While up on a roof, checking out a potential building in downtown Millvale, Amy McCall saw this scene. She sent me this intriguing photograph. I asked if she be guest blogger today and she consented.
What’s the story? Write a caption for this photo- up on the roof. There’s definitely a story here.
You’ve met Amy and her yarn store, McWalker Yarns, on the blog before .
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
One week to go in the NaKniSweMo challenge. Sponsored by McWalker Yarns of Millvale PA.
At least 50,000 stitches total in your completed sweater- Bound off, blocked, all ends woven in. Cast on was November first to be finished by midnight November 30th. The sweater party will be held at McWalker Yarns Saturday December 7th at 2PM.
You can check out last year’s sweater fashion show here
I’m a little behind this year. A lot behind.
An inch of ribbing and two sleeves. My arms are pretty long. I’d better stop blogging and knit.
With houseguests, touring the city and travel to Ohio I didn’t knit the past five days. Uh-oh.
Rhubarb colorway of Winterburn Yarn by Baa Ram Ewe spun and dyed in Yorkshire. The pattern is Purl Code Sweater by favorite knitwear designer Isabell Kraemer.
I’ve knit lots of words into my sweater using Morse Code alphabet.
No names of aristocrats for the guillotine, as the memorable character Madame DeFarge knits in Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities. We had to read it in high school but fifty years later I still remember.
The knitted messages I knit into the sweater are the people I love, place names, favorite lyrics and favorite books from childhood.
All you need is love.
Saturday my friend Vincie and I got an early start and made our way to Harmony PA to
Darn Yarn Needles and Thread Shop.
Owner Lisa Krack introduced us to Naturally Nazareth yarn
_____________________________________________________________________________________RaggZ Fiber Art in the village of Forbes Road 
We hit the turnpike and went about an hour’s drive to Forbes Road PA where we met Toni at RaggZ Fiber Art Vincie spotted these giant knitting needles and the welcoming archway.
Here is an article about RaggZ Fiber Art by Deborah Weisberg
Toni showed me Living Pelts Felted on the back The sheep (which she keeps) are ALIVE and the backs of the pelts are Felted.
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We called Dyed in the Wool in the North Hills from RaggZ because they were going to close at 4 PM and weren’t open on Sunday and in order to finish the Yarn Crawl and get their pin and stamp I needed to hightail it out of the village of Forbes Road and get to Babcock Boulevard. We skipped lunch and made it in plenty of time to meet “….Carol Briggs Dragos and Lynda Bowen. We love yarn in all its glorious phases, fleece, roving and yarn. We love to spin, weave, knit and crochet with it. Join us in our fiber journey. All we can promise is fiber, fun and friendship” from the website
Dyed in the Wool shop Owner Carol
So three stores in a day and pins and stamps collected but ONE more pin and stamp needed to complete the crawl.
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SUNDAY at Noon Sewickley Yarns Opened and I got there close to their opening.
A beautiful summer day to drive down Ohio River Boulevard to the town of Sewickley.
Owner Robin welcomed me, assisted by her daughter Clair. Store hours are going to be changing soon -Tues Thurs and Sat- 10-4 with a late knit night open on Wednesday 10-8 PM. Friday 10-7 with Knitting Happy Hour 5-7
I asked Robin what Sewickley Yarns sells that is unique to the area and she showed me Koigu, Baa yarn and Shibui.
The Yarn Crawlers who complete the eleven store crawl are put into a random drawing to win a prize basket with yarn and accessories from all of the stores
The Grand Prize Baskets waiting for a random number to be drawn
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After I completed the crawl I went to knit a bit with a nice group at McWalker Yarns in Millvale and photographed Jennifer and Joanna in the Photo Spot.
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Support your independent local yarn stores so they don’t disappear. Take a class and learn something new. Click the shop links for more information.
*The first post of the Steel Valley Yarn Crawl featuring Kathy’s Kreations in Ligonier and McWalker Yarns in Millvale is here
*Pittsburgh Yarn Company and Yarns by Design in Oakmont are on this post
Silent Sunday
Anyone lose a hairbrush?
Thursday evening in Millvale, Amy McCall, owner of McWalker Yarns hosted poets Sheryl St. Germain and her former MFA student at Chatham U, Michael Bennett.
The yarn store was a wonderful backdrop for Sheryl St. Germain’s reading. Surrounded by skeins and skeins of colorful yarn, Sheryl read her powerful essay (from Stitching Resistance: Women, Creativity and Fiber Arts edited by Marjorie Agosin). She told of the role crochet has played in her life since childhood, but focusing on how crocheting with yarn helped her cope while parenting a son who was in trouble with alcohol, drugs and the law. She also read poems about her son’s dying of a heroin overdose from her book The Small Door of Your Death. Her words touched the audience as she described the helplessness and grief, her numbness, as she centered herself every evening after a long day- crocheting an afghan for her son. The repetition of hook into yarn loops as a meditation, an ease from depression and the stress of hopelessness. A healing.
Pittsburgh native Michael Bennett read his poetry first and opened for Ms. St. Germain. Michael has worked for three years with Words Without Walls program, teaching incarcerated Juvenile offenders, teenagers being tried as adults.
Cellist David Bennett and McWalker Yarns supporter introduces the poet and provided delicious desserts by Millvale Baker Jean-Marc Chatelier
New Orleans native Sheryl St. Germain has published six poetry books, two collections of essays, and co-edited two anthologies. The Small Door of Your Death, a collection of poems about the death of her son from a heroin overdose, appeared in 2018 with Autumn House Press. A forthcoming book, Fifty Miles, is a collection of essays about healing that include a couple of essays about working with yarn. Sheryl directs the MFA program in Creative Writing at Chatham University where she also teaches poetry and creative nonfiction, and is co-founder of the Words Without Walls Program . She was named Louisiana Writer of the year in 2018. Sheryl is an avid and accomplished crocheter, and a much less accomplished knitter. See: www.sheryl-stgermain.com/ for more information.
Desserts created by Jean-Marc Chatellier French Bakery
A six word Saturday.
I’ve not seen one of these before but they make a lot of sense.
This one in front of the police station.
Thanks for all the good wishes in accomplishing nine years of blogging and starting year ten. I’ve posted 3,235 times which averages 359 times a year.
More family came to Millvale to see the People at Work show today which was really nice. They drove in from Virginia, Ohio and West Mifflin. We gathered back at my house for dinner.
And a photography classmate of mine came with his wife to Panza Gallery at the same time. Andrew Wagner and I took a few classes together at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild. He’s a loyal blog follower, too, having photographed many similar subjects throughout his career- in FILM!
Andrew once said my blog was like a Kodak Carousel slide show and you never knew what the next slide would be. He offered to take a photo of the family at the gallery this afternoon and he took it on my camera so I have the photos right away. Thank you for coming and always being so supportive to me in my photography efforts.
Here are the photos Andrew took today.
Uncle Frank and Maura look at Vintage Car Restorer storyboard featuring Uncle Frank.
Photo credit to all three photos –Andrew Wagner
