Today’s mail brought the delivery of a package. Always fun to receive an unexpected gift. If you squeeze the body, you can hear the sheep bleating. You know how I love puppets. He’ll be a great addition to video calls with the grandchildren. Thanks JB for the ewe mail.
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
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.
_____________________________________________________________________________________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
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
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
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
Fans from the egg farmers- outside the Taste of Oho Pavillion- four of them are my grandchildren. Three are their friends.
Thanks for letting me photograph your shirt in the Taste of Ohio Pavillion
No, not going to guess my weight or age today!
Union General from the Civil War Encampment checks out the cowgirl boots
Being taken back to the livestock/ stall area after showing
Abe Lincoln chats with fairgoers
Cowgirl Boots galore
Airbrush artist
Posting a No Firearms sign on the Dairy Pavillion
Jack and Drew talk to the Pirate about missing treasure
At the Cardinal gate.
Bent traffic cone and Ohio State Trooper giving directions
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
Weaving a scarf
Rousing band music
Checking the bags of wool
The horse barn
Sleeping near the livestock
Catching a quick nap behind the concession stands
Waiting in line to milk the cow
Looking down the walkway lined with horse stalls
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
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.
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.
