Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Sketch & Slouch

Hi Knitters,
The Collector painted this egg for the season. I love the over-sized egg, the metallic paint stripes and the one lonely egg.
Well, here it is. That's my next book, right there, held in those two sketchbooks. There are over 40 projects with the patterns completely written out on the pages inside. That's over 2 years worth of work handwritten onto those pages.
I have such a love for sketchbooks. Through the years I have become somewhat particular about the types of sketchbooks I use. I have a new one going but I am not happy with it so I have been on the look-out for something new. Two weeks ago The Collector and I went down to State Street to bum around and look in the shops. We had to pop into one of our favorites, Anthology. We spent a lot of time in this shop. It is one of those stores where the more you dig, the more you find. We love that. The Collector's egg and paints were purchased at Anthology.

Way in the back of the store, kind of tucked away, I discovered these:
These are the coolest sketchbooks I have ever owned. Let me tell you about them. They are vintage 1968 books that have been altered into sketchbooks. The binding has been cut off and replaced with a spiral, which I love in a sketchbook. Then some of the pages from the original book are left intact but are interspersed with blank pages for your own writing, sketching, etc. There were about 6 different books to choose from and I had a tough time making a decision about which I would like to buy.
Being the self-titled Queen of Chicken and a forever fan of old cookbooks, the Family Circle Great Chicken Recipes seemed a good choice. How can you resist the chicken recipe photos with the weirdest coloration ever. Fluorescent chicken, anyone?
Then I decided the book for "beginning beginners" had to be my second choice. The insert about the journal has some interesting information. The journals are handmade, all from recycled books. Each journal has 75 sheets of acid free blank paper and are made by "artists and book lovers who believe in sustainable business practices."
The books are a little banged up which makes it even more fun. Can't wait to fill up the blank pages with my next knitting ideas, patterns, sketches, watercolors, tear sheets, lengths of yarn and yarn labels. A fresh sketchbook is a pretty good thing in my book.
I finally found the chance to finish up a new design. Here's introducing Baby Slouch. I have had so much fun this winter knitting adult slouch hats, I think I made at least four or five different versions. Awhile ago I started thinking how fun it would be to have a baby/child version of the slouch hat. And here it is!

I made mine in Mini Mochi, color #101, which is a fingering weight/sock weight yarn. You can use any sock weight yarn to make Baby Slouch. You need 1 skein, 195 yards. I worked on US size 3 needles at 6.5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch. 

The pattern for Baby Slouch will be available in a few days if you are interested. It is sized for newborn to child. More details coming soon.

Off to pack lunches and brush hair for school. Got to make sure everyone is slicked up and packed up before heading out the door.

Have a good Tuesday, sweet Knitters.
best, susie

13 comments:

Heather said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE the sketchbooks. Now I am not a fan of cooking, but I do make tons of chicken dishes, the touble with not having a personal chef, I guess!
The slouch hat is adorable. Size 3 needles? Does it knit up fast or slow? Usually, I am not planning ahead enough to knit a hat for a baby gift that takes up too mcuh time. Reason #101 I love your HATS! Cool, funky but easy and quick. Essential with a toddler and inquesitive almost 7 year old:)
THANKS for all your patterns.

Susan B. Anderson said...

Hi Heather,
It is the easiest hat, just knit, knit, knit in the round. Super fast and uncomplicated, perfect for flying off the needles quickly.

Thanks for the nice comment.
susan

Hilary said...

Super cool baby hat! I love it. :-)

I love seeing all your hard work hidden in those sketchbooks too. Very cool. Maybe someday I can design patterns too. I'm giving my first lesson this week... wee!

Hilary in Michgan

kim said...

Hi Susan,
Sketch books are a beautiful thing! Organized doodling for me, and pattern modification.
I look forward to the slouch hat pattern. My "niece" has a collection of a few dozen of hats and this will be a nice mix. I was able to find the yarn at JBW, YM was out.
Please keep creating!!
-Kim

Alice Regan said...

Susan ...I'm so excited to see your sketchbooks! A true artist at work. I can't wait for your next book to be published. I will certainly purchase it to add to my collection. I love your work. I'll check back for the beanie pattern. A perfect little hat for my niece's new baby due in August.
PS ...Let the 'collector' know her egg is gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

Susan,
I finished my first knitting project from your Itty Bitty Hats book. It was such a delight to work on! I've only been knitting since the end of December, and I'm in love! I posted it on my blog. It's the cute birthday cake hat. I iced it in purple : ).

MaryLou said...

I love the baby slouch hat! I've been looking for a cute, unusual pattern for my 2.2-year-old twin grandchildren. I can hardly wait to buy the pattern. One hat for a boy, one hat for a girl!

Anonymous said...

hi! very cool sketch books...i have seen similar ones at craft shows. i laughed out loud reading "florescent chicken, anyone?" haha!

can't wait for the baby/child slouch hats pattern to post!!!

Carisa said...

Oh yes I want to try that baby slouch! Too cute for words!

I am interested to know where that little hat stand is from? Do you have one for an adult size head as well?

I have loved all your posts about the girl scouts. When my oldest is a bit older, I would love to teach a group of her friends to knit. Thanks for the inspiration.

Carisa said...

Susan those baby slouch hats are adorable. I WILL be doing one (or more) of those! Too cute for words!

I am interested to know where you got that little hat stand? Do you have one in an adult size as well?

Thanks so much for your posts on teaching the girl scouts. Once my oldest is a bit older, I hope I can do the same for her friends.

You are so amazing! Thanks for the great blog!

Unknown said...

Hey! I have that cookbook!

katherine said...

I am in love with this baby hat, your designs are very very cool.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the shout-out. LOVE your sketchbooks bursting at the seams. And The Collector's egg looks great!