Welcome to my blog.

After a few random posts I've decided to dedicate this blog to my life long project of Japanese food
and culture (and my life in general, especially my travels).

Since my first taste of sushi back in 1997 I've been interested in, and frequently been making
Japanese food.
My interest in the country and culture started long before and continues to evolve.
I was lucky to finally visit Japan in October 2008, again in November 2019 and hope to be back soon.
In July 2012 I visited Japantown in San Fransisco, the next best thing!
I was lucky to be back in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 thanks to the fact that we now have family living in California.
Both small and big adventures will from now on, as time permits, be shared with you.

I will post other recipes and pictures too, mainly cooking projects, plants and art projects
(including my new love - making kumihimo braided objects).

I hope you'll find it interesting, and feel free to leave a comment or ask questions!

I write mainly in English, but there will be some Norwegian too, especially posts about things
that mainly have Norwegian interest. Tutorials are bi-lingual.

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Kumihimo tutorial - square braid - firkantfletting

Kumihimo firkantfletting med 8 tråder
Kumihimo tutorial - square braid with 8 threads

Du trenger til et armbånd: 4 tråder i valgfri tykkelse ca. 75 cm lange, i en, to eller fire farger.
Instruksjonene viser 2 farger satt opp symmetrisk som gir et stripete mønster. Det er brukt satengtråd i tykkelsen 2+ mm, "rattail". Det gir et kompakt og forholdsvis stivt armbånd. Tykkelsen passet i 8 mm endestykker.
You´ll need for one bracelet: 4 threads in your chosen size, aprox. 75 cm (2,5 feet) long, in one, two or four colors. The instructions show a two color braid with symmetric positions that gives a striped pattern. I´ve used 2,2 mm satin cord, "rattail". It fits in 8 mm endcaps. 

Sett opp trådene som til den vanlige 8 tråders runde flettingen. Ps: Bildet viser startposisjonen etter at det er flettet en runde. Når du starter fra begynnelsen vil ikke trådene oppe og nede være krysset som på bildet.
Set up your braid as you would for the basic 8-strand. (In start position the upper and lower threads won´t be crosses like in the picture, that happens after you braided one round.)




Startoppsett.
Start position.


Flytt tråd fra 1 til 7 (øverste høyre tråd ut til høyre over de høyre trådene).
Move thread 1 to 7 (upper right thread down to the two threads to the right).  


Flytt tråd fra 17 til 23 (nederste venstre tråd ut til venstre under de venstre trådene).
Move thread from 17 to 23 (lower left thread up to the two threads on the left).


Flytt tråd fra 24 til 1 (midterste venstre tråd krysser over tråden på toppen).
Move thread from 24 to 1 (mid left thread crosses the thread on top).


Flytt tråd fra 8 til 17 (midterste høyre tråd krysser over tråden nederst).
Move thread from 8 to 17 (mid right thread crosses the thread down).


Flytt tråd fra 32 til 26 (øverste venstre tråd ut til venstre øverst).
Move thread rom 32 to 26 (upper left thread out to left side).


Flytt tråd fra 16 til 10 (nederste høyre tråd ut til høyre nederst).
Move thread from 16 to 10 (lower right thread out to right side).


Flytt tråd fra 9 til 32 (midterste høyre tråd krysser over tråden på toppen).
Move thread from 9 to 32 (mid right thread crosses over top thread).


Flytt tråd fra 25 til 16 (midterste venstre tråd krysser over tråden nederst).
Move thread from 25 to 16 (mid left thread crosses over down thread).


Juster trådene til høyre og venstre inn et hakk på hver side slik at du kommer tilbake til startposisjon (bare med omvendte farger).
Adjust threads on left and right side one notch down and up to reach start position.


Repeter til du har nok fletting til et armbånd eller det smykket du ønsker. 
Repeat until the braid is long enough for a bracelet or other desired jewelry. 


Resultatet!
Lykke til......
The result! Good luck....


Saturday, 7 January 2012

Lightbox

Let me present my christmas gift from Mr. Linuz: A small at-home photo studio! It consists of a lightbox with changeable backgrounds and two daylight lamps. Perfect for the dark season here in Norway. The box is quite large, so I can photograph much more than bracelets!


After experimenting a bit we realized that we need a better camera... but for now I´m using the old one.
I think the photos are much better already, what do you think?


Here is some of the new pictures of my bracelets, I tried using some Japanese props as well.

New blue flower bracelet.