Sunday, September 04, 2016

Travels

Apologies for the absence. I had the good fortune to take an extended work trip to 2 places that I have been on my wish list - China and Japan.

Shanghai was my first destination and although I spent most of my time in meeting rooms, I got to experience local food and culture and this amazing skyline:

Shanghai by day

Shanghai by night

Over the weekend I was able to visit the Yu Garden area in Shanghai, which is an interesting mix of older architecture and commerce.  I enjoyed wandering around this area and seeing some craftsmen at work.

Yu Garden, Shanghai

Yu Garden, Shanghai

The next destination was Tokyo, and I was able to see the Meiji Jingu Shrine, the Imperial Palace, Harajuku, and one craft area in a local department store (bonus!)

Meiji Jingu shrine barrels of sake

Meiji Jingu shrine prayers, Tokyo

Harajuku

I was on a high after this trip, feeling extremely lucky to have had a taste of these great cities, and I hope to return to both places in the future.

Long flights also means I have a little craft update too with lots of plane knitting time! Shortly before the trip I had received a recommended post in my facebook feed for a new-to-me designer: Janina Kallio. I really liked the airy shawl designs, and selected one of these for the trip - Rosewater shawl. I had the perfect yarn for it too - some handspun that I had found on Etsy a few years ago, in a gorgeous purple. The beginning garter stitch section was good simple knitting for a travel project.

Garter stitch

Handspun

Have you had a fun summer?

I hope that you are all well.
Best wishes,
Sam xxx

4 comments:

Monica said...

What an awesome experience, Sam! Lovely handspun as well. Have a great day!

kathy b said...

Great travel experience. You went FAR! I have a friend who is a flight attendant who goes to China 3 times a month. It was fun to see your photos. Love the wine colored yarn

Karen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karen said...

I love Janina's designs; I look forward to seeing your shawl! What is that guy making, jewelry? What a fun trip!