My boss passed on this case study to us today about a soup company in England, named Nusa Kitchen.

Check out their brilliant design solution that pumped up the brand equity, offered a visual and emotional connection to the product and uses knitting as a means to an end.

Although it’s missing the tactile elements of Innocent Drink’s The Big Knit, it’s proof that some old-fashioned wool can go a long way to make our modern world a little better, or warmer (intellectually, at least).

Perhaps it’s just a sign that I need to stop reading about UK food companies… Anyone seen either of these knitting marketing tactics?

Today is Mel’s birthday.

And last Saturday was Scout’s.

Happy birthday and belated birthday to you both!

Please assault their blogs with comments of love.

I’m terrible with birthdays, so please forgive me if I’ve missed yours.

(Photo of WonderMike enjoying a full-size cupcake.)

Imagine my surprise yesterday, when I was wandering by the lobby between meetings at work and I saw this handsome fellow!

“I’m actually here to see him,” he told the receptionist, pointing at me.

My brain clicked and whirred for a moment, lagging as my body reached out to hug him. Up until this point Mel was just picture on the web, some kind words in a comment, on the other end of an email and an enjoyable read.

I knew he was coming to the Bay Area, but was away from my desk when he called to say he was on his way down from Davis. After a quick tour of the office and a very friendly meet-and-greet with Janie Sparkles (he’s a father to the adorable Tuck), I sent him off to an even more delicious destination (in Berkeley, but I’ll let him describe) and did the bare minimum rearranged my schedule to play hooky take the afternoon off.

Ladies and gentlemen, he’s even more charming in person, knows his textiles (we visited Lacis), and knits some darn impressive colorwork! I’m looking forward to spending more time with him in May.

Jay Leno… I’m all for gay jokes, but your homophobia isn’t funny.

Here’s a present for you.

Read more at mygayestlook.com.

Thank you, Jeff*, Melissa and Ryan.

*and thanks, Jeff, for Avenue Q!

via Psychobunny

So, it’s Easter, a holiday that was very busy, growing up as a son of a minister. It’s one of two “amateur” Christian holidays, that brings out twice-a-year church go’ers. We never did much around chocolate and baskets, focusing more on the resurrection part.

side note:Does that make Jesus a zombie?

Sorry, no bonnet. I don’t do much for church-based holidays nowadays. Mr. Man went out photography-ing and I sat at home zero-ing out my Bloglines. But, former roomie Seanie called to grab breakfast. The top photo is by him after breakfastat Pork Store Cafe on 16th. (I had the mint jack omelet, he, the tofu scramble with fake sausage.)

What I love about this is how painfully “Mission hipster” it is. It’s all a lie. That’s his Chrome backpack. My life is more like this.

In reality, I’m sprinting towards my later 30s (if 35 is the turning point), I rarely ride around town, I spend more time working my marketing day job than keeping up with the latest band/jeans/retro fashion/tattoo, I own a yuppie puppy (albeit a rescue) and I sit on my butt every now and then knitting a round of a sock. I’m not running off this afternoon to the Hunky Jesus contest in Dolores Park. (But I think that’s an old friend Timmy/Sister Lolita Me Into Temptation on the invite.)

It kind of makes you think about the back story to all the other “cool” kids you see on the street, eh?

What’s not to love about Austin? For the past two years, I’ve headed to Texas for South by Southwest. People’s eyes light up when I say that until I qualify it with, “the nerd one, not the music part.” Last year, I met Jenny of Stash and Burn there, but, alas, she wasn’t there this year.

Julia, of yarnmaven.com to the rescue! I also met her last year, but this year she took me under her wing and we ran all over town and the conference. Thank you, Julia! (and happy birthday, one day late) It’s sad that I don’t have a picture of us together!

Conference-wise, the first few days weren’t impressive. Maybe I picked the wrong panels, but by the end, I was glad work sent me. The most interesting thing I saw was GetSatisfaction.com. Go forth, knitters, and let’s take it over!

Sadly, the High-Tech Craft: Why Sewing and Knitting Still Matter panel, moderated by Natalie Zee Drieu from CRAFT magazine was a disappointment. At least on the knitting front. It was more about sewing technology onto garments or toys, not how technology is changing knitting and sewing or how knitting and sewing hold their own in this modern age. Hear for yourself: .mp3 of the panel.

It just so happened a good friend from high school was presenting at the conference. Mike Essl was a year behind me, and I used to mock him for wanting to be a graphic designer, only we called it commercial artist back then. Who knew copying heavy metal album covers would result in becoming a ? When I wasn’t with Julia, I pal’ed around with him and his girlfriend, the lovely Mia.

This is getting long, but I couldn’t recap the trip without mentioning eating. If you’re ever headed there, be sure to snack on queso, try migas for breakfast, drink Lone Star, and get your vegan on at Veggie Heaven.

Finally, there was knitting. A lot more knitting than I get done at home. I was working on a secret sock the entire time, test knitting an INSANELY handsome design. I dropped in to the Sunday morning Hill Country Weavers where I met all the Texas knit bloggers last year. However, on Monday, Julia and I went to the Knitting Nest, my new favorite Austin LYS. Stacy has a fabulous shop. Her talented daughter Amanda took the photo of me above (Thanks for the shirt!). And I met some cool kids, MissKate (on Rav), pickardhuff (on Rav) and TwistedString. Next time, I’ll bring something easier to knit, so I’m more chatty.

Phew! That’s it. If you want more, check out a few more photos.

Finally getting around to cleaning out my camera. Pictures for Austin are up at Flickr, as are photos of this hat drying. I finished knitting it long ago, but it sat unblocked, ends not sewn in, for months. Finally, it’s been given to its intended recipient, the very talented Jeff.

I highly recommend this for a first time stranded/color knitting project: Hello Yarn’s We Call Them Pirates.

But, heck, I’d pretty much knit anything she puts out there!

Episode 4 was just posted at yknit.com.

iTunes has been pinged, for all of you who get it that way. It should be up tonight!

Enjoy, and (if you do) thanks for listening.

I haven’t gotten around to writing about my Austin experience just yet, so here’s so shopping to keep you busy. Threadless (who threw a party in at SXSWi) is having another sale!

Here’s what I just bought:

Prices start at $9. Enjoy!

Happy birthday, Flickr.com!

Thank you for providing a place for me to put my photos, and making it simple to put pretty pictures here in my blog-a-doodle thing.

And, thanks for a great time tonight. I’m glad you invited everyone to your little party.

Although I didn’t enjoy one of the multitude of cupcakes, I really liked the two Hoegaarden‘s (Hoegaardeni?) Oh, and the free t-shirt! That was kind. You didn’t have to…

It was fun to stand in a packed bar with other geeks… I felt like I was in Austin all over again. Like a SXSW after-party!

Keep up the great work. I wish you another 44 years of flickr-y goodness.