Back in the UK

I am at my Mum's house for the next week before spending the following two and a half with my sister, followed by a few days in London before heading back to Tokyo. My Mum's house seems more like a Country Life editorial each time I visit.

Spot the cat in that last one? As a proud Nana I had printed her some new photos so added them to her brag board.

Still three of me on there so I'm not feeling jealous. Yet.

Patchwork Shoes

Do you remember that Jimmy Nail hit "Crocodile Shoes" in 1994? Probably not, but I do. It has nothing whatsoever to do with these shoes or this post, or this whole blog. but it just popped into my head as I typed "Patchwork Shoes".

I have been having trouble finding suitable summer shoes for Tokyo, in Tokyo. Women's shoes go up to about a UK 6 and I am an 8. Men's shoes are too wide and NOT PRETTY! I want ones with bows on and kittens and stuff.

You rarely see shoes like this in the men's section. So...I went online and found some fairly dull shoes but which came in my size and looked suitable for walking around a city with its thermostat stuck on 'high'. Then I started covering them with the aimless patchwork I started making way back in October last year.

I decided it looked a bit jobby, but it's hard to remove glue and fabric from white shoes without leaving dirty marks (guess how I know that) so I carried on.

Once the glue had dryed I gave them two coats of this spray-on walking shoe waterproofing stuff I had kicking about. I still think they look a tad jobby but they are much more colourful than any other summer shoes I could find in my size. I wore them this week for the first time and they held up well so I shall count that as a success!

Saying "Au Revoir" to the Cats

I know I kid myself that these cats realise I come to see them regularly, but I felt I had to say farewell, since I am going to be away for a month. I'm not sure how many of them noticed though - it was sleep central.

Of course Bruiser had also been asleep but woke up with menaces to make it clear he hated everything, especially me, whether awake or not.

Fortunately the young ginger cat was in a playful mood so armed with a rattling mouse we grouped around the shoe box.

The noise brought some unwanted attention from some of the bigger males. Young Ginger was forced to defend his box.

Having dealt with them things almost came a cropper when he was taken off guard by a surprise side-attack by the mouse.

I did think he was going to make a run for it but then he tackled the situation as only a cat could.

Then his Mum came along and, to his clear irritation, started cleaning his face for him. Mums, eh?

Speaking of which, I am looking forward to a week with my Mum's cat, but Artemis spends all day in the fields killing real mice and leaving their innards on the doorstep before coming back and dropping out for the count for the next 8 hours in front of the aga. I can't blame her for this but she has never been one for playing so I will just have to try and catch her 'awake' long enough for some purry stroking at some point. Plus she has an amazingly small head - never noticed that until I started hanging out with so many other cats.

Gotoku-ji Temple - Home of the Lucky or Beckoning Cat

I am not sure how it took me so long to hear about this place, but having heard about it yesterday, I was there today.

An ordinary temple, you might be thinking.

Pretty, but hardly worth the hour's travel each way when there are other pretty temples nearer central Tokyo.

Well, meow to you with nobs on. You round a corner and....

Yeah, that's roughly two kabillion "maneki neko" figures.

I love how in that last one there is just the one looking the wrong way. The wooden prayer cards (I know there is a proper name for these but it escapes me) are also themed.

You find boards like these at all temples. You write your prayer on the back and then hang it up.

Of course you can buy your boards and cats there. The shop is suitably marked with this sign.

Legend holds that the maneki neko originated back in Edo period. The temple keeper was very poor and had trouble keeping up the temple, but when he found a stray cat he decided to take it home and look after it. A feudal lord from Hikone was travcelling nearby and was sheltering from a storm under a tree when he saw this cat beckoning him to come into the temple. The lord followed the cat and as soon as he had moved the tree was struck by lightning. The lord wanted to thank the cat for saving him and collected enough funds to rebuild and claim the temple as his family temple, which eventually became Gotoku-ji. As time went on, people began to offer maneki neko figurines to the temple as a sign of gratitude when their wishes came true. Now those of us who know cats...

...know they are not generally given to altruism, but maybe this was a special one and this did happen. In any case, it was beautiful to walk around. The whole trip was possibly made worthwhile just by spotting the feet of this incense burner.

The sculptor definitely caught that expression perfectly!

Sewing Finishes

I have two quick projects to show. The first is a second embroidery case. My original one, from the "Say it with flowers" bloghop, is on the left while the new one is on the right. When my Mum saw mine she remarked that one would be perfect for her to carry her embroidery around in rather than the carrier bag she was using. Hint taken!

Her taste in colours and patterns is somewhat different to mine, so I gathered seven flower prints and some scraps of a japanese crane print I already had and got to work.

The button is a fabric covered one using another of the japanese scraps. The binding is pukka liberty bias binding I bought one day thinking of making a necklace.

It matched this too well though not to be used for its proper purpose. The embroidery is feather stitch, one of my Mum's favourites, and there is a nice diagram of how to do it half way down this page.

On the inside, similar to the inside of the original at the top of the picture, is a needle holder, transparent pouch for embroidery thread and scissors and just the one pocket.

You'll notice I've made everything completely wonky - my signature style it would seem. My own fault for not basting the layers together before binding. Lesson learnt.

My second finish is this skirt.

I can't decide whether I like it or it is really, really ugly. However, I have been wearing it on the basis that it is so freakin hot out here that even a maxi skirt is too much coverage. It is made from the leftovers from our curtains, which I made back in December. Pooch claims it is part of my stealth-attack-outfit for when I decide to do him in. Could be. The skirt was an impulse make so I used a random zip I had lying about. It had this key charm attached, which looks a bit odd but I decided to live with it.

It makes me smile each time I see it.

I've been meaning to make another skirt but am now going back to the UK on Tuesday where it will be 10-15 degrees cooler each day plus a much lower humidity level. I'll need to pack a jacket! I haven't so much as worn a cardigan since April. The idea of possibly being cold is really rather appealing. Strange world.

And Now For Some Knitting

You wouldn't think that 35+ degree weather would make for happy knitting but then you might not have taken into account this new fangled air conditioning I'm getting used to. That makes it perfect knitting weather! I am currently working on little Jasmine's winter wardrobe and making two-year-old sizes since although she'll only be 18 months she's quite a girl. First up we have a nifty ensemble in grey.

The cardigan is based on a french design that was only available for three year olds. So I adapted a Drops pattern and it came out ok. The only thing is the bow is a bit droopy. I might need to move the fastening to change that. Details on ravelry here. The hat is uber stretchy and has those cords to stop the little bugger pulling it off. Details on ravelry here.

In addition I have cast on and half done a wrap cardigan for the Jbola Virus since the wrap cardi I made when she was a tiny one went down very well. Again I'm using a Drops pattern and I'm even using the recommended yarn - Drops Delight - which I complained about a few posts ago. Although of course I'm striping them.

I have no idea what I will make next but I am very strictly only knitting from the stash I have so that will dictate. I haven't yet decided whether I will make xmas presents this year but I suppose I should decide soon. "Christmas in July" has a very specific meaning for knitters - it is when they start working on their gifts!

Yukata and Fireworks

With my handmade yukata finally finished, I was heading out to a yukata dressing workshop followed by fireworks to the north of Tokyo.

For those in need of a refresher, a yukata is essentially an unlined cotton kimono worn in the summer. They can be worn generally, and some people do wear them everyday, but they are specifically worn by young people at festivals and many stores/stalls/venues offer discounts during july-august for people who turn up wearing one. I made my yukata from scratch in the workshops organised by the lovely Kaori of Field Trip + who also organised this event. Previous blog posts about it here and here.

The workshop was great. The teacher had extensive experience promoting japanese traditions. She was wearing this beautiful swallow pattern yukata.

 

The rest of us fumbled along under her expert tuition. The two on the right had made their yukatas alongside me while the other two had bought theirs.

Until finally...

Cool, huh? I have to wear my obi higher than is really desirable because of my hips. Japanese ladies tend to have less curve than us englishers! Once we were all ready to go we had one last group shot before setting off. Don't we all look awesome?! They are surprisingly comfortable and cool to wear.

When we got there, the heavens opened and it POURED. We paused under shelter and admired others as they went past, attracting quite a lot of attention because it's not that common to see Gaijens dressed up.

Finally the rain eased and we were off. It was brill!

The rain continued but since it was warm it wasn't too bad, except for the concern about a potential 'wet yukata contest'.

I snapped this one just as the grand finale was going on. Everyone was holding their phone in front of their face.

Overall it was great and I now know two ways to tie an obi (the very long belt). I am hoping to find another event during the next week to wear it at and I'll be taking it home with me on my next visit to the UK so I can dress my Mum and Sisters up. Should be quite funny!