Plan Your Crawl 2013

It's that time! There are only a couple of weeks until the Great Rhody Yarn Crawl 2013. Here's everything you need to plan your crawl, all in one spot!

How to Crawl - using the map below and the Passport (links to a printable pdf file) decide which stores you will visit and plan your route. A limited number of Passports will available at the participating stores (links on the sidebar to the left.)


View Great Rhody Yarn Crawl 2013 Participating Stores in a larger map


Each store will have their own Crawl prize basket full of wonderful prizes from our sponsors (see sidebar to the left.) Earn one ticket of entry simply by visiting the store! Bring a non perishable food donation and receive an extra ticket. While you're visiting the store and checking out their sales (special Crawl sales are being posted at the Crawl Ravelry group) have your Passport stamped. Each stamp gives you one entry into the Culmination Ceremony prize baskets. One entry per store means the more stores you visit, the more chances you have to win! Visit every stop on the Crawl and receive an extra chance to win. 

The Culmination Ceremony takes place on Sunday, April 14th from 12pm-5pm at Mount Hope Farm 250 Metacom Road, Bristol, RI. Turn in your Passport for entry into the big Culmination prize baskets, say, "Hi!" to the animals that make the farm their home, have a bite to eat, and see some beautiful handcrafted items from local artisans. If the weather is fine, bring a chair or blanket and take some time to work on your latest knitting, crochet, or spinning project.  The farm will also be accepting donations of nonperishable food items for the RI Community Bank for the Culmination Ceremony. Let's see how many pounds we can donate this year!

The Culmination Ceremony Vendor List

Aquidneck Honey 
Acacia Cafe
Coffee Guy
Sweet Shop
Play at Life Fiber Arts
Autumn Olive
Katrinkles
Leslie Wind 
Dragonfly Fiber Arts 
Quaere Fiber  
Sophiez Soap
Helen Bingham 
Dirty Water Dyeworks
Stitchy McYarnpants
Kindred Spirit Creations
Rising Sun Earthworks
SimplyBrookKnits
Coastal Colors Yarn
Pretty Useful Things
Lulu Caswell Designs 
Thistledown Studio
  
We hope everyone has a great Crawl. Get out there and see what your maybe-not-so-local yarn store has to offer, make some new friends, find a new favorite fiber, and probably a lot of great deals. Drive (and boat in some cases) safe, Crawlers! 

Next Stop - Block Island!

The Great Rhody Yarn Crawl must be the only yarn crawl in the US with a stop that requires a boat ride!

North Light Fibers is located on Abrams Farm on Block Island. One of the few year-round businesses on the island, North Light Fibers is a working fiber mill producing yarns spun from exotic blends of fibers such as locally raised alpaca, buffalo, camel, and llama.

Abrams Farm is home to many of these exotic animals! You may encounter the same alpaca, camel, or llama whose fiber is used in the yarn produced in the mill. But you may also see the emu, kangaroo, tortoise, or lemur on the farm!

Sven and and Laura Risom, owners and operators of the mill, will be offering tours for the GRYC. On top of their beautifully spun yarns, the mill store is chock full of hand woven blankets, hand knit wearables, and many other hand crafted items created with the fibers and yarns blended, carded, and spun on the premises.

To allow Crawlers more time to visit North Light Fibers, we have included some special dates for this location only. To be eligible for the North Light Crawl basket and to have your passport stamped, visit the Mill and store April 6, 7, 13, or 14 from 10am - 4pm. Food donations accepted at North Light will be donated to a food pantry on Block Island.  Please check the ferry schedule at the Block Island Ferry website for more information on how to get to the island. Vehicle service is available on the ferry, but there are also many taxi services on the island. This map shows the 2 mile walking route from the ferry dock to Abrams Farm on Spring Road.

EDIT - though the Google map says the farm is a 2 mile walk from the ferry dock, Sven assures us that it's actually only 5 minutes. The Ferry employees on the island will be able to give you directions from the dock too!

You Are Invited

We are excited to announce a new location for the Great Rhody Yarn Crawl Culmination Ceremony!

Mount Hope Farm is a beautiful historic farm in Bristol, RI just a stone's throw from Mount Hope Bay. Home to the Mount Home Farmers Market, a beautiful inn, and a working farm that raises Southdown sheep, the Farm holds many special events throughout the year and is available to host your wedding and other special celebrations.


The Crawl's Fiber Arts Market will be held in the Farm's spacious barn (where the winter farmers market takes place.) This means a most excellent variety of vendors this year!  As in the past, we are encouraging those to attend to bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to the RI Community Food Bank. This helpful list highlights which foods are most needed.

The Culmination Ceremony will take place the last day of the Crawl, April 14th, from 12pm-4pm at Mount Hope Farm, 250 Metacom Ave, Bristol, RI. Bring your Crawl passport to enter to win the big Culmination Ceremony basket, meet some talented local artisans, and enjoy the beautiful grounds of the farm. It will be like a mini fiber festival! Stay tuned for our vendor list.

Are You Ready?

We are gearing up for this year's crawl with several new sponsors, new yarn stores, crawl stops, and hopefully a fun evening event.

New sponsors this year:

The Knitting Universe - this publishers of many popular knitting magazines and books and the organizers behind Stitches has donated and amazing collection of prizes for each store raffle basket.

Cambria Washington Designs - we're proud to include a local knitwear designer on our sponsor list!

Dragonfly Fiber Arts - a local spinner and enthusiastic fiberista who turns fiber into works of wearable art

Cascade Yarns - you know these yarns! From the everyday work horse wool to luxury blends, we're excited to see them in the store baskets this year.

Returning sponsors:

Berroco
Never Not Knitting
Skacel
Annie Modesitt
Spillyjane Knits
Misti Alpaca
Knitting Fever 

Stayed tuned for new sponsors as they roll in!

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!

We're sad to report that Andi Smith is unable to attend the GRYC. Her classes have been cancelled, but we have found a new instructor for the Sunday morning class at Slater Mill!

Alasdair, the author of Extreme Double Knitting, will holding a double knitting workshop at Slater Mill on Sunday, August 15th from 9am-12pm.

 Double-Knitting Level 1: Introduction to Double-Knitting (3 hours)

Objective: To learn double-knitting and reversible colorwork techniques.

Description: Double-knitting is a unique method of making a fabric with no “wrong” side and a built-in reversible colorwork pattern. Significantly different from the standard intarsia and Fair Isle colorwork that are so well known, double-knitting is a labor-intensive but wholly worthwhile technique to have in your repertoire. In this workshop, you’ll learn my 2-color cast-on for double-knitting, get comfortable with the techniques involved, then move into colorwork. At the end of the workshop, you should have a motif swatch and be confident that you can tackle a larger standard double-knitting pattern.

Requirements: 2 contrasting colors of plain yarn in the DK to worsted weight range and a pair of straight or circular needles in the proper size. This is an advanced technique, but you need only be comfortable with the long-tail cast-on and basic knit and purl; previous experience with colorwork is also helpful but not necessary.

Cost: $40
Please contact Bernadette at 401-725-8638 or bernadette@slatermill.org to sign up

CULMINATION CEREMONY AND INDIE FIBER ARTS MARKETPLACE

Join us from Noon - 5pm on Sunday, April 15th for our Culmination Ceremony!

Turn in your Passport for entry in our big Crawl raffle. Each store stamp entitles you to one raffle ticket. Visit all the stores on the Crawl for an extra chance to win!

Stick around to pet some of Berroco's wonderful yarns at their yarn tasting and trunk show. Alasdair-Post Quinn will also be on hand to sign his book and represent Cooperative Press.

Then stay to check out some wonderful local fiber crafts at our Indie Fiber Arts Marketplace. Vendors present will be:

Autumn Olive - wearable art upcycled from wool, cotton, and linen clothes
Dirty Water Dyeworks - hand dyed yarns and knitting kits
Katy Westcott - Knitting and RI themed bamboo buttons and jewelry
Play at Life Fiber Arts - hand dyed yarn and fiber with long color repeats
Pretty Useful Things - hand beaded/knit jewelry, stitch markers, embroidered project bags
Thistledown Yarns - hand painted yarn, hat kits, hand knit sweaters

Providence Coffee Roasters will have their mobile coffee shop on the premises for those in need of a pick-me-up.

Planning to come? RSVP here at our Facebook event page.

ETA: 4/6/12 Helen Bingham Designs can no longer attend

Plan your crawl!

The Great Rhody Yarn Crawl is only a couple weeks away. Have you started planning your route yet? 

View Great Rhody Yarn Crawl 2012 Participating Stores in a larger map

How are you eligible for prizes?

Visit any store during their hours of the crawl. 

You will receive one ticket for their store raffle just for walking in the door. 

Bring a non-perishable food donation for The RI Community Food Bank and get an extra ticket!

Get your Passport stamped by each store you visit. Each stamp makes you eligible for one ticket for one of the baskets awarded at the Culmination Ceremony at Slater Mill on April 15th from 12pm - 5pm.

Don't forget to print your crawl Passport!
Heads up! As of 4/3/12  there is a new Passport with corrected hours

But wait, there's more!

Knitting Meetup!


Join us Saturday, April 15th at The Healing Co-operative in Middletown, RI from 6:30pm-9:30pm for knitting, nibbles, and fun. Come support the wonderful care that The Healing Co-operative gives women with cancer and their families.


The Healing Co-Op is Rhode Islands first and only free 501 (c) 3 nonprofit center dedicated to supporting and celebrating the lives of women with cancer & their families. Founded in 1996 by Linda Phelan, then a 6-year survivor, the center has continued to grow. Serving all of Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts, the Co-Op serves an average of 2,000 women annually.

Refreshments sponsored The Healing Co-operative
Suggested donation to The Healing Co-operative for entry - $10
BYOB and chairs (there's plenty of room for people, but seating is limited)
Please RSVP at our Facebook event page. Maximum number of 75 people allowed





New Sponsors!

We've just received some fabulous prizes from our newest sponsors:

Eucalan

Brown Sheep

Fibre Company

Knitting Fever Inc.


EDIT 4/5/12 We're sad to report that Andi Smith is unable to attend the GRYC. Her classes have been cancelled, but we have found a new instructor for the Sunday morning class at Slater Mill.