thank you for the many birthday and blogiversary emails . . . you are too nice to me!
it was a wonderful weekend; lots of knitting and celebrating, and presents, too.
the other night we went out for sushi (my favorite) and thai food with friends. i eat sushi everywhere i go just to try each different chef’s flavors. i have been pretty interested during the last few years in the changing trends in sushi presentation.
one trend which started a few years ago and has grown is to sauce the sushi plate. i wouldn’t know if this is something that is an american variation on sushi or if it is done in japan, in very traditional sushi restaurants, but it definitely has taken a foothold.
but sunday we were treated to a whole new level of plating. i was so delighted that i borrowed david’s camera phone to snap some photos. it’s just too bloggable.
how festive. we were completely astounded and impressed. and curious . . . what was that?
and then . . . wait—it gets better
oh my. by this time i wondered if my across-the-street neighbor was running the sushi bar.
because, well, there does seem to be a correlation there . . . hee-hee!
but seriously, the sushi was great. so i’m really glad the thai place is now offering it; we don’t have that many options in town for it.
now i know lots of you want to know what was in that mysterious box from rachel.
and believe me, no one was more surprised than me (despite rachel’s every effort to tell me ahead of time—she even shared the secret with debbieKnitter; now THAT is treading on shaky ground in the secrets department).
now rachel and i work very closely together—she and her husband joe built my store site and streamlined my blog, and rachel has been a wise and good-humored advisor (remember, GOD couldn’t live with me) over these last nine months or so. we have a “spirited” advisor/advisee relationship (she’s a pisces, i’m an aquarius . . . need i say more?), but a lively friendship as well.
even though we have never met.
just look at the astoundingly beautiful gift she sent
isn’t that stunning? it’s also knit with a yarn i am not familiar with . . handmaiden casbah. i’m thrilled; hypoteneuse is my all-time favorite of my own designs. i just love the simple, formal pattern . . . it reminds me of very old roman or even etruscan tile and stone work.
thank you rachel!
yesterday in class we had cake baked by debby—omg.
can i just say once more how much i love a good butter cake?
i think the mostly-empty plate speaks volumes.
ok, now enough talk about me and my abundance of gifts; let’s talk about giving to others.
kate, who you may remember, helped me so much with the naming of irtfa’a, has a very special cause that she is raising money for right now. her brother has leukemia and she is tring to get $500 together by the end of february. now i know we can all help her exceed that goal, and it won’t take much, so let’s do it!
please visit her blog to get the details.
an my old friend lilith is going to be training and raising money through the race for life. she will have a donations page set up soon, but what she really needs help with to get started is a prize pool.
if you have something to offer for her effort, she will be thrilled to accept and post it with photos and links in her prize pool.
and now for some knitting, eh? in class yesterday i got this sock nearly finished
it’s going so fast—where has my usual slow sock pace gone? it’s the handspun . . it knits up a little more quickly than regular yarn and is such a pleasure that i don’t even notice how much i’ve worked.
and yes, that is a mistake right in the middle where i picked up the foot after working the heel. as i knit down the foot i kept thinking something was off but i couldn’t see it. then when i got almost to the toe, i realized what i did wrong . . i worked four of the patterns rows over again.
and no, i’m not ripping it out. will you still respect me in the morning?
i’m writing the pattern today, and it should be available soon, along with a couple of other new sock patterns that are variations on some mitts patterns.
i also have another yummy sock yarn waiting to be cast on.
this is a merino/nylon sock yarn from the woolen rabbit named herb robert. but WAIT.
don’t go looking for it yet . . . this one won’t be there. kim and i have been teamed up by valerie at yarn4socks to do a kit for her april sock club.
(i designed the merlot vine sock for her october club last year with meg’s yarn)
valerie will happily accept pre-orders for the april club, though.
anyway, i’ve been swatching with this gorgeous fern-green-and-violet yarn, searching for just the right stitches to express the awakening earth of april. stay tuned—i’m hoping to start the actual sock in the next day or so.
meanwhile the snow shawl and the gale stole are clocking along. we’ll see more pictures of them soon.
one last tidbit: we have added gift certificates to the shop.
purchasers may now build their own gift certificates in increments of $5 and send them to anyone they like, in pieces or in one lump sum. thank you for encouraging me to add this item.
so, i better get cracking on those patterns; see you next time.
31 thoughts on “glamour sushi”
What a great gift from Rachel! Wow!
The colorway Kim came up with for the yarn4socks club is gorgeous. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with it.
Gift certificates for the Knitspot shop are an excellent idea! I’ll keep it in mind…
Fantastic birthday happenings! wow, I wish I could design like you do – you get all the best yarns!
Wow. All the best to you! I love going to your site because I know I will either see gorgeous knitting or beautiful food. Your post is titled Sushi, but I’m craving cake!
That colorway is beautiful! I just went and signed up for April’s club. I got the last one you did for Y4S and I still haven’t gotten around to it, but hopefully I will someday!
Glad you had a fun weekend:)
Well that just proves what I’ve always said, sushi is definitely too scary to eat.
Love the sock. I’m so glad you goof occasionally too. Makes me feel better even though I goof way more and knit way less. I also love that new sock yarn. Such a pretty color combo. Very sophisticated. Must resist temptation. What am I saying? I totally channel Oscar Wilde’s LWF character when it comes to temptation.
Now you made me blush! can you please explain the God reference, I am not from here, remember? 😉
Did you eat that sushi or was it too beautiful to ruin?
Kim’s yarn looks as beautiful and attractive as ever!
What is that Japanese spirit hovering in your Sushi???! Yum! I love Sushi. The Hypoteneuse is awesome in the Casbah. Fleece Artist has gorgeous colors in this yarn, but it’s expensive–a very special gift! The sock is really cool, but don’t you think you need to rip back and fix that boo boo?? Just kidding! I can’t even see the error. The sock yarn for the club is pretty, although not my colors. I can’t wait to see it, however. I’m glad you had a nice birthday.
Oh, I love sushi! I wonder if it has something to do with being an Aquarius?
From one Aquarian to another, happy belated birthday!
glad you had a great birthday with lots of presents. The cake looks divine! I like the new sock yarn and as for the sock, I wouldn’t rip it out either.
Fun pictures, Anne. I don’t know if I could eat from a plate that had blinking lights, though, much as I love sushi.
The sock looks like a great knit, but I love, love, love those purple tulips. I miss tulips so much!
Oooh, yummy yarn! I can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with! : )
I’m thinking of lavender with that last photo.
“Lavender’s blue, dilly, dilly,
Lavender’s green.
When I am king, dilly, dilly,
You’ll be my queen.”
Having seen what the “neighbor across the street” does with special effects, I laughed out loud at the sushi comment! Can’t wait to touch the new Hypoteneuse shawl.
I LOVE the hypot in the variegated yarn. Fabulous! I might just have to make another one. Love the sock yarn, too. I’m on a sock yarn diet, so no sock club for me. 🙁
what a fantastic gift! Oh sushi, I love sushi too!
You know, I think it’s a brilliant idea to have bloggers that are going to write a pattern for a sock club to post a picture of the yarn and have the sock club have a one-time “I’d like to buy that yarn!” option… because your photograph of that yarn sold me on getting the April club! I can’t commit to a sock club this year, as I am committing to fiber clubs instead, but for a one-off, I’m more than happy to step in to get such a beautiful yarn with a pattern I’m sure I will like.
what a lovely gift! i have to admit though, my favorite picture today is the tulips. so pretty and spring-like. clearly, it’s been much to gloomy around here, as they’ve completely distracted me from any of the knitting!
oh gosh, i was travelling all yesterday and forgot to call during class to wish you a happy birthday — hope it was great! And did i miss deb w’s trillium cake?
The more i see of hypotenuse, the more i know i need it. when i return.
and where did you have the sushi?
OK, backlit sushi is definitely the perfect over-the-top meal for a birthday dinner! Although a bit scary… We love sushi around here, too (I was so disappointed when the girls decided they liked sushi, too — my California rolls and eel are no longer safe). I love that new yarn! Must. Not. Join. Another. Club. 😉
Ohh! I love the graphic for the Gift Certificates! Might we borrow that for blog sidebars to use as a hint to folks? And Hypotenuse is stunning….love the colors – as I love the new yarn, too!
What great stuff!
(((hugs)))
I’m sure you’ll be getting some strange emails from my technology-challenged husband as he attempts to buy me gifts certificates the next time he’s in the dog house. 😉
While the sushi looks delicious, the yarn from the Woolen Rabbit is what really made me drool. I’ve put it on my wish list. If I hadn’t already spent my monthly budget, I’d be getting some of my own right now!
Wow ghost sushi! Crazy stuff! Hope there wasn’t wiring sticking out of it, food and electrics are always a dodgy combo. What is buttercake? Never heard of it, but with both butter and cake in the name, it can’t go wrong!! Can’t wait for the sock pattern to post, need to make a solid man sock with a bit of structure!
I love sushi, too, and that plate looks wonderful!
Anne- Surreal Sushi- gosh I live a boring life!
Kim is my new best dyer friend. Completely amazing yarn and colors.
That cake looks like you don’t need utensils- just stick your face right in.
I SO don’t like sushi…but that sushi is just about the coolest food item I have ever seen…haha!
Your hypotenuse is stunning!
Mmmmm. Handspun and handknit socks! Super nice!!
Happy belated birthday. I’m just hitting re-entry from travel, and realized I missed congratulating you on another trip around the sun! Looks like you had a good one tho. 🙂
Mmmmm, sushi has been an all time favourite for me also. That looks delicious AND exciting.
Heh, I will Always respect you in the morning, :^)
That plate of sushi is terrifying! EEEK! It demands to be taken to your leader!…
But the Hypotenuse, oh, it is lovely. What a wonderful gift. 🙂
That sushi is pretty interesting-looking, all lit up. I’ll leave the raw fish to you and yours! 🙂
I think Hypotenuse is one of my favorite patterns of yours too. Very lovely gifts.
Comments are closed.