My Japan Day in London part 1

I took the day off of work on Friday and had a wonderful Japan day in London with my big sister Liz. In Japanese, that is approximately

わたし　は　きんようび　に　あね　と　London　に　いきました。しごと　を　しませんでした。

We took the train to Waterloo and slipped in a sneaky trip to iKnit which is a short walk away from the station.  We extended the walk slightly by going back and forwards trying to decide the correct direction. There are plenty of  things to temp but I am aware that I have plenty of yarn and WIPs already so I only bought some needles for my next submission to the magazine.

We had a dim sum snack walking back to Waterloo to fetch some sushi and then sat near the eye.  It wasn't quite warm enough to relax but we enjoyed our al fresco lunch.

We walked along the south bank to the Tate Modern. The signpost said it would take about 15 minutes and although we didn't time it, I wouldn't particularly disagree with that assertion.

The Tate Modern is housing a special exhibition of Yayoi Kusuma's work.  Although, the TM is free mostly, you have to pay for this exhibition on Floor 1 and then trot upstairs to Floor 4.  There are 14 rooms, mostly chronological, with examples of her work ranging from sketches and paintings to sculptures and full room installations.  There were also two films and original letters from art exhibition curators. I'm not hugely into art but the room installations were amazing and so I decided it was worth the entrance fee. Something that is free though, was back down on the first floor, and wouldn't make a lot of sense unless you'd been to the exhibition.  There was a room full of white furniture where we were given a sheet or coloured circle stickers to stick anywhere we could reach.  We almost fell over ourselves in excitement where we found a section of wall where people had been sticking the antiholes!

The only photo we were allowed to take was outside we a lovely sculpture.  We didn't hug it like the pumpkin, and were very sad the pumpkin hadn't made it (and even began to wonder if the pumpkin was really by the same artist) but it was cheerful flower.  We had been careful to note down our favourite art pieces as we went found but, as if it had all been planned, there were no postcards of these particular items.  There is a photo of one of them here

Then it was time ot eat snacks and wander off to London Bridge to get the tube to Hyper Japan.  More on that later.

Green Jumper

I had few doh moments last night which could have ruined the evening. I went to my sister's, specifically taking my green jumper with me to start on the sleeves.I had already repaired a hole in the bottom garter stitch edge.

I had reblocked it as it was so crumpled from 3 years of being ignored.

I took it to knitting on Thursday night and worked on the neck edging, which I finished on Friday.

On Saturday afternoon, I wound the last hank of wool, making a few booboos along the way.  It's pretty old so it snapped in a few places and I think I cut it in a few places too, so I ended up with several little cakes.

I very carefully packed my bag but then messed around with my phone so by the time I was sitting ready to knit at my sister's, I realised the wool cake was still sitting on my sofa.  I was so disappointed as I was really excited about starting a top down set in sleeve for the first time.  It's the first new technique I've learnt in a while and it might mean I can finish this jumper that is over 3 years in the making and a cardigan which is about the same age.  I get stuck on sleeves, it seems.  So after realising my mistake, I consoled myself with delicious moussaka and chocolate. And instead of knitting, we worked on starting an album of Japan photos together.

The other doh moment came from sitting down to book Hyper Japan tickets.  I found the half price advanced sushi tasting tickets weren't available anymore and that although advance tickets for Friday are advertised as £6 instead of £7 you have to pay a £1 booking fee AND another fee for paying with a card.  Dagnammit.  So we decided just to buy tickets on the door, buy sushi on the way, and supplement the whole day with a trip to the Tate Modern to see if the pumpkin sculpture we hugged in Fukuoka would be exhibited.

The hat is ready for Japan

I finished the Ishbel beret but I haven't bothered blocking it.  I like the way it hangs at the moment (great photos, me!) and I want to push on with the matching scarf/shawl.  I've cast on and am working through a billion increases until I have a trillion stitches. I'm not worried about the angora in my eyes anymore, I'm pretty sure it's too much computer work that upset them so I'm trying to cut down on playing facebook games.  I'm lining up a new project for Let's Knit so I'd like to finish the shawlette really quickly. 

I had a Japan related upset yesterday.  It appears the Ghibli museum will be shut for maintenance for the whole time I'm there, reopening on the day I leave.  I nearly cried.  I think I'll just have to remember that this won't be the last time I visit Japan and next time I can plan the holiday around that museum rather than the sumo.   I am pleased to say that I've ordered sumo tickets, received my Japan Rail Pass Exchange Order and can start booking hotels.  It's just under four weeks until I leave and I'm very excited.

A little swatching

This weekend was lovely and I felt so free! No more blanket to worry about.  I still have a few ends to weave in but I'm doing a couple every so often and it doesn't feel too boring.  I have been swatching for a new design for the magazine.  I don't feel very inspired at the moment.  I think maybe the blanket tired me out a bit - especially as I don't get to keep it.  So, I'll knit some small things next and some things for me.  I have a plan! I've booked a trip with my sister to Japan in November! Squee! And I want to knit some things to wear there.  When I was in Japan last time, it was part of a backpacking gap year and there were times when I felt embarrassed at how scruffy I was compared to the Japanese people.  I wasn't a scruffy backpacker - there were times in India when I looked down my nose at other westerners and how they should be ashamed.  Well, when I was clomping round Himeji-jo, following these tiny women in their work suits and high heels, I felt distinctly underdressed.  So, I'm going to make an extra effort this time and this translates to knitting a hat and a scarf.  Job done.

The Wedding

Today is the first day since the wedding that I've felt I'm back to normal.  The wedding was wonderful. I couldn't get to sleep the night before but I was up at 8, in the bath and packing.  I had bags and bags of food and clothes and makeup although I still managed to leave all my eye makeup behind.  I got to the hotel at 11.15am and went to have my hair made beautiful and sip champagne with the bride, m-o-b, bridesmaids, photographer, hairdresser and make up artist. Quite an entourage.  I checked into my room and ate lunch and started tarting around until my sister turned up and helped me focus.  She had to get ready and practise her songs with my brother outlaw playing guitar.  My aunt and cousin surprised me in my room but fortuantely I was nearly ready.  I even had time to paint my nails and use my nail stickers.

 Here I am with pretty hair and a pretty dress and heavy earrings:

I was sort of in charge of my brother's children and we all read a poem each.  The hotel was great and the registrar lovely and the service beautiful and although I didn't cry at the time I did when I went through the photos and videos. Such a great wedding. We ate and I missed most of the speeches as I was fussing over the nephews.  I enjoyed chatting and gossiping with my aunts.  One of my aunts almost didn't make it but then she arrived looking lovely and danced with me for ages even though she wasn't well. My camera battery ran out pretty early on but here is one of the family another aunty took. Aren't we a good looking bunch!

The day flew by and suddenly it was the final dance.  My mum and dad made it onto the dance floor and we had a family group hug which was unexpected but lovely.  It struck me that it was so different and far better than my own wedding in so many ways.  After much persuasion, the nephews and I had lights out at 1.45am!!!!  Suddenly it was the morning after and I'd had less than 6 hours of sleep. The people who'd stayed in the hotel had breakfast together, in various states of Why am I up so early.

A highlight of the morning was streetpassing my nephews on their new consoles.  Eventually though, we all departed, seperately, in the cold and rain. I spent most of Saturday was eating leftover snacks (I had to feed the nephews every few hours to keep them happy) and finishing off series one of the killing (US version). I still don't know who killed the poor girl and am beginning to suspect I never will.Sunday was a write off too and I was pretty weepy still on Monday, and worrying that I looked like a fat vampire in the photos, and tired on Tuesday and Wednesday but today I feel normal! At last!

The blanket was finished but big sister (shown below) didn't finish the counterpart so we decided to wait until after the honeymoon to present the presents.  I think this was a good idea as the wedding day was so busy there wouldn't have been enough time for appropriate levels of adoration and gratitude.

So there it was. I'm really looking forward to seeing my brother and new sister-in-law when the get back from their honeymoon.   Now that the wedding is over, I feel a bit bereft so I'm going to suggest my SIL learns to knit to tackle her post wedding blues. I'm cheering myself up with knitting and planning the trip to Japan in November down to the finest detail.  I currently have about 3 days too many of activities so the itinerary needs to slim down. I'll see big sister at the weekend to discuss whether she can skip all the places I've been to before.


In other news, I knitted a pair of baby socks, probably for PWW.

 

Training for September #4 and a new toy

Pre run munch: salt and vinegar crisps
Post run munch: dinner - I think it was sausage pasta
Time of run: 5pm gogo go ji
Distance: not far
Time: 20 mins
Category: hurty leg
Feeling: weepy

Tuesday's run was a bit upsetting as I already started in a bad mood and then my leg seized up and I came home and internally raged and wept at my miserable luck. I had hoped running would cheer me up but I had to fall back on The Big Bang Theory and my lovely knitting group. By the end of the evening I was feeling much better.

On Wednesday, I had to suffer the indignity of working for almost the whole day but I did get to eat cake at my Mum's for lunch.  Big sister came round in the evening to finish off a lovely new bag for me.  Really it was too late at night for sewing in a straight line and everything seemed rather difficult but I gave her a big bowl of ice cream.  We also talked about our trip to Japan that is due in November and we freaked out a bit at how expensive it was becoming.  I went to bed and had nightmares about knitting Bob wrong, as I'd also had a wobble over how close the deadline is.

Thursday was a busy, busy day.  I'm deputy at work and this week I've been in charge which mostly means pretending to tell people what to do. And staying late. And sometimes getting in early. I did manage to sneak out in time to get to town and have dinner and go to my lessons. I didn't have time to open my NEW TOY which is also a BIRTHDAY PRESENT and actually WORKS!

It's a

Tabtech M009S 2GB Google Android Tablet PC - Cheapest 2.2 Android Tablet works with Flash 10.1

 

and it was cheap and it works! I was worried it might all be in chinese or really confusing but it was fine.  I charged it up for a few hours before I became suspicious it wasn't charging properly so I turned it on and had a poke around.  It came with a stylus but I was also a little suspicious the stylus would damage the screen and my finger works fine.  At first the tablet wouldn't recognise my wifi so I turned the wifi off and on again (basics!) and then it detected it and I put in the password and then I went on the internet.  Simples! I've downloaded a few apps and need to check it plays music and films but that will have to wait as Bob is getting jealous again.

#ff

I've been planning a trip to Japan for a long time.  Ever since I got back from travelling in 2007. I spent 10 days there out of 9 months and 9 days wandering round the world and every day (except the awful Wednesday where everything was shut and I kept catching local trains instead of fast trains so I was stuck ruminating on the mistake of not checking what day it was today) ranks in the top days of travelling.   I think it was partly because Japan is such a contrast to rest of Asia that I had spent time in - months in India, Nepal, Thailand, Laos and the Philippines.  Where they were hot, Japan was cold, where they were dirty, Japan was clean. No one tried to hassle me to eat at their restaurant or stay in their hostel.  No one begged for pennies or sweets. I heard no shouts of "hello mam" or "eskool pen".  If I wanted, I could manage for days with no human interaction at all, buying everything from vending machines.

Japan is a complex place, no doubt about that.  What I saw as a tourist was a very beautiful slice of it and barely scratches the surface but that was exactly what I wanted at the time and is really all I want now.  I don't expect tourists in England to be concerned about binge drinking, unemployment and teen pregnancy when they're riding the London Eye and I don't intend to overthink the problems of Japanese culture while I'm trying to take in the largest wooden building in the world.  Hint: it's pretty big.

This year, I've started following some blogs on Japan and as it's #follow friday I thought I'd share them. I can't remember how I came across the first one

Budget Trouble

but I'm glad I did. On Fridays, there is a Show Me Japan feature which led me to

Haikugirl

Ichigoichielove

and latterly

Spooning with a Schoolboy

These are all written in English, or both English and Japanese, and if you're interested in Japan are all worth a look. I've just noticed that Haikugirl has a link to her site about Kitkats.  Kitkats in Japan are soooo much more interesting than in the UK!

Decisions

I'm going on holiday tomorrow and I'm so excited. I've got the whole day to pack and it's already been an eye-opener. I've found clothes I thought I'd lost (granted I knew they must be somewhere in my cupboard but never bothered looking for them), clothes I'd forgotten about and enough toiletries to last me until Christmas 2015. I think I might be spending the bank holiday weekend after I get back sorting through my entire flat to get a grip on what I have and where all my money has been leaking to.

Something I'm also finding very enjoyable is deciding what knitting to pack. I definitely want something fun and have already given up on the idea of taking any of the socks on the needles. I've narrowed it down to the four items below.


As it's going to be warm on the beach, I searched for something non-wool to at least consider. I've had problems in the past knitting with pure plant fibres as I'm a tense, tight, speedy knitter so I'm left with arm ache and messy stitches. However, I found a bunch of Cotton Rope that I had in mind for a summer top. It's a cotton acrylic blend with 6mm needles recommended so I can't see this causing me too much agro. However, I don't have a pattern in mind and it might not prove to be relaxed and mindless enough to win a place in the suitcase.
Case For: suits hot weather knitting
Case Against: am not struck by inspiration


Mmmmm, alpaca. I am mildly obsessed with wool to the point where my colleague yesterday suggested I was a sheep in a previous life. I responded, Yes, an alpaca. This Puppy Alpaca Rimisto was purchased in a previous lifetime when I visited Japan for a someone to knit for another. Well, the someone's not around anymore and I'm thinking this should become some wristwarmers for me with plenty leftover for another pair or a scarf or hat or socks ...
Case For: I really fancy this yarn
Case Against: not suited for summer knitting



Um, I've just talked myself out of bringing this. I'm not really a fan of the colour of this Noro Cash Iroha so it will become a gift so I'll need to decide who and then take measurements so it's not suitable.

This one's a definite. Compact to pack, no risk of finishing it halfway through the holiday, interesting enough to not get bored. I don't think it's one for the beach though so I'll need another project.

So, I'll be back in just over a week, hopefully with something to show for my time away.

This made me laugh...

Yesterday I was looking for some sock yarn I knew I had but couldn't find it anywhere. So, I was inspired to have a sort out. Here are some yarns I bought while travelling (because let's face it, all my good intentions of telling you all about my travels haven't materialised into anything yet so you might as well look at lovely yarn).

In Japan, I found a yarn shop near Kyoto train station. I foolishly forgot to stock up on anything made by Clover, a Japanese company. I had done some research into yarn shops in Japan but had only found details of ones in Tokyo so was super excited to just stroll past one on the way back to the inn from a day trip out.

I was going to make my friend some gloves but I don't know why I never did. Chris made himself one glove then lost interest as it required a lot more time and patience than he was willing to give.

The next two yarns were bought in a lovely yarn shop in Devonport, New Zealand, run by an expat. The names of the laceweight and the shop escape me.


It's a famous NZ brand so perhaps someone can jog my memory?



NZ is famous for its merino so I would have felt very silly not to pickup some of this. I wish I had stuck to my guns and bought enought for more than just accessories but I was feeling self-conscious about buying so much and posting it home.


The last four were purchsed in the USA. Believe me, I bought a hell of a lot more than this including Lantern MOon Sox Stix, Interweave Knits, Chibis, and more yarn.
I visited two shops in LA: the Knit Cafe which had lovely expensive needles but I wasn't even offered a drink and was a bit ignored; another shop that has White Lies Designs lingerie in the window where the sales assistant was very friendly, they had loads of sock yarn but no Sox Stix.

In Goshen, there is a wonderful LYS next to a wonderful Cafe. I didn't buy anything there but couldn't quite believe it as I didn't think Goshen was big enough to have such lovely amenities.
And the best place was Loopy Yarns in Chicago, mostly due to the company I kept there. My friend Charletta and lovely Karen. She blogged our trip almost immediately and I STILL haven't put any photos of it up. It involved sight seeing (she's a great tour guide) and a massive chocolate ice cream sundae and Giradellis.




This is what made me laugh.


18

OnePlusYou Quizzes and Widgets

Knitting in Japan

Before I left, I made the effort to research yarn stores in Tokyo. I was so super excited about Japan and so very under utilised in the office, that I had plenty of time and enthusiasm but not enough Japanese. Fortunately, I found Pinku's list, which was then updated by the SnB group. As it turned out, we found yarn serendipitously in Kyoto and prioritised other shops for Tokyo.

I finished some fingerless gloves for myself (um, where's the picture?) and proudly wore the mohair jumper that my friend Emily sent me as a kit for my birthday 2 years ago that I finally finished in the Philippines.

Hey, that's me sideways! Well, okay that's it for today but let me just say it is so nice to catch up with you all, it's knocked me sideways.