#needleworkmonday | things change | new opportunities arrive
I had a sad email last week: my local yarn store is closing down. Their lease is coming to an end in September and, after a difficult six months' trading, they have decided not to renew it. Everything in stock is available at 25% discount.
A selection of the sock yarns I bought from the store, together with some knitting accessories. I love the needle stoppers!
I went into to see them on Wednesday. The shop was full of people coming and going, talking about their experiences. So many of the women who came in said they had learned to knit and crochet through classes run by the shop. One of the sad things will be the loss of community that has been built around the store.
I felt overwhelmed by the choice. Just the previous week, I had done my clearance sale run and picked yarn for my next projects. I had finally indulged in some Noro Kureopatora) (colour: Utashinai, no. 1025)- beautiful, handcrafted yarn from Japan. I love the philosophy behind Noro:
Harmonize natural unevenness, asymmetric pattern and complex color to portray the beauty of the nature. Taking sufficient time to dye and yarn natural flavors and tenderness of materials to preserve their original characters and deliver them into the hands of you.
All animal fibers that are used in the yarns come from certified organic farms, from international sources such as Australia, the Falkland Islands and South Africa. Noro is personally involved with inspecting all aspects of production, from visiting the animal farms to checking the machinery used and keeping restrictions on the dye processes to maintain products that are as eco-friendly as possible.
He says "Friction, rubbing and heat during processing weaken the fibers in direct proportion to the length of time they are processed. By dramatically shortening this process, we are preventing damage to the enzymes in the fibers and simultaneously profiting the environment."
BE FREE FROM EXISTING CONCEPTS AND LIMITATION PURSUE THE IMAGE IN OUR MIND Source
However, I had a browse to see what stock they had. Finally, I lit on the sock yarn: I am intending to replace all my commercial winter socks as they wear out with woollen knitted ones, so this was an opportunity to get some stash. I chose colour combinations that I wouldn't normally work with, I thought that would be a good exercise for me.
I'm pleased with the striping on the cuff of the first sock, especially how the colour changes worked around the heel (on the right hand side).
I found a video with three examples of stretchy cast ons for getting an elastic edge for the cuffs of socks and other garments. Each one also has a nice finish at the edge.
I may go back to the yarn shop in a week or two, and see what's left and whether there are any other bargains.
The owner of the shop has some other exciting plans. She has been developing kits in the shop which are very popular. She's going to be selling them through Etsy. Things change and new opportunities arrive.
My late father ran a market stall selling wool and haberdashery, he kept complaining that this customers were dying. This was in the 90's... it's a dying art what you do.
He tried his best to get me to follow on his trade but I resisted. IT was my line of work. I'm glad he saw my success before I lost him in 2000.
I agree - things have changed dramatically over the past 20-30 years. There has been something of a renaissance since the global financial crash with a greater emphasis on repair and re-cycle, but the trends against that and the small retailer are tremendous. I have a friend whose family business was a haberdashery stall in the market, but he says the market is no longer a "destination" for shopping. He, like you, made a break and has a different career now. Good that your dad saw that you were successful.
That is always very sad when a good local shop as the close it's doors I also like the sound of noro unlike most places it sounds like they respect and treat animals more fairly than most other places others could learn from their philosophy.
I agree about losing local shops, apart from anything else, they bring more to the local economy and consume less environmental resources than large shops.
Noro does sound an interesting company :)
That's sad, I read another story this morning about a hardware shop on Bedford high Street that was closing after 150years!
Things have changed, nothing stays the same forever but many businesses have failed to adapt and adopt new technologies. Greedy landlords and ridiculous business rates didn't help either.
Nice to see your shop owner is branching out and carrying on :-)
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I think it is tremendously difficult for small independent retailers anyway, and the continuing uncertainty about Brexit is not good. Location is also really important, and that's difficult for small retailers who may not be able to afford to be in the heart of the shopping areas.
It is sad that your local store is closing. Yarn stores are tough to keep in business without a good online side gig. The local one in Bozeman, MT has gone almost completely online and has limited open hours for walk in sales.
Yes, it is a challenge. They had an online shop as well, but then you are competing against big operators with more buying power. They had a smaller shop previously in a very well used local shopping centre in an area where people had enough disposable income for things like yarn. They moved to the new place because it was a bigger shop nearer, although not in, the city centre. I wonder how they would have fared if they had stayed in the original shop, or whether the same pattern would have happened. Independent bookshops have a similar story - nearly all of them have disappeared in Leicester, and even the big chains have moved on.
It's a bummer when a local shop closes. Good to see the owner has a way to continue getting some income.
Yeah, I'm sorry to see it. I think it is as much about her passion :)
Sad news and beautiful yarn! I experienced the same few years ago. One of my favorite local yarn store in a small town closed. I just new the store for few years but I already had a lot of memory visiting there. But good to know the owner of your local store find a new way to continue yarn related business. Ja things changed a lot!
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It's a good way forward, isn't it?
It is so sad when a shop closes, especially if there was a tight community who attended it. I hope the shop owner will be successful with her new plans. Nearby the shops are mostly chain stores without knitting circles or a community.... it is a bit more anonymous (sadly) Only one shop is really unique and it recently had problems because it stocks mainly British yarn and now has to sell it out because of the too high import taxes 😱, but the shop thankfully will not close.
But your purchases are so nice, especially the Noro yarn. I always admire Noro’s unique color mixes and the wool often has a very special touch/feeling to me. Not sure if they prepare and spin it differently.... I am looking forward how you will use it 😍
And it is fascinating how the sock yarn knit up (before I knew how to knit, I always thought the pattern was made by constantly changing the ball of yarn... I did not noticed, that it is imprinted into the yarn 😂)
PS: did you perhaps mean the Estuary skirt from Sew Liberated?
I understand the Noro yarn is not processed as much as other commercial yarns, much of it is hand-spun. Yes, I meant the Estuary skirt :)
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