Ceramics, Japan, and Silk Chenille

Tuesday was craft night, which always means eating too much amazing food, hilarity, inspiration, and spending time with wonderful friends. I scored a gorgeous bowl made by one of the lovely residents of last night's locale:

I have been wanting a shallow bowl for salads, but my money's always spoken for. Now I have one! Yay! And one hand made by someone I know!

Here was one of the highlights of my trip to Stitches West:

That, my friends, is Japanese breakfast at the Embassy Suites. Rice, pickled vegetables, seafood, seaweed, tofu, and there's a bowl of miso soup lurking outside the shot. I would seriously eat this every morning if I would only take the time to learn to make my own pickles.

My thoughts are often in Japan these days. I adore the culture, the language, the food, the anime, the textiles, there is just so much I love about the country and its people. It breaks my heart to see the terrible time Japan is having right now. 

On a lighter note, I didn't do anything for St. Patrick's Day except wear my February Lady sweater and have myself an Aprihop, which is an apricot-flavored IPA. The apricot flavor is subtle, and it balances the hoppy-ness perfectly, which sometimes can get overly bitter. This has got to be my new favorite beer.
We watched a movie while I worked on my silk chenille masterpiece:

It's a wonderful and lucky thing to get paid in yarn for the samples I've knit for Tess' Yarns. If I wasn't sample knitting, everything I make would be from t-shirt and plastic bag yarn, and that is no joke.

Oh yeah, and I nearly peed my pants when I visited the Panopticon.