Did you know that 3 Kittens has a connection to the Olympics?

One of our customers, Melisa, is the sister of the head coach of the US Women’s Epee (Fencing) Team. Melisa stopped by our sidewalk sale a few weeks ago, and somehow the conversation turned to the Olympics. In a follow up email, Melisa said:

As I mentioned, my brother Roberto Sobalvarro is the fencing coach for the US Women’s Epee team,  and one of his fencers, Susie Scanlan, is on the Epee team. Susie has fenced at my brother’s club since she was young. My brother Ro owns a fencing club in St. Paul. http://twincitiesfencing.com/

Fencing is one of “those” sports that no one knows much about. My brother started fencing when he went to Macalester back in the late 70’s. He’s owned the club in St. Paul for many years. He and his wife, and teenaged son live in St. Paul.

Susie grew up in St. Paul and is a graduate of Central High School. She currently attends Princeton and fences for them.
 
Even though fencing is not considered one of the “top” sports at the Olympics, I think it’s great that there is a REAL local connection.
 
I’m attaching a picture of Ro and Susie from a recent world cup event.

Susie competes today at the London Olympics. As we’re stitching, let’s cheer her and Melissa’s brother, Ro, on!

(By the way, I know the connection is rather tenuous, but we take what we can get when it comes to Olympic connections!)

I had a fun little visit with Robin Shaw at Robin’s Nest today. Robin’s Nest is just a couple of doors down from us in the Village at Mendota Heights. Robin has a collection of made-to-order, custom-fit garments for women, which is the main focus of her business. However, what intrigued me was the full-body scan Robin’s Nest offers. This is not the same kind of scan that you receive at airport security. This scan provides you with all of your body measurements – in US & metric.

So I went over to get the scan. It took about 10
minutes (including the time it took me to strip down to my skivvies, sans jewelry).  Once ready, I stepped onto a box (see the photo at right), and Robin took two scans.

To get all of my measurements, it cost $15.00! Now instead of guessing what size sweater I should make and how long the sleeves should be, I’ll have all of the data I need in an Xcel file! (Just in time for me to start my Ravellenic Games project, the Inversion Cardigan by Jared Flood. )

Robin and I were chatting after the scan, and I also found out that several of the decorations in her store were made using yarn from 3 Kittens. For instance the picture above was made by nailing the outline of Robin’s Nest and then stringing/wrapping yarn around the nails. The same technique was used to frame all of the photos in the store! Plus, Robin cleverly found a chandelier frame and strategically wrapped yarn around that for a unique light fixture.