Noteworthy

Hi Knitters,

Last weekend we ran down to the Farmer's Market that circles around the square in downtown Madison. It is such a treat. It goes on every Saturday and it is a sight worth seeing if you are in the area. Our weekly market is one of the largest, if not the largest, in the country. You can get just about anything your heart desires as far as fresh produce and good eats goes but the market also includes jewelry, art work, t-shirts, baby goodies, etc.
Here is a shot looking down State Street. Now, I don't know if you can make it out but under one of those white tents there are some skirts hanging. This is the cutest little skirt sewer's booth. Her company's name is orangyporangy and she has a great site. I bought this one. As soon as I got a chance I snuck into a restroom in the Capitol building to throw on my new orangyporangy skirt. All of the skirts are well made. 

You can order online if you can't pop in to see her at the market on Saturdays. If you look at her site it looks like she does shows all over the country. On our way out I stopped by to show her my skirt after I put it on. She clapped and jumped up and down. Super cute. She does a lot of vintage polyester skirts that are a hoot. I love it.
It gets pretty crowded so it is better to come early but we had a soccer game to attend first.
What is it about radishes? Gorgeous.
Onions? Not bad either.
I enjoy seeing all of the flowers, rows and rows. But my real every single time treats are Kettle Corn, we always get a large bag and share it and cheese curds, the squeaky, salty kind, we share those, too. The kids like honey sticks and beef jerky.
I love my city. There is so much going on here all of the time. It is like a big city boiled down into a tiny package. I think it is a little like a secret but maybe not so much. Madison has been voted the #1 city in the country many times over for various reasons and in different publications. When this has happened, Madisonians shudder wishing our secret could stay a secret. Madison is growing and changing, as all cities do, but it will never lose its charm in my eyes.
This is the Gourd Man's cart. He is from Blue Mounds and he grows these gourds and leaves them out all winter. Then in the spring he takes them and scrapes off the skin and mold leaving them clean and with the hard smooth surface exposed. We bought two. The Collector picked out one that looks like a curly snake and she is painting it with acrylics right now. I'll share later. I picked out a gourd that looks like a giant pear. It is sitting in my living room. Good addition.
I always get tomatoes and lots of them. I can eat a tomato sliced up with salt and pepper for a meal and be very happy. Aren't they pretty?
There are loads of bakeries sprinkled throughout the market. This one had these cute frosted cow cookies. We didn't get any, just looked. Maybe next time.
And here is some old-school Madison joining in. It wouldn't feel like home without some bright tie-dye in the mix. We are the home of the tie-dye and the Birkenstock sandals, too.
Hey, I want to let you know what's going on. Next week my new blog over at Spud & Chloë (yes, I learned how to do the umlaut:) is going live. I haven't had too much knitting content on here because I have been working on stuff for the Spud & Chloë project. What I want to tell you is that next week there will be three new free Susan B. Anderson for Spud & Chloë patterns available when the blog launches. Be sure to head over there and sign up for the blog so you can be notified when it goes up. The patterns are super cute and fun and I will be adding to the free pattern batch every month. The patterns are all available in pdf format. It is all so well done.

Yesterday I got a sneak peek at the new site and blog which is all being cleverly designed by smart and clever web design people. The site is incredible and user friendly. Every detail is being scrutinized to make it the best it can possibly be. The blog design is amazing and cute and fun. I can't wait get things going over there. It is called, Spud Says... and I am listed as the curator. I love that so much, the curator. I had to look it up to be sure I am filling all curator duties.

Okay, knitting peeps, I will be back soon with more from the heart.

best, susie

p.s. look at these cuties, you may want to knit some.