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