St Valentine's Day

So for St. Valentine's day I made all my sister's hair pin kanzashi. My brother Robert and I made one for mom as well. I made up a new recipe for linguini using chicken, tomatoes, and king oyster mushrooms. They really do taste like oysters. A little cheese, some spices and pesto sauce and it was ready to go. Of course for dessert we had chocolate.(^.^)



Holly's hair pin kanzashi. I still think I should have painted a little white something on the middle bead.



Maggie's hair pin kanzashi, plus one for her doll. The big one looks longer than it really is; I have no idea why the photo came out this way

Nashville Parthenon

Today we went to The Nashville Parthenon. They filmed a movie here; Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Of course, when they shot it the the new statue of Athena wasn't there, so that was totally different. It was funny watching the movie later and going "I know those water fountains, I drank from those!" I took a ton of pictures, though Maggie stole my camera halfway through; maybe she needs a camera next? Of course, the twins spent the most time trying to decide why this one statue had only part of his parts, if you know what I mean. Never mind it was missing his head; the fact that his trouser snake was gone was much more interesting.

The Parthenon. Notice the way the columns are shaped.

Is it just me, or does the scupltor of Athena have a snake fetish? She is covered in them, and she looks like one herself. The gold eyebrows and lashes don't help with the snake image at all; the only thing that isn't white or gold on her is her eyes. Apparently Greeks are one of those groups of people who think snakes are lucky or something. Yikes!

Amigurumi

Amigurumi is a Japanese word simply meaning knit/crocheted toy. Basically amigurumi are stuffed animals, dolls, etc which is made by knitting/crocheting the form of the toy and then stuffing. The method of making these toys is not Japanese at all; however, those that knit or crochet often use the word amigurumi simply because saying something like 'a stuffed, crocheted cat' is a mouthful.
Amigurumi are usually worked in the round, which means instead of working back and forth like you see in afghans and sweaters, you work around and around. Amigurumi have very few if any seams; often the only stitching involved is the attaching of limbs. They come in as many shapes and sizes as any other soft toy, and are gaining popularity with both handicrafters and toy collectors of all ages.
I crochet, not knit, so the only example pictures I have are of crocheted amigurumi. I can't knit something that doesn't look like a cat chewed it to save my life! However, if you search for images under amigurumi, you can see many different types. Some are really creative, like an amigurumi Spock^^



An amigurumi Curious George. He's over 60 cm (two feet) tall, and does NOT have a tail. Curious George is a rather odd monkey like that^^



A mouse amigurumi, roughly 10 cm (4 inches) tall

Holly's Birthday

It's seems like all I blog about are birthdays. This time it's Holly's 16th. Her party was held at the local skating rink, and the theme was a Chinese water garden. The cakes turned out ok, but I'm not sure Mom and I will ever try to make our own fondant again.

Holly's present.

Sushi cakes.
Also paper plum blossoms. 

Chinese take out cakes 

Rosie's Birthday

Rosie's Birthday involved a dozen 13/14 year old girls spending the night. Activities included eating junk food, getting reminded that this party is PG, general hullaballoo, staying up 'till five in the morning, and Chaos. Lots of Chaos.

Rosie's new zebra striped necklace.
Zebra is apparently required of all teenaged girls.

Card Games. The most tame I saw them all night.

No idea what they're doing.
At least they stopped playing truth or dare.

They covered their cell phones in duck-tape.
I was told I wasn't cool enough to understand.

New Floor

It's the day before Saint Lucy's day, and I have spent the day putting down new flooring in my room. I finished it though!

Mom's Birthday

So, my mother's birthday, 'nough said.

Mom's cake; chocolate peanut butter.
Of course the boys put the cake too close to the stove when they were helping with dinner, so it's saggy on one side.

Mom's present from me.
She wanted a sea shell set.

The other present from me.
Fall kanzashi have such pretty colours.

Maggie's Birthday

Maggie's 8th B-day is here, and so are the frogs. She's obsessed with the little amphibians. Her birthday party this week end is Hello Kitty/Keroppi themed, but until then here's her present and a piniata!



Maggie's new amigarumi frog.
It's huge!
  

Hello Kitty-chan Pinata.
Made by me!

The frog was promptly named Frog.
What else would you name it?  

Yukata?

When I tell people I make yukata, many people have no idea what I am talking about. You say kimono, and most non-Japanese people at least have an idea about what you're talking about, but yukata? What is that?

Yukata were actually originally robes worn at hot springs, much like dressing gowns here in the west. As time went on they became clothing in their own right, often worn at summer festivals. Think of them as the blue jeans of the kimono family; appropriate for play and work, but you can't wear them to a black-tie affair^^ They are actually seeing a return to popularity by younger generations, possibly because thy are easier to wear and care for, and with fewer 'rules' on proper patterns and colors, than formal kimono.
For a long time yukata were almost always made of cotton, with white, blue or bluish gray patterns. Now they are made in a variety of bright colors and patterns, 'though cotton is still by far the fabric of choice. Most men's yukata are still fairly plain, with geometric or water-themed prints, whereas women's yukata are often floral patterned. Children's yukata can end up having just about anything on them, from solid colored to toys, Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty-chan.

There are actually several different patterns with which yukata are sewn.
First, women's yukata are open at the arm pit, sleeves and body both. This is to allow the wearer to adjust the fabric around and under the obi so that everything lies smooth. the fronts of the women's sleeves are usually curved at the bottom hem, and may be slightly longer than the men's.
Women's yukata come in two standard lengths; ankle and 'ohashori.' The second is considered more formal or proper. It is as long as the woman is tall; the extra fabric is folded up under the obi for a smoother, more formal fit. The shorter length is more popular with my younger Japanese friends but that might not be an accurate thing to say about length preference in general^^
Men's yukata sleeves are sewn to the body almost all the way down to the waist, and have sharp corners on their sleeves. Since men's obi are almost half as wide as woman's and are worn lower in the body, there's no need to adjust the fabric around the obi.
Unisex yukata are about halfway between the two. They are usually seen at hot springs and are usually blue or the hot spring's colors.
There is also 'western' style yukata, which do not have the cool sleeves we think of kimono as having. These look like cotton European bathrobes, and aren't particularly popular anywhere any more as far as I know.

Easter and Mother's Day

Unfortunantly, Easter fell right before finals week this year, and I didn't bother to post anything. So I'll post the Easter stuff along with Mom's present. Crochet is such a good thing to do while studying; put your fingers on auto-pilot and go to town. I never follow patterns any way, and if you over do something a few quick tugs puts you back on track. Gets rid of fidgiting fingers and nail biting too ^^

Mother's Day set

Double soled slippers

Amigurumi bear

Amigurumi bunny. They don't have a face or limbs, but they're so cute. I made almost a dozen of them^^

Turtle amigurumi

stalker amigurumi turtle ^^

Easter fairy bunny

The wings are like a back-pack, and come off