Hand Crafted in the Hills Fiber Festival

We have some changes in this event that we would like to tell you about. We have changed the venue to the Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, instead of the Holiday Inn-Rushmore Plaza. The room at the Grand Gateway is bigger and much nicer. We can also get a block of hotel rooms for $69 a night. AND it is right next door to a Perkins Restaurant; down the street (going both north and south) from 2 Malls, other hotels, other restaurants, Wal Mart; and is a few yards from the Interstate. We think you will like our new location.

We are still looking for vendors so contact Kim Haibeck at yarnsanity@gmail.com. Contact Rita Nauman c_r_yarn@yahoo.com if you'd like to teach a class.

More info coming as soon as possible. Check back here or on our facebook pages c r yarn (group) and C R Yarn Shop.

Sue

Hand Crafted in the Hills Fiber Festival!!!!!!!!!!!

C R Yarn has a tradition of hosting a Spring Fiber Retreat called Handcrafted in the Hills. We have out grown our space and the original idea of the retreat. So, this year, 2013, we are expanding! We will be hosting an annual Fiber Festival called Hand Crafted in the Hills Fiber Festival (Hand Crafted for short) on April 26, 27 and 28 (Friday evening through Sunday) here in Rapid City. The venue is the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn (next to the Civic Center) and we will have classes, vendors, demos and hanging out time. We want to make this a fun event and one that you will be able to enjoy every year. The Holiday Inn has a restaurant (with breakfast menu), bar, coffee shop and is close to the downtown area where C R Yarn is located. We have reserved a large room for vendors and demos and a smaller room for classes to be held. We are working on the cost, the classes and the vendors at this time, so if you are interested in teaching a class or being a vendor, please contact Rita at 605-791-5648 (shop phone) or c_r_yarn@yahoo.com noting that you are interested in Hand Crafted. C R Yarn will have a booth there also so you will have lots of choices for "shopping" or "gathering souvenirs" if you are from out of town. :)  The Holiday Inn will also have a block of rooms with a discount for this event. We will keep you informed through the blog and on Facebook.

We hope that you are as excited about a Fiber Festival in the Spring as we are. We have had retreats in the past and it seemed like a great time to open up our fun time to everyone that wants to join us. We hope that the Rapid City location will be convenient to you and your friends. Please let your friends know about this great opportunity.

Sue

Husbands and Other Helpers

I love my husband, we have been married for 33 years and we still like each other! He has been instrumental in getting me going in my fiber adventures. He helped me untangle balls of yarn when I first “re-learned” knitting. He encouraged me through the  down times when my knitting would go astray (as in many mistakes, “this is a sock?”). When we lived in a small town in South Dakota years ago I was having trouble coping. He sat me down and asked the proverbial question, “If you had all the money in the world what would you do?” I said, “I would buy a loom and weave.” He was surprised and commented on how big a loom is and how small our house was! Then he asked, “what else would you do if you didn’t have a loom?” I said I would like to spin. He encouraged me to find a spinning wheel and a teacher and we would save up the money to purchase the wheel and the lessons. I went to work at the local library for a few dollars each time I was there and saved that. I saved birthday money, change from the grocery store, every penny I could get my hands on. We went to Colorado for school every summer from this small town and I found a spinning wheel and bought it with my savings and part of the money he needed for schooling. Being poor is hard. BUT, that was 15 years ago and I am still spinning. I have purchased a small loom now, and am using that on a daily basis. My husband says, “that spinning wheel has made you so happy and peaceful.” He advocates fiber arts to other husbands, “it really makes a difference for your wife if she is doing what she desires to do.” One time he bought a computer and I was feeling funny about his purchase. I never said anything. When the computer arrived, he came to me and said, "I fell guilty. I bought this computer and you didn't get anything. Would you like another spinning wheel?" I laughed, hugged him and said, "I love it that you fell guilty. Other husbands wouldn't have thought anything about it. I would like a drum carder. Thanks!" I got my drum carder, he insisted it cost as much as his computer, No Problem! :)

My other helpers are my friends. I have so many friends to be thankful for and especially to thank for helping me in my fiberly pursuits. Connie taught me to spin, Ernestine keeps me honest in my knitting, Rita gives me the opportunity to weave daily, Cindie gave me pleasure when she showed me her weavings, Amanda helps me with knitting customers, then there are Jen, Sharon, Gayle, Sandi, Wendy, Kim, Kelli, Cindy and Pat who are my fiber friends. There are so many friends who knit along with me, challenge me, encourage me, laugh with me, cry with me. The fiber world is filled with friends.

My pets TRY to help me, but they are the “helpers” that are cute, but not really helpful! Zoey and Gracie just undo the things I have done, so I suppose they are the challenge in my life, teaching me how to untangle things. 

Do you have “Helpers” in your life that challenge you, encourage you and teach you? I hope you do, they are invaluable.
SUE

Monday, Monday, Gotta Love That Day!

It was COLD today! The thermometer said between 7 and 10 degrees most of the day. Yuck. Good knitting weather I think.

We have some new goodies in the Shop for you.

We received a new shipment of the Dark Horse brand sparkly ladder yarn. We also received a new shipment of the ICE brand ladder yarn. This is by far our most popular ladder yarn, but the Dark Horse is trying to beat it out. Come in and "C" which one you like the best.

We also have a new pattern that Rita has knitted up for you to "C" in the beautifully soft and washable Cascade Pacific Worsted yarn. This yarn is a blend of superwash Merino wool and Acrylic.



We made up some more of those really cute cup cozy kits, called the Cozy Owl Kit. They are very easy to knit, include a ball of worsted weight cotton yarn in yummy colors, the pattern and the two beads for the owl's eyes.

                                                 

We have new pattern books by Ann McCauley, Crochet magazine, Winter issue of Spin Off magazine and some back issues of Knitting Traditions that will stimulate your imagination. We also have new patterns in a card form from Castle Fibers (Rita Nauman) that you will love.

Deer is wearing a new scarf  and the Christmas decorations are making way for a plethora of scarves (say that 3 times fast) and you may come in and watch Sue on Mondays and Thursdays weave on her floor loom in the shop. Hopefully in the first weeks of February Sue will have a small workshop on warping and weaving. Watch the blog and Facebook for more info.

Do come in and "C" R Yarn and visit with Rita, Amanda and Sue while you visit with our yarn!

Community

The definition of community is this: a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals. So, when I say that I belong to a Fiber Community, or a Yarn Community, you will know that I mean I share common interests, attitudes and goals with the other people in my group.

I belong to a community of fiber people. There are a bunch of us that love to get together to share our successes or failures, our patterns, yarns, and fiber because we know that the others in our group will appreciate what we are sharing. Perhaps we are sharing our crocheting experiences, good or bad. Or maybe we have gotten together to knit and someone who is new to knitting has joined us and we all offer advice and help. Or there might be someone who has learned a craft years ago and just needs like-minded people around to bounce ideas or techniques off of.

My community gathers at my local yarn store (c r yarn) (shameless plug). We are knitters, crocheters, weavers, spinners, felters, beginners, very experienced, re-learning or un-learning! We gather to talk, share, laugh, cry and do our craft in a safe environment where everyone around you knows what you are feeling, talking about, struggling with or rejoicing about.   

Most of us have known each other for about the length of time that the shop has been open. Some of us have known each other for longer or shorter periods of time. Doesn't matter, once we gather together, we are a Community.

Do you have a community like this? Do you have friends, relatives, acquaintances who you can share your craft with? Please find one today. You will be much happier having friends around you that you can relate to. Socializing with fiber in hand (or fabric as in quilting) has been around for eons and will continue to be even with social media trying to take over as our community. I am all for social media, but more interested in the woman sitting next to me helping me puzzle out the mistakes in my knitting, or helping me re-learn crocheting because she is real and there! 

Where do you look for a yarn/fiber community if there is no local yarn shop? Coffee shops, bookstores, senior centers, community centers, classes at the community education center, craigslist, Ravelry.com, libraries, the places are endless. Maybe you will have to start one yourself. Try it! See what happens. Like-minded people find each other.

Find your community soon, you'll be glad you did.

And, if you live in or near Rapid City we have Knit Night at the shop Thursday night from 7pm to 9pm. Come on in and "C" us!

New Goodies for 2013

Our 2013 Calendars came in and they are on display now. The larger Wall Calendar is $14.99 and the smaller Desk Calendar is $9.99. The Yarnscapes are beautiful.

We also have started up the Yearly Yarn Club. You buy a membership in the Club for $45 for the year and you will receive 10% off all your purchases at C R Yarn, except the consigned items, for the entire year. You will also receive a canvas bag with the C R Yarn logo. Then in your birthday month you may come into the store, STUFF your canvas bag full of yarn or fiber and we will take 25% off the total of items in your bag as our Birthday Gift to you! If you signed up last year you can have a 2013 canvas bag or a special gift from us.

Rita's patterns are such a hit in the store, she decided to have them printed up on cards. The first two are in the store now. They are the Dragon's Tail Shawlette (the shawlette in the background of the photo) and the Teeny, Tiny Tree Mittens. They are $2.50 a piece and are easy to carry in your project bag as they are compact and stiff.

 Here is another cute item that we got in: Tape Measures!

We also have Zephyr Yarn by Jaggerspun that we are selling by the 25 grams for $5. This is a fine laceweight yarn that is a very soft wool, silk blend. We have many colors and will wind off whatever amount you need. (Example: 50 grams at 25 grams for $5 equals $10.00)

Hope to "C" you soon.


Sue for c r yarn!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Happy New Year to all of you! We hope that this next year of 2013 will be a fibertastic year for all of us. We are closed today but will be open tomorrow at 10a.m. Please stop by and "C" our new calendars, and other goodies. The Yarn Club begins tomorrow also, so stop by and ask Rita how to join.

Thanks for being our customers in 2012. We look forward to serving you more in 2013.

Sue, Rita and Amanda from c r yarn.