Sightseeing Unzen pt. 3

The second morning in Unzen was misty and surreal. I spent the early morning looking out the window, listening to the birds sing, drinking hot green tea and knitting. Needless to say, it was a wonderful way to greet the day.

After breakfast (which was a lot of fish and other things I couldn't identify) we were given a small amount of free time. 

We went exploring and saw a fantastic Japanese shrine with incredible gates and statues. After that was the source of the onsen hot water, the hot springs themselves. The very ground around us was boiling and smelled like sulfur. Towards the end of our walk we found a stand selling eggs that were hard boiled by the steam, I had two and they were the best hard boiled eggs I've ever had.

This sign says: "Do not enter Hell, it's dangerous"

Egg Steamers

Austen Insider

A new knitting magazine has recently come out which I am in love with! Jane Austen Knits by Interweave, is a compilation of Austen inspired patterns, historical articles and general Victorian whimsy. It's really lovely to look at and if you are a Jane Austen fan then definitely worth a read, even if you aren't a knitter. Some of the articles give great insight into the world of Jane Austen, as well as enlightening us about the author herself from a crafters point of view.

The patterns are generally frilly and feminine, which is right up my alley. And while not all of them are practical for everyday wear, some of the garments are really charming. I have to say that my favorite pattern so far is the Scarlet Capelet:



(c) Interweave Press



(c) Interweave Press



Crafty Craftsy

Craftsy is a wonderful crafting tutorial website. The premise of this website is to offer video classes for various types of crafts. From sewing to knitting to painting there are a plethora of great classes to choose from. They aren't free classes, but most of them are really reasonably priced and the quality is usually well worth the price. Also, if you join their email list they often send out special offers on their new classes.

So far I've tried a couple sewing classes, and although I haven't completed any of the projects yet I am really happy to have this as a resource. The videos are generally very professional quality (unlike sites like Youtube) and all of the project resources or supply lists are available for download. The best part is that these are actual classes with teachers and students so at any time you can ask questions of the teacher or have a discussion with the class. Once you pay for a class you always have acess to it, you can watch and rewatch the videos as often as you want.

Wet and Blocked

I finally finished my kitted Vonica sweater. It didn't take me a year which I am really proud of. There really is a distinct difference between a wool garment right after you knit it and after you wet block it. Looking up various tutorials for blocking, I found the most helpful to be the Youtube videos by Knitpicks. That seemed appropriate to me since I used their blocking boards to block my sweater. The only downside was that I did not buy enough interlocking pieces for the size of my project. I'll probably need another set for future large projects.

Here are the tutorials I used:

Vonica oh my Vonica

I started knitting this sweater last year and I am proud to say I've made fantastic progress on it. all that I have left to do is the right sleeve and I am so close to being done with that.

Unfortunately due to a miscalculation I ran out of yarn before I finished the last sleeve. Not to fear though, it's a fairly common yarn and I know just where to get it (Jimmy Beans Wool). I have also found that my cats love my sweater as much as I do (or at least the yarn) since I have on several occasions found them either laying on it or found the ball of yarn hopelessly tangled all over the living room. I try to always put it away where they can't get it, but I sometimes forget and almost always regret it the next day. So far I've been able to salvage it each time, but I am definitely ready for this project to be done.