Bryanne opened the colorful Moon and Craft Room May 27, 2023. Look below and see her in the bright pink shirt, helping us find yarn and other fiber related items.
Today my friend Randi and I ventured into the North Hills and spent some delightful time in this happy space. Potholder looms and loops were on my shopping list!
It was a Cream Tea event at McWalker Yarns in Millvale, PA, Wednesday afternoon. Freshly baked scones, clotted cream with Four Fruit or Blackberry jam! Pots of hot tea. Knitwear Designer Jody Long was in from the UK,making his sixth shop stop in the USA on his Fall-Winter 2023 Tour-Cables Across America
It was the place to be for creative inspiration!
It was such fun watching Jes model his knitwear designs which were knit up in all of his gorgeous yarns.
Meet Andrea Panzica, owner of 614 Knit Studio in Clintonville, Columbus, Ohio. Here she helps me show off my finished object. She had helped me choose yarns for the Westknits Mystery Knit Along when I was visiting the family in October 2022. The yarn is Ansel fingering weight Jill Draper Makes Stuff yarn. I wanted to show Andrea the yarn knit up into the shawl from the yarn she’d helped me select. You might remember Andrea from the Great Lakes Fiber Festival post.
I frogged the start of Twists and Turns and knit Stephen West’s design Vertices Unite instead.
Here Andrea sporting her Stephen West Shawl MKAL from 2020 Slipstravaganza when I was choosing yarn last fall.
At the Columbus Metropolitan Library in the Carnegie Art gallery on the second floor. July 28, 2023.
Bees Knees Clintonville Yarn Bomber Hooked on Books
My friend Joanne’s flight was delayed so she was getting a bite to eat and then walking around Terminal A-East in the Philadelphia Airport, waiting for her flight to be called. Although she was eager to get to her destination, the delay gave her time to photograph all these colorful artworks. Creating a guest blog today was not her plan, it just happened. There was a lot of yarn!
IT’S A WRAP 2 is in Terminal A-East
Ticketed Passengers
“This exhibition features work by Philadelphia area artists(listed below) who were invited to create unique architectural interventions within the Airport terminal. Using yarn, fabric, felt, found objects, tape, paint, wheat paste, and wood, the artists applied their work to the ceiling tiles, columns, rockers, walls, walkway, and windows. They have visually transformed this location into an immersive and experiential art-filled passageway.”
Artists
Have a wonderful holiday . Thank you Joanne. Joanne’s most recent guest blog was the one of the bronze sculptures in Halifax Nova Scotia – The Volunteers.
Tomorrow June 10th in World Wide Knit in Public Day
I’m headed with a friend to Millvale PA where McWalker Yarns and Abeille Voyante Tea Co are teaming up to celebrate and knit! 10-Noon
Yarn is Regia Merino Yak from McWalker Yarns
The sweet bag stitched by a Woolswap partner’s daughter in Norway.
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.
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
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Here’s a photo of McWalker Yarns owner Amy McCall holding the photo I took of her as she opened the store in April 2018. Standing with her is fabulous crochet artist Melissa White (who is also an employee) The photo shows how much the store’s inventory has grown!
McWalker Yarns in Millvale PA is celebrating their fifth anniversary and Local Yarn Store Day. There are special sales and prizes for shoppers this Saturday April 29th. Amy says in her latest newsletter “To celebrate this special occasion, I asked Toni at Raggz Fiber Art to create an exclusive assigned-pooling colorway for us to be named “The Yarn Shop at the End of the Rainbow.” Wow, has she outdone herself! We have, for now, a limited number of skeins of this amazing colorway in fingering weight. These will go on sale on Saturday (4/29) at the anniversary party (and are destined not to last”
A solid community of fiber enthusiasts has flourished, even during pandemic times. It was during these long months that McWalker began mail order sales, curbside pick-up and hosted Zoom meetings several times a Week. There were classes and make-alongs, friendships formed, even during isolation.
Here’s the post created upon the store’s April 2018 opening Millvale Welcomes McWalker Yarns
also the First Anniversary post is here
Congratulations to Amy on bringing her dream into reality. A dream where we share in the yarny goodness and positive vibes. When entering the store there’s a welcoming spirit. It’s a wonderful local yarn store.
Joanne writes from Iowa today….
“Just like my friend Ruth, I search out yarn shops when I travel, hoping to find local yarn.
I’m visiting my daughter in Iowa this week and made a quick visit to the Home Ec. Workshop.
Located in a lovely old red Victorian-style home, the shop offers supplies and inspiration for quilting, crafting, sewing, and a full selection of mostly natural-fiber yarns for knitting and crochet.
It was fun to visit and chat with the owner Codi Josephson, who shared that the shop was recently featured in Better Homes & Gardens Quilt Sampler magazine (Spring/Summer 2022 issue). I came away with a few treasures …. a fabric project bag and some fabric to make a few more. And I found a locally dyed yarn called Ewe & Lea. I loved all the colors, so ended up with five skeins …. wonder what projects I’ll be knitting up!” —Joanne
P.S. You can shop online, if you aren’t headed to Iowa City anytime soon. I bought some sock yarn (on sale) for a friend. -Ruth
There is a town in Pennsylvania called North East. Yes, that’s the name of the town, not just a direction. About 150 miles north of Pittsburgh, near Erie, it turns out it’s the northernmost town in PA.
My friend Roberta went to the North East Farmer’s Market and saw a vendor with yarn! There were chairs behind the display table and knitters sitting and knitting. She told them about her friend the knitter (me) and that I’d even been on a knitting cruise to Norway with Arne and Carlos . (If you’re unfamiliar with this creative duo who live in a Norway, you can click their name to learn about their creative designs.)
Sunday night Roberta came over to my front porch to celebrate my birthday. We shared Taiwanese takeout she had brought with her, Blackberries on vanilla ice cream and pizzelles were dessert.
Then I opened a surprise birthday gift she brought. It’s so cool she chose such lovely yarn for me and although she’s not a knitter, she knows I have a passion for it.
Yes, she knew I’d love the yarn from the Three Tulips Yarn Company “…dream up magical colorways in tiny, individual batches so that your project will be truly unique. We love yarn and believe that each stitch should be a joy to create.”
You can meet the team at Three Tulips Yarn Company here
Here is what she gave me
Hand-dyed Micro Batch Yarn by Three Tulips Yarn Company I think to make a Hat on the left /Socks on the right.