preparing for a great natural disaster

Japan is a country prone to many natural disasters. Yet, it is amazing that it’s people continue to not just live life to the full, and work equally diligently, but time and again excel in many aspects, be it in science and technology, or in arts and sports.

Its culture is one of the richest; and in awe and wonder, I feel very lucky indeed to be able to see and appreciate the many still standing man-made structures (read: temples and ancient castles) as well as natural wonders aged well over hundreds and thousands of years old here in Nagoya, and other parts in Japan (i.e. ancient trees such as the Joumon sugi on Yakushima Island).

Now, this is awesome because I just learned that Nagoya was hit by a super typhoon on September 26^th, 1959,… the strongest ever typhoon to hit Japan.

It was named Typhoon Isewan (bay = wan, in Japanese) by the Japan Meteorological Agency, after the Ise Bay, the bay along which were the worst hit areas.

Over the weekend, I had an opportunity to experience the simulation of Typhoon Isewan in 3D, and rode on an earthquake simulator during a ‘Disaster Prevention Workshop’ organised by volunteers at the Nagoya International Centre. Amazingly, the attendant of the 3D show is a survivor of Typhoon Isewan himself! He’s told us his own experience during and after the typhoon, he was in grade 6 at that time (about 12 or 13 yo). He looked young and healthy for a person who is in his 60s!

…and the shaking on the earthquake simulator felt sooo long, but I was later told that it was only less than a minute!

The workshop was held at the Nagoya City Minato Disaster Prevention Centre, where participants were also taught practical first aid using the AED (Assisted Extenal Defibrillator). The Minato Disaster Prevention Centre is open daily and closed every Monday. There are also exhibits and information on display related to natural disasters. It is very easy to get there, just look for the Meiko Line subway train, and hop onto to it from where you are (south-bound if from Kanayama Station- that’s where I got on it), and get off at Minato Kuyakusho Subway Station. Then exit at Exit 1, walk for about 2 minutes north along main road where you will find the Centre.

main entrance to the Minato Disaster Prevention Centre building

a lecture on what every household should have as preparation for a disaster: hijou mochidashi bukuro (an evacuation backpack)

a whistle with ID card (to add to the backpack): surprise free gift to workshop participants

emergency telephone numbers for FIRE and POLICE

 a ride on the earthquake simulator

knitted photo frame

This is another knitted-in-the-round summer knit project, which can be finished very quickly (this one done in about 1 day) and using just one ball of yarn about 30g. The reversible knitted cover is for a photo frame size of 8.9cm x 12.7cm with a 3cm frame width all around. Just slip it on, and you have a plain frame instantly transformed into a unique one!

The stitch patterns I used is supposedly MockCable stitch for the front, and k2p2 ribbing for the sides and back. However, after modifying the mock cable stitch pattern for knitting-in-the round, it doesn’t look anywhere near like it! ;( Nevertheless, the resulting abstract stitch pattern (or twisted mock cable) is just as bulky, to give the frame a ‘full body’ look, just as intended.♪(v^_^) v

Materials

Needles: A set of five 3.3 mm DPNs.

Yarn: 1 ball of Romantic Linen in Pink (82% acrylic, 18% linen); 30g per ball (38m).

Gauge: 26 sts = 10 cm in St st

Instructions

1. co 104 sts; divide the stitches over 4 dpns, like this: Needles 1 and 3 – 22 sts each; Needles 2 and 4 – 30 sts each. Join in the round, and be careful not to twist sts.

2.      Round 1: *kfb, (p4,k,p,k4) 2 times, (p4,k,p,k4) 3 times; rep from * one more time, to end of round.

3.      Rnd 2: *k2, (k3,p2,k2,p3) 2 times, (k3,p2,k2,p3) 3 times; rep from * one more time, to end of round.

4. Rnd 3: *kfb,kfb, (p2,k2,p,k,p2,k2) 2 times, kfb,kfb, (p2,k2,p,k,p2,k2) 3 times; rep from * one more time, to end of round.
5. Rnd 4: *k4, (k,p2,k2,p2,k2,p) 2 times, k4, (k,p2,k2,p2,k2,p) 3 times; rep from * one more time, to end of round.
6. Transfer stitches: transfer first and second stitches from Needles 1 and 3 onto Needles 4 and 2, respectively; and transfer second last and last stitches from Needles 1 and 3 onto Needles 2 and 4, respectively; Now you will be able to see the rectangular shape of the project. Note: place a marker at the beginning of the stitch of every round.
7. Rnd 5: *(kfb) 4 times, (k2,p3,k3,p2) 2 times, (kfb) 4 times, (k2,p3,k3,p2) 3 times; rep from * one more time, to end of round.
8. Rnd 6: *k8, (p,k4,p4,k) 2 times, k8, (p,k4,p4,k) 3 times; rep from * one more time, to end of round.
9. Rnd 7: *k3,kfb,kfb,k3, (p4,k,p,k4) 2 times, k3,kfb,kfb,k3, (p4,k,p,k4) 3 times; rep from * one more time, to end of round.
10. Rnd 8: *k10, (k3,p2,k2,p3) 2 times, k10, (k3,p2,k2,p3) 3 times; rep from * one more time, to end of round.
11. Rnd 9: k,p2,*k2,p2; rep from * to the last st; k the last st.
12. Repeat Rnd 9, for the next five rounds (i.e. Rnds 10-14).
13. Rnd 15: k,p2,k,k2tog,k, (k2,p2) 7 times, k2tog, (k2,p2) 9 times, k,k2tog,k, (k2,p2) 7 times, k2tog, (k2,p2) 8 times, k.
14. Rnd 16: k,p2,k,k2tog, (k2,p2) 6 times, k,k2tog, (k2,p2) 8 times, k,k2tog, (k2,p2) 6 times, k,k2tog, (k2,p2) 7 times, k.
15. Rnd 17: k,p2,p2tog, (k2,p2) 6 times, p2tog, (k2,p2) 8 times, p2tog, (k2,p2) 6 times, p2tog, (k2,p2) 7 times, k.
16. Rnd 18: k,p,p2tog,k2p2, (k2,p2) 5 times, p,p2tog, (k2,p2) 7 times, p,p2tog, (k2,p2) 5 times, p,p2tog, (k2,p2) 6 times, k.
17. Rnd 19: k,p2,*k2,p2; rep from * to last st; k the last st.
18. Bind off n k2p2, and weave in ends.

 front panel

  back panel

 

 side panel (L) and the cover minus the photo frame body

Have fun!

spiral scarf and matching scrunchie

This spiral scarf is a replica of Andrea’s Angel (spinningdaily.com). For this project, I substituted the suggested yarn with an even finer and feather-weight two ply yarn. Taking inspiration from scarf helix pattern, I designed a matching ruffly scrunchie- and call it the ‘Double the Ruffle Scrunchie’. 

 

The yarn I used is Avril brand yarn in beige colour. I bought 50g of yarn, and of these, used approximately 46g for the scarf (to obtain 155 cm length) and 4g for the scrunchie. The total time to knit the scarf is 9 days and the scrunchie is just one day. The superlight yarn makes the scarf and a scrunchie a perfect summer accessory.

50g Avril yarn balls in forest, smoke brown and beige

On another note, the spirally scarf does resemble a lot like the internal folds of the spiral valve of a stingray or a shark!

Double the Ruffle Scrunchie

Materials

Needles: A set of four 2.0 mm DPNs, or a 2.0 mm CN

Yarn: 50g of Avril No.727 in Beige (75% wool, 25% nylon); 10g = 80m

Measurement

Gauge: 9 sts = 2.5cm

Finished measurements: elastic diameter = 6cm; scrunchie width = 3.5cm

Instructions

1. co 114 sts; I used the knitted co method using just my fingers and without a needle. For this, I first make a knot on the elastic, and leave a long tail end (up to 1m). I used this long tail to co onto the circular elastic, and the live end to continue the knitting. Make sure that the ridge is facing inwards while casting on. Join in the round.

2. Starting the first round is a bit tricky since the co is tight. Insert a left dpn into a st as if to knit, then with a right dpn, insert into the same st as if to purl. Repeat to end. Divide the sts evenly over 3 dpns.

Round 1: *p; rep from * to end;

Rnd 2: *k10, kfb; rep from * to end (6 times); (Total: 114+6=120 sts);

Rnd 3: *p; rep from * to end;

Rnd 4: *k9, kfb; rep from * to end (12 times); (Total: 120+12=132 sts);

Rnd 5: *p; rep from * to end;

Rnd 6: *k10, kfb; rep from * to end (12 times); (Total: 132+12=144 sts);

Rnd 7: *p; rep from * to end;

Rnd 8: *k2tog, yo; rep from * to end;

Rnd 9: *p; rep from * to end;

Rnd 10: *k3, kfb; rep from * to end (36 times); (Total: 144+36=180 sts);

Rnd 11: *p; rep from * to end;

Rnd 12: *yo, k2tog; rep from * to end;

Rnd 13: *p; rep from * to end;

Rnd 14: *k, kfb; rep from * to end (90 times); (Total: 180+90=270 sts);

Rnd 15: *k; rep from * to end;

Rnd 16: *yo, k, k2tog; rep from * to end;

BO, weave in loose ends.

Have fun!

bonsai blooms

Had to go to the city hall last week. A counter was immediately available (no queues!) when I got there. The lady at the counter was very adept, and the whole affair was over in less than 10 minutes .... that’s quicker than the train ride there from my house(!) (which is 16 minutes).

An azalea bonsai exhibition was happening on the ground level, and that kept me longer at the Kasugai City Hall. Don’t know when the exhibition started or will it will end; it’s actually a spring exhibit, so probably will run for a few days into June.

The bonsai is another symbol of Japan, an art tradition that dates back to several thousand years. The word bonsai literally means “tray planting”; the growth of the plants are confined in the small pots that they are planted in. 

In these photos, notice the trays are usually rectangular in shape, although are also rounded or oval, and all have low-sides. I believe some of the plants on show are more than a few decades old!

 

Non-azalea bonsais with a "wind-swept look" at the exhibition (can you tell the names of these two plants?)

p.s. more late spring/ early summer blooms

Above: white clover meadow; R: close-up (Tsuruma Park)

Above: name? (Tsuruma Park)

Above: name? (Tsuruma Park) 

 

Above: orange and yellow marigold (Tsuruma Park) 

Above: name? (Tsuruma Park) 

Above: a bed of red, pink white, and yellow roses (Tsuruma Park)

Above: climbing roses in full bloom (Tsuruma Park)

Above: just starting to bloom hydrangeas (ajisai) on a sidewalk