Friday 22 November 2013

Welcome to Tokyo!

To my amazement and shock, we are actually living in Tokyo.
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I was working until the Friday and we left on Tuesday so there was really no time to think about what it was going to be like or plan what i was going to do when I arrived. Pooch of course started work the morning after we arrived - poor thing - but that left me as a sudden housewife with everything that gave my day structure taken away in the blink of a 12 hour plane journey. Bit Freaky. However, we have a lovely lady helping us with the transition who dropped Pooch off at work (after taking us to register as Aliens) and then showed me around the area before taking me to the supermarket to pick up some basics. I was very grateful for this since buying things like vegetable oil when the labels are all in Japanese would have been a bit of a gamble without her. I have since been shopping a couple of times by myself and have got to know the neighbourhood around our temporary flat quite well. This is our road.
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It is all, naturally, a little bit different to what I'm used to but I'm getting used to it. Characters play a large part in most shop windows and some have physical representations of their icons or of something more traditional like the lucky cat - my favourite! This one is outside a photography shop on the corner.
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There is less cross over between shops so you get shops just selling cigarettes for example and others just selling alcohol. I have no idea what the World Liquor System is.
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And space is at a premium. Everywhere. The solutions to this vary from supermarket aisles so narrow you have to go down them sideways to things like this - a petrol station.
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You may have noticed you can't see any pumps on the ground and that is because there aren't any. Look up though and you'll see them dangling down by the smaller Eneos sign. They are lowered to you once you have parked. Parking itself is at a premium so a lot of places have multi-story parking by which I mean you park on the ground floor and a mechanism then stacks your car on top of another one with just an inch or two between them. You get a ticket and when you scan the paid ticket later the mechanism trundles your car back to you. This was a huge skyscraper so large it had a ring road inside it which had a version of this parking.
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You park your car in the perspex bay and it trundles into the wall cavity on rails. It gets whisked below the building somewhere and I mean b.e.l.o.w. Most of these large buildings have 4 basement levels so I can only guess how far down the cars are kept. All to minimise the space they take up.

This temporary flat was provided by the company so is a little small - like a studio flat - but has the benefit of being very central. We are about 6 minutes walk from the Imperial Palace Gardens. I tootled up there yesterday and visited the Craft Gallery which was wonderful but I'll save that for another time. The walk there showed the pressures of space with wooded walks surrounded by major roads.
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The rest of Tokyo is nowhere near as leafy as this but there are small parks spread around and you are usually protected from the noise of the traffic, even if it is still visible.
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We went house hunting yesterday and struck gold on our second viewing - just as well since our first had polished concrete walls and was like someone's garage - and about the same size. So we may well be living in an area called Hiroo (pronounced h'i-roh) after this first month. Today we are going shopping for mobile phones and possibly a bank account for me. I get to choose my debit card colour from 32 different options. Next week I plan to make my first craft foray although the craft gods have been smiling on me - there is button shop about 2 minutes walk away. I have yet to visit but have stood outside and oogled several times. A love of buttons goes beyond language barriers.


Sunday 3 November 2013

The Rainbow Sphere

Finally finished this EPP beauty. The pattern is from Geta's Quilting Studio.
Sphere patchwork
You can see the mess of packing around it. I've almost finished attaching it to where it was being finished for. I might have a pic of that before I go. Meanwhile a close up.
Sphere patchwork close up
It could definitely do with an iron but the iron's gone. Ah well.

The rest of my free time is spent packing or saying goodbye to people. But I do find a few moments for aimless patchwork. Results so far...
Miniature hexagons
No idea what I'll do with them. Pretty though.
Minature hexagons close up

The flights are now booked for the 19th so I'm on a countdown. Bit odd but will be good to get there and start setting up a new craft lair!

Sunday 27 October 2013

Mending

All this getting ready to leave the country means I can no longer avoid my mending pile. It either gets mended or its out! After a recent session I was struck at the different approaches I'd taken. The first was on a dress I only wear for work.

I managed to catch my shoulder on a coat rack of all things and ripped two neat holes in the jersey fabric. I would have ironed some mending fabric to the back had the lining not been left intact. Hence my slightly bunched up but kind of not noticeable mend.
Mending
The second one was on the front of a t-shirt I onky wear "off duty". The hole is to the left of my belly button and of course I could have gone for a subtle fix but then there is all this aimless patchwork i've been doing lately.
Mending with patchwork
I darned the hole first, naturally, before appliqueing the hexagon over the top.



Meanwhile it looks like we will be flying on the 19th. Im working until the 15th and everything we're transporting gets collected that day so that leaves me just evenings and next Saturday so finish my packing and clearing. God. In the meantime the aimless patchwork continues...

Sunday 20 October 2013

Knitting, Sewing, Shoes On Ebay

These are the kind of bargains you hope you'll find when you look for something you really want.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/littlelixie/m.html


Quilting patterns, screen printing kit, knitting machine, swift, ball winder, pattern books, bag handles and more, all starting at 99p.

Friday 18 October 2013

Aimless Patchwork

In between working full-time, applying for visas-certificates-godknowswhatelse, clearing the flat of everything I'm not taking, ebaying or donating that lot, packing up what I am taking, eating and sleeping, I have been doing pointless patchwork.
Aimless patchwork
I don't know what I'm making. All I know is that those hexagons are 1/3". It is the only thing I do at the moment that doesn't require decisions.

I may be a bit behind with communicating with people. Sorry about that but it's been a tough few weeks and it won't be over til we get to Tokyo, and then it'll be a different kind of busy!

One thing - I'm giving away back copies of Interweave Knits on Ravelry.

Monday 14 October 2013

First Knitting Lesson and Stockings

While helping my sister move I took some time out to introduce Jasmine to her future. 
Jasmine and lixie
She isn't quite coordinated enough for the process but give it a few months and I'm sure she'll be churning out dishcloths like a natural. 

This weekend saw lots more preparation for the move to Tokyo plus these finally got finished. 
Patchwork Christmas Stockings
Not their best angle - better like this:
Patchwork Christmas Stockings
There we have the first 3 for my sister, her husband and Jasmine, the next two for Deb and Sean, the next two for Mum and Rob and the last two for Pooch and I. Plus I already have the presents to fill all of them! (I hope.) I thought I had better get it done before I moved. 
Patchwork Christmas Stockings
I'm really happy with them! 

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Pigtail Hat

I was ogling various version of hats that make babies look like they have elaborate hairstyles. They all seemed to cost a lot though so I decided I could do it myself. I used a free 6-12 months crochet beanie pattern and added pigtails.
Jasmine and mum
That is Jasmine with my Mum, Nana, looking very cheerful. I spent a lot of the weekend entertaining her which was pretty good. My sister was moving house and with my back I'm not much good at lifting so I tended to focus on her and the dog. Once grandad had finished the lifting he had a go.
Jasmine and rob
They both seemed similarly focussed on why Sir Prancealot's feet were crackling although Rob bravely held back from chewing on them.

My main reason for being there, other than dog and baby duties, was to add blackout lining to the curtains. Needless to say within a minute of starting to sew the needle broke and it being my mum's machine I didn't have a spare.

Me: When did you last change the needle?
Mum: They need changing?

Mind you, I didn't know that til I was about 25.

Work today saw a new addition to my Harassment Log. The boys consider it a sign of great achievement to get a mention in it now.
Harassment log
When I mention the harassment log most people assume I'm making it up but this stuff actually does happen in the office. The boys have asked for a copy of it to remind them of me after I go.

Sunday 29 September 2013

The Clearout Continues

There are now 23 lots of fabric and craft related goods on ebay. All start at 99p so grab yourself a bargain.

In between wading through fabric like J-Lo waded through Anaconda country I have finally managed to secure these little suckers.
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I was going to go with little pearl ones but then these, which were on a vintage Woolworths card, seemed to call to me.
Autumn jasmine with Buttons
I am rather pleased with this, even though those buttonholes were a little unevenly spaced ahem, and the demure nature of it. Of course that all goes out the window with the Minx Mini.
Jasmine Minx with buttons
Red and purple sequin stripes are hardly subtle so I thought I might as well make the buttons interesting.
Sunflower Buttons

I would have to say I am rather enjoying actually using my stash instead of saving it for some mystical 'special' project.
all projects are special
Of course with the wool it probably helps that I've hardly got any anymore. I was torn when designing a little christmas cardigan for Jasmine. Should I use what I had - not the most christmassy colours - or actually buy some? I decided to use what I had. I also think that if I use green buttons with one red one it will be reminiscent of a christmas pudding!
Let It Snow Intarsia

Saturday 28 September 2013

A Little Challenge

Since life is fairly full at the moment I have resisted signing up for any new swaps or a-longs. Or I had until yesterday when I saw Marci Girl talking about the one-block-wonder quilt along.
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It is being run by Quilter in the Closet and is a very low key one. I have wanted to try this technique since I saw this one at the Festival of Quilts.
Out of Africa by Janet Boult
I think it was my favourite one overall.
from Out of Africa by Janet Boult
So now I 'just' need to choose my fabric and start cutting. I want to avoid buying any new fabric so I might end up making a very small quilt top if I can only find a fat quarter in something suitable!

Friday 27 September 2013

Read My Cake

Wedding cake
Yes, it is true. I got married yesterday morning! The boys at work think it is truly rock and roll to take a few hours off work to get married and then go back to work afterwards. I did make sure I had a good wedding cake though. Not that Pooch had any. Within about 2 minutes of cutting the first slice this was all that was left.
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That goo you can see oozing out there is dulche de leche. Uhuh. You know how good that bad boy tasted. Beas of Bloomsbury did me truly proud. Plus huge thanks to Rachel who came along as one of our witnesses (and therefore one of our two guests) who took the official wedding photo.
Wedding photo
Those are my bridal jeans right there. Pooch's were purple.

So now the visa process can begin properly and we might at some point have a proper moving date. Meanwhile I have another batch of craft bits to put on ebay. It won't be as large as when I sold all my yarn but it should still be worth an online rummage. I'll post here when I get it all listed.

Sunday 15 September 2013

Pin It Real Good

Yay! I love these blog hops! I am definitely going to continue taking part in them when we're living in Tokyo. In the meantime...
Thanks to Madame Samm, Hop Hostess Kristen and all for making this one happen! I actually won a prize at the end of the last bloghop - the Hexi one - so I am feeling very happy!

I had been using the same pin cushion for aaaaaaages - a 6 petal flower one - before making a batch of jar-head ones (I've been watching a lot of JAG and have gone all military!) and then of course I added Wonky the mouse to my collection as part of the Hexi Hop. Here they are:
Patchwork Pincushions 2
But for this bloghop I had lots of ideas and things I wanted to try so I ended up making another three! First up a little dresden flower using japanese fabric scraps - one to take to Tokyo! This is only my second dresden - my first was as part of the dresden bloghop! I like using these hops to learn a new technique. Which is what I did with my attempt at scrappy sashiko. I explained my thinking behind this here. I added a loop to this one so I have a better chance to not losing it! Then finally there is the folded one. Details of how I'd change my method next time here too. Here are my happy trio.
Patchwork Pincushions
I think my favourite is this one:
Dresden Pin Cushion
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So there we go! No giveaway this time but my pattern for this little pouch to be made from four 5" charm squares is still available.
charm
Enjoy!

Now please go and visit all my Pin Cushion buddies for today on the hop...

Tiny Clothes and Stockings

The great thing about knitting for babies is how quickly the little things fly off the needles. Behold! 'Jasmine the Minx' and the more demure 'Autumn Jasmine'.
Jasmine the Minx Cardigan
Autumn Cardigan
Neither have buttons yet. For someone who adores buttons so much I seem to have a terrible time sewing them on to clothes. I am thinking some little wired pearl ones for the Autumn cardi and some big red or purple ones on the Minx. Patterns are both free and are Autumn Leaves and the Easy Baby Cardigan which I've made before. On this one I put the fastenings over to one side and made them loops instead of ties.

In between knitting I have also been doing a little sewing. My Christmas stockings are gradually moving on!
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I was going to outline the initials with Clover mini bias tape in silver but it was too darn fiddly. I went with bondaweb and zig zag using some nice shiny silver thread.
applique initial P
My one is the only one I've made up so far and I've yet to add lining and the all important hanging loop.
stocking in progress
After all, what else would you attach it to the mantlepiece with?!

Saturday 14 September 2013

Books 2013 #35 - #41

This post is directly inspired by KnittingOnTheGreen's last set of reviews which included my #41 as her #75 (she knits as fast as she reads!). I went onto Amazon as a result of her recommendation and read it pretty much straight away. Now I have a whole new series to enjoy!

#35 Death at Epsom Downs
Robin Paige

Another in this easy reading cosy mystery series. This is book 7 and looks into doping in horse racing and the start of the movement to stop it. Lillie Langtry brings the Prince Regent into it. Various bits of intrigue. Overall a bit stilted but still a relaxing read when all about you is losing it. 

#36 An Uncertain Place
Fred Vargas

Ah lovely, lovely Ms Vargas, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Hot damn this is another great one. I did find myself wondering whether the make up of the police team wasn't getting a bit silly, including as it does a man who is usually drunk by lunch, another who naps in the basement, a woman who stashes food in secret places, a man who talks in verse and so on. But then my work environment is made up of a hackney hipster, a ufologist, a stoner, a guy living with a partner with a terminal illness, an immigrant obsessed with the theatre, a man who loves harsichords, a closet mysogenist and a chronic relationship serialist, plus the mental me who's in a committed relationship with her ex-husband. I cannot recommend these books enough. So well written - which must in this case owe something to the translator from the original french. 

#37 A Letter of Mary
Laurie R King

An archeologist has made a discovery which she is sure is genuine. She gives it to Mary Russell. Then she dies. It's all a bit odd. In fact that sums up the whole book. And the series. Good grief, I cannot contain it any longer. Sherlock Holmes marrying? Sherlock Holmes marrying someone 25+ years younger than him? I don;t think I can read anymore of these. Well, maybe one more. 

#38 A Blink of the Screen

Terry Pratchett

This was very interesting. Collected short stories he has written throughout his life including at least one from when he was a teenager. And that was considerably better than anything I could ever write and indeed better than a number of adult authors I have read. This man was born to write and has given me so much pleasure along the way. The first half are non-discworld stories all fantasy/sci-fi. One about enhanced living chimed suprisingly with the introduction of google glasses. The second half were all discworld and the one about Granny Weatherwax was the piece de resistance for me. A great read for anyone who admires his writing.

#39 The Cuckoo's Calling
Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

I had initially discounted this because it was by JK Rowling and I find Harry Potter annoying. But then I wised up and thought that it's a mystery and I am a mystery buff and if that lawyer's wife hadn't blown her cover I would have read it. 
(I've had a postcard of this on my wall since I was 13 - love it.)

So there I was, reading this book, and I was pleasantly surprised. There is no hint of schmaltzy Potter, it's well edited (something I felt Potter always lacked), the characters were believable and the story was great! A model with a druggy boyfriend (Kate and Pete anyone?) falls to her death from her flat balcony - or was she pushed? Her brother thinks so, so he hires a detective called Cormoran Strike. I found the story compelling and interesting and was always keen to pick it up again when work interrupted my reading. If, like me, you are not a Potter fan (unlikely as it seems since most of the reading world seems to love them) I wouldn't let that put you off. I'd definitely recommend this and actually feel sorry that her cover was broken by that dappy woman. I'll definitely read the next one. 

#40 Operation Pax
Michael Innes

One of the Sir John Appleby mysteries which I 'read' as an audiobook. It starts pretty badly with this loathesome young man trying to cash a fraudulant cheque. He gets the wind up and does a runner only to get into more trouble. His journey culminates with him trying to attack a woman (one assumes this is with rape in mind but this being a vintage tale it is not spelt out) but the lady proceeds to thoroughly beat him up at which point things start getting thoroughly weird for him. The story picks up after this and turns into a proper Innes romp with Sir John's sister intricately involved. As with the previous book (and with the following one) I was keen to get back to listening to this each time I had to stop and a 10 hour trip to the Eden Project and back helped with that. The audiobook is nearly 13 hours long so excellent value if you do decide to go for it - although I got it as one of my 2 a month deal from Audible. 

#41 Bruno Chief of Police
Martin Walker

This is the one Liz recommended and I can see why she said it was a bit Hamish Macbeth to start with - local policeman helping local people with local things. Yep - it could all have been a bit mawkish. Fortunately (although not for the victim) an arab immigrant who moved to the village to join his son and grandson is very savagely murdered in what looks like a race crime and things really start to kick off. I was hoping this could be a new Fred Vargas series and it isn't, but that isn't to say it's not well worth a read. The characters are very believable and I intend to ask my cousin (who lives in a small town part of France) about how realistic the town's mayor etc are as they come across as well rounded. The story also deals with a part of French history during WWII which I didn't know about which was also very interesting. I am very grateful to Liz for pointing this one out to me!

Sunday 8 September 2013

Jasmine the Stoner

She is now almost 4 months old and weighs exactly a stone!
Rainbow jasmine
Isn't she the cutest? She was a tad on the grumpy side (possible teething suspected) and tended to cry when Pooch held her - but then I feel like that sometimes too - but otherwise we had a lovely day with her yesterday. Lots of food, dog stroking, tortoise gazing, baby jiggling and a bit of knitting. I had already finished this for her:
Jasmine Bobble Head
(Look at that scowl!) Her Mum kindly admitted it "looked better on" having initially been rather aghast at what I described as a 'cross between a gnome and a clown hat'. I've now got a little raglan cardi on the needles for her.

On the way back we travelled through some rather idyllic english countryside.
English Landscape
I should make the most of it since I have now resigned my job! We are tentatively looking at the third week in November for departing to Tokyo so there is a lot to get done before then. Not least of which are ten of these!
Stocking in progress
I got the Clover mini bias stuff this week. It is a thin silver iron on tape which I plan to use to outline the initials I'll be adding to the stockings. I've actually made all the stockings now but have yet to quilt or assemble them, never mind the initials. So still a little bit to do there. Before I dash off to get started I felt I ought to share this which I happened across on a craft tutorial app.
Hedgehog head
Next time you want to do a self-portrait try sitting with your mouth open and put a hedgehog on your head. And please do share the result.