It has been far too long...

Since I last posted! Rest assured, I have been quite busy. I've made another hippo (commission for a friend) and a few other regular items.

Currently, I am obsessed with Chawan Mushi, a Japanese savory custard. My mom was a big fan, but I never really ate it while I was growing up. While living in Japan, I couldn't get away from it. Now that I am back in the States (for the past 12 years or so), I'm getting a craving for it. A local restaurant serves chawan mushi and it was a bit more full of vegetables than I was used to. So, I've decided to try to make it myself.

But first, I need the chawan mushi cups...

A friend has asked me to make two for her, so I shall be making those next week.

Speaking of "commissions", my mother asked me to make her a few frogs with their mouths open. In Japanese, the word for frog is kaeru. Kaeru can also mean "to return". And so, the frog is something of a good luck charm. Anything you give away or send off will return to you be it money or friends. If you go to the California hotel in Las Vegas, you'll see a lot of Japanese people from Hawaii carrying around frog good luck charms.

The pig in the center was a demonstration of making a closed form (in this case, a sphere) and then cutting open the top to form a lid. In fact, all  of the frogs were made from closed forms, the mouths were cut open and feet were added. You can't see it in the picture, but some legs were formed on the side of the frogs. I suppose the frogs could be used as sponge holders, but only the one on the far right with the wide open mouth would be good for that.

Finally, more yarn bowls for The Knitting Room in San Jose. I'm selling my bowls there exclusively, though, I am thinking of trying to get into Stitches West next year.