C. R. Yarn

Happy Spring, Happy Mother's Day

2013-05-10T09:53:00.005-07:00

Well we finally got some Spring weather around here, although I have been told we will get Summer next week. Oh well, gotta love South Dakota.

We have all recovered from the wonderful Hand Crafted in the Hills Fiber Festival. We will do it again next year same place. We'll have even more fun.

NEWS FLASH
Crafted in Rapid the "back room" consignment area of C R Yarn is about to have its Grand Opening! We have 8 booths filled with awesome handcrafted items from the area. Most of them are made in Rapid City although a few booths come from outside the state. The Grand Opening will be on May 18, Saturday, from 10 am to 6 pm same hours as the shop.We will have spinners here, both wheel and drop spindle spinners. We will have some refreshments and lots of cool items to see and enjoy. Please join us!

C R Yarn would like to wish all our customers a
Happy Mother's Day coming up this Sunday.
Please have a wonderful day Moms!

More photos from the Hand Crafted in the Hills Fiber Festival

2013-04-30T12:22:00.001-07:00

We are tired, but pleased with the turn out at the Fiber Festival. We have gotten some more great photos from Amy that we'd like to share. If you have any from the Festival that you took, just post them on the c r yarn group page and we'll get them here. Thanks, Sue.

It's all over, the party's over, BUT WE HAD FUN

2013-04-29T10:58:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful weekend was had by all! WAW What A Weekend! We had fun. The vendors were awesome, the massages by Natalie and Esmeralda were "to die for" and the classes were great. Rita, Sue and Amanda found themselves running here and there to keep things rolling but it was good exercise and fun. We met so many wonderful Fiberistas and made new friends. We learned a few new techniques or even honed a few skills. We ate at Perkins so much we know all the wait staff by name!

Our vendors were great people, some had to haul stuff from many miles away while others just came from across town. Thanks to all of you: Chinook Winds Bison Yarn and Fiber, Red Barn Wool Station, Cloud 9 Fiberworks, The Dyeing Arts, Fall River Fibers, c r yarn, Yarnsanity, New Hope Massage, Spindlers Cottage, Kasha Knits, Eagles Wings Enterprises, and Black Hills Woolies.

The teachers were great too: Michael, Daria, Sue, Rita, Amanda, Pat, Heather, and Teresa. Thank you all. The students were really the best, they learned quickly and enjoyed their time.

We enjoyed the Ravelry class and Rita, as she showed us how it works, created a Ravelry "person" named "handcraftedhills" so we could all connect with one another on Ravelry! Check it out.

We plan on doing this again next year at the same place, Grand Gateway Hotel, but the date will be changed. The 2014 date is April 4, 5 and 6, another weekend. It was really fun to stay in the hotel, so that we were only slightly late to things since we only had to walk down a hallway. (our apologies to the ladies at Fall River Fibers) The elevator still gets bad reviews though for the door being too darn quick to close!!

I will post photos of our fun here, on the website (www.cryarn.com) and on facebook 'cryarn' and 'CRYarn Shop' for you to see some of what went on. If anyone else has photos to share please post them on the cryarn group page on facebook.

Thanks so much to everyone that came, to the wonderful staff at the Grand Gateway and wait staff at Perkins, we appreciate all of you and look forward to seeing you again next year!
Sue (aka SDSue on Ravelry)

ONLY 1 DAY LEFT!!!! HAND CRAFTED IN THE HILLS FIBER FESTIVAL CLASSES UPDATED

2013-04-25T09:13:00.002-07:00

We are SO excited to get to the Festival we can hardly wait! C R Yarn will be closed all day Friday April 26, and all day Saturday April 27 so we can play at the Fiber Festival. If you are looking for the best yarn store in Rapid City (my (Sue) opinion!) come to the Hand Crafted in the Hills Fiber Festival at Grand Gateway Hotel Ballroom, 1721 N. La Crosse St, Rapid City, SD, where we will be set up will most of the shop. There will be 11 other vendors for you to see also.

CLASSES UPDATED
We have one opening for Beginning Wheel Spinning, and the following openings for the other classes. Opening means there is a space for YOU!

Saturday
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) 3 openings
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr) 1 opening
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr) FULL
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr) 5 openings
3pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) 1 opening
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) 2 openings

Sunday
10am 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) 6 openings
11am Hat Recipe (2 hr) 5 openings

12pm Blending Board (2 hr) 3 openings

12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr) FULL
1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr) FULL
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) 6 openings

5 DAYS TILL HANDCRAFTED IN THE HILLS! CLASS UPDATE

2013-04-21T18:33:00.004-07:00

The Navajo Plying Class has been cancelled. Sorry.

UPDATED CLASS LIST 4-21-2013

Saturday
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) 2 openings
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr) 1 opening
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr) FULL
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr) 5 openings
3pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) 1 opening
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) 2 openings

Sunday
10am 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) 5 openings
11am Hat Recipe (2 hr) 5 openings

12pm Blending Board (2 hr) 3 openings

12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr) FULL
1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr) FULL
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) 6 openings

6 DAYS to Hand Crafted in the Hills Fiber Festival!!! ARE YOU READY? CLASS UPDATE!

2013-04-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

UPDATED CLASS LIST 4-20-2013

Saturday
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) 2 openings
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr) 1 opening
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr) FULL
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr) 5 openings
3pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) FULL
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) 3 openings

Sunday
10am 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) 5 openings
11am Hat Recipe (2 hr) 5 openings

12pm Blending Board (2 hr) 3 openings

12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr) FULL
1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr) FULL
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) 6 openings

3pm Navajo Plying (2hr) 6 openings

TOE UP SOCK CLASS FULL --- Hand Crafted in the Hills

2013-04-19T15:12:00.003-07:00

Sorry if you missed it! I just filled the last spot. Please check out the other classes that are still available.

Hand Crafted in the Hills soon, soon, 7 days away!!!!!!!!!!!!

2013-04-19T09:37:00.002-07:00

We are getting closer and closer to the BIG EVENT. We are excited as we gather the goodies for the "gift bag" that you will receive when you come to the Fiber Festival and as we see the sign ups for classes increasing!

Festival Schedule
Friday: 6pm check in to the hotel, and registration table; 7pm One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Stash "white elephant trade" in the ballroom, followed by the Fashion-UnTalent Show at 8pm. No Market Place on Friday
[For Trash and Stash bring, in a brown paper bag, any stash that you want to "give away". We will draw numbers, then choose which bag of stash that we want for ourselves. The next person gets to choose a new bag or steal the first person's bag. This mayhem will continue until all the stash bags are gone!]
Saturday: 8:30am Check in; 9am the MarketPlace opens, the Classes begin, the Fiber Circle opens, Installation art piece yarn hand out, Fiber collection begins; 5pm MarketPlace closes; Classes end

Dinner on your own! 7pm—Raveling and unRaveling! We will explore the wonderful world of Ravelry.com in the Ballroom with a big screen so everyone can see. This will be a great learning experience for both Ravelry users and those who have never heard of Ravelry. There will be surprises during this time.

Sunday: You get to sleep in a little, have breakfast and at 10am the MarketPlace opens, Classes begin, Installation art piece needle felting fun! Fiber Collection/Drum carder demo. 4pm Classes end. LAST MINUTE SHOPPING! and 5pm the MarketPlace closes.

Throughout the Festival there will be Door Prizes handed out and we have a massage therapist in the MarkePlace to soothe your tensed shoulders!

Here is an updated version of the classes. Be sure to sign up soon so you don't miss out on these great classes. Remember, when you pay by PayPal here>>>>>>> to put the class you want in the shipping instructions or call us 791-5648 and tell us what class you want. We want to get it right!! (Sue)

Saturday
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) 3 openings
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr) 1 opening
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr) 1 opening [one class with Heels]
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr) 5 openings
3pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) FULL
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) 3 openings

Sunday
10am 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) 5 openings
11am Hat Recipe (2 hr) 6 openings

12pm Blending Board (2 hr) 3 openings

12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr) 1opening [one class with Toes]
1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr) FULL
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) 6 openings

3pm Navajo Plying (2hr) 6 openings

CLASS UPDATES ARE YOU READY FOR HANDCRAFTED IN THE HILLS FIBER FESTIVAL?????????????

2013-04-13T13:51:00.004-07:00

Saturday
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) 4 openings
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr) 1 opening
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr) 4 openings
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr) 5 openings
3pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) FULL
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) 4 openings

Sunday
10am 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) 5 openings
11am Hat Recipe (2 hr) 6 openings

12pm Blending Board (2 hr) 3 openings

12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr) 4 openings
1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr) FULL
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) 6 openings

3pm Navajo Plying (2hr) 6 openings

ANOTHER CLASS UPDATE!

2013-04-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Saturday
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) 4 openings
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr) 1 opening
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr) 4 openings
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr) 5 openings
3pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) 1 opening
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) 4 openings

Sunday
10am 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) 5 openings
11am Hat Recipe (2 hr) 6 openings

12pm Blending Board (2 hr) 3 openings

12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr) 4 openings
1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr) FULL
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) 6 openings

3pm Navajo Plying (2hr) 6 openings

PURCHASING CLASSES FOR HANDCRAFTED IN THE HILLS FIBER FESTIVAL

2013-04-06T11:23:00.004-07:00

When you purchase a class through this site using PayPal put the class you are paying for in the shipping instructions, this way we know what class you want!

Thanks!

Class UPDATE! HandCrafted in the Hills

2013-04-06T10:28:00.001-07:00

Hi, Classes are filling up but we have lots of openings still. Check out what is available:

Saturday
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) 4 openings
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr) 1 opening
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr) 4 openings
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr) 5 openings
3pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) 2 openings
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) 4 openings

Sunday
10am 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) 5 openings
11am Hat Recipe (2 hr) 6 openings

12pm Blending Board (2 hr) 3 openings

12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr) 4 openings
1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr) FULL
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) 6 openings

3pm Navajo Plying (2hr) 6 openings

HandCrafted in the Hills Class Description and Bio!

2013-04-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

We received this Class Description from Daria Rawkoski, our Beginning Knitting Teacher:

Beginning knitting: In this 2 hour class you will learn three key elements to basic knitting - casting on, knit and purl. Instruction will primarily be in continental style knitting but we will also discuss/engage in English style knitting as well. Class time is limited so we'll focus on these basics.

Supplies: yarn will be supplied, please bring a pair of straight knitting needles, 4mm/US6 preferred but anything up to 5mm/US8 will work fine.

Daria's Bio: Daria grew up in a fiber-heavy environment. Surrounded by talented fiber-artists, her youth was marked by ready availability to dreamy yarn and a variety of skilled teachers and mentors. Her mom taught Daria how to crochet when she was 5. Her grandmother watched with approval and feeling her ready, sat down and taught her to knit (at the beach!) at the tender age of 7. After a brief hiatus during grammar school, Daria came back to strings and has been making things ever since. Now her passion has extended to creating unique hand dyed yarns and designs in addition to her continuing addiction to knitting.

Some Class Descriptions for Hand Crafted in the Hills.

2013-03-28T21:51:00.001-07:00

We have only received a few class descriptions from our teachers so far. I will continue to post the descriptions as soon as I receive them.

Here is what we have:

Teacher: W. Michael Woody
I had the advantage of being taught to spin by my grandmother. I've been spinning, dyeing and weaving, off and on, tor over 50 years.I am now a retired elementary school teacher and I do woodworking and build tools for fiber artists right here in the Black Hills.

Beginning Spindle Spinning: In this two hour class you will learn the basics of drop spindling. You will begin with some wool fiber and walk away with yarn that you have spun. I will provide student spindles for you to use in the class. They will also be for sale after class if you want to keep the one you use at a reasonable price. ($20.00) Supplies: 1 oz fiber available for $2.00  

Fiber blending: In this class you will blend fibers on a blending board, Using English Hackles, Viking Combs and a Drum Carder. You will blend different colors and textures of wool and prepare it for spinning. You will also learn to use a diz to create roving from bats on the drum carder. 

Teacher: Heather Gordon
Heather has been involved in fiber arts since she was 7 yrs old.  Being taught to knit and crochet by her grandmothers started a life-long obsession.  Several years ago she started spinning and fell down the "rabbit hole" hard.  She now shares a small farm with her husband and her daughter.  They raise sheep, angora goats, and llamas all for their fiber.  She is living out her dream combining her love of fiber, animals, and country living.

3-D Needle Felting:   In this class we will be exploring the basics of sculpting wool with felting needles.  We will be needle felting a jointed teddy bear.  
Supplies List:   Felting needles:  36 gauge, 38 gauge triangle, 40 gauge triangle,  5x5  Felting foam (foam rubber or sponges will not work),  2 oz of clean wool for main color , 1/2 oz of clean wool for contrast color  (Wool may be in roving, batt  or cloud form) , Bamboo skewer,  Waxed thread(waxed dental floss ), and a 4 inch doll needle.

Teacher: Sue Jensen
Sue has been knitting since a tender young age and spinning and weaving for the last 15 years. She learned to weave on rigid heddle looms and then purchased a floor loom. She learned to weave on the floor loom with determination and a book and hopes to help others learn from her mistakes! She now weaves at c r yarn in Rapid City and discovered that weaving is necessary to living a balanced life.

Wacky Warping
An un-traditional method of warping a floor loom and a rigid heddle loom. You will learn how to wind a simple warp on the warping board, how to sley the reed and thread the heddles, tie onto the beams and tie up the treadles on a floor loom. You will also learn how to warp a small rigid heddle loom which will be provided to use. There will be no actual weaving in this class. There will be handouts and suggested resources, no materials fee.

Rigid Heddle Weaving
We will take the previously (in the Wacky Warping Class) warped Rigid Heddle loom and learn the parts and learn how to weave a small scarf. There will be handouts and suggested resources. Warp will be provided for the class. Weft may be brought to the class with you, or purchased at the vendors booths.

Supplies: You will need bulky weight yarn. The Rigid Heddle Loom will be available for sale at the end of the class. There is a 5$ fee for the warp which is provided.

Teacher: Patricia Blaser-Mexican
is a Mixed Media & Textile Artist whose interest in fiber techniques has changed and evolved as her media explorations developed since first exhibiting her photography in juried shows in the 1970’s. Her road to the fiber arts has been a process of building upon previous experiences and works to expand and develop new ways of using texture & color to tell a story. Over the years she has created and exhibited paintings, batiks, marbling, weavings, rug hooked art, quilts and embroidered and felted dimensional pieces, as well as alternative photographic processes printing on fabric and other surfaces. She spins, weaves and enjoys designing purses & dimensional objects and rugs with the different colors and textures of handspun and dyed yarns, roving and recycled wool "cloth” employing different rug hooking and weaving styles. She prefers using local plant dyes in work.

Rug Hooking: The fiber art of rug hooking using wool yarn as your medium. Students will make a mug rug out of wool yarn on a burlap backing. There will be kits available to purchase at the Fiber Festival or you may bring your own supplies.

Supplies:The kit includes:Burlap with sunflower pattern (pattern by Backporch Fiberworks studio),
Embroidery or quilt hoop size #10, # G hook, Yarn for flower, leaves and background, Yarn needle, Yarn for edging, Felt for backing, Color photo to use as a guideline, Instructions (This level is for beginners and up). This is NOT a latch-hook rug class.

Classes Updated! Purchase Here

2013-03-28T14:43:00.005-07:00

Hi everyone, we have not forgotten you!

Here is the latest, as of March 28, 2013, list of Class Openings for Hand Crafted in the Hills.

Saturday  April 27
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) 4 openings 
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr) 1 opening 
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr) 4 openings 
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr) 5 openings 
3pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) 3 openings 
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) 4 openings  

Sunday April 28
 10am 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) 5 openings 
11am Hat Recipe (2 hr) 6 openings
12pm Blending Board (2 hr) 3 openings
12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr) 4 openings
 1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr) FULL
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) 6 openings
3pm Navajo Plying (2hr) 6 openings

If you are interested in taking any class that has an opening, PLEASE, use the Paypal link to the right.
And, MOST IMPORTANT, please put in the shipping description, the name of the class or classes that you want to take. Otherwise, we have no way of knowing which class you want and we want you to get a class!!

TOE UP SOCK CLASS is a 2 hr class offered on both days: toe first on Saturday and heel second on Sunday. You only need to pay 25$ for this class as it is ONE class.

We are so excited for the Fiber Festival and it is not very far away.

2013-03-04T18:11:00.001-08:00

Purchase classes>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

People may take an unlimited number of classes, altho they may not register for two classes in the same time slot. we put people in classes on a first come first served basis. each class has only 6 spots. we expect them to go quickly.

Wacky Warping and Rigid Heddle go well together, as you will warp a rigid heddle loom (and work on a bigger loom also) in the Warping class, then weave a short scarf in the rigid heddle weaving class!

those who sign up for Toe up Socks--the class is divided into two parts. this way you learn the cast on, etc. on Saturday, then come back on sunday to work on the heel.

Purchasing Classes in Advance

2013-03-04T11:49:00.000-08:00

On your right side over there>>>>>>>>>>>>
you should see some paypal buttons to purchase classes for HandCrafted.

A couple of things--sign up for a class and you get into the festival for free. so, if you buy a class, don't buy the entrance fee.

When you purchase a class, put the title of the class that you want to take in the notes of the purchase. Classes will be filled on a first come first served basis. there are 6 spots in each class, and if a class becomes full we'll post it here so you'll know, and if you try to sign up for a class that's full we'll refund your money.

We expect classes to fill up very quickly. you'll want to sign up quickly to get the classes you want!

OOPS! Updated HandCrafted Class Schedule

2013-03-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

Seems like I don't know my days from my nights!! Also, we added two new classes: Color Blending and Navajo Plying.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Saturday April 27
9am-11am Beginning Knitting (2 hr) Classroom A (4 spots left)
11am-1pm Wacky Warping (2 hr) Classroom A (1 spots left)
1pm-2pm Toe Up Sock Toes (first half of class) (1 hr) Classroom A (5 spots left)
1pm-3pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr) Classroom B (6 spots left)
2pm-4pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr)Classroom B (5 spots left)
3pm-5pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr) Classroom A (5 spots left)

Sunday Arpril 28
10am-12pm 3D Needle Felting (2 hr) Classroom A (5 spots left)
10am-12pm Hat Recipe (2 hr) Classroom B (6 spots left)

12pm-2pm Blending Board (2 hr) Classroom A (4 spots left)
12pm-1pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr)Classroom B (second half of sock class)
1pm-3pm Rigid Heddle Weaving- (2 hr) Classroom B (FULL)
2pm-4pm Rug Hooking (2 hr) Classroom A (6 spots left)

3pm-4pm Navajo Plying (1 hr) (6 spots left)

Sue

Hand Crafted in the hills and Crafted in Rapid ROCK!

2013-03-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well, we are zipping along with schedules and it looks like our Fiber Festival is really going to ROCK! We have the Hand Crafted in the hills Schedule and Class Schedule ready for you. Here it is:

EVENT SCHEDULE

Friday

3pm-6pm—Vendor set up &check in

6pm—check in

7pm—One knitter’s Trash is another Knitter’s Stash

8:30pm—Fashion/unTalent show

Saturday

7am—late vendor set up

8:30am—check in

9am—classes begin (refer to class schedule please)

MarketPlace opens

Fiber circle opens

Installation art piece yarn hand out

Fiber collection begins

5pm—MarketPlace closes

Classes end

Dinner on your own!

7pm—Raveling and unRaveling!

Sunday

10am—MarketPlace opens

Classes begin

Installation art piece needle felting fun!

Fiber Collection/Drum carder demo

Fiber circle opens

4pm—classes end

Last minute purchases

5pm—MarketPlace closes

5:01: start planning for next year!

5-8pm Vendor take down

CLASS SCHEDULE

Saturday
9am Beginning Knitting (2 hr)
11am Wacky Warping (2 hr)
1pm Toe Up Sock Toes (1 hr)
2pm Beginning Crochet (2 hr)
2pm Beginning Wheel Spinning (2 hr)
4pm Spindle Spinning (2 hr)

Sunday
10pm 3D Needle Felting (2 hr)
10pm Hat Recipe (2 hr)
12pm Toe Up Sock Heels (1 hr)
1pm Rigid Heddle Weaving (2 hr)
3pm Rug Hooking (2 hr)

The entrance fee for the Festival will be $5 and you will receive a goody bag full of fun things. Our vendors have been very generous to donate items for the goody bags and for the Door Prizes. We will post our Vendor List as soon as we have it completed. Tell everyone you know about the Festival, it is going to be so MUCH fun!

CRAFTED IN RAPID our consignment area of c r yarn is filling up with the most WONDERFUL items for sale. All items in our booths are hand-crafted from various materials. There are no two vendors alike and their merchandise is awesome. There are 3 vendors that come from other states but have ties to the Rapid City area and all the rest of our vendors make their items in Rapid City or real close! Here is the list of Vendors that are in the booths in the back. Not all of them are ready to sell, but their stuff is coming in soon.

Backporch Fiber and Metalworks Studio
Chinook Winds Bison Fiber and Yarn
Eagles Wings Enterprises
Fuzzbee Yarns
Native Life Designs
SageRidge Mill and Critters
Spindlers Cottage
Yarnsanity

So come in and C R yarn and C our Crafts in the back.

Long Week

2013-02-24T11:57:00.000-08:00

This has been a long week for Rita and Sue. We both had our challenges and crazy moments. We had traveling, company, headaches, heartbreaks and little sleep. BUT, we survived! We are moving along on the Hand Crafted in the hills Fiber Festival preparations. We have a bunch of vendors interested, we have classes forming, exciting FUN things to do together in the evenings planned and we are getting lots of interest from people. This is going to be so much fun!

And the Crafted in Rapid booths are coming along quite nicely too. We hope to have everyone in their booths and set up to sell by March 1, which is Friday already! We have such a wonderful list of vendors in the Crafted in Rapid booths, they are: Eagles Wings Enterprises, Yarnsanity, Chinook Winds Bison, SageRidge Mill and Critters, Native Life Designs, Backporch Fiber and Metalworks Studio, Spindlers Cottage and Fuzzbee Yarns. It is so nice to see the booths filling up with merchandise, knowing that the people who created these items have done this with their own hands and expertise, bringing age-old crafts to our midst.

Rita is feeling better and will be back in the shop, while Sue has to take a couple of days off for a funeral. Amanda is busily preparing items for the Fiber Festival while all of us are looking forward to seeing you in the shop.

Thank you to our Fiberly Community for shopping with us, sharing our lives and our passion about fiberly, yarny stuff. We appreciate you so much!

Sue

Wow! Technology is a pain!

2013-02-16T17:23:00.000-08:00

Well, we have been off and on, mostly off, the internet for several days now. I did not realize how much I use the internet. I have a question in my mind, or I want to see how much something costs, or what it looks like and I am off to the search engine. I communicate with friends on facebook, through email and on blogs but only if I am connected to the internet.

I did more reading and knitting in the last few days than previously. I also went to bed earlier than usual, hmmm wonder if I am addicted to the internet? Ha! not me! I am not addicted to yarn either!

So, with all this non-internet time on my hands I paid more attention to the yarn and fiber in my stash. I found so many lovely yarns that I had hand-spun. Then there were all the unfinished projects lounging around in my multitude of canvas bags (can one have too many canvas bags?) I worked on knitting my mittens before summer and actually finished one. (I already have 3 "pairs" of one mitten each) And I helped my husband get ready to put his jewelry into his booth at Crafted in Rapid. And I worked at the shop.

I am amazed at how much time I spend online and how much I depend on the internet. Maybe I have been entertained by different things for a few days, but I am much happier that I have my connection to the world back.

Speaking of connecting, we now have needlepoint yarns at the shop called Waverly Wool by Brown Sheep. And the craft booths are slowly getting set up in the Crafted in Rapid area of the store. So come in and connect with us and see what we have going on in the back room.

Sue

CRAFTED IN RAPID, a new adventure in hand craftedness

2013-02-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

Ah, yes, I am still making up words. My poor mother, who was a High School English Teacher is probably rolling her eyes at me from heaven right now! At least I am not making up math, just words!

We have a new adventure coming up at C R Yarn. We have opened up our back room, which used to be full of stock and other things (too messy to talk about), and are converting it to a vendor booth area. We have all hand crafted items from the Rapid City, SD area, with the exception of Chinook Winds Bison which comes from Bozeman, MT and Fuzzbee Yarns which comes from Minneapolis, MN.

We are so excited about this venture into more hand craftedness (sorry Mom). We will have hand crafted spindles, rovings, batts, yarn, hand woven rugs, metalworks, soaps, lotions, doll patterns, doll clothes (knitted and sewn), Native American jewelry, Silver jewelry, bison blend yarns, handspun yarns and more. We plan on opening as soon as possible, watch facebook and this blog for the actual opening date.

Our desire is to give hand crafters space so that they can share the beautiful items that they make with others. We want a designated place that people can come to and see exactly the workmanship that is put into these items. We love anything hand crafted and are certain that you will too!

You may come into C R Yarn and C the "hole in the wall" aka "door" right now, but the goodies won't be in the booths for a little while longer.

We love our customers and want to give you all something special along with our yarn. Thanks for shopping with us and learning with us, we soooooo appreciate you all.

Shops coming to Crafted in Rapid:

Backporch Fiber and Metalworks Studio
Chinook Winds Bison
Eagle Wings Enterprises
Fuzzbee Yarns
Lance Creek Jewelry
Native Life Designs
Spindlers Cottage
Yarnsanity

January is over and February is NOW.

2013-02-02T19:27:00.002-08:00

January I am happy to see you leave! I noticed that the sun wasn't completely finished with the sky tonight until after 5pm. Yay! More light, means Spring isn't too far away. And remember, Spring ALWAYS comes back.

I found these the other day when I let the dog outside in 5 degree temps and thought, poor birdies, wonder if their feet get cold.

Well I won't get cold this February because I have found a new love. I want to cuddle with this love all the time. It is soft, strokeable and colorful. It is YARN! Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn in Paints and Solids have just been delivered by the UPS man. (Did you know that the UPS man is really Santa? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAgggyUdVw4) We have some lovely colors and the softness of this yarn is amazing. Merino of course.

And, we also have Cascade 220 Yarn which is Peruvian Highland Wool that knits up knicely and also is feltable. I love making up new words. You will find some lovely colors of both of these "new to our store" yarns.

Cascade Heritage Sock Yarn


Cascade 220 Wool Yarn

Have you ever wanted to add a little color to your knitted item and couldn't find just a "little bit" of yarn to make that embellishment? We have had some requests for little bits of yarn that could be used to crochet a flower, or add a tassel and we have made some up for you. They are 99cents a "skein" which is between 3 and 8 grams of yarn. We even have a lovely book that gives you patterns for such "Oddball Knitting".

Why don't you give up the January blues and come in and C R Yarn? We are open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and have Knit Night on Thursday evenings from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.

Hope to C U Soon!

Sue

Hand Crafted in the Hills Fiber Festival

2013-01-29T14:45:00.002-08:00

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!!!!!!!!!!!

2013-01-26T19:00:00.003-08:00

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