the recession

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events, designing, projects

a wave of warm temperatures has set the snow to melting here; the gutters, downspouts, and drains are running with rivers of water from the runoff. a glimpse here and there of flagstones and sidewalk breaks up the solid horizon of white.

i’m sure we’re in for lots more winter, but it’s nice to have some soft breezes and even better, to get rid of that thick ice we’ve been slipping around on.

today we wrapped up the tail-end of birthday week with a bang. my spinning class caught me completely unawares at the end of our session with a surprise party of the “tacky wonderful” variety

tacky wonderful is any present or souvenir that is tacky in a perfectly characteristic way (think coconut monkeys from hawaii, empire state building snow globe, etc). so, for this party, it was a selection of leftover kid’s birthday plates and favors, a gooey cake from the store, and found-object presents

the hand is from linda, who didn’t even know that i collect hands; she just thought i might be able to use it for modeling gloves. but oh, it is so much more versatile . . .

anne marie gave me this cool cable needle for sock-weight knitting. her husband makes them by recycling coat hangers; he can create just about any shape we prefer (they are fantastically smooth, perfect for using with size 0 through 3 needles).

those guys didn’t think they’d get me to wear a hat, but apparently they don’t know me all that well

i’m actually ok with birthday hats (and well, it just wouldn’t be right—look at them)

after class i cleaned up and took some pictures for this post. the hand was pressed into service immediately

the first sock of this pair is done now and the second one is on the needles. several people have commented that it looks like a confection so i’m thinking of naming it something like sugarspun or sugardrift, although i also like lynne’s suggestion that it looks like tidelines.

i have more knitting to show you actually, but didn’t get a chance to photograph it before it got dark—in the afternoon a few friends came over to knit. amanda and donna stopped by for a couple of hours along with kris, who was wearing her new shawl (and darn it, i forgot to take pictures, can you believe it?)

but i did get a nice photo of donna in her recently-completed tangled yoke cardigan

isn’t that cute? she used elsebeth lavold silky wool for hers.

we spent the whole afternoon knitting and talking about the upcoming gardening season; we’re all looking forward to getting out and digging in the dirt. everyone present is a vegetable gardener, so we always have lots to talk about.

omg, i have to show you what david gave me for my birthday—it arrived friday afternoon and i just love it—he did great on the BD thing this year.

he went through all my photo folders for last year and selected pictures he liked from each month

stuff from the blog

plenty of fun outtakes that just wouldn’t fit

and, of course, lots of knits

as well as non-knitting content

photos from travels, including my favorite page of all, courtesy of a certain camera thief

(wow, that felt good. found these in my camera after rhinebeck—i’ve been sitting on them for four months, just waiting for the perfect time to spring them back on kim in the most public of ways)

i told david he could make me one of these books every year.

what a day—it demanded to be topped off with a nap, which i did (but i slept too long).
now i’m thinking it’s time to knit so i’ll have something to show for myself tomorrow . . .

48 thoughts on “the recession

  1. Okay Anne, you REALLY have to watch your camera a little better, so the camera thief does not make a total idiot of herself for all public-dom. David did an awesome job on this book!!! What a great surprise for you!!!!

  2. I love that your surprise birthday party cake has a scarlet letter on it…! Great way to wrap up your birthday season. And how considerate of the ice to melt away! David’s book is wonderful. So thoughtful.

  3. Happy birthday!!!!

    You’ll have to tell us where he got the book. It’s a wonderful gift!

  4. Happy Birthday! I wish you all the best in the coming year.

    David did great! He obviously puts a lot of thought into it. I enjoy seeing the presents he gives you because they are so unique.

  5. Happy Birthday,Anne! I wish you many,many more filled with great health,wealth and joy! Thank you for all your beautiful work!

  6. Happy belated birthday, you! It looks like you had a great time. I love the book, and I’ve seen those before. Did he use the offer from IPhoto and make the Mac book? I know there are a lot of options out there. Wouldn’t a book a year be fun? A recap of the year. Yes.

  7. What a great party you all had! You look good in the hat. I love the hand and yes David did great with the birthday, what a wonderful present. I am glad you enjoyed your birthday.

  8. happy birthday anne!!! that david! he certainly deserves all those handknits you lavish on him- nice gift!

  9. What a great birthday gift from your David! I love it – so very thoughtful and what a great remembrance of the last year. Lovely!

    PS – Happy belated birthday by the way!

  10. Anne- Happy Birthday, you tacky girl! And I mean that in the nicest possible way. The 2 hat chick is a hoot!

    Everyone should have a David- what a thoughtful prezzie.

  11. Happy Birthday! Extraordinarily cool gifts. Love the book, and love that hand! I’m a big fan of tacky wonderful–such a great term for it.

  12. Happy Birthday!!! We have birthdays in the same month. 🙂 What a nice bunch of gifts and that book is so cool. What a wonderful keepsake.

  13. That is an awesome gift David gave you.

    So you just had a birthday week? I did too! Happy Birthday!

    Mine is on the 6th. Could we possibly share the same day? My birthday was wonderful. My husband threw a party for me. First time he’s ever done that. I had a blast.

  14. Bwahaha! I love those shots of Kim — they’re perfect. So is the gift — what a wonderful way to remember the year. Your birthday week sounds like it was just right 🙂

  15. Happy birthday! Love the “tacky wonderful” party, the hats, and the photo book is just wonderful- I think I might be copying David’s idea for someone else’s birthday this year. 🙂

  16. Happy Birthday and does Kim have a lovely face or what?! Beautiful knitting and terrific to see people wearing sweaters as a matter of course. Gorgeous.

  17. See? Even our gift giving challenged husbands do come up with something spectacularly perfect once in a while. Kinda makes up for the “dustbuster” years, huh?

  18. Happy Birthday Anne! Hope you had a wonderful day! What a lot of great things you received! We are melting out too and of course I am thinking ‘garden’.

  19. Happy Birthday, Anne! May there be many more wonderful such special days in your future! Love the hand, and especially the book! David rocks!

  20. Happy Birthday!!! Those photo shoots that you and David do are amazing and deserve to be showcased in a book!!! One of the many reasons I love your blog is for the scrumptious pictures. Donna’s sweater is lovely. I’ve often longed to go to your knitting classes but you’re too far away!!!

  21. All the best of luck to you in the coming year. Divinely soft yarns, plentiful vegetables in the garden, sun and rain at the right times, much love and laughter.

  22. Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Your latest post brought tears to my eyes, What a wonderful group of friends and knitting and the most thoughtful husband I’ve ever seen! You are blessed and I’m blessed for being able to partake in such a small way. Thank you so much for sharing. Loved it!

  23. We celebrate weeklong birthdays in our household too. David’s gift is exquisite and the tacky party looked like it was a hoot. Only the best in 2009!

  24. A very Happy, though belated, Birthday to you! Good friends, family, fortune and food along with continued talent and abilities AND no computer crashes be yours!

  25. Happy belated birthday!!! Glad you had such a great time. And David’s gift is wonderful! I loved seeing the photos of the green with the ice.

  26. Awww…what a wonderful birthday party, and such a thoughtful gift! I hope you’re going to give us a website for that bookmaker!

    Loved your winter photos and am anxious to see more of the pastel alpaca shawl… Happy Birthday!!!

  27. That sounds like a perfect day! Fun with friends, another birthday celebration, a nap, and knitting…
    David’s gift is awesome! He did a fabulous job, especially considering how huge a task it must be to go through all the pictures you take in a year!

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