Monday, August 04, 2008

Sunshine Day

Hi Knitters,
Good Monday morning to you. I think today feels like the first real day of summer. Summer swim team is over and now the kids get to sleep in beyond 6am. It all feels a little slower and lazier right about now. Unfortunately for me everything is closing in a bit more as far as deadlines go but I am determined to enjoy this slowdown in activity as much as possible.

At the final day of the swim meet I started another pair of pom-pom peds using Nature's Palette. Oooh la la, this is dreamy yarn. Two skeins makes two pairs in reverse, that's pretty good. They are just so simple and fast. What fun. You should really try a pair.

Yesterday we hung out on State Street for awhile kind of meandering about and stopping for little treats here and there. It was a perfect finish to a hectic weekend. We ended up in a new sliver of a shop snuggled between the old Orpheum theater and Goodman's Jewelers (where my husband bought my engagement ring). You could miss it entirely if you blink your eyes but it is worth keeping your eyes open. It is called Anthology and be sure to click on their site for some inspiration.

The shop is owned by two creative sisters. Anthology is difficult to describe other than it is filled with handmade items, things for you to make like buttons and magnets, sewing creations and patterns, paper products, altered books, aprons, felted creations, tons of featured Madison artists, mosaic work, etc. It is a burst of imagination, an explosion of sorts. We stayed in there a loooong time and could have stayed much longer. I hope and pray this little shop can sustain itself and I think the owners are being smart by having a large crafting table and offering classes and spur of the moment making opportunities at all times. If you are in town be sure to check it out and buy a little something if you are able, it is a super fun spot.

Betz again (love her!) sent me this link. This is about the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. Love it and I will definitely be supporting this amazing new venture. Listen to this to learn more about it. One of my favorite designers is behind the entire thing.

I have some more sunny news. Itty-Bitty Hats has just gone into its 4th printing. That is pretty cool, too. Thank you.

We'll talk again soon:)
best, susie

10 comments:

Alice Regan said...

I adore the footies socks ...they are just perfect. Thank you for the link to the pattern ...I can't wait to get started on a pair or two. and.....congratulations on the 4th printing of your IttyBitty Hat's Book! Love it!

Trisha said...

Those little socks are so cute! They remind me of the socks I wore as a kid. I may need to adjust the pattern to make a pair for my daughter''s birthday coming up on Sunday.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the shout-out Susan! It was a wonderful Monday treat to read such a nice review of our store. That cupcake paper sure looks nice as a backdrop... Glad you enjoyed yourself.

Betz White said...

Ok, your post title has me singing that annoying Brady Bunch song, do you remember that episode?:)

Congrats on the 4th printing, you rock! And so do your socks. I finally started my sock over and I think I'm on the right track.

Thanks again for the mention, you're so good to me. :)

Susan B. Anderson said...

Betz,
Yes I do remember that Brady Bunch and that's where the title's from:) Who could forget the singing Brady Bunch?

shyandae said...

Hi Susan,
I am in need of help with the reversible stripes and dots hat on page 121 in the Itty-Bitty Hats book. I am trying to do the dot hat and when I get to the dot pattern, Round 1 is really hard for me to figure out. It says to bind off 2, knit 5. I know how to bind off but not sure what counts as two stitches. I have tried starting the round by knitting 2 and then binding off and then knit 1 and bind off so I would use a total of 3 stitches and then am left with one on the needle. Is that right? Also, after knitting 5, do I use the 5th stitch to bind off with or do I knit 2 and then bind off. I hope all that makes sense.
Sorry, I left all this as a comment but I am not sure how else to get help with this. My email is shyandae@gmail.com if that is easier.
Thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

Love the socks! Have you tried "2-at-a-time Socks" by Meliisa Morgan-Oakes? I am working on my first 2-at-a-time pair, which will be sent off to my sister. I've titled my socks "Alaska Summer Sunset" since the colors remind me of our summer sunsets.

peaknits said...

What an adorable pair of socks! And that shop you mentioned - it is darling, I so need to get back there and do my part to stimulate their economy:)

Larraine said...

Spent part of the day Sunday looking through the 'twisted collective' and can't wait for the next issue.
More congrats on your 4th printing!
My name is Larraine and I am a pom ped addict :)

She said...

that picture is just lovely