London - the January Sales

London's January sales for 2011 were pretty good, yarn-wise,
but otherwise - meh. Had much better luck shopping in
Oxford, where Debenham's and other High-Street shops held
a treasure-trove of cut-rate leather goods, outerwear and
costume jewelry. Even a U.S. shopper could do well here.

Many yarn stops this year, including Liberty, John Lewis,
and "indie" shops like Loop and the wonderful IKnit London.
Only it was so wet when I was out & about, I only was able
to capture the Fiber Madness at John Lewis, Oxford Street.
Here's a word I would recognize in any language:



And which colors just weren't "the thing" this year?



Another Big Question: what are London knitters wearing this winter? (Surreptitous research)


Last year's theme was "British Breeds" - this year's is "On Clearance, soft, and not easily found at home". The take:




To end a perfect shopping day, tea at a favorite haunt - Caffe Concerto, Kensington High Street:


And, of course, cake:

Fun with Kokeshi

For better or worse, Japan has been much in the news lately, raising the profile of Japanese culture here in the U.S. as we look for ways to respond to the country's plight and help its citizens.

I've always been fascinated by Japanese Kokeshi dolls, but never was much interested in the Amigurumi craze, which seems to be going strong in the crochet world, as evidenced by the activity in Ravelry's Amigurumi groups. Looking around for a fund-raising idea, I chanced upon the site of Bigu,a talented crocheter from Mexico, who, though mainly an amigurumi artist, had fashioned a Kokeshi bookmark that looked simple and pretty:



So I set out to create a prototype of a similar idea, perhaps for sale at the local library, proceeds going to the Red Cross for earthquake relief in Japan. My crude version of the above:

Not having any black thread on hand, my 'blondie' is a post-modern Kokeshi, but it was a quick & fun project until I got to the embroidery part -- maybe with some practice...

Bigu's Instructions in Spanglish are here.

Leave a comment if you want to order: $10 per bookmark, including shipping. All proceeds to Red Cross for Japan earthquake relief.