spinning – Ruth E. Hendricks Photography

The Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster Ohio

Last week when I was visiting my two Columbus, Ohio families, I popped into 614 Knit Studio to get a sock needle and some sock yarn to knit men’s socks. Believe it or not, I hadn’t taken enough knitting projects with me. I ended up staying almost ten days instead of five and had completed two projects. Thought I’d get a jump on some Christmas knitting.

When I was at the shop, a sign on the door said the shop was going to be closed Memorial Day Weekend because they were going to be a vendor at the Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster Ohio. When I entered Wooster into my Maps App it was a mere hour and fifteen minutes from Laura’s house and on the way home (sort of) to Pittsburgh.

Here’s owner 614 Knit Studio Owner Andrea Panzica

I bought a merit badge pin for a couple of knitting friends. I had to tell Andrea it was because of her sign at her shop that I came to the Great Lakes Fiber Show

Look at this gorgeous Studio Dog Fibers yarn they are featuring

Here are some of the vendors I met at the show. People at Work

Do you have a Spinning Wheel that needs repair or servicing? Here is Ed Jr. Ed the Wheel Healer. Located in Oberlin,Ohio you’ll have to email or give him a phone call as they are not on social media.

Look at all these Inkle Looms! Chuck and Angie own Egill’s Woostuffs

Here’s Chuck with a cutting board of Spalted Walnut, Cherry and ____?_____and Angie with a handmade loom.

Chuck ELECTROCUTES some of the wood for this effect. He showed me a video of the process

Recycled Yarn Co has an Etsy shop sells cranked tubes to make socks by adding cuff, heels and toes. I’ve knit several pairs of Opal yarn socks and it’s hardy and long wearing. Thanks to my friend Terry who introduced me to the brand.

Joanna’s Boutique has the most beautiful silk scarves and clothing with nature prints. She sells roving and fiber, buttons at her Etsy shop

Merino wool sneakers for sale from WOOLLOOMOOLOO

Knitting Needle Jewelry by Bur Oak Studio from Danville Indiana

I bought a basket (woven in Ghana) from Frog It Yarns I’ll use it to hold my front porch knitting

How about these custom wooden needles by Ann Carpenter? And the cotton cord is made in Poland from recycled clothing.

Watch a short Sheep Herding Demonstration on YouTube

thank you Andrea for telling me about the Great Lakes Fiber Show

May 29, 2023May 29, 2023 by Ruth Categories: dogs, Fiber Art, knitting, PhotographyTags: 614 Knit Studio, Columbus OH, crochet, Great Lakes Fiber Show, knitting, photography, postaday, rabbits, sheep, spinning, travel, Wayne County Fairgrounds, weaving, wool, Wooster Ohio, yarn 18 Comments

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.

Upstairs loft with fiber to spin and weave

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

Friend Colleen knits at the table

Owner Toni Ritchey with her own RaggZ Yarn

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

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

August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 by Ruth Categories: knitting, PhotographyTags: crochet, Darn Yarn, Darn Yarn Needles and Thread, Dyed in the Wool, fleece, Forbes Road, Harmony PA, Kathy's Kreations, Kid Ewe Knot, knitting, Local Yarn Store, LYS, McWalker Yarns, Millvale, oakmont, Pittsburgh Yarn Company, RaggZ Fiber Art, Ross Farm Mercantile, Sewickley PA, Sewickley Yarns, sheep, spinning, Steel Valley Yarn Crawl, Tonidale Yarn and Needle Craft, yarn, yarn stores in Pittsburgh, Yarns by Design 9 Comments

Meet Squirrel The Angora Bunny

Look at this soft snuggly bunny rabbit who helped feature the vibrant “Dye Happy” colorway. A table display was overflowing with beautiful and colorful soft yarn. Steve and I popped over the river for a few minutes to see the trunk show, held at LYS McWalker Yarns in Millvale PA, Sunday afternoon. I needed some double pointed knitting needles, too for a new project.

Meet Squirrel, held by Marissa of The Spun Bunny.

I should have taken a video of his little nose twitching. So fluffy and Marissa said the scale tips between 4 and 5 pounds so the fur is light, even if it is long.

You have to see and touch the squishy and brilliantly colored yarn to see what Squirrel and his family can produce. (with a little help from spinner and owner Marissa of course) I asked how many rabbits and Marissa responded “12 2 are full english angoras (ember and cinnabun) and the rest are french x english.”

Can you find his pretty eyes?

And I lifted one of McWalker Yarns photos from Facebook Timeline (thanks Amy) so you can see the gorgeous yarn Didn’t think to photograph the yarn, as I was mesmerized by Squirrel and all his cuteness.

February 17, 2019February 18, 2019 by Ruth Categories: Fiber Art, knitting, PhotographyTags: angora rabbit, bunny, colorway, crochet, Dye Happy, Fiber Art, fiber arts, handspun yarn, knitting, Local Yarn Store, LYS, McWalker Yarns, spinner, spinning, The Spun Bunny, Trunk Show, yarn 9 Comments

Night at the Museum

November 26, 2016November 26, 2016 by Ruth Categories: Art, PhotographyTags: angels, architecture, art, Christmas Tree, family, Jerusalem, knights, Metropolitan Museum of Art, museum, New York City, scukpture, spinning, stained glass window, travel, Vincent Van Gogh 8 Comments

The Quest for Sock Yarn in Alaska

Alaskan sock yarn was the quest. And this was the place to find it.

I ‘d researched on the computer from Pittsburgh, prior to our trip.

Knitty Stash is the home of Alaskan Yarn Company , right in Homer, Alaska where we were headed.

Gorgeous hand painted sock yarn with special Alaskan colorway names that invite you to knit your Alaskan experience, right into a pair of socks ( or shawl, cowl, etc) “Our Alaskan color way: Kachemak Bay, Lupine, Arctic Autumn, Northern Lights and Fireweed and Denail Autumn and High Bush Cranberry” You can click here to see what they look like knitted up

Yarn store number three on the great Northwest adventure.

You meet the nicest people. My friend Lisa and I went back on Tuesday night and watched the three women use spinning wheels, turning fiber into yarn.

Meet shop owner Jules and her sweet dog Ruby.

Jules made the knitting artwork out of duct tape with the help of a friend! Weatherproof..

You can see some of the colorways on the wall in this shot. I focused on Jules so the background a bit soft focus.

My quest was satisfied and I mailed some skeins the next day. It was here, waiting for me when I got home. I’ve wound one colorway already. Will keep you posted.

Here are the colors close up, borrowed from Knitty Stash site so you can see how lush they are.

I did not take the yarn photo below, but I wish I had bought all the colors and taken it! Thanks Jules. screen-shot-2016-09-25-at-11-48-28-pm p.s. If you missed my 4/27/16 post on The Satisfaction of Sock Knitting you can read it here

September 25, 2016 by Ruth Categories: dogs, PhotographyTags: Alaska Sock Yarn, Alaska Yarn Company, Denali, dog, fireweed, Homer Alaska, Kachemak Bay, knitting, Knitty Stash, northern lights, people at work, photography, postaday, spinning, travel, yarn, yarn shop 20 Comments

Wooley Mama’s on Apple Street- Omak, Washington

Wooley Mama’s

Meet Laura Hayner. And Shadow. What a sweet doggie. She follows Laura everywhere.

She is spinning fleece of some local sheep.

Here’s a skein of some of her handspun yarn from a spinning workshop. It was a grab bag of different fibers and has a really cool and varied look to it.

Spoiler Alert for Christmas Gifts- Made in the U.S.A.- World’s Warmest Socks for Winter. I’m sure she’d be happy to send you some. They are thick and cushy. Perfect in a big boot or to wear around a drafty house.

Thanks Laura for welcoming us to your lovely shop. Love the name of your store.

Thanks for showing us your logo. My sister likes the buttons she bought, too.

I enjoyed seeing your spinning and will enjoy knitting all the yarn I bought and shipped to myself. It’s great you get your fiber from local ranches and farms- 4R Ranch in Tonasket and Good Farms in Okanogan for two.

September 20, 2016September 20, 2016 by Ruth Categories: People at Work, PhotographyTags: alpaca, dog, dreamcatcher, farm, handknit, handspun, knitting, Omak WA, people at work, photography, postaday, ranch, spinning, travel, wool, Wooley Mama's, yarn 9 Comments

Tag: spinning

The Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster Ohio

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Steel Valley Yarn Crawl 2019 is Complete

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Meet Squirrel The Angora Bunny

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Night at the Museum

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The Quest for Sock Yarn in Alaska

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Wooley Mama’s on Apple Street- Omak, Washington

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