I have been back to Japan for a month now and it has been so incredibly filled with events. Work to catch up on, visiting places around Japan, trying to appreciate every single day I get to spend here. We went to Kakegawa Castle and visited 7 waterfalls in Shizuoka Prefecture. Have also visited heart of Edo period in Japan which is in Kawagoe and got to see where one of the most popular shoguns was born and resided. Life seems moving forward, Japanese are so resilient and signs of disaster are almost not there, they certainly appreciate all the business and nothing makes them happier than seeing tourists and people visiting their historical places. So we try to show our support as much as possible.
As rainy season sets in, I try to find some comfortable clothing to get through it. And my rainboots… I am so happy I’ve invested in them last year because I literally live in them.. Last Saturday we set on our way to Hakone and Lake Ashi in the mountains. When we got there, weather looked like a hurricane and besides treacherous winding roads you could barely see anything, complete white out. And today it’s raining again…
This week was also another exciting development. I have bought a knitting machine, a Japanese one and I love it! My Australian knitterly friends have been at it recently A LOT!
With a help of my Japanese friend who helped me sort out through some Japanese Yahoo auctions, I have bought a brand new, as in very very old, but in original packaging and never been used Brother machine for almost nothing! They stopped production of Brother machines in 2000. I looked on eBay, but no one would ship them to me. I have always wanted one, I was afraid that it would eat into my hand knitting time, but fear not. It’s solely for making some fine knit clothing. The kind that takes forever to knit on tiniest needles (not like I haven’t already done that before). Whole concept of machine knitting is more technical and I find hand-knitting still more methodical and appealing to me. But it certainly triggered more ideas for designs. Funny thing how inspiration works.
General life of a crafter consists of dipping into other kinds of it as well. I have been really into making some funky and simple jewelry. I am sure many of your have already heard of Pinterest and it is just an amazing source for pinning all things that interest you… instead of saving all those images on your computer. You get to organize and remember them!
2 weeks ago I went to Yuzawaya, got a box of paper clips and electrical tape. $4 dollar necklace. Yes, please!
I can’t wait to see what you create with the knitting machine. ANd rain sounds good here. It is been abnormally hot. National hit 102 the other day. And we hit 100 in Frederick May 31st. So rain sounds good.
Congratulations on your new knitting machine! I understand that the learning curve is rather steep with those, but once you get going you can really get a lot done in a short time. It’ll be interesting to see if and how this affects your design.
Welcome to Brotherworld Olga!
I have a 1978 KH840 which I love. Old and well used but does the job beautifully. I can’t wait to get my head around lace and proper garment constructions.
Will be looking forward to seeing what you come up with over there!
Good luck with your machine! As you say, it is great for those fine stitches on simple shapes!
Welcome to the world of machine knitting. I look forward to seeing what you create with your beautiful machine!
I’m green! Remember that clunky one I had? I finally gave it to Goodwill. Can’t wait to see what you produce with it.
Welcome back to Japan and gongrats for the machine!