Thursday, January 14, 2016

Spoils from Japan 2015-2016

Hubby and I love going to Japan.♡  We try to go there at least once a year and last year (2015), we were fortunate enough to be able to go twice! :)  Spending the New Year holiday in Japan is really something one should do at least once and it's our favorite time of year to be in Japan (over the Christmas and New Year holidays).♡   Be warned though!  If you should ever decide to do this, it will be crowded beyond belief!  Locals and foreigners alike will be there in the hordes but, that is part of the whole experience! :)

So here's my spoils from Japan:

One of my favorite places to visit is Yuzawaya.  I think their best stores are the Shinjuku Takashimaya location and their newer location in Ikebukuro (although for this trip I also went to their location in Okachimachi location as well to find everything I needed).  I picked up more chain stitch markers as the originals I had are great but sometimes they get tangled up with each other because they're too long so I wanted to make shorter ones and here they are (on the left side):
I know ... it's a lot (because I cut the chain in half, I now have twice as much! :D)!  And, as you can see, I also picked up some bigger chain stitch markers to see how they'd work with thicker yarn.

I also found these Clover Pink, White and Gold stitch holders that I simply couldn't resist ;) ♡:
Then, we went to a building called Kitte located very close to Tokyo Station and found a yarn store called MOORIT.  It was an amazing store with a lot of British wool yarns.  It was so tempting to buy yarn that I would never be able to touch and feel at home (although I didn't buy yarn because I simply couldn't decide what to make with it! :P)! :)  And what was really awesome?  They carried the KA interchangeable system which I've been wanting to try out so I picked up a pair of US 0 needles, a cable and end caps:
I'm going to give these a try on my next pair of socks! :)

I also stopped by La Drougerie in Isetan in Shibuya but didn't find anything there; however, I did find this in Isetan:
Puppy yarn!!  I have a pair of machine socks made out of the same material and I hope to be able to replicate it with this yarn.  Amazingly, those socks I have is the most comfortable pair of travel socks I've ever had and I hope that my future hand made pair will feel the same! ;)

And one of my last stops was to go to Okadaya in Shinjuku.  They have a small (but completely overwhelming) selection of yarn on the 5th floor and here's what I ended up getting:
KA Stitch Markers: they were so cute!  I just picked up the egg ones; if I completely love it, I'm going to get the heart ones next time and Stitch holders: I couldn't resist; what can I say, I just l-o-v-e knitting accessories. :P ♡
Another type of (Safety Pin-like) Clover Stitch holders (also too cute to resist!) ♡
Zebra yarn! ♡  The knitted sample was so cool that it convinced Hubby to have me pick it up for him for a pair of socks! :D 
I can't wait to go back! ;) ♡♡♡

2 comments:

  1. That yarn is great for hubbys sock. That's a lot of stitch markers. I got the same stitch markers that I like in 500 in black for $5.+ which I thought was so cheap on Amazon. Only thing it's in black.

    I'd love to see the brown yarn knitted up. Nice nice haul you got there.


    U have a lifetime supply of stitch markers. But we never have too much....

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    1. Hubby's sock should come out really cool if it turns out like the swatch we saw! :) I can't wait to see what it looks like (It's already in the queue of sock making for him :P).

      And, I know what you mean about the stitch markers! :P It feels like I've got a lifetime supply but I've actually managed to loose a few of my longer chain ones already (somehow it slipped off and I just couldn't find it in the car; AND I almost lost a bunch while knitting in the hotel room in Japan so ...) so with these smaller ones, I know that there's a strong possibility of losing them. :( At least I know where to get them now and it's not too expensive to splurge on so ... ;) And you're right ... I can't seem to have enough stitch markers! :P lol :D

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