… and we truly & sincerely thank you for your support.

Folks often ask me, “why did you open a yarn shop in Kingston Springs?” (well, you grow where you’re planted). 

(Everything in italics I’ve written previously in one form or another … just so you know!)

“Actually, I really never thought of owning a yarn shop. I’ve been knitting, sewing, crocheting, rug hooking, quilting … always (or at least since I was about 8…I’m 64 now). When my husband had heart surgery (with complications) in 2008, knitting was my primary comfort. I would duck into Haus of Yarn for a quick yarn fix (thank you, Shayron & Erin & Carolyn), then sit & knit in his ICU and hope for him to wake up, knowing that when he did and I was knitting, he would know that all was good. Four months of ICU & rehab makes for a lot of knitting, folks, but it was good therapy for both of us. It worked for that time.

In late February & early March of 2010, we took an extended work/vacation to Northern California. Sam attended an ALI/ABA seminar in San Francisco, and then we spent three weeks on the Mendocino Coast … basically healing. I spent so many pleasant hours (and dollars) in The Mendocino Yarn Shop and truthfully never wanted to leave. That shop gave me the inspiration for my shop; the courage came driving back to SF in blinding fog on Highway 1 when I screamed out, “if we ever get home I’m having a ####ing yarn shop”.  And Sam said, “OK, babe… just get us off this G##d####M##### f###### road alive.” (He was a word man – all expletives were deleted to protect your sensibilities; you get my point).“

Really … that was truly just about all the conversation we had. Mostly. OK, there were a few money things that came up. It’s all good. Mostly.

So … we had a ‘soft opening’ (is that even a thing) on June 12, 2010. (Our first yarn sale was actually May 18, 2010 … yep, I looked that up!). This little shop looked like a dang Cracker Barrel with all the apple baskets, and Mom & I worked so hard to get it looking that way … before I learned that the expense of shelving & fixtures was money well spent. We never did have a Grand Opening … and that’s just fine!

Our first stocking orders arrived on Friday, April 30, 2010. The shop wasn’t in place, no insurance, just boxes & boxes of yarn. I remember it was raining that afternoon. Then the rains continued with a vengeance. It rained, and rained, and rained. Biblical rains. Homes were washed off their foundations, businesses flooded. Middle Tennessee was hit with one of the worst floods in over 100 years. All the roads were closed to the shop, power & phone gone, internet was intermittent. My thoughts during those days were rather dark, to say the least. I was certain that this was the universe’s rather harsh way of telling me this was a really bad idea. Plus I had no insurance (did I mention that?), so it would just be a major cash loss & I’d be back on the job market. Oh the joy.

When the bridge to Main Street was finally okayed for pedestrians, I cried all the way from City Park to the railroad tracks, knowing everything would be ruined … that there would be bags & bags of Cascade 220 (read as: thousands & thousands of $$$) floating in 3 feet of water. Amazingly, there was the front porch all sweet & dry, virtually untouched. I cried the rest of the way to the shop. Not even the candles were disturbed. And then I sat down on the floor of the shop-to-be & cried some more.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Several years ago we were offered an ‘opportunity’ by a yarn shop in our old neighborhood wishing to sell their location. We rolled that around for a bit & decided to pass, we’re just snug as bugs here in Kingston Springs. I had absolutely no interest in running two shops, and I just love this remarkable community.

My goal was to have an inclusive, welcoming yarn shop that gave as much comfort as I had received. Hopefully I have done that, it has surely been a solace for me.

Just keep sharing the love. I hear so many stories of yarn shops being snobbish, rude, overpriced … and that is just (mostly) wrong, there is a lot of love in a LYS. I have always found such comfort from simply making fiber things … from clothes to sheets to quilts to blankets and afghans to socks and sweaters … we just need to keep passing this on as best we can.

What say we take another trip around the sun, boys & girls?