Tag Archives: Ravelry

RAWR! Take Two

RAWRasaur

The Second installment of RAWR! is available for sale at Tiny Dino Studios on etsy!

For the inaugural installment, I offered a 6-month subscription. I didn’t have any takers. I understand why, the fee was just a little steep. That’s why this time, I am only offering a 3-month club. However, I now offer two ways to pay. I am offering the good old simple one-time payment option here. But if $92 is just a little bit too much for you plunk down in one go, beacuse I know it is for me sometimes, I am now offering a month-to-month payment plan, which averages to just about $30 a month. You purchase the month-to month option on etsy, paying for your first month and the shipping charges, then I will bill you via paypal for the two consecutive months the same day I ship your order. You can find the month-to-month option right here.

Join in on the fun! You won’t regret it! Here’s a look at what you get!

What is RAWR?

RAWR is a brand new sock yarn club from Tiny Dino Studios!

Purchasing this product entitles you to a 3-month subscription of Tiny Dino Studios sock yarn dyed in an exclusive color way each month. That means will you receive three unique skeins of sock yarn in your very own mail box over three months. This club begins in April 2013 and runs through June 2013. Your subscription will ship on the 15th of each month.

Bases may vary in any variation of the following throughout the three months:
Protoceratops: 100% Merino 3-ply sock yarn
T-Rex: 80% Merino 20% Nylon super-tight 2-ply sock yarn
Apatosaurus: 100% BFL 4-ply sock yarn
Velociraptor MCN 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% Nylon sock yarn

Yarns will be dyed using my signature, bright, saturated style, but you don’t just get yarn with this yarn club. Each shipment will also include 1 skein of hand dyed yarn, 2 hand-made stitch markers, two links to sock pattern suggestions–1 free, 1 paid– that I think will coordinate with your yarn. And two links to non-sock patterns if socks don’t float your boat.

Midwest Yarn’s LYS is Opening Soon!

Could I possibly be any busier?  I'd been knitting and working like crazy to get a lot of things ready for the vendor fair that I participated on Saturday.  There were 135 vendors present (you can see the guy behind me who had tie dyed items and recycled glass items).


I brought a lot of yarn, met some great people, and made some connections.  Turn out was low, but I got a lot of time in working on the Sock Madness Round 3 socks.  In spite of how much time I'd spent on the fair, I made it on to Round 4!


The Round 3 socks were made in Ella Rae Lace Merino in the color Rose Pink.


After a long day at the vendor fair, my husband called to tell me that he'd spoken with the landlord of our retail space who'd agreed to let us get the keys a week and a half ahead of schedule!  It's now three days later, we've got a lot of items moved in, including the yarn.  Sunday, we move in the fixtures and furniture and from there I start setting up and decorating.


The official Grand Opening for our shop is June 5, 2012.  Should everything be set up sooner than that, I will announce it here, on Ravelry and Facebook.  The biggest challenge is changing the signage so that people don't think that we're the previous shop.


Tentative shop hours are as follows:


Tuesday: 10am - 6pm
Wednesday: 10am - 6pm
Thursday: 10am - 6pm
Friday: 10am - 6pm
Saturday: 10am - 4pm


Everything's happening so quickly, but I'm excited that we're on our way!  Check back soon!

Knit Local

If you're in the DFW area, you might really enjoy the first class fiber event going on in Grapevine this weekend:  The DFW Fiber Fest. 


President Anna Hulse (with mini mascot, Ike), has put together a wonderful event for knitters and spinners featuring lots of excellent vendors, top drawer national and local instructors, and admirable fundraising projects, all in one weekend.


Her army of volunteers makes the details come together seamlessly.  At least, I haven't heard about any seams showing.  Just today, I saw hundreds of happy spinners and knitters come through the convention center, beaming from learning new things and nabbing great bargains on treasures.


A busy home school family of knitters and crocheters takes in the sights, and takes some of the sights home with them.


Brenda, one of my former tri-loom students, shows off a gorgeous piece of weaving she completed with her homespun yarns.


We met so many wonderful friends today, and sent them home with yarns, rovings, sheep magnets and more.  We're right by the food concession, so you can stop by on your way to grab a nice bite to eat.


This evening, we were proud to help sponsor the Ravelry event, "Unraveling Ravelry," with speakers Mary-Heather and Sarah from our favorite knitting website.  The place was packed.


As much as I have loved and used Ravelry over the years, it seems there are whole truckloads of good stuff I have yet to plumb there.  We learned how much the site changes and grows, with the help of user suggestions and updated technology.  The power of this functional and aesthetically pleasing website is easy to underestimate.   Take some time to poke around on Ravelry if it's been a while since you checked out the search features, or the new abilities we have to catalog our patterns, stash, libraries, etc.


I looked down my row and spotted longtime friends of the farm, Dawn Bahr and Amy Semifero.  Ravelry has brought so many of us knitters and spinners into friendship and community.


Did I mention world-class instructors?  My spindle hero, Abby Franquemont, is here at the festival, teaching all kinds of spinning classes I should have signed up for, but didn't.  Thank the Lord she has them out on DVD, so all is not completely lost...  I hope to get the chance to thank her for her book, "Respect the Spindle" which has helped me so much advance my spindling skills.


Mary Heather visited with the hoi polloi after the presentation.  She tells me that they won't be attending the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this year, which is where I usually run into them.  It's been fun having them in our neck of the woods this time.

Tomorrow is Day Two, of three, so I hope to spend a little time in the main vendor hall and get some more photos where the real action is.  The trick is to watch your check book while you're in that huge room of temptation.  No one is around when you need support to curb your stash enhancing.  In fact, most folks are happy to encourage you to go ahead and pick up that amazing treat.  After all, we deserve it, right?

Wool Over Your Eyes

This afternoon a friend and I scoped out the newest yarn store in town. Wool Over Your Eyes, located in downtown Greenville, opened its doors for the first time today and is hosting an Open House this evening.
sign
The shop carries a variety of yarns, including a great selection of Ella Rae, my favorite of which had to be the Lace Merino Worsted. So soft and in such gorgeous, bright colorways.
I was thrilled to see that Sabine, Findley Dappled, and Yearling, the Spring/Summer collection from Juniper Moon Farm, were on their shelves, as were the accompanying pattern books. (There may have been some discreet squishing and sniffing, but there is no photographic evidence.)
yearling
In addition to the yarns they also carry assorted needles and notions. My friend purchased some double pointed needle holders, and I came away with a 60 inch cable that is compatible with my Knit Picks Interchangeables.
The space itself is bright, full of natural light, and welcoming. There are two large tables with chairs for classes and a cute sitting area for lounging and stitching.
tables
I have for awhile been contemplating buying a loom and learning to weave. I am super excited to take one of their beginner level weaving classes in April to see whether weaving is something that I might enjoy before making a huge investment in a loom. There were at least 5 looms in the store, and students will be able to use one of the shop looms for the class.
The staff were welcoming, friendly, and helpful. The owner even served us tea and chocolate doughnuts while we knit. (Seriously!)
tea
In addition to their web site, you can find find Wool Over Your Eyes on Facebook. Stop by the store and check the place out for yourself. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

By Hand

For Christmas in 2010, Husband gave me a share of yarn from Juniper Moon Farm, and it has truly been the best gift that I have ever received. Like ever. Really. I am not exaggerating.

Not only did I receive 6 skeins of the most beautifully dyed, wonderfully soft American-grown Cormo wool, but the through this gift, I came to know Shepherd Susie, owner of the farm, and the Juniper Moon Farm group on Ravelry. In this group, I have found kind hearts, generous spirits, and fellow farm lovers. The women of this group have become my friends, and I am proud and privileged to know them.

So, today is my day to do just a little something to pay them back for welcoming me so warmly and to thank them for kindnesses they have shown me.  I want to tell you about By Hand.

By Hand is the soon-to-be Juniper Moon Farm magazine. To quote Susie, By Hand will:
celebrate creating things with our hands, and explore the motivation to make things in a world where there are cheaper and immediate alternatives. It will be both practical (patterns, DIY projects, etc) and thoughtful, with a lovely and gentle aesthetic.
This very morning, JMF launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the launch of By Hand. Please consider making a small donation to help get By Hand off the ground. There are some fantastic rewards lined up as part of the Kickstarter campaign, and I promise you it will be worth it.

What a Week!

Did you know that we ship internationally?


Pick up one of our pattern
and join in for a knit along
or get help from me on a
project!
If you've been paying attention to Ravelry, Twitter, Facebook or Google+, you'd know that today begins the second week that Midwest Yarn's website has been up and running!  We had a great first week too.


Most of the yarn we ordered is in, as well as the pattern books that support the yarn lines we carry.  Just be aware that Noro will take a little bit longer to get in, as the supplier is backordered like crazy.  Noro yarns are hand spun and hand dyed in Japan from high quality materials.  They are then shipped out of one of the few ports that were not affected by last year's tsunami.  Because of the devastation from the tsunami, it takes can take a little longer to ship Noro yarns to the US.  At least a yarn like this is worth the wait!  Especially now that we've got the Knit Noro book available to order.


Findley Dappled
pattern book
now available!
We've also been searching like crazy for store fronts for the brick-and-mortar shop that would be open to the public.  I'm happy to announce that we've found what we've been looking for and should be signing a lease soon (keep your fingers and toes crossed).  Move in would be around the first week in May and we'd like to get the shop up and running within a few months' time.


Sabine booklet
now available!
In the interim, you'll see our ads on Ravelry and Talk to the Trees blog.  Head on over to the website and pick up some of the highest rated yarns available!  Your purchases go right into making more yarn lines available and the brick and mortar shop become a reality.  A brick and mortar shop means availability for classes and more!


Debbie Bliss
Rialto Family
As we continue online, feel free to suggest patterns or ideas on our social media sites for knit alongs, etc.  Get help from each other or myself on the Friends of Midwest Yarn Ravelry group, Facebook page, or Twitter (@midwestyarn).


If you don't see the colors or pattern book you need (limited to what is available by our suppliers), email me at orders@midwestyarn.com and I can place a special order for you.  In stock items usually ship within the next business day.


Debbie Bliss
Rialto Aran

That Surprise that I mentioned earlier…..

So many of you know that I am also a spinner and a weaver.




I love to spin....love the feel of the wool, and the smell, and the colors....it's so relaxing. And like clay I am creating something functional from such a basic material!  I am only a novice knitter. But I keep on spinning. Soon I will weave with all that handspun, but that is a story for another post.

Over the last year, as a new resident of Charlottesville the knitting site Ravelry has been an amazing resource of patterns, inspiration and friendship and professional networking (I've sold ALOT of pots because of this group. They are my most faithful fans!)  But for me there are two specific groups that helped me through the lonely days (and nights) in a new house and new community, Juniper Moon Farm (of which you have heard me speak many times) and Gilead Fiber Farm in Vermont.

As is appropriate, it was THROUGH Juniper Moon that I "met" Kristen and Gilead Farm. JMF was having a (it's first...there is another if you are interested!!!) flock give away and Kristen won the contest of a life time! So of course I trotted on over to her website and found her forum on Ravelry.

It's been a year and there have been alot of changes. I've become a regular visitor to the ACTUAL farm at Juniper Moon. I've been making their own small line (mugs and yarn bowls) of pottery AND enjoying the sights and smells and sounds that is The Farm. I've met so many wonderful people both AT the farm and again, through Ravelry.

One of these new found friends is Kristen. Though we have never met, and only this week have even spoken on the telephone (!) I've loved following her ups and downs as a new shepherd. Reading about  her joy at finding her first new baby goat in the barn, her painful flock losses from parasites or mineral deficiencies (the things you can learn on Rav!), her battle with winter and ice and summer and Hurricane Irene..., her crazy dog with the voracious appetite and her dream of a complex of tiny houses for all of us to finally come and hang out in the field with her and her flock.  All while working a full time job at the local John Deere dealership.  There are many of us who read her forum feeling as though we are shepherding vicariously through her while at the same time being amazed at her tenaciousness and love for what she is doing.

So Kristen has been contemplating some changes in her farm "model".  She and I have been "talking" about pottery.  How I am always trying to come up with ways to combine my love of fiber with my love for clay....and we came up with these:






I am so excited to be selling these tumblers!  My interpretation of the pictures I've seen and the descriptions I've read of Kristen's Gilead Fiber Farm.  She raises both sheep and and angora goats (Skippyjon, the trouble maker is the black sheep portrayed on many of these cups) Anna is a black faced sheep that I think of as I decorate..and then we have the angora goats...imagine them nibbling on the trees and cavorting amongst themselves.  (And yes, cavort is the perfect term to describe the antics of an angora goat!)

I've posted these tumblers on my etsy site.  A portion of the sales will go directly to Kristen.  My way of  being a shepherd!


Welcome to Midwest Yarn!


We will post when our website is set to go live.  It should be up and running by mid to late February.  Until then our Ravelry ads will point you to the blog.
Welcome to the Midwest Yarn blog!  Midwest Yarn, a Cherished Moments company, is a small business operated out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My name is Melina and I am the proud owner of this wonderful yarn shop.  Over the past few years, I have been operating Cherished Moments, dreaming about the many different options available for needle artists when it comes to yarn.  And then it hit me, OPEN A YARN STORE!

Our goal is to provide the highest quality yarn to knitters and crocheters alike.  There's nothing like proudly wearing a handmade garment and feeling how soft and luxurious the yarn is.  We carefully select our yarns to make sure that we only stock lines made from natural fibers. Silks, wools, cotton, and their blends make wonderful fibers to work with. 

You may not see yarns from nylon, acrylic, or polyester, but you will see high end brands like Noro, Debbie Bliss, and more. We will also carry yarn made from organic fibers and are working to find spinners and dyers who would like to sell their natural fiber yarns as well.
 
To start we will carry some great new yarns and some favorites like:
  • Noro
  • Louisa Harding
  • Sirdar
  • Juniper Moon Farm
  • Ella Rae
  • Debbie Bliss 
We will do everything we can to provide excellent customer service, support for your projects, and a welcoming environment for yarn lovers everywhere. All the comforts of your local yarn shop without having to leave your home.

If you do love the atmosphere of your local yarn shop, don't worry!  My goal for Midwest Yarn is to also open a brick-and-mortar shop as soon as possible.  Until we reach that goal, check out what we have to offer and let us know how we're doing.

I will be using this blog to support other knitters and their projects, keep you updated with what's going on with our store, and offer you special deals.  For now, make sure you follow our blog.  Ravelry group (Friends of Midwest Yarn), blog, Facebook page, or Twitter (@midwestyarn) followers receive a 10% discount - more details to follow.

GRAND OPENING SPECIAL:


Enjoy 20% off your first order using the coupon code WELCOME20 at checkout. 

Otherwise, any order over $50 shipped in the US will receive free shipping.

Beekeeper Quilt

Current Projects
Yes, I'm currently working on the beekeeper quilt just like a lot of people are on Ravelry.com.  I'm not too far into the project (current puff count is 12), but I'm having so much fun working on these.  My mom gave me another idea too, but I'm keeping that one a secret.  Following the advise of someone else working on the project, I looked up a calculator to see how many puffs you will need to finish your quilt (find it here).  If I want a quilt to fit my queen size bed, I will need 829 puffs.  As a result, I'm thinking just what the author said to do: work on the puffs for a year and see how many you come up with.  Perhaps it will just be a piece that I frame and hang in my house or a yarn shop should I ever open one.  We'll see how it goes!

Coming Soon
My fall toddler girl jumper is almost done, I'll be posting pictures soon!  Check out some of our stuff on etsy.com under cherishedmomentswi.

A Visitor on the Prairie

Saturday morning I came home from errands to find this on the porch.



Uh oh, have I ordered something and forgotten about it?? Nope. Inside this box was a slightly travel-weary sheep named Ramble. A friend on Rav is moving to a new place and while packing up stuff this guy was mentioned. It was decided that while she was making way for a new space, he would have his own adventure somewhat like Flat Stanley.

Groceries put away, we headed off to our first adventure. To the LYS of course! I had already planned to run over and get some Cascade 220 for the Red Scarf Project and well...he wanted to go.

He immediately struck up a convo with this guy telling all about his adventures so far. And, I understand that the other sheep regaled him with stories about all the unique personalities he's met at the store. Then it was home and time to watch a bit of football because there would be more adventures tomorrow.



Sunday was a sunny, warm, gorgeous Indian Summer sort of day. And we were off to help my friend Suzy with a bit of sheep deworming. Ramble was a bit hesitant. This was far away from his normal life. But with a quick shake of his fleece he 'sheeped up'. And off we went. Initially he was slightly intimidated by these larger members of his 'family'; but after Tank had a serious moment with him he sat placidly on the crate and watched all the fun. Let's just say that the score was Suzy 1, Sheep 2. He was really happy though to make the acquaintance of Tank, Lucy, Bob and a few roosters.





Monday, it's back to work. Amidst the chaos of end-of-month and teaching my replacement about my job (12 more actual work days since tomorrow starts vacation), he managed to have some up close and personal time with my friend Jackie.



You'll note there is someone standing on his back. She's a tiny little needlefelted goat named Linda. Jackie's a huge LambCam fan and Linda is her favorite so I got her the little goat to tide her over while the LambCam is quiet. And then he waited patiently staring at my desktop while I took care of the end of day business.



Early tomorrow morning we leave on our adventure to Juniper Moon Farm...airplanes and every thing. So while I run around like a chicken looking for Cheerios, he'll have a beauty sleep. And now back to my never ending lists!