amimono note

Socks, Deborah

These socks are knitted with yarn from Japan. A friend sent me the yarn a few months ago. It is self-patterning and made in Italy. I think the thickness of the yarn is between Regia 4ply and 6ply. It is 100% wool, not like self-patterning yarn seen in the U.S. I don't think this yarn is distributed as a sock yarn in Japan since sock knitting is not so popular there.

This is Deborah, from Rowan Magazine #36. What was I thinking when I bought these yarns (Kid Classic and Kid Silk Haze)?! I don't think I can wear this pink cardigan...

Yo-yo Quilt

I’m not a sewing person, but something has struck me and I’ve been making yo-yos for a yo-yo quilt lately.

After cutting 100 circles with a pair of big sewing shears my right wrist began to ache, then I thought there must be some kind of fabric circle cutting device out there… Quilting seems more popular than any other needlework in the U.S., so they must have invented something. (There seems to be a quilting supply shop in every town in the U.S.)

I did a little search and found there is a rotary circle cutter, and it was from the Japanese company Olfa. Olfa products have a very good reputation in Japan, so I decided to buy it. It cost about $20.

Later I learned that my friend bought it for only $5 in Japan! I can’t buy it for that price here so I should not feel bad, but I always feel like I wasted some money when I buy a Japanese product in the U.S. It’s funny that I still can’t accept “imported (so they are more expensive than the original price) Japanese products” even though I’ve been here for 5 years now.

Anyway, the cutter worked great and I was able to cut lots of circle fabrics without breaking my wrist.

Knitting

It's "Honey" from Rowan Summer Tweed Collection. I think I'm going to put this away until the weather will be warmer...