Reply to anna

Hi, Everyone,
It's a lovely spring Friday afternoon in San Diego.  70 degrees and a gentle breeze.   Just lovely.

I feel ok.  I'm listening to dance music on Pandora.  Gotta mix it up once in a while. 

Anna recently posted a comment asking about making an Omamori cover.  I tried to email a reply, but it did not go thru.  So here is the question:

Hiya, I want to make an omamori case for someone as a surprise. What size is an omamori gohonzon?

Thanks :) Anna


And here is the answer:

Hi, Anna,
The older ones are thinner and longer than the recent ones.  Different size of Gohonzon and different mounting.

Assuming a recent one, it's  2 1/8 x 1 1/4 x 1/2, including the white case.    You don't want it to fit skin tight, so I allow a little extra.   I knit a little beaded bag about 1 3/4 - 2 inches wide and 2 1/2 long, then add whatever top closure is desired.  or a top closure I usually have a few extra rows, then a row of K2tog, YO to make a place for the draw string, a few rows seed stitch and then bind off with beads on the edge.  Then I make a drawstring with 2 or 3 stitch i-cord and a heavily beaded bauble on each end.  It takes a little effort to install the drawstring, but it won't come out that way.

I just cover the Omamori itself, but let the original stainless steel chain come out to be used with the cover, as it is stronger than any chain I might knit.   If the cover should ever come off, you would lose the cover, not the Gohonzon. 

Good luck! These are fun to make as they are such a small project that you can go crazy with the beads, and it's still just a few beads, LOL.  A cover makes it nicer to wear the Omamori, as the beads create an airspace between the Omamori and you, which is nice, especially in the summer.  And it keeps the Gohonzon clean and dry. 


Cheers,
Julie

I knit a little cap out of bamboo to use with my c-pap headgear.  The cap helps keep the headgear from slipping on my head in the night and cushions the contact points so I don't wake up with interesting impressions on my forehead.  I made it 2 inches extra long, so I can pull it down where I need it.  I had a warm cap for the winter, this is my new summer cap, cool breathable yarn. and open lace stitch.  It looks silly, but is very effective.

I'm working on  2 Estonian shawls at the same time, LOL.  So like me.  Anyway, one is taupe and very sedate.  One is white and tomato red, very Valentines Day.  Maybe I'll give it as a Valentine next Feb.

Pics to follow when I get them blocked.  Unblocked lace is just a tangled looking mess.

Lilo is losing weight, sigh.  She has on-demand cat food, but I have fought all her life to get a little weight on her.  Her digestion is just terrible, she throws up a lot.  This time of year she catches gophers, eats them and throws everything up.  Poor baby.

Tata,
Julie

Pizza at the beach

Hello everyone,
It's a coolish Thursday night after a windy day in San Diego.  The on-again, off-again weather is giving me joint stiffness problems.  I'm listening to WQXR
Dan and I were at the beach finishig the laundry when we got hungry, so we had pizza and beer at Il Padrino in Pacific Beach.  Wowzers, do I recommend this place.  The dough is tender and tasty and the toppings great.  Wonderful pizza. We had a Shocktop beer, also very good, Belgian style.  Also a Stone IPA. Very hoppy.    http://ilpadrinopizza.com/

I'm knitting a new lace shawl. About half done.   Pictures soon to follow.

Heather sent me some photos, including one of my wedding.  Good memories.

We did have a fun wedding.  The pic is of the San-san-kudo. It was a Buddhist ceremony.

Lilo sez goodnight.

Bye, Julie

Lace, More lace

Hello Everyone,
It's a coolish Sunday night after an overcast day in San Diego.  I'm a bit stiff from the Sj, but other wise in high spirits.  I'm listening to Nestor Torres' Human Revolution, from Songs dances and prayers.

I got a new camera today (Thank you, Dare) and now I am trying to figure out the software that uploads the pix to the computer. I can take them, and then I transfer them, and then I can't find them...

  I had some new lace work I wanted to show you all.  I recently blocked out a bit of pretty white lily of the valley lace (Estonian lace patterns, Orenburg construction).  It's a pressie for Dan's niece.  We were unable to attend her Bat Mitzvah as we were exposed to strep while watching Nate, and we thought strep might be a decidedly uninvited guest at the party.

So,.. I wanted to show you the lace before I mail it off tomorrow... If I figure it out, I'll add it in.

Success! Above is the lily lace.

Meanwhile, Heather and Shannon blocked out the Night Song shawl I made for Shannon.  I modified the pattern slightly to have a few reverse stockinette stitches between the feather motifs to let them stand out more.  I also think the pattern has errors, which I corrected.   Here it is blocking.

Here it is unblocked above.

And all blocked out...

Heather took this pic of Point Loma looking out over the SD airport.  Nice.  Aren't we glad to be here?

Lilo sez hello to all her adoring fans.  I'll have to take a pic of her and lose that one too, lol.

G'night,
Julie