Tag: sheep

Steel Valley Yarn Crawl 2019 is Complete

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

 

Owner Toni Ritchey with her own RaggZ Yarn
Friend Colleen knits at the table
Living Pelts

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

Lynda waits on customers

 


A new knitter’s first project from taking a class at Dyed in the Wool

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.

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 

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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

*If you missed a post of the Yarn Crawl you can click here for 3 Yarn Stores in a Day Oakdale, Bridgeville and Washington 

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Oakdale, Bridgeville and Washington PA 3 Yarn Stores in a Day

 

My friend Donna and I had an adventure today.

Donna accompanied me on the Steel ValleyYarn Crawl.   I picked her up and we went to the Dor-Stop (in Dormont) for a freshly grated potato pancake and eggs breakfast, downed some coffee and then put the address for Tonidale Yarn and Needlecraft store in Oakdale PA into the GPS and we were off!

Meet Ingeborg Saveikis She was incredibly knowledgable, patient and showed us around as we oohed and ahhhed at the wide variety of yarns in her shop. We received a couple of free patterns and collected the pin for the bag and had the passport stamped.

We felt inspired as we started the day.

This is Inge the shop’s owner
Triple Drop stitch, so pretty
Expertly Knit by Inge
Look at this gorgeous doily, I would frame it!
Special for the yarn crawl
All the sock yarn samples
Silky, shimmer, soft
Inge had some help from the official “stamper” who stamped my passport.

_____________________________________________________________________________________Our second stop was Kid Ewe Knot in Bridgeville PA hosted by shop owner Heather, surrounded by colorful yarn.  She is preparing for a fall trip to Ireland with a group of avid knitters

Luccadot Yarn Trunk Show
Lots of texture and color in this yarn from Tennessee

Ellen and Craig Master Crocheters and teachers at Kid Ewe Knot How about that clock Craig made? and Ellen’s bag?   A Dragon Glove?                                                                                                                                                                           ___________________________________________________________________________________________________Donna and I got back into the car and headed south to                        Washington PA Ross Farm Mercantile 

 

 

 

Meet the store manager of Ross Farm Mercantile–  Anna-  who does it all!

Cotswold  Leicester Longwool, Shetland, Hog Island, Tunis, Gulf Coast Native, Cheviot, Jacob, Romney, Florida Cracker, CVM    Eleven Breeds of Sheep on the Ross Farm

Here is the  undyed natural yarn from all eleven breeds  They have the sheep’s photo on the label see below

Yarn from 11 breeds of sheep

Handmade ceramic yarn bowls.

Seven yarn stores visited for the Steel Valley Yarn Crawl- Four to go by Sunday afternoon.  I have a plan!   Stay tuned 

Ross Farm Mercantile is the red building on the right #80 Main Street Washington PA ____________________________________________________________________________________

Click to see Post  Kathy’s Kreations in Ligonier and McWalker Yarns of Millvale 

Click to see Post  Pittsburgh Yarn Company in Wilkinsburg and Yarns by Design of Oakmont

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Ohio State Fair – Columbus Ohio

Today’s post is primarily people.  A few animals. Or people and animals.  The food highlights will be a separate post.  Stay tuned for a Deep Fried Buckeye.  No, I didn’t eat it but someone let me photograph theirs.

I accompanied two moms and seven children!  We had a wonderful afternoon.   Perfect summer day.  Last year our visit to the fair was cut short by a severe thunderstorm.  If you are new to the blog you can check it out here

Keep Cool Fans

 

Fans from the egg farmers- outside the Taste of Oho Pavillion-  four of them are my grandchildren.  Three are their friends.

 

 

 

I'm in a Fowl Mood

Thanks for letting me photograph your shirt in the Taste of Ohio Pavillion

Thanks Guys Top banana

 

 

No, not going to guess my weight or age today!

 

 

Union General

 

Union General  from the Civil War Encampment checks out the cowgirl boots

 

 

 

Boy and Cow

 

Being taken back to the livestock/ stall area after showing

 

 

 

 

 

Abe Lincoln

 

Abe Lincoln chats with fairgoers

 

 

 

Cowgirl Boots

 

Cowgirl Boots galore

 

 

 

AIrbrush T shirt Art

 

Airbrush artist

 

 

 

No Firearms

 

Posting a No Firearms sign on the Dairy Pavillion

 

 

 

Pirates on Stilts

 

 

Jack and Drew talk to the Pirate about missing treasure

 

 

IMG_3973

At the Cardinal gate.

Bent Traffic Cone

Bent traffic cone and Ohio State Trooper giving directions

 

Jack Milked a cow

 

Jack milked a cow. Why he put the sticker on his mouth is beyond me.We did not put it there!

 

 

 

Watching the pig races

 

 

Watching the pig races

 

 

weaving a scarf

 

Weaving a scarf

 

 

 

Ohio Fair Band

 

Rousing band music

 

 

 

checking the bags of wool

Checking the bags of wool

 

 

 

Walking her horse

 

The horse barn

 

 

sleeping with the livestock

 

Sleeping near the livestock

 

 

napping at the fairCatching a quick nap behind the concession stands

 

 

 

milking the cow

Waiting in line to milk the cow

 

 

horse stall

 

Looking down the walkway lined with horse stalls

 

 

Ohio State Fair

Exhausted. This woman takes a nap on the grass.

 

Perfect summer day.  Last year our visit to the fair was cut short by a severe thunderstorm.  If you are new to the blog you can check it out here

 

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Bubble Blowing Champ, Model Railroad Men, Pickle the Mini-Dachshund, Sheep and a Storm at the State Fair

 

This is what the sky looked like as we made our way down the midway to the van.

Then the rain started. We’d been at the Ohio State Fair about two hours. The photos are not enhanced, that’s the color of the sky!

A deluge.  The view from the van shows the lightning. Shortly after four in the afternoon.  It got dark as night. When we got home, the power was out so we

went to eat dinner at House of Japan.  Thanks to the Kroger booth people at the fair for sheltering me and the kids while Erika ran and got the van and the nice State Trooper who guided us to the van as the wind blew and the rain fell.  No hail today, thank goodness.  We got pretty wet and it came up fast but all is well.

 

 

 

 

The first photo of the fair is a small combo at the entrance gate playing Life is a Cabaret.  They were good musicians and set the mood.

As we listened to the music we saw this gentleman approach the exit.

His name is John and he blew an eleven inch bubble to win the bubble gum machine and the trophy.  He was a good sport and allowed me to photograph him.

The nice woman with the mini-dachshund, Pickle ( 1 yr), let the children pet the sheep and Michael had fun feeding one.  Thanks Carrie.

William , originally from Wheeling, was one of the men running the Model Railroad display.

 

And that is Dave in the PETA shirt in the Sheep Pavilion.

I asked one of the men how they judge the sheep in the competition.  He said, they’re choosing the ones who will look best on the table.   Some of you know that two out of my three kids are veg, but the one said to me, “Ma, ask that man if you can photograph his shirt!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for graciously allowing me to post your photos on the blog today. It was good to talk with everyone we met.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What I Couldn’t Throw Out

Purchased in 1977 in New York City at Creative Playthings. Rubbery farm animals.  Nice to clutch and carry around when you’re almost two. I bought them for baby Mark who’s 34 now.  Maybe the paint is unsafe for the grandchildren, plus they have a hole in their stomach so whatever dirt and mold in the basement the past 20 years is living inside them.  I put them in the contractor bag to drag to the curb and I swear the cow’s eyes looked at me. I took them out. Photographed them.

Toy farm animals from my children's youth
Their faces have the loveliest expressions.
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