Sunday, January 29, 2006

This is my latest Japanese crafting book



I am a bit disappointed in it. Most of the book is photos of the cat in different poses. There is a chart to make the cat in different sizes, as well as some accessories such as a futon, a fish and a giant squid--I am not sure what that is supposed to be for. But Miranda has already requested a cat, so I am making one for her out of some soft pink cotton thread. I have a bad habit of ripping off the labels, so I don't know what it is. Something Bernat I think.


I have been drinking more tea and now that we don't have a microwave, I wanted to buy a tea kettle. This one was really cheap at the Chinese market and I rather like it. It looks like something you would hang over an open fire. Not sure why that appeals to me, but it does

My house always seems to look more interesting in photos.

Leftover rice made into onigiri for a late night snack. Some have green tea (not sure how I like that), and some have furikake rice seasoning. I used basmati rice this time, which seems to work just as well as the Japanese short grain rice that is traditionally used.

Poor neglected blog. I spend so much time reading other people's blogs, I don't have time to update my own. I have been pretty busy lately felting slippers and monsters to take to the Pittsburgh Knitting Festival

Here is an assortment of slippers drying on the vent. These old-fashioned vents have come in handy for numerous knitting projects.



The white pair and the magenta pair are trimmed with sari silk yarn, I am a little disappointed how they turned out--the felting process made the silk yarn quite stiff and hard. On the boots it isn't such a problem, but it makes the magenta slippers sort of bulky and unwieldy. The little mary jane shoes turned out great, I used Andean Silk from Knitpicks, it felts wonderfully into a much softer felt than the wools I usually use.