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Adventures in Japanese Knitting

Uwajimaya Super MarketI have been in love with this scarf for a while and wanted to get the pattern for it. The problem is that it's a Japanese knitting book.

I knew I would have a lot better chance of finding it in Seattle than in Ithaca. So when I was in Seattle I went to the Big Uwajimaya market south of downtown. Inside is a book store, Kinokuniya. It is loaded with knitting and crochet books.

Unfortunately, they didn't stock the book I wanted but I picked up a couple of others. I didn't have a lot of time as I was with my siblings who were a little impatient. But my brother did actually help me find some cute little pattern books.

Japanese Craft Books

The great thing about Japanese knitting books is that all the patterns are charted. So I haven't had any problems trying out one of the crochet stitches I was interested in. Just follow the diagram.

Now as for my original quest, I ended up ordering it from Yesasia.com. I'll let you know if it was worth the $30.

Comments

Pip and Tom said…
I was just there the other day peeking through all of their knitting books. I didn't find any knitting books I liked, but man, the crafty books were AMAZING.
January 16, 2006 at 4:43 PM
Teyani said…
What cool books - makes me wish I spoke Japenese..
I'll bet that the patterns are wonderful and different!
Too bad we didn't get the chance to say a quick hello when you were out here - maybe next time? !
Thanks for all your encouragement on my blog - I appreciate you!! and keep up all the great knitting!!
I'll be back at Keuka Lake next summer - any great yarn shops near there?
January 21, 2006 at 11:46 PM
Miri Mack said…
Pip and Tom - I think the Japanese must be super crafty. I wish I had had more time to browse.

Thanks, Teyani, I appreciate all your comments too. I would love to meet up next time I'm in the Seattle area. There's supposed to be a nice yarn shop in Geneva. And Schaeffer Yarn is in Interlaken between Seneca and Cayuga lakes.
January 23, 2006 at 12:49 PM
Maryann said…
Hi Miriam,

www.amazon.co.jp.. has probably the most complete collection of Japanese knitting books... just type in "knit" in the search box and you'll see all their let's knit series... for the last 10 years... and they ship worldwide! Hope this help and good luck!

Cheers,
Maryann
February 15, 2006 at 8:46 PM
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