is an earflap hat, already given as a birthday present.
The recipient was very pleased with the result, which made me even more pleased.
I loosely followed a pattern in a Japanese knitting book. . It was finished in one evening. I particularly enjoyed the 3-stitch I-cord that ends the flaps. I used an angora-wool blend yarn from Bouton d'Or whose name I can't recall, but I remember the colour was called "Raisin", and that the price suited my thriftyness.
I actually bought this yarn in Yuzawaya, after the happy encounter with Jan, Molly and Kat in Kichijyoji. It's been a month already!

As for future plans.. there are a few already.
Clementine is not yet finished but she is now too big to be taken out for train trips and SNB's.
So... next on the list is another earflap hat - I got another order from my brother this time, after I made the mistake :) of showing him the pic above. His will probably be more "Andean", with some colour insertions or so - have to think out a simple but effective design.

And then another small project - another "order" and another challenge.

Lace?

Still learning...
I am planning to experiment with these on a well-deserved short trip starting tomorrow!
See you afterwards!

2006-01-26T21:17:00.000+09:00

THE SNOW HAS MELTED ALREADY...

...but well, I am posting my snow pics anyway.
This was last Saturday. Had never seen my neighbourhood dressed up like this.

There's the little shrine near my house, all snowed over. This shrine is dedicated to children (or, more precisely, upbringing), and you can always see some offering of milk, fruit or sweets in front of the small statue on the left.

Inspired by the snow, I prepared a desert that my grandmother used to spoil us with when we were children. It is custard cream with merengue dumplings - so good!

And now, sudden switch to crafty contents.

Pics were taken 2 weeks ago in the park. Yey, this is my first knitted cardigan! The pattern is Clementine's Cardi, a simple but clever pattern written by Di - lots of thanks to the author!

In the "Messy display on the park bench" still-life shot, you can see one completed sleeve, one almost-completed sleeve, and one almost-completed-but-put-aside-until-deciding-cardigan-length-later front panel.

Since then, I managed to almost-finish (see a pattern here?) the second front panel. It's moving, slowly moving.

The yarn I am using is a local Japanese brand (Mariabehty - Kanebo), 100% wool. I had bought 10 skeins with no particular purpose, but as I was knitting the cardigan I realized I would be soon running out of it. I bought another 10 skeins (just in case..?! well not really, I just have this tendency of buying yarn "by the bag").

The new skeins were a different dye lot, hence the two skeins in the pic - I used them alternately. Hope to be back some time soon with the full garment.

Since I wrote the last entry, many things have happened. Like, my first night out at the Tokyo SnB, and a very exciting meeting with wonderful crafty bloggers - Kat, Molly and Jan. Thank you for the good time last weekend, and hope to meet you all again sometime!

All too much to put in one entry really!

Better than nothing I guess :) See you next time on the net!

2006-01-08T22:40:00.000+09:00

MY YOHJI YAMAMOTO JACKET

Hey hey, so here I am back where I started!
I knew it, I just knew I wouldn't make a good blogger.

But here I am 6 months away from my first post, willing to post again.
I won't make any promise this time (as if I ever did make a promise about this!).

I'll get to today's topic then.
The Yohji Yamamoto jacket that I made last September.
I just posted it on Craftster.
That's where I got the idea, the link to the free pattern, and the inspiration to make this in thick woolen fabric.
I'm posting the pics here too. I had them taken today in the park, and the pond behind me was FROZEN. Couldn't wait to get back home.. brrr..

I think I'll stop here for the moment, posting this is getting me so nervous... hope it doesn't put me off blogging!

I have lots of things to show, sewing, knitting and maybe even baking related.
Next post - "Clementine's cardi", the piece I am knitting right now, and which is actually my first cardigan. I have some pics ready - so stay tuned!

(PS I really haven't got the hang of this yet... bear with me please.)

2005-07-20T16:00:00.000+09:00

Hello everyone, here's another fresh blog on the world wide web.. - a blog I've been meaning to set up for a while but somehow took forever (not really!) to start. I' ve been a passionate blog reader for the past months, and it was another blogger - Molly - who encouraged me to write my own - thanks Molly!
My blog will be a record of my crafty but thrifty endeavours, involving knitting, crochet, sewing (hopefully) and whatever else might fascinate me on the way.

Today, as I felt a little nervous writing my first entry, I brought along a friend - Mousy. He's a new friend (just a few weeks old) made of old stuff (a summer shirt I loved a lot, worn to the limit). My family would probably argue he couldn't possibly be my friend, he surely must be food. I was always compared to a cat, and nicknamed accordingly since I can remember (no I was not a bullied child, it just runs in my family, this nick-name thing). But trust me, Mousy was not made for me; his fate is to become my aunt's (real) cat's toy. It's stuffed with cotton and catnip.

And he looks pretty from the back too!

PS Please let me know about any problems viewing the blog, suggestions etc. - thank you!