Fluffbuff

  The beauty of Japanese knitting symbols is that they are standardized across publications according to the JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards Association) so this is really a useful reference if you are trying to decipher a Japanese pattern (thanks Yukie for pointing this out). And don't forget that ABCs of Knitting has a wealth of information for both Japanese and English speaking knitters trying to understand each other's ways of charting knitting patterns.

よくわかる編目記号ブック―棒針あみ120
Clear and Simple Knitting Symbols
74 pages
Published 1993
ISBN 452902413X / 9784529024136

The book covers 120 knitting symbols. This is a lot more than we are used to seeing in English knitting books. We are talking symbols, not actual patterns, and I think this is beacause Japanese knitting books don't give text-only instructions like some western books do, so more symbols are needed to avoid lengthy descriptions. Once you have a way to read the symbols, this really makes better sense.

Posted by Francesca at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I'm in love.

Habu 2-ply cashmere is wonderful, but won't come into its own until after washing. Jade Sapphire 2-ply cashmere, on the other hand, is instant gratification. Lusty, passionate, gotta-have-you, let's-spend-time-together-now kind of love. It's heavenly.

I only bought one skein because I wanted to try it and also there was only one in this color — and let's face it, it ain't cheap — so I started spending quality time with it by making swatches.

I started with simple stockinette then moved to more complex patterns. The swatch below is pattern #295 from that Japanese pattern book I got recently.

At first I got one of the stitches wrong. I knew it right away, but was too lazy to get my butt off the couch and go get that other Japanese book that explains all the knitting symbols (a whole entry on that book soon). Eventually I did, and the rest of the swatch looks right.

Last night, I decided to take a little break from my yellow Habu lace scarf (almost done with the border) and actually start a project with the Jade Sapphire. I picked a fun scarf designed by Brenda Patipa. It's a bit frou-frou for my taste, but I can make this with just one skein and I've never done anything with short rows so I'm learning something new.

I promise: I will finish the yellow scarf! I also needed a little break from #0 needles. I am knitting the Jade Sapphire with #1 needles, which may not seem much of a difference to some knitters, but believe me, it does make for slightly more relaxed knitting for me.

Posted by Francesca at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

My brain is wired to distinguish subtly different color shades, appreciate minor points of typography, and be turned on by language (forget my flat prose… I do enjoy good writing), but it shuts down when it comes to accounting and tax preparation. I've been in tax hell for days and still can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. This year we have to prepare tax returns for both of us plus the business as a corporation. Just distinguishing between personal and business expenses is driving me crazy. And then there's payroll and other fun stuff. Why is my brain refusing to grasp even the basics of this shit?

The boys, of course, are oblivious to the state of disarray of the house. A little nap here, a little sun there, food in the bowl, clean litter, plenty of coccole (cuddles). Do they worry about the IRS? I think not.

Meanwhile, bank and credit card statements, receipts, pay stubs and the like have taken over half the house. And I'm making progress… yesterday all this stuff was on the floor.

This morning we were supposed to meet with our new tax/accounting person and had to cancel because we were nowhere close to being ready.

After spending the morning trying to sort thigns out, I decided I needed a break. A little blogging might help, I figured. Yes, I'm losing it.

And now, back to reality.

Posted by Francesca at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

  This book presents 300 knitting stitch patterns arranged according to their main design elements (see table of content below). I love the samples in all sorts of shapes: triangles, circles, stars and more. They seem to be finished with a round of crochet to keep the edges from curling up. Entirely in Japanese apart from the section titles.

透かし模様300―棒針あみ模様別決定版
300 Knitting Patterns (?)
128 pages
ISBN 4529020711

300 stitch patterns divided as follows:

• Leaf 1-30
• Diamond 31-60
• Stripe:
  
  • Horizontal 61-72
  • Vertical 73-90
  • Diagonal 91-102
  • Wave 103-114
• Small 115-144
• Check 145-168
• Pyramid 169-180
• Zigzag 181-204
• Herringbone 205-228
• Bobbles 229-240
• Flowers 241-258
• Lace 259-282
• Lace cable 283-300

The stitch library is followed by an explanation of the symbols used in the charts and the technique for each symbol is clearly illustrated in several steps.

Posted by Francesca at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

  Every now and then I get an email from someone asking where they can buy Japanese books. So far, I've been replying individually, but a collective reply will probably be more useful. So here's what I know. Please, let me know of other sources, especially in Europe, since I don't have any information about that.

I buy my books at Kinokuniya bookstores. They have stores in the US, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
Here is the complete list of Kinokuniya bookstores worldwide with contact information.
You can also order from them online or over the phone. My experience with Kinokuniya has always been very good.

Stores in the US
Asahiya, website in Japanese.
Locations: Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Torrance, San Diego, Chicago, New York.
Kinokuniya, website in Japanese with some English.
Locations: New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Costa Mesa.
Sanseido, website in Japanese.
Locations: inside Mitsuwa Marketplace stores. They may be at other, independent locations, but I don't know.
Sasuga Bookstore, website in English.
Locations: Massachussets

Stores in Asia + Australasia
Kinokuniya: Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, Thailand.

Stores down under
Kinokuniya Australia.

Stores in Europe
In Europe there are a few stores that sell Japanese items, including books, but from a quick scan it seems they don't have much in the line of craft books. In any case, here are the few I found.

Japan Centre Bookshop in the UK.
Jipango in France
Roellin Books in Germany

Online only stores:
Amazon.co.jp
Fujisan
Yes Asia

Some practical information

Amazon.co.jp
Amazon Japan now offers enough of their interface in English that it's possible for the rest of us to understand how to order. The shipment fees from Japan are high, but the basic prices are lower than at regular stores. If you lose your bookmark to this entry, just remember two things:
1) Choose English in the menubar

2) Open Amazon.com and perform the same operation on the US website comparing screen by screen with what you are doing on the Japanese website. The Japanese interface mirrors the US website closely, including placement of elements so for instance, if you were trying to add a book to your wishlist on the Japanese website, you would click the button highlighted in red on the bottom right. To create or view a wishlist, you would click the button highlighted in red at the top of the page.

This is the same page displayed with some elements in English:

Most of the time, I use Amazon.co.jp to browse or search books, then with the ASIN/ISBN number, I go to the Kinokuniya website to see if the book I want is available at a location near me. To see a book's ASIN/ISBN number, scroll down the page:

Kinokuniya

To check if a book is available from Kinokuniya stores, enter the ISBN/ASIN number in the input field by the pulldown menu called "Japanese books". I use the website for the US West Coast, as that is where I am. Make sure to use the Kinokuniya website for your area.

The bottom of this first page shows contact information for the area stores.

Entering the ASIN/ISBN number in this field will take you to a result page. If the book is in stock, it will appear as in the image below, with cover image, when available, and a list of the stores that have it in stock.

To see their other stores (East Coast and Asia): http://www.kinokuniya.com/

I hope this is not too confusing. I'll update this page whenever new information comes my way.

Posted by Francesca at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

   I had been waiting for this book for a few weeks and was disappointed when I finally picked it up the other day. The best thing is really the cover. There are many models — sweaters, vests, cardigans, gloves, scarves, berets — and color charts for the motifs, but no instructions for actually knitting the various garments. I had expected the usual Japanese craft book with a presentation section and a "How to make" section. Not this time. The book is also visually not in line with what I've come to expect and it feels a bit old. Perhaps the glossy paper, perhaps the page layouts and the overall feel of the photos. Just not exciting. I do like the sweater on the cover very much, though, and perhaps my dissatisfaction is just a result of my expectations. You judge. Sorry again for the poor picture quality. Between my unsteady hand (gotta get that tripod) and the glossy paper, this was not a good photoshoot.

フェアアイルニット―阪場勝子作品集
Fair Isle Knitting
by 勝子, 阪場
39 pages
Published: 2004/08
ISBN-13: 978-4835579191
ASIN: 4835579194

Posted by Francesca at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

A few months ago I started a complete list of all the books for which I have individual entries in the blog and somehow, along the way, forgot about it. Today, I finally updated it and also reinstated the link to the page under the Popular category in the right column. Somewhow I had lost the link, which I suppose played a part in me forgetting about that list.

For your viewing pleasure: complete book index. Enjoy.

Posted by Francesca at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

  This was a chance find at Sanseido bookstore. I hadn't seen this book anywhere, on- or off-line. Since my background is in graphic design, I responded to both the calligraphy aspect and the use of color. Apologies for the non-so-sharp photos. It's hard to keep the camera still while keeping the pages open. I couldn't really scan this book as it doesn't open up easily and I didn't want to squash it in the scanner.

文字の刺繍
Monogrammatic Embroidery by Calligraphy
by 真喜子, 小田原
73 pages
Published: 2006/9
ISBN-13: 978-4277370073
ASIN: 4277370071

Table of Contents

Basic

1. Copperplate
2. Italic
3. Gothic

Stitch Lesson

1. Step 1
2. Step 2
3. Step 3

Design

1. M
2. MO
3. K
4. Love

Variation

1. Room Shoes
2. Cloth
3. Apron
4. Stole
5. Bookmarker
6. Tea Cozy
7. Beret
8. Cushion
9. Cloth
10. Shirt
11. Tablier
12. Bag
13. Cloth
14. Gloves & Socks
15. Baby Shoes

Art of Stitch

Posted by Francesca at 7:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

  By now you know that I buy embroidery books and do nothing with them. I told myself it's okay; I get a lot of pleasure just leafing through these books and I'm not going to feel guilty for not being productive. This is my best find from yesterday's trip. I am in love with this little book. It's charming, well designed and truly inspirational. I give this book five stars. I'd give it five stars on the cover alone. And I did get a chuckle out of the funny English titles: Happy my tiny garden with pretty flowers, Fablic by Scandinavia, and A fossil makes blue flowers activated?

小さな庭の小さな刺しゅう
Tiny Garden
by 和子, 青木
83 pages
Published: 2004/03
ISBN-13: 978-4277311441
ASIN: 427731144X

Posted by Francesca at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

  Since I didn't take any time off during the weekend and had another frustrating day yesterday (after the heating broke twice last week, yesterday it was my car's turn… again), I awarded myself a day off during the week. That's right, I took Tuesday off and felt like raspberrying everyone as I was driving down the freeway on my way to Costa Mesa. That didn't last long, the raspberry part I mean. As soon as I got to the 5, I got stuck in a gigantic traffic jam and I'll spare you the whole story, but it took me more than two hours to get down there. And by the way, it was bloody hot and the AC died a couple of years ago and who wants to put money in a 15 year-old car?

So, by the time I made it to Purl Soho, I was in serious need of gratification.

More Habu 2-ply cashmere, just because. I think I'll try my hand at Fair Isle gloves with it; if not, I'll just fondle it late at night while sipping some Bailey's.

A hank of Jade Sapphire 2-ply Mongolian cashmere in Silver Pearl color, because it's slightly thicker than the Habu 2-ply and I want to try it. Jennifer, always extremely nice, offered to unwind the hank into a ball for me.

Some double pointed needles in size #0 (2.0mm) and #1 (2.25mm).

After that, the usual visit to Kinokuniya, which was actually the main reason for the trip since I wanted t pick up a book I had ordered a few weeks ago. That particular book — Fair Isle Knitting — turned out to be a disappointment (will I ever EVER learn not to buy books without seeing them first?), but I also picked up a booklet on Japanese knitting symbols and one on knitting techniques that I think will be very useful references. The Notations book I had also ordered could not be found, as it's been out of print for several years.

My last stop was at Sanseido Bookstore inside Mitsuwa, a Japanese supermarket. Sanseido is only a few minutes drive from Kinokuniya and I had never been there. As it turns out, they also have a very good craft section and I found a book I'd been after for a long time: Tiny Garden. In this case, I had been afraid of ordering it sight unseen and guess what? I love, love, love the book! I'll put up pictures of several spreads tomorrow. The other book is Monogrammatic Embroidery by Calligraphy, a complete surprise since I hadn't seen the cover anywhere.

Stay tuned for book pictures.

Posted by Francesca at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

My knitting has been going the same way as crabs go, two steps forward and three steps backwards, or thereabout. I did manage to finish the body of the scarf, though, and got started on the border. BTW, thank you for all your lovely comments and well wishes. Things are better and if we get the heating going again, they'll be better still. :) I'm getting rather philosophical about all the house shit that's been happening lately and I am trying real hard to concentrate on the stuff that's going well.

So here's a few snapshots of the lace scarf with border in progress.

After I laid it all out for the photo shoot, I found a tiny boo-boo in the body that I hadn't noticed before. Oh well. Too late.

Based on my daily progress, I expect to be done with the border in three weeks. Not a speedy knitter, I am afraid.

I am really looking forward to wearing this little scarf.

Posted by Francesca at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

  I mean, happy new year. I know, I am 17 days early on the Chinese calendar, but I thought I'd give you a heads up in case you want to make some fun New Year's cards.

I was looking at a Japanese magazine I picked up in November… not sure what it's called really, other than on one corner it says Super Premium Magazine Serai. I'm not even sure what its main focus is, but — at least for this issue — the main event is how to make your own New Year's cards. Lots of pictures and detailed instructions from the point of view of calligraphy, woodcut, and rubber stamping. The woodcuts are especially attractive with their irrepressible energy.

Most of the cards depict wild boars. These little beasts have always fascinated me and I find the pairing of wild boars and woodcut irresistible. There's something medieval about both and perhaps that's part of the charm, as the Middle Ages are far more interesting to me than other historical periods.

And this persimmon-colored wild boar is too cute.

Posted by Francesca at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)