Tag: shopping locally

Posted in knitting

Local Yarn Shop Week

Posted on by Laura Kate

I’m told that this week is dedicated to recognizing our local yarn shops. While sadly, there are no yarn shops in my town, I recently returned from Wisconsin. While there I visited two very nice shops and scored these yarns:

In Madison, WI, Lynette Tucker opened her shop Sunset Yarns just last November. While only a few months in business she has done a terrific job creating a cozy and friendly atmosphere for yarn crafters.

Madison’s Neighorhood Yarn Store | Sunset Yarn

In addition to the labels typically offered, she carries locally produced yarns. I browsed these, which included Galpaca and Ewetopia. Home | GalPaca Farm

The Wisco Sock yarn by Ewetopia is one I have knit before, so I picked up one skein in colorway Superior. (as in, the Lake.) I love those soft, watery shades. I also got Berroco Remix light, which is made from 100% recycled fibers. The skeins of Vintage DK in a plum color will be used to make heavy-duty socks for my husband. I am hoping that the high percentage of acrylic in the mix will wear better and last longer than the typical wool-nylon mix.

Next stop was the quaint town of Veroqua where I shopped at the Ewetopia company store. All I can say is Wow! It is truly the yarn lover’s heaven.

Our Shop — Ewetopia (ewetopiafibershop.com)

In addition to their own label, other Wisconsin yarns and the standard yarn shop yarns are available. They also carry a selection of fleece, tools for felting and many books.

Since I had already purchased some Ewetopia, I was browsing for something different. In the back of my mind I toyed with the thought of another sweater for myself. When I came across the Cascade Roslyn ON SALE, I couldn’t resist it. Cascade is a company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The Roslyn is a DK weight made from 65% wool and 35% silk. Its tweedy texture will be perfect to make a light-weight cardigan useful here in the warm climate of Oklahoma. I chose a leaf-green colorway that reminds me of Autumn.

Now to browse patterns and cast on. I foresee many happy hours in my future, with needles in hand.

Posted in painting

Open for Business

Posted on by Laura Kate

We are at Phase Two of pandemic recovery here in OK. That means our governor has allowed non-essential retail stores to re-open. I celebrated by visiting the local craft store three times so far to re-stock on some things and to buy new supplies for mounting my FOs.

I am following Cindy Anderson’s advice for attaching fabric works to stretched artists canvases.

https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/35439603/posts/27143

On the advice of blogger Melody Johnson…..

http://mixitupmel.blogspot.com/2014/07/small-quilt-presentation.html

…….I have acquired this little item.

Today I will be mounting my Just Trees piece. For this one, I want to paint the canvas around and on the edges. This requires me to work with acrylic paint. I chose four colors of thin craft paint that has been in my stash for years. Here is my finished canvas, showing a wet-on-wet technique.

The colors will blend easily with the purple border on my fiber object.

I took at break for lunch while the paint dried. Then I attached the Velcro tape and waited for 15 minutes, per the package instructions.

Hook side of Velcro – look closely at upper edge of corner.

Lastly, I attached the quilt, pressing the two sides of Velcro together. It worked like a charm.

Just Trees – Now show ready

View of the quilt from the right edge, showing paint:

It is very satisfying to get my work up on the wall. I had a lot of fun today, playing in paint, and I look forward to getting all of my finished art quilts show-ready.