So way back when (ok, it was 2004) Kim Werker launched Crochet Me, the first online magazine devoted entirely to crochet. She was looking for modern, creative crochet projects, and she selected the Sushi TP Cozy anyway (ha ha). It ran in the first issue and has, over the years, brought work my way that I don't think I would have gotten otherwise.

It led directly to the Sushi Pillow, published in Get Hooked! (edited by Kim Werker), and to appearing on Knitty Gritty with the Sushi for the Bathroom pattern set, which is how I met Vickie Howell. It's driven a lot of traffic to my website, it's resulted in my getting fan mail from a fiction author I'm a fan of, and it continues to put a smile on people's faces. This week it may have led to another opportunity (that I'll share if it goes through), and at the very least, I now have a fresh new sample and good photos. This one came together really quickly - I finished it while the photographer was fiddling with light settings and stuff - and I had fun noticing how easy it's become for me to improvise and create on the fly with a bag of scrap yarn and a few crochet hooks.

The basic pattern is still available for free on the Crochet Me website, and I told Kim this morning that it's been giving me ideas for a pattern that would also teach a variety of techniques. We'll see how far I get with that, and how much further a silly idea that made me laugh almost ten years ago will go.