Tag: design

McWalker Yarns Sweater Party NaKniSweMo 2019

Saturday afternoon the November sweater knitters gathered in Millvale Pennsylvania.  McWalker Yarns was the place to celebrate participation in the National Knit a Sweater in a Month Challenge.  50,000 Stitches, cast on just after midnight on November first.   The sweater was to be completed (ends woven in and blocked) by midnight November 30th.

If you follow me on IG you know my sweater was 24 hours and 15 minutes over the cut off.

Here is Clarissa,  the Grand Prize Winner of NaKniSweMo 2019 holding her prizes- a generous gift card to McWalker Yarns to buy yarn for the NEXT sweater and a very cool magnet/bottle opener.

 Trove by designer Emma Durcher.  Yarn is BC Garn Semilla Melange Sport Weight

Detail below of Trove.  PomPom Magazine Autumn 2019

Jes sporting her very fine knitting SC1 by Allison Brookbanks design  Yarn Neighborhood Fiber Co Loft

 

Robin designed her sweater.  The design name is Hauplande  Yarn Loch Lomond by BC Garn worsted weight.  I think she has 150,000 stitches in her design. WOW!

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Hauplande designed by Robin

 

Sleeve Detail with Button

Jes photographed me wearing The Purl Code Sweater Designer Isabell Kraemer. Yarn- Baa Ram Ewe Winterburn DK weight in Rhubarb colorway,  Using the Morse Code Alphabet provided in the pattern there are phrases, words, place names, favorite movies and books, song lyrics and people I love,  knit right into the sweater.


Christine is holding a gift bag with the sweater she crocheted as a surprise gift.

Her sweater (which she translated into Crochet from Knitting) will be added after the holiday season.  Christine brought cheese ball and crackers and spinach dip to round out the party fare.  McWalker Yarns Shop owner Amy McCall baked a delicious and moist chocolate cake with sweater decoration.

 

Below see Shop Owner, Hostess, Sponsor and Chief of Inspiration for the NaKniSweMo 2019 Challenge, Amy McCall.  Making the Local Yarn Store a welcoming community for all.

 

Spruce Point Pullover designer Amy Herzog               Baa Ram Ewe Winterburn yarn

 

Feistywoman Knit Hanefjed Sweater  click for details 

BC Garn Loch Lomond Bio GOTS certified  and Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool

 

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/feistywoman/hanefjed-womens-version

 

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Kaleidoscope in Motion in the Children’s Garden

Kaleidoscope in Motion at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Columbus Ohio. In the Children’s Garden.   A perfect day to play outside as it was sixty degrees.

“A kaleidoscope (/kəˈlaɪdəskoʊp/) is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces tilted to each other in an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of the mirrors are seen as a regular symmetrical pattern when viewed from the other end, due to repeated reflection”  Wikipedia

Finding all the changing colors
One view
You can see the 3 of us if you look closely
Charlie was so warm he took off his coat

 

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Dovecote in Aspinwall on Brilliant Avenue

Dovecote, a vintage boutique in Aspinwall Pennsylvania, located on Brilliant Avenue.  What a great address.  Brilliant!

My friend Vincie and I were shoe shopping at Soothe the Sole  on Brilliant Avenue and Holly (at the shoe store)  suggested we check out Dovecote right across the street.

Here’s what we discovered –

Mr. Rogers

The boutique is definitely eclectic and affordably priced. Scroll down for more details.  There are vintage items, consignment items, handcrafts, antiques, jewelry, home decor and holiday fun. Sports team theme including black and gold potholders and darling onesies with hand sewn embellishment, adorable ruffles.

The felted Mr. Rogers created by Artist Christine caught my eye, and the Pennsylvania ceramic platter would be cool to serve from at a dinner party.

from their website

from Dovecote Aspinwall  click for virtual store tour
“If your style is eclectic with a vintage vibe, this is the place for you! We offer a wide variety of vintage & antique home decor items, as well as new & vintage clothing & accessories. From tables and lamps, paintings, and dishes; to jewelry, shoes, candles imported from Spain, gifts, vintage-inspired greeting cards, and more, there is something for everyone in our cozy store. We carry Lindsay Phillips’ line of shoes & sandals (SwitchFlops), as well as Naked Bee’s organic skin care creams & lotions. Need to make space in your closet or sell your unused home accessories? We offer resale and consignment options. Visit our vintage boutique, and then follow us on Facebook for frequent updates!”
A place to take things when you need to downsize! Good to know.
by Categories: Art, vintageTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Colleen and Her Love of Colorful Quilting

This is a collaborative guest post by two wonderfully creative women who have been friends since forever.

Colleen and Joanne hail from Nova Scotia.  Joanne, living in Florida, collected the photos and good information about Colleen and her love of colorful quilting.

Get to know Colleen and her colorful quilts-

Fabric Stash
A pretty bundle of fabric to quilt
Colleen shops for colorful quilt fabric

 

Colleen says “I have a huge stash of fabric that I like to look at for inspiration.  Some I have had for many years and almost everything was purchased in the US.  I order online occasionally but it gets expensive with taxes, customs and shipping and delivery to Canada can take a long time – so much for instant gratification!  Currently Florida is my “go to” shopping locale because I’m there at least once a year.  Found a great quilt shop in St. Augustine” http://www.beesquiltshop.com 

Here is Colleen, looking to the sun.

Colleen’s cookbook shelves were featured on the blog about five years ago
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Spring Hats Evoke Another Era to Me

When I was visiting the family in Ohio for an extended stay, one of the last days I was there we went to Von Maur, a lovely department store in Columbus at the Polaris Mall.

Maura and I saw all the elegant Spring/Easter hats on display.  She tried on a gray one that matched her Ohio State Swim shirt.  A gracious salesperson asked if we needed any help and of course, we did not. But she didn’t seem worried about trying on a hat.

(*see Men’s Hat Posts below the photos)

Growing up, almost all women in church wore hats.

.The Kentucky Derby, the first Saturday in May, is a place to wear a fashionable hat. Or a Derby party as you watch the race on TV.  You see Royal Wedding attendees sporting stylish hats.  I wish I’d looked inside the hats to see where they are made. Do you own a hat and on what occasion do you wear it?

Putting on a hat can change your whole persona, help you feel dressed to the nine.  The epitome of dressing up in style.

“To the nine” is an English idiom meaning “to perfection” or “to the highest degree” or to dress “buoyantly and high class”. In modern English usage, the phrase most commonly appears as “dressed to the nine” or “dressed up to the nine”.

 

*  And not to leave the men out of the hat post.

I posted Meyer the Hatter in New Orleans in 2009 

and the Bleecker Street Hat Shop in NYC post in 2012

 

by Categories: fashionTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 11 Comments

Interesting Finds at the Handmade Arcade

 

Dear Blog Followers/Readers

Thanks to all who have responded on the positioning of the photos when they view the blog.  It has been beyond annoying and frustrating, especially for those who get the photos sideways. 

Today I spent time rotating and saving and resizing the photos which were shot vertically.  If they are on their side, I hope you will inform me right away so I can go back to the drawing board.  When I look at them they look correct but not for all receiving them.  

I heard from a woman I photographed last week about the auto rotation of photos on various programs.  Here is the link to that information

I knew nothing about Exif Data    

Still working on the solution to proper orientation of photos no matter who views it on ALL devices. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post of the day-   

Handmade Arcade at  Pittsburgh’s David Lawrence Convention Center, Saturday afternoon.

This is Douglas of My Vinyl Resting Place  holding a vinyl record now shaped as a bowl

Deanna of Cleveland Street Glass

When I asked her how she got into this business she said she moved to Cleveland and in just a week her car was broken into.

Mr. Wise co-owner of Second Season packages a pair of Repurposed Redesigned Upcycled mittens made from used sweaters

by Categories: CraftsTags: , , , , , , , , , 13 Comments

McWalker Yarns Sweater Challenge Fashion Show

Saturday afternoon McWalker Yarns in Millvale PA hosted the November Sweater Challenge (NaKniSweMo) Fashion Show.

All of the sweaters were made with yarn from McW Y, had at least 50,000 stitches and were knit between 12:01 on 11/1 and midnight 11/30.

Knitters were to wear their sweaters if they knit them for themselves.

One sweater knitter had to be at work today and was unable to attend the fashion show but we’ll try to add a photo.

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Margaret “Maggie” Toth  brought her husband Chris who was modeling the sweater she knit for him – Berocco Man’s Sweater free pattern “Dan”.

She used Cascade ECO yarn– colorway Shire.

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Here’s Lauren Eicher modeling Jamestown Sweater knitty.com by Amy Christoffers 

Yarn Malabrigo Rios “Archangel”

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Christine’s niece Rebecca baked Gingerbread Men cookies sporting Holiday Sweaters IMG_0736

And here is Christine modeling her Free Range Kimono  Corner to Corner Crochet

Pattern by Jess Coppom    Yarn Cascade Wave “Nightshade”

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Christine  standing by the display showing yarn she used for her Free Range Kimono

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Meet Barb McAbe modeling her Sideways sweater designed by Joji Locatelli in Laine Magazine #6  Autumn/Winter 2018    Wow, look at those cables!

She used Shepard’s Wool in the Mint Colorway

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Here is Denise Kaliowski wearing her Kimono Cardigan by Linda DeRuiter

Yarn is Painted Mist in Misty Rainbow (6 skeins)  She made notes that it is very drapey and soft and she loves the colors.  We did too.

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Amy McCall (owner of McWalker Yarns) knit Selenity by Annie Rowden Laine Magazine #6   Yarn  Scout Colorway Blue Heather

IMG_0727How about this detail?

IMG_0730Here I am sporting Humulus Sweater designed by Isabell Kraemer

Photographed by Amy McCall

Yarn-   Lore by The Fibre Company (Earthy colorway) and Sunflower Heather is by Scout 

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Aimee Benswanger cheered us all on as we modeled our sweaters and here she is with her Entrelac Scarf  http://www.frecklesandpurls.com  Berocco Remix  Colorway Pool

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Denise is working a baby hat

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Already onto the next sweater. Amy McCall inspired us to complete our November sweaters.  We had a fun afternoon. The challenge produced a lot of creativity and camaraderie.   Amy gave us all a sheet of Temporary Knitting Tattoos for participating.

There was a grand prize drawing for a $50 store credit and the ticket was drawn by a Sock Club member.  I was fortunate to win so am planning my next sweater to start AFTER Christmas.

by Categories: knitting, PhotographyTags: , , , , , , , , , , , 17 Comments

Peace, Love, Knit- An Early Gift

An early Christmas gift, created by Marlene (my DIL’s mom-we share four grandchildren). This year she and her husband hosted Thanksgiving Weekend in Hardy, Virginia.

Know you’ve seen me on the blog more times this week than the rest of the entire year but I wanted to show you her thoughtful and creative gift. Marlene’s Cricut machine skills are amazing. She purchases and downloads an SVG file from the computer, cuts it out of different colored vinyls, centers it, then uses a special machine to press it on thoroughly. I love how she made the heart a sparkly red.

Marlene knows I enjoy knitting so this design* was perfect.

Thanks Marlene. I can’t wait to wear it.

Photographed by Erika

*About the design- It’s from an Etsy Shop specializing in SVG files- Sammo from Vicksburg, Michigan

by Categories: knitting, PhotographyTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 10 Comments

Stained Glass Light by Guest Bloggers Team

Maura:
“Dad, we could be guest bloggers if this light idea works.”

(Photos by my son Mark- assisted by Michael and Maura )

I’d say the light idea worked just fine.

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St. Patrick Church – Columbus, Ohio

 

by Categories: Family, PhotographyTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 9 Comments