Ultraman Mebius

My Little Man is going to summer camp this weekend. His first time away from Mommy & Daddy, except for sleepovers at grandparent's houses. Just 4, 5, and 6 year olds with their camp leaders, off to the mountains in Nagano!

I had to sew a big name tag for him, and we went to a fabric store together. He simply HAD to have this fabric, with his favorite, Ultraman Mebius, @1,200 yen / meter. We got the minimum 30cm, and with the same fabric I made him a little bag to put his jammies in, and a reversible mini-coaster. (See the blue and red Ultramans in the two photos?) I don't have a sewing machine, so I hand sewed everything, and crocheted the cords. Huuuuuuge sense of accomplishment!

Moss Grid Hand Towel and financiers

I finally finished the Hand Towel from the Mason Dixon book. I used a cotton/linen blend instead of the Euroflax called for in the book. This is its pre-washed state.

I'm very curious how it will change after washing, and how absorbent it will be.
It took me forever to memorize the pattern, but it was pretty interesting. I might knit it again.


I baked some financiers today. I don't have the rectangle shapes, so I made them into little hearts. Very crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside!

The Yogamat bag - 5 months late

The yogamat bag for my girlfriend is finally done!
DH presented it to her at her going away party, since she will be moving to the bay area next week (lucky!), so it seemed like it was a going away present. It was actually a birthday present, 5 months late!　

I tried to knit something round for the bottom, but it was more of a square-like shape. I picked up stitches from all around the sides, and knit with a circular Clover Takumi size 10 needles until it was a little taller than the yogamat.

Then, I made little holes by doing a yarnover, then k2tog, k, all around. Since I am so lazy and mathematically-challenged, I didn't bother figuring out how many holes that would make, even though I recognized the 50/50 chance that I would have one hole too many (or too less, whichever). Lo and behold, when I put the 9 stitch I-cord through the holes, there was one hole left! Oh well. This is why I usually follow a pattern.

If I ever make this again, I will make the I-cord first and attach it to the bottom, or attach some kind of reinforcement so that the I-cord can be attached later. Yogamats are pretty heavy, so I think it needs to be reinforced to carry the weight without falling apart.

I baked banana bread with Tania's recipe from her book, which I made a comment on at amazon. 2 out of 2 people said my review was helpful. I hope I am helping sales a little bit :)

Like her recipe for scones, it uses bread flour. It called for 1 tablespoon of vinegar, but the idea of putting in vinegar for a sweet baked good didn't appeal to me, so I used 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, which she mentions in the book as a substitution. I was expecting a dense texture because of the flour, but it was very light and fluffy. DH liked it a lot, and thought I should use this recipe all the time from now on.

At the neckline for Tempting II

My Tempting II is coming along, but I'm not sure if I like it. I made the sleeves longer, and that went fine. I did the gauge swatch in stockinette, and it was perfect. However, because the yarn is so spongy, I think I knit it too loosely, and it seems too big. Not tight-fitting like the picture in knitty. But I am almost done, so I will finish it anyway and see how it comes out, for the Sexy Knitters Club knit along deadline on August 31.

green dishcloth trio

Finished the third green dishcloth today.

Same ballband pattern, same green cotton yarn as the baby kimono, and the white linen/cotton blend yarn as the purple trio.

I am thinking of knitting socks next, but sock yarn seems hard to come by in Japan. Will do some more research. Until then, maybe I will try other dishcloth patterns for my commute.