Save Maxo Vanka Murals – on the walls of the first Croatian church in Pittsburgh area St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Millvale PA.
I signed on to attend a tour with four friends at ten in the morning. Our tour time got changed to 12:30 as the church had a funeral at the ten o’clock time. Our tour guide Susan was knowledgeable and it was a wonderful experience to learn about how Maxo Vanka built his own scaffolding and painted the walls and ceiling of the church. He finished the paintings one week before Pearl Harbor in 1941.
The murals include secular and religious symbolism Painted by Croatian immigrant artist Maximilian Vanka (Maxo Vanko) across two intense phases in 1937 and 1941. Angel playing Traditional Croatian Instrument St Francis St Clare
You can see the scaffolding where conservators preserve and clean the murals.
Justice Injustice See comparison before and after cleaning. Find the area that was left untouched by the conservatorImmigrant killed in the mills lying on newspapers
Tapioca is a starch that comes from the cassava root and formed into little pearls that gives tapioca pudding its signature texture and is naturally gluten-free”
Tiny pearls of tapioca starch, milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla are the ingredients. Little containers of half and half are served with the Tapioca Pudding at Grant Bar in Millvale PA. Fortunately my friend V, who was treating Steve and me to a lovely dinner, suggested we order dessert. And she reminded me of the Tapioca Pudding they feature on the menu. Being a blog follower V has read my questions about different foods and flavors. (Mushrooms, rhubarb, licorice etc) “It would make a good blog” she said. I couldn’t remember if I’d blogged it before. Tapioca reminds me of childhood. Puddings and custards don’t seem to be as popular these days .
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 Oakmontis 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.
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.
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.
We called Dyed in the Woolin 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
SUNDAY at Noon Sewickley YarnsOpened 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.
Raku Ceramic Buttons
Paper Patterns
Raffle Baskets
Baa Yarn
Sewickley Yarns carries Koigu Yarn
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
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.
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 
