Local Yarn Store Day is Saturday April 29th

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Here’s a photo of McWalker Yarns owner Amy McCall holding the photo I took of her as she opened the store in April 2018. Standing with her is fabulous crochet artist Melissa White (who is also an employee) The photo shows how much the store’s inventory has grown!

McWalker Yarns in Millvale PA is celebrating their fifth anniversary and Local Yarn Store Day. There are special sales and prizes for shoppers this Saturday April 29th. Amy says in her latest newsletter “To celebrate this special occasion, I asked Toni at Raggz Fiber Art to create an exclusive assigned-pooling colorway for us to be named “The Yarn Shop at the End of the Rainbow.” Wow, has she outdone herself! We have, for now, a limited number of skeins of this amazing colorway in fingering weight. These will go on sale on Saturday (4/29) at the anniversary party (and are destined not to last

A solid community of fiber enthusiasts has flourished, even during pandemic times. It was during these long months that McWalker began mail order sales, curbside pick-up and hosted Zoom meetings several times a Week. There were classes and make-alongs, friendships formed, even during isolation.

Here’s the post created upon the store’s April 2018 opening Millvale Welcomes McWalker Yarns

also the First Anniversary post is here

Celebrating five years

Congratulations to Amy on bringing her dream into reality. A dream where we share in the yarny goodness and positive vibes. When entering the store there’s a welcoming spirit. It’s a wonderful local yarn store.

An End of the Day Birthday Song

Look who gave me the gift of a birthday song video.

Sam Barsky and his Artistic Sweaters came to Yarns by Design in Oakmont PA in 2019 summer and I blogged it. Click on his link to see the list of sweaters he’s knit. Here are a few of his artistic designs.

An April 2018 New York Times Article by Laura M Holson It’s Sweater Weather Forever states:

Samuel Barsky has gained a measure of fame online for posting photographs of himself in front of famous landmarks with his handmade sweaters.”



Thanks Sam. What a great surprise.

Click link to watch 14 second video

Sam Barsky gave me the gift of a birthday song while wearing a birthday cake sweater. Click to see his video we have a mutual friend. A prolific knitter, Naomi, whom I “met” on McWalker Yarns Knitting Zoom .

T-Shirts of his designs are available in his website.

By the way both stores will be hosting the Steel Valley Yarn Crawl July 29- August 7, 2022 click more information

Yarns by Design Oakmont PA summer 2019

A Felted Bowl

My friend Ann in Colorado invited me to join her knitting group (via Zoom) one Friday afternoon. Everyone was knitting a woolen piece to be Felted into a bowl. it was fun to knit with them , virtually.

You have to use large knitting needles and 100% wool yarn to be sure it will felt. I was trying out Germantown yarn worsted by Kelbourne Woolens made in the USA. Our local yarn store, McWalker Yarns , had just gotten some in stock. I chose one 100 gram skein of Sage Green.

It took me a little under two hours to knit. I ran it through the front loader in hot water with old canvas sneakers, twice. A top loader is preferable for agitation and a quicker result.

Note:There are free knitting patterns to search online to make felted bowls. The pattern I used is in a book so can’t copy it.

The finished Felted bowl

Pittsburgh Street Pizza

Meet Gavin, Pittsburgh Street Pizza Owner and Chef

The car interior smelled so good I had to eat a slice before I got home.
Fresh ingredients and the crust is superb.

Supporting local small businesses.

This afternoon Pittsburgh Street Pizza was set up in front of McWalker Yarns on Grant Avenue, Millvale PA. (If you’re not local you can still order yarn online but not the pizza 🥲)

Contact Pghstreetpizza to book for your next Pittsburgh event
Thanks Gavin for allowing me to photograph and include you in my People at Work series.
Wishing you every success in your new business.

And I didn’t even know what a ROCCBOX Oven was until this afternoon.

“The restaurant-grade portable pizza oven. Dual fuel, fire up with the convenience of gas or discover the flavor of wood for the ultimate pizza experience”

I’m in Pittsburgh but Photographed by Friend in Australia, Guest Blog

Friday night McWalker Yarns hosts a Sip and Stitch Zoom meeting. A great way to connect during the Pandemic.   While we were knitting and chatting, we started talking Halloween.  One of our participants lives in Australia, so our evening meeting is her morning coffee time.  Gayle was saying it will already be Halloween for her at next Friday Night’s Sip and Stitch Zoom meeting. I thought, wait I will don the mask that is on my dining room table.  I sewed this costume for my son Mark in the early 80s.

So here I am sporting the ET mask and Gayle in Australia photographed me and sent it.  With her gracious permission I am sharing her photo of me.

I “met” Gayle through the Woolswap program she runs, as well as many other knitters around the world, sharing fiber, creativity and inspiration with one another.

 

It’s me. You can see my knitted shawl peeking.

Star Wars Spectacular Handknit Socks

Monday afternoon I popped over to McWalker Yarns store in Millvale.   Robin was working and helped me get a pattern and some Rowan Felted Tweed yarn to make a sweater for the NaKniSweMo Challenge -to knit a sweater in the month of November.  I’ve seen Robin on Zoom Stitch meetings for several months but it was great to see her in person.  AND lucky for me she had the Star Wars socks with her, the ones we’ve been watching the progress on as she knit them during our virtual meetings.

All I can say is WOW. They are something to see.  She is an advanced knitter, clearly.

Meet Robin, attorney by day, knitter extraordinaire on her days off.  Here she is showing her pair of hand knit Star Wars socks.  Amazing work. She says they are a true labor of love and the recipient is a real SW fan so they are going to be thrilled when they unwrap them at Christmas.  Don’t think the recipient will  be seeing the blogpost but want to keep the details vague.  Look at her expert knitting letters with tiny stitches May the Force Be With You. Alas, she created the designs herself by finding a multitude of charts on the internet and adapting them for the scale of socks but perhaps they will inspire you to design your own Star Wars socks.


Posted with gracious consent. Thank you.

 

 

 

Purchased My First Sock Blank

Wednesday afternoon, Amy at McWalker Yarns in Millvale PA, unboxed several Pittsburgh designs and also Rainbow Sock Blanks created exclusively for McWalker Yarns by Yarn over New York. 

I bought this one- Pittsburgh Skyline with Landmark Bridges snd Buildings 
Will I hang it up as ART or unravel and knit a pair of Pittsburghy Socks?  If you are a knitter, have you knit from a sock blank before?  

From Bluprint Website

“What is a sock blank?”

“A sock blank is a long, rectangular piece of knitted fabric created by a knitting machine and then dyed or stamped with color. The edge of the sock blank isn’t bound off — it’s loose so that you can knit from it, pulling the stitches out as you go. The basic idea behind the sock blank is that you’ll get an amazing yet unpredictable colorway when you knit with it. “

So You’ve Always Wanted to Knit a Sock? or Not.

So you’ve always wanted to knit a sock?  or not. If not, I hope you’ll return to the blog tomorrow.

A math teacher friend and former colleague is preparing to knit her first pair of socks.  She inspired this hand knit sock post. My friend in Florida who is finishing a pair of socks she started knitting for her son about five years ago and now she has the time to knit the second sock.  I think she is on the toe already.

When I first thought of knitting a pair of socks, I thought it looked too difficult. Now I average a pair a month.   My friends say” it’s too much trouble” but the way I see it, I’d be in trouble if I didn’t have sock knitting in my life.  Especially now as we are staying at home.

A blog post by knitter, author and designer Susan B. Anderson describes in detail  How I Make My Socks and is a great start. There are patterns on Ravelry and videos on YouTube.

These striped socks are knit with some very smart yarn that knows how to stripe all by itself, it’s the way the yarn is dyed.  Looks complicated, doesn’t it? The following 4 pairs of socks are knit in West Yorkshire Spinners Signature Yarn from UK bought at McWalker Yarns in Millvale PA.  Although their physical store is closed you can still order online.  (and if you are out of work you can apply for a $50 mini-grant for yarn to knit a project during isolation due to COVID-19 click name of store to get details or order knitting supplies, sock or otherwise)

This first pair is knit by a friend and neighbor who just started knitting in December.  Her first pair of socks.  She knit them on 2- 16″ circulars, one at a time.  She is a very tidy knitter.  I helped her along the way and she watched a couple of videos but she is now finishing her third pair.  Every once in awhile she needs reassurance she is doing the knitting correctly but she’s got it all by herself now.  I am proud of my excellent student and I think her socks look great!

All West Yorkshire Spinners Signature Yarn

 

You have a smart phone? a smart TV?  Here’s some other smart yarn. And you can wash these socks in the washing machine. There is a handwash setting on my machine  I air dry mine.

There is Regia Yarn by Schachenmayr and cotton yarn Tutti Fruiti II,Regia Design Line or Regia Pairfect by ARNE & CARLOS 4-ply (fingering weight). 75% Virgin Wool and 25% Polyamide. I finished both pairs that are shown  completed. Kid socks (in the middle photos)_are fun to knit and take less time.

 

Allergic to wool?  Here are two skeins of cotton sock yarn and a pair I knit for a friend

If you’re a blog follower, you might remember my poem The Satisfaction of Sock Knitting on an April post four years ago.  

A Handknit Sock

There’s a math to it. The cast on. Count
the multiples of four.
Last year it was hats and cowls.
This year, socks.
I want to try the fish lips kiss heel.

It’s a simple thing. How a sock is knit.
You start with yarn.
Needles as slim as toothpicks.
Terms like toe and gusset and cuff.
My friend says, "it’s too much work."

There’s a rhythm in the repetition.
The making. Clockwise circles.
Some throw, some pick.
Row after row after row.
In time you get length and warmth.

There’s the calm you long for,
around and around and around.
Turn heel for a path to Zen.
You think of those you love.
The grandmother who taught you.

The wet squeezed out,
pairs hang to dry. Later fold
their softness, admire the colors,
ignore imperfections.
Find comfort, hidden in shoes.
My squishy hand knit socks.

or my page on the Comparative Analysis of Knitting Socks when I started six pairs before Christmas using all different methods- two at a time on a  long corded (32″) single circular needle – Magic Loop, there was a single sock on an 8″ circular (that took a few inches to master) a single sock on two 16″ circulars, the set of sharp double point needles- one at a time, and then wooden and metal needles to add to the mix. Toe up, cuff down.  Fish Lips Kiss Heel, Flap and Gusset, Afterthought Heel and Eye of Partridge.

Maybe someone reading this blog post will get some needles and sock yarn and give it a go. If you decide to try it, please share your photos and experience as you start knitting socks.

Arne and Carlos Quarantine Knitting from Norway

Remember when I traveled to Norway for the Arne and Carlos Knitting Cruise in September 2018?  That’s where I met Arne and Carlos, who are well known knitwear designers and authors of creative books. During these difficult and anxious times of COVID-19, they are videoing daily from their home  Quarantine Knitting with Arne and Carlos. It’s on their YouTube Channel 

Even if you aren’t a knitter or crocheter they are entertaining and fun to listen to. They are generous and kind.  There will some cooking on the episodes, too.  Their neighbors will deliver the ingredients to their porch. Because they had just travelled out of the country, they are in quarantine in their home.

We are all having to “shelter in place” as the brave nurses, doctors and medical workers have to go to help others.  Grocery and pharmacy workers and other essential services are at risk as they continue to work with the public every day. Challenging is an understatement.

Join their public Facebook Group Quarantine Knitting with Arne and Carlos They are welcoming dialogue, comments and engagement from viewers. Joining in can help you feel less isolated and anxious.  They are encouraging knitters and crocheters to continue to support their local yarn stores during this shutdown of small businesses. Because social distancing is necessary and the physical stores in Pittsburgh are closed, McWalker Yarns in Millvale is offering creative options for yarn delivery and Yarns by Design in Oakmont is offering Free Shipping through Apr 15th. Knitting groups and classes are cancelled but they’re even trying to have a virtual knitting circle, stay tuned.

Here are the links to Episodes one and two