My sheep owner friends, Joan and Dave Ellison, host a semi annual “Fiber Day” at their farm in Pelican Rapids, MN. This is one of my favorite events, so it was disappointing when it had to be cancelled in the spring of 2020, and again this fall, due to the pandemic. Fall Fiber Day wouldContinue reading “Fiber Day”
Tag Archives: Yarn
Bison Fiber Part 2
I bought a bag of bison fiber blended with wool and alpaca last fall in South Dakota, at the same time as the 100% bison fiber I wrote about in a recent blog post. It was only one ounce but was more expensive due to being blended with the other fibers, and already prepared forContinue reading “Bison Fiber Part 2”
Bison Fiber Part 1
Last fall we attended the Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park in South Dakota, an annual event for maintaining the herd of 1,300 bison. As many as 20,000 spectators gather on each side of a large viewing area where the bison are herded past by cowboys and cowgirls on horses, and in vehicles. Breakfast isContinue reading “Bison Fiber Part 1”
My 1970’s Afghan
During high school in the 1970’s I crocheted several granny square style afghans. I recently came across a photo showing the afghan I made for my orange and yellow themed bedroom, with the coordinating curtains my mom had sewed. You can see the afghan on the bed in the lower left of the photo, andContinue reading “My 1970’s Afghan”
Hand Carved Knitting Needles
My daughter carved me a set of willow wood knitting needles for Mother’s Day. They are beautiful, light and smooth. I decided to knit a scarf with the hand carved needles using a pattern I got from my cousin Mary Turak. I used a crochet provisional cast on so I would be able to joinContinue reading “Hand Carved Knitting Needles”
60 Years of The Yarn Shop
In the late 1950’s my grandmother’s sister and her husband, Margie and Doc, were teachers in Glen Arbor, Michigan, near Traverse City. Margie liked to knit, so Doc had the idea of selling yarn to make money during the summer. They rented space and “The Yarn Shop” was born. Doc also ran small ads inContinue reading “60 Years of The Yarn Shop”
Weaving in Arizona
My new table loom was small enough to bring on our snowbirding trip to Arizona. It was especially nice to work on this weaving project in a relaxing fashion without many other duties calling. Following are some photos showing the first step of the process, measuring out and threading the warp yarns through the slotsContinue reading “Weaving in Arizona”
Shawl
I finished knitting a shawl. It is not as interesting as the purple and gold scarf, and there is not much of a story behind this project other than I needed some things to work on while away from home on the snowbirding trip. Knitters usually bring materials for several projects on a trip becauseContinue reading “Shawl”
Qivuit Cowl
My adventure girl daughter bought me a skein of qivuit yarn from a shop in Skagway, Alaska, when she was working there for three months in the summer of 2019. Qivuit is the fine underfur from a musk ox, which is eight times warmer than wool and softer than cashmere. Qivuit yarn is expensive dueContinue reading “Qivuit Cowl”
My First Weaving Project
Learning to weave has been one of the skills on my bucket list. I pictured one of those ginormous looms the size of a small room. There are many different types of looms that can make everything from a simple narrow strap to a wide fabric with a complicated pattern. After seeing Torri Hanna useContinue reading “My First Weaving Project”
