My story goes back to when I was a child and was playing with my Barbies. I found a knitting pamphlet in my mom’s craft room and had the idea to teach myself to knit so I could make my Barbies blankets. It was many years before I would knit again but it stuck with me. Then in college, one of the girls in our quad started crocheting a blanket. This was way before fiber arts became cool again. Our whole quad started having crochet circles as she taught us. I would take that project everywhere. I didn’t care that some would make fun. I was just excited to be doing something with a group of friends that was relaxing and productive. It made me feel connected to my mom, grandma, and great grandma who all crocheted, at a time when I was far away from home for the first time.

I started knitting and crocheting again when I was pregnant with my oldest son. I learned while at a family coffee morning from my first husband’s second cousin. Shortly after my son was born I found myself a single mom. Needless to say that was rough. But I found knitting incredibly therapeutic.

It was at that time that I decided to walk into our local yarn store and learned of the treasures to be found there. Up until that point I’d only been playing with yarn from big box stores. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and softness of all these different fibers. This is also when I found that fiber arts comes with its own amazing community. I started coming to knit night every Monday and then joined the crowd that came early for Mexican and margaritas. I felt like I’d found where I belonged.

Once I found that community I became obsessed with all things fiber arts. Since I was a single mom, I was looking for ways to make money so I thought I’d try my hand at dyeing yarn. Having a little one, I started dyeing with kool aid. It was a lot of fun but I just wasn’t in the headspace to start a business, plus I wanted to get more saturated colors but didn’t want to have the hassle of acid dyes with a baby.

The dreams of starting a yarn business went on the back burner as I got remarried to an amazing man who loves all my fiber arts dreams so much that he proposed in a yarn store. We went on to have three additional children together and I spent the next 18 years homeschooling them all.

Now that my kids are all in high school or college and don’t need me in such a hands on way in their schooling, I am starting to pursue my yarn business goals again. It feels so good to be coming back to my dreams of starting a brick and mortar yarn store. God has moved us to an area in East Tennessee that is in desperate need of that kind of community.

We started by hand dyeing yarn and selling it at local festivals in the area and now we are happy to say we have a brick and mortar store where we can do classes and carry a bigger variety of yarn and notions. In addition, I am loving the community that has come through our yarn club times. Come on in and enjoy the community.