Yarny Adventures Begin!

May 2019 ~ peacocksandpurls ~ Leave a comment

So now that the weather is getting a little warmer consistently… even though we still have “May Showers”….its time to plan our yarny adventures! My knitting gals got to our first Fiber Festival of the year! The Great Lakes Fiber Festival in Wooster, Oh… You definitely need to check it out. Tons of vendors… I even think there were more than last year. I have several projects on my list and already have the yarn needed for it, so I went to the festival with the intentions of “if I see something I have to have”… then get it. The only must get was the fiber soak bars from Tuft Woolens Soaps…. and score!!!! I bought two bars, and hand cream, a project bag, and an adorable birdy pin! Love! I’ve been scoping out this company for a long time… they were there last year, and I kick myself for not getting some wool wash soap bars then, but I got them now! They smell great and I highly recommend you grab yourself some.. you can order online too.

Spending time with my girlies knitting, chatting, and drinking coffee. This is a huge stress reliever for me. I really love this time…it helps to decompress, chat about work dramas, and come up with new knitting ideas!

I recently worked with Blooming Like Wildflowers on my branding and color palette… here’s a sneak peak! I love it! I highly recommend working with Halle… she was able to grasp what I had in my mind and pull “me” out and create a brand that fits perfectly! Let me know what you think!

Well.. I’m still working on my Seasons of Love shawl… I feel bad as it was a test knit with a deadline, that I have missed due to working ALWAYS it seems…if only I could knit, think about knitting, crossfit, yoga, and run… and get paid for that!! Ha! any tips on how to make THAT happen! Lol!

Well….. that about sums up my month of May!

Til then Love…

April Showers…

April 2019April 2019 ~ peacocksandpurls ~ Leave a comment

April brings several things…sometimes snow, sometimes showers…but mostly a rebirth if you will… April is such a special month… my birthday, my husbands birthday, Christ beats death, and the earth renews… The rains come…it washes away the winter blues, the road salt and grime, the trees start budding, flowers start springing up…the grass greens up, and the underbrush brightens and screams spring! The air smells fresh (don’t breathe in too deeply, the pollen with get ya!),the birds are singing, and its my favorite time… its all fresh and clean, rejuvenating, invigorating, and I smile…

April also brings time to start thinking about new flowers, weeds (boo), spring cleaning (yuck), and knitting outdoors again… but when it rains… it still means a cup of coffee or tea and my knitting in my favorite chair….

For my birthday this month, I took a day, just for me… It started with an amazing yoga class at Flex Yoga Studio in Wooster. Their yoga teachers, staff, and fellow yogis were all very friendly and welcoming… I highly recommend you try out a class and soon! Then to the coffee shop just below the yoga studio, Surehouse Coffee, for a latte and some one-on-one knitting time. They roast their beans in house – I loved the bold dark roast… get yourself some! Also the handmade pottery they use from Rhinopottery, I bought myself a cup to use at home! Check out her Etsy shop or get one when you’re at the coffee shop! Sitting there, sipping my coffee and knitting with time to reflect, time to thank the Lord for my life and all the blessings, and I smile…

This time of the year also means planning knitting adventures with my Knitalatte girls… Its the time of year for celebrating Local Yarn Shop (LYS) days.

Our travels to LYS included two favorites and one new shop. We started our day in Vermilion, Ohio at Cast On Yarn Studio… It’s personally one of my favorites! Heidi & Lana yarns were there and had some fabulous kits available (I bought one!)… The layout and ascetic of this shop are right up my alley….

Then we took a drive to Marblehead, Ohio to visit Christy’s Just for Ewe shop… This is a new shop for us, so much yarn packed into such a small space! I don’t know how she keeps track of it all!

A stop for lunch at a blast from the past memory – Big Boy Restaurant – I used to waitress at a Bob’s Big Boy in Meadville, PA back in the day…

Then heading back towards home to our truly local yarn shop, Black Locust Farms Fine Yarns yarn shop. She carries all our favorite yarns and much more….

April is just a wonderful month… how did you spend yours?

I’m still cross-fitting, getting the urge to run outdoors again, and always knitting… I even knit at the gym between class times…

Till then love…

Winter is here….forever…

March 2019 ~ peacocksandpurls ~ 2 Comments

It seems winter is staying with us forever….

Several inches of snow overnight….and that means another cozy day indoors, knitting!

I am ready for spring for sure, because I really would like to get my butt outdoors sooner rather than later in the season… I’d like to start running again, but I’m a freeze baby and must have sun and a bit of warmth to do so…and a non-snow covered trail!

Even when spring does come, I’ll still be knitting!

My girlfriends and I recently knit ourselves the Turtle Dove Sweater. My first sweater! We knit it so that we could wear them to our first fiber festival of the year….. The Cleveland Metroparks sponsored the Wild & Wooly Fiber Arts Event in Berea, Ohio.

I can honestly say, I don’t know why I was so worried about making a sweater! It ended up being easier than I scared myself into thinking it would be….so I’m planning the next one! I haven’t decided yet….do you have any patterns you would recommend?

Sweet Della….

I just knit up this matching pom pom hat for my sister and her daughter, Della. Della is such a cutie and so very knit worthy! Aren’t they adorable!

Next on the agenda…is take a day off to celebrate…me! My birthday is coming up in a week and I’m trying to decide on how to spend my day….knitting obviously…I’d like to go for coffee, maybe a hike? or crossfit? or some yoga? or all of it? What do you think I should do?

Well…. I’ll keep working on my knitting….let me know if there is anything I can knit for you!

Till then Love,

Made through the yarn tour!

February 2019February 2019 ~ peacocksandpurls ~ Leave a comment

The last few months were crazy busy! Autumn knitting, Christmas orders, finished the yarn tour, and test knits!

Sorry for missing November to now…whew I’m beat… Anybody else work full time and knit on the side of everything else? I sooo wish I could flip flop those two things!

Well..I’ll begin where I left off….the completion of our yarn tour! We completed All the stores! Some we really liked, some…not so much…

Below are the photos from the shops we went to….

Pegs’s Knit-N-Spin

Small Studio

River Colors Studio

Fine Points Yarn Shop

The Artful Yarn Shop

Fiber Addiction

Bracken Moss Farm

That was our last shop! We got all the pins and had a great time!

All in all…we decided that we would definitely do the tour again, but maybe not stress about getting to all of them..

Till then love…

Will Travel for Yarn…

November 2018November 2018 ~ peacocksandpurls ~ Leave a comment

Yes, I will travel for yarn….or wait….I mean I’ll ride along in the car…for yarn…. (thank you Crystal for driving all over Ohio for yarn!)

My good friend Crystal and I went on our second day for a yarn tour…we went to four stores this time…more “local” to us…

We went to The Designing Women yarn shop, Crochet Innovations, Long Tail Knits, and Harps & Thistles Yarn Emporium.

Of course we found something at each and every shop! Each store had a little bit of standard, everyday yarns and unique hand-dyed yarns…which was really great to see. We have now come to the decision that a yarn shop needs to have a bit of everything…local yarns, hand dyed yarns, everyday yarns, classes, demonstrations, etc. I’m taking notes…because someday, my goal is to own my own yarn shop!

Here are the photos I took of these stores…I somehow forgot to take many photos because my eyes glass over when I see yarn! We still have 9 more stores to go to yet before we finish the tour….we are hoping to get them all in one day – do you think we can do it?? Cross your fingers!!

What am I knitting now?

I’m working on hats! I’ve had several requests for custom made hats….. so I’m making several of each in different yarns. Pom Pom hats and slouchy hats seem to be the rage right now.

Here is a completed slouchy hat in soft pink – I love this hat and may make one for myself!!

Buying from me…

I’ve had several ask how to get a hand knit item from me…well… its easy!

You can visit my Etsy shop by clicking SHOP above and order online, you can go to Marigold Salon, Spa, & Marketplace and touch & try on my items there, or you can email or private message me to place a custom order. Payment is cash or credit via PayPal or square if in person. Its that easy! So just let me know what I can knit for you!

Til then Love…

More yarn please…

October 2018 ~ peacocksandpurls ~ Leave a comment

Since my girlfriends and I are trying to coordinate going to 19 yarn shops when we all work full-time…it has become difficult…and we really want to hit ALL the stores. Not just for the competition aspect of getting all the stamps in our books and entered in all the drawings…but because we want to see where all the shops are, what yarns they carry, and if it can become our local hang out to knit….

But we weren’t able to hit one store together…we had to go it alone…. I assumed going alone might be better for my wallet…but…when your husband offers to take you to a yarn shop….he finds patterns for stuff he’d like to wear….which means… YAY!!! MORE PROJECTS!!…so I didn’t save money “going alone”… but I definitely had fun looking at yarn with the hubs… he has a different perspective that I don’t and he really got to see what a yarn shop looks like – and one similar to the aesthetic and layout that I would love in a yarn shop.

We went to Cast On Yarn Studio……in Vermilion Ohio…

I loved almost everything about this shop…from the white shelving, the displays of finished objects (FOs), and a pattern and sample knitted up using the yarn…all made for great brain storming on what to make next. The only big thing I would love would be a larger space to come in and sit to knit because the atmosphere is wonderful and you’re fully encased in yarn and yarny things….lol! The owner is very sweet and helpful too! She does have a table in the center of the room to sit around, but I would think that would disrupt both the person knitting and the shopper trying to walk around them…but because of the cuteness of this shop…I’m willing to overlook that small detail… My husband reminded me that not every shop owner has a place for people to come in and just sit & knit… that maybe she just loves selling yarn, and not the group activity part of it…and I hadn’t thought of that…he’s probably right….

Here are the shots I got from the shop….

My FO…

I finished the Roaring Tides Shawl Test Knit…

Many have asked me what that means… well, myself and several others have been asked to “test knit” a pattern the designer has created. We read his or her instructions and see if we can come up with the same design they intended and to keep in contact with them if there are any errors or confusing parts… the goal is for us to help her find glitches or problem areas in the pattern before she releases it to the public for sale.

Here is my completed finished object (FO)… and I LOVE it!! #roaringtidesshawl

Next post will be more of the yarn shops we explored!

Til then Love…

Local Yarn Hop Shop

October 2018 ~ peacocksandpurls ~ Leave a comment

So September brought the month of the Yarn Discover Tour….this is also the month my credit card died….while I smiled about it!

Yarn Discovery Tour

What is the tour you ask….well…..happy to tell you!

The Yarn Discovery Tour provides fiber enthusiasts the opportunity to visit 19 amazing yarn shops throughout Northeast Ohio.

To find out more information for the tour in 2019…click here for their website. You purchase a passport with all the yarn shops and get a souvenir bag, to which you collect pins at each store and put on your bag. Oh my gosh! That part alone is a blast!! My two friends and I decided, plotted, and planned how and when we were going to achieve hitting up ALL 19 stores….we spent 4 days in September to drive around Ohio and buy all the stuff!

Over the next few blogs, I’ll share with you what I bought and saw and what my favorite yarn shops are!

The first two days we went to 7 shops.

Black Locust Farms in Lodi – Artist Gallery Yarn in N.Canton – Bare Naked Wools in Canton – Knit Wit Knits in Salem – The Flaming Ice Cube in Boardman – Gwen Erin Natural Fibers in Hubbard – and Yarn Works LTD in Niles.

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You can find all the website links via the Yarn Discovery Tour website by clicking here…

Black Locust IS my local yarn shop and the owner, Cathy, is amazingly helpful! She asked about what projects we are working on and showed us what yarns she had available to fit the pattern! She carried a ton of our favorite yarn brands and has a very inviting atmosphere! I highly recommend you visit her shop!

black locust farm

Artist Gallery Yarns has a large area for group knitting and a large selection of yarns.

Bare Naked Wools was another favorite! It was tiny but very appealing! Anne Hanson is the owner of the shop and the designer. This shop is all about the “naked” undyed wools. Here is a link to an interview with Anne by Kristy Glass Knits on YouTube.

The Flaming Ice Cube yarn shop was interesting in that they also have a vegan cafe in the shop! They carried a lot of the modern new indie dyed yarns and lots of other odds and ends.

Gwen Erin Natural Fibers.. the owner is the most adorable and bubbly person! Gwen Brown is the owner, dyer, spinner, knitter, felter, and weaver. She hand spins her own line of yarns and has a variety of notions available… she also teaches spinning and knitting at her shop…oh, and google insists that she’s a computer store….the address is correct – go with it!