So, Where’s The Yarn Diva?

If you’ve been in to The Knitting Nest in the last month, you might have noticed a distinct lack of The Yarn Diva (aka Catherine). What’s up with that? Don’t Patrick and I (Catherine) both run the shop?

Well, theoretically, yes. We opened The Knitting Nest with the plans that Patrick can keep the doors open by himself if I have a migraine, but with the hope that I will be there when I don’t have a migraine and that that will be relatively frequently. Unfortunately, in the last month, the migraine-free days have been few and far between. I suspect that falling and hitting my head on a coffee table about a month ago may be something of a contributing factor.

Whatever the reasons, my neurologist and I are working on a plan to get the migraines under control. You probably won’t see me much next week because I’m getting some treatments at the neurologist’s office in the early part of the week and then have physical therapy in the later part of the week. But, it’s all part of the plan.

If you’re the praying type, Patrick and I would definitely appreciate lots of prayers. I hate headaches, and it’s hard not to get discouraged. But, we have a plan. And, even when I’m not at the shop, Patrick is there and is perfectly capable of helping you find whatever you need! And on my good days (or hours), I’ll be up  there, too!! Keep knitting (and crocheting)!!

Why A Local Yarn Shop?

You can buy yarn at all kinds of places these days – big box stores, the internet, etc. So, why bother with getting yourself out of the house and off to your local yarn shop? Why did Patrick and I believe strongly enough in the concept of local retail to open a local yarn shop? Lots of reasons. Sure, you can buy yarn elsewhere, but your local yarn shop offers much more than yarn!

1. The yarn! You can actually see and touch the yarn at your local yarn shop. Luscious by Kollage looks like a really nice cotton/elastic sock yarn, but it feels even better!! There’s nothing like being able to get your hands on yarn. It’s also great to be able to see the colors in person instead of just on your computer screen. And, while we may not have every color of Cascade 220 in stock, we do have a color card with a bit of each yarn color and we can special order what you need.

2. Service! Patrick and I want to help you find and choose the pattern, yarn, needles, and notions you need for your project. We’re happy when you’re happy! If we don’t have the yarn you need, we’ll try to order it for you. If you’re looking for a certain kind of pattern, we’ll show you what we have. If you want to try out a size of needle, we’ll let you do that. And we try to answer your knitting and crochet questions.

3. Classes! The Knitting Nest, like most local yarn shops, holds classes. We teach beginning knitting and crochet, but are also happy to teach classes for more advanced techniques like our recent entrelac sock class. Not only do you get someone to show you the technique, but you then can ask questions and get personalized help so you can truly understand what you are learning. Nothing can replace a live person when it comes to learning a hands-on skill like knitting or crochet.

4. Local products! Local yarn shops often have products  that you won’t find anywhere else. At The Knitting Nest, we have knitting needles and shawl sticks that are hand-turned on a lathe by Patrick. We also have glass items by Blessings Glassworks from Weyauwega and yarn bowls from both Terry Achten from Waupaca and Richard Milheiser from Eau Claire. We even have some wool that is from local sheep.

5. Support local businesses! When you can shop locally while still purchasing superior products and getting excellent service, you’ve gotten the best of all worlds. And that is totally possible! When you shop locally, you help keep tax money in your local area, you help keep people in the area working, and you keep your small town thriving. And you don’t have to sacrifice to do this. So, stop by The Knitting Nest for your yarn and other fiber supplies and then get some coffee or ice cream at a local eatery and maybe some cheese from the cheese store. There’s plenty here in Weyauwega to keep you busy for an afternoon.

Happy Birthday, Knitting Nest!

The Knitting Nest turned 1 year old last Thursday! Yes, we had a party! With cake! Since it was our birthday, we also gave out gifts – Knitting Nest bags to all of our customers on our birthday and various items to winners of the drawings.

So, now what? We’re toddlers now! We’ve gotten up on our feet and are cruising the furniture and generally breaking up housekeeping! Don’t worry, though, we’ll clean up after ourselves.

We’ve got plenty of ideas for our second year of business. We want to expand some of our yarn lines and bring in some new companies. And, of course, teach classes (more on that in another post). Let’s not forget charity knitting and crochet. There are lots of needs in our community that we can meet through fiber arts.

Keep up with us through our website or Facebook so you can be part of our exciting second year as we become more a part of the community here in Weyauwega!

And, of course, let us know of any ideas you have on how we can make our community better through knitting and crochet!

Why We Knit

I’ve written before about how knitting and other needlearts are about so much more than the crafts themselves. Let me tell you another story today.

One of our customers came in a few weeks ago looking for yarn and a pattern to make a hat for a dear friend who was about to undergo chemotherapy and likely to lose her hair. She loved the Delilah hat and wanted to make it for her friend, but she wanted to make it more appropriate for wearing indoors and to personalize it.

This customer made the hat using the Delilah pattern using Luscious yarn, just like our shop model. However, she chose to make the brim much smaller, making it a hat that’s easier to wear indoors.

What I really love about this hat, though, is the buttons. They are white heart-shaped buttons on which our customer wrote the names of people praying for her friend. In fact, she had to write on the backs of some of the buttons because there are more people praying than she had room for buttons! The buttons were then sewn on the base of the brim of the hat.

Knitting and crochet are fun crafts, but they can be so much more. When we put them in service of love and friendship, they are powerful tools for human connection.

 

More Than Just Selling Yarn

Saturday at The Knitting Nest was a great day.  Not because I was there – I was actually at home with a migraine.  Not even because of the tractor pull on Main Street, although Patrick tells me that I missed some great small-town Wisconsin fun.  It wasn’t even great because we sold yarn, although Patrick did have several customers, which is always nice for a retail shop.

Saturday was great at The Knitting Nest because we got to be part of something bigger and more important than selling yarn (or even the tractor pull).  It started when Brandy, a friend and customer of The Knitting Nest, posted on Facebook that she needed a bunch of red embroidery floss for a project that one of the Girl Scouts in one of her troops is doing to help prevent bullying.  Girls are going to make friendship bracelets to give away while encouraging other girls to “be friends, not bullies”. 

Patrick thought this was a great project, so he offered to purchase the embroidery floss at our wholesale cost and donate a couple of boxes to the project.  He then posted on our Facebook page that people could purchase the embroidery floss from us at our cost and we would get it to Brandy for her project.  By the end of Saturday, The Knitting Nest had purchased 13 boxes of red embroidery floss for this project.

Thirteen boxes of 24 skeins of floss is only 312 skeins out of 1600 skeins needed, so we only donated 20% of the total for this project.  But, that is 312 skeins that weren’t donated before Saturday morning. 

Why am I telling you this?  To shout about how great The Knitting Nest is?  No.  You already know that!  My reason for sharing this story is to point out the importance of community brick-and-mortar retail shops.  The people who participated in this event are part of our community, just like the people who made chemo caps last month for our knit-a-long.

Community retail shops are invaluable parts of the local economy, but they are also part of the volunteer and charity work of the community.  The next time you stop in at your local coffee shop or other small business, look around; you’ll probably find that they are promoting one or more community and/or charity events or projects.  Supporting local businesses means more to your town or city than just a skein of yarn or cup of coffee – it’s being part of your community’s life.