Making Useless Things

Drove home to Cleveland this past weekend for a quick cup of coffee at my parents. Also to pick up our two little cat children. I am not excited to see how they adapt to living in a two bedroom apartment. The whining just started tonight, so we will see. If they get too fussy we will just release them to my parents backyard again. If you have any tips on keeping an outdoor cat content indoors, let me know.

I also dropped off this pair of socks at my sisters. She was pretty happy with them. I think this is my new go to “easy” sock recipe. Working with self striping yarn is super fun. The after thought heel really helps to add room and stretch for a nice comfortable fit. Plus, getting to cut your knitting is always a bit of a thrill :)

I was out to lunch with a friend last week and we walked by a store that I always wanted to check out, but it never seemed to be open. After mentioning this my friend dragged me inside. Knowing that it would be my last chance, since I would be leaving Okinawa soon. Lo and behold! It was a yarn store! Run by an incredible yarn bomber. She had a lovely little selection of yarn, mostly for crocheting, but it was still wonderful to see. I bought this nice wool tweed, which will make a cute little hat or mittens.

 Yarn shops are really hard to come by in Japan, especially on a tropical island. I didn’t think to take any photos of her store, but it was very neat. But you can check out her work on Instagram: Love Made

After three years in Okinawa, Japan I am finally moving back to the States. I will be sad to leave this weird and wonderful place, knowing that if I ever return it will be vastly different. 

 I have all my projects sorted. I am trying to condense them as much as possible. I have 2 sweaters, a shawl and some socks. One or two might get shipped, depending on how much room I have left in my suitcase.

Have you ever wondered what it is like to shop for crafts in Okinawa, Japan. Well let me enlighten you!

The lovely @seireinxo invited me to take a little trip down to one of the larger craft supply stores on the island. While the drive was long and full of obnoxious traffic, the company was great. 

Craft stores here hardly resemble anything like Michaels/Hobby Lobby/JoAnns in the States. There are no large spacious warehouses filled with copious amounts of craft notions. Here stores are small and few. But some of them can be pure goldmines. Rainbow house, the one we adventured too, was mostly stocked with fabric and sewing notions. They had a tiny section of yarn to coo over, but yarn here is expensive and the skeins are very small. 

I was more thrilled by the Sanrio themed fabrics, and even a few Lolita inspired prints. I had a hard time passing up all the Hello Kitty and a My Melody prints. Then I stumbled on all the Alice in Wonderland themed items, and I almost went a tiny bit crazy. 

I settled on the things I actually needed: thread and beads for cross stitch and a few notions for my Alice purse, zipper, lining fabric and strap. Things I couldn’t pass up were the Little Twin Star pre-quilted fabric, and the Gudetama patch. 

All in all a good haul. I also now know I will be planning a Sanrio themed quilt before I leave island.

Life has been a bit hectic this week. I started my job, husband got his wisdom teeth pulled... just normal life stuff. All of it good though! (The hubby is doing well, it's lots of cuddling, netflix, and yummy snacks) So, to relax I have been spending a lot of my time coloring or painting. It has been really nice. It also forces me outside, and to look at the space around me, which can be very interesting. As far as my knitting projects go, I am so so so close to finally finishing my shawl. I can't wait to be done with that project. I spent a few hours on it today. It is like wading upstream... one row takes ages. But anyway, here is to a very busy, very pleasant week. I hope your own has been much the same!

My life currently consists of bugs. I am seriously regretting waiting so long to have my house sprayed... but while I hate seeing creepy crawlies inside my house, outside is another matter. The butterflies are so big here, they often look like birds, and same with the cicadas (and banana spiders 😲) The snails are just as big, but if you get a magnifying glass you can see snails as small as a pin head. So cute! Although, walking on the grass is always followed by unpleasant crunching sounds... snails are that abundant. But back to the point that matters, I finished my scarf. I named it Craige na Dun, after the stones in Outlander. Shhhh it's ok, I am allowed to fangirl 😉 Hope all of you have a great holiday, that is much less full of bugs then mine is!

THE GOOD WEATHER IS BACK. sorry. I am just very happy to see the sun. My first rainy season on Okinawa last year only last about 19 days, I believe. This year it was closer to 30. Now the sun is shining all the time, and it is certainly NOT scarf weather. But I am still hard at work trying to finish it up. This may be a project I keep for myself. I am starting to attach fond memories to it, since I watch Outlander while I work on it 😄 Can not wait to have it blocked and completed. I hope the sun is shining where ever you are, because the sun is awesome!

A good cup of coffee goes a long way... I like to sprinkle cardamom and cinnamon in my grounds before brewing. Once you try it you never go back! I know most of you are embracing spring with your arms open. But I am rebelling... I want to hold onto cozy dark days just a little bit longer. We don't get a whole lot of that here on Okinawa. So before the temperature spikes to a consistent 98 degrees Fahrenheit. I am making myself a pair of fluffy, soft, and cozy cabled socks/slippers. Plus, sometimes it is tough to find a good spring knitwear project. So if you have any you want to share, please do!

Let's talk about how incredible the flora and fauna of Okinawa is. It is so inspiring for me. I love botany. While I might not be best at plant names, or even caring for plants. I enjoy them immensely, and it is a pleasure to live some where where plants flourish. Also, my next project will be covered in cute flowers. So get ready :)

I needed a smaller purse... So I made one. It has its flaws because sewing is not my forte (mostly in the strap department). The embroidery is traditional Japanese sashiko. Craft stores here offer tid-bits like zippers, purse handles, hooks etc. for super cheap. Zippers are all under a dollar. Even for 20 cm or more! I will cry when I go back to the states and have to shell out four bucks for crappy plastic zippers :(

Sometimes life is hard. Lately a lot of not good stuff has been happening. But some how this crazy place I live in makes up for all of that. We have had the most incredible sunsets the past few days, one even included a rainbow. I miss my home, but I truly love living in Okinawa. I know this isn't knitting related, but I thought I would share this anyway. Hope you all are doing well. And that you experience some stunning views during your hard times. Cheers!

Made a matching pair of fingerless gloves for my fair isle hat. These little things are so cute... I can't wait to make more. Also, we are getting our first real typhoon here on Okinawa. Very exciting, and very windy. I am happy to stay home and work on my quilt, as well as a few more pairs of these :)

Someone is supposed to be developing her shop, working on projects, and posting new listings. But the tide pools here are just way to distracting... I will never get any real work done ;)

Our typhoon ended up not bring much more then a summer storm. But I have still made some progress on an argyle hat, as well as enjoying the greenery outside. I hope you all are fabulous. I sure am, these summer days are just stunning.

The first typhoon of the season is heading our way. On Okinawa there are lots of ways to prepare. I did mine. Grabbed the first season of Gilmore Girls from the library, and a new hank of yarn for a hat. Can't really complain about the weather when I've got that to look forward too ;)

This is some yarn I picked up from a lady here on the island. She dyed and spun the veregated yarn herself, and spun the natural wool. Her website is http://lostbirdsfiber.com/, she also has an etsy. She is a very talented knitter, fiber enthusiast, and artist. I love the muted colors of the hand spun yarn, and the natural wool made a great gift for my mother. I never expected to meet such talented and beautiful people here. Yet there they are amazing me everyday. Defiantly check her out, it is worth it.