The Spindle Review

first went to What a Yarn a few days after Christmas. I live in a yarn desert, and I hadn’t gone to a yarn store since I moved last March, so I didn’t know where I could go. Scrolling through Google Maps, flitting past chain craft stores, and shops that were farther than I wanted to drive, “What a Yarn” wasn’t too far and was open during the limbo after Christmas.

Rolling past the St. Albans village green, I’m hunching over my steering wheel looking for my turn. Turning up another side of the green, the road takes me into a residential neighborhood of historic houses, and I am also positive Maps is wrong. Speeding up the hill at a leisurely pace, I see a sign in front of a house to my left.

For the Burlington area locals, as I pulled up, my first thought was “this is like Kaleidoscope!” A converted home to yarn shop with the best selection of yarn, tools, and notions, that closed a few years back, to the dismay of local knitters.

Stepping through the door, around back, I am momentarily OVERTAKEN with all the new input. The shop is a single room, with every space possible, packed with yarn. Two women are sitting, chatting and knitting. the woman on the left I will come to learn is Katy, the shop owner; she gives me a quick rundown of the shop and selection and I am off to browsing.

as I am taking in and feeling all the yarn the two women are clearly boisterous and having a good time together. they chat with me with the regular yarn shop talk, What am I making, what weight am I looking for, Am I from around here, (a gnome hat, worsted, maybe bulky, a few towns over) katy has managed to fit a good selection for such a small space, the task was taking a while, to find all the nooks she stored product.

as I had make my selections and then some, another friend of katys comes in and I come to realize katy is the exact opposite of what you normally see as a shop owner.

I am not saying yarn connoisseurs are the old crabby lady trope you see in movies and shows, but i have found they are calm and soft spoken, but as katy says the third sear word, and then offered to make me a drink because he other friend that came in was getting a drink too, I know this lady is my kind of people.

I politely say no (because I had to drive and I wanted to get started on my hat) She also told me about the stitch and bitch she hosts on Wednesdays.I have never gone to one before, but That would change as of the 10th.

Yarn selection

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What A Yarn has a great selection for the limited space, and I over heard Katy ordered yarn special for her friend, I bet she would order yarn for you. Ask her, don’t quote me.

Notions and tools

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What A Yarn only carries knitting needles. Sorry crocheters. There are a few basic tools, and a decent button selection.

Vibes

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For real, I want to keep going to the Stitch and Bitch here. Katy is a blast and all the women and young man who was there are very welcoming. Crocheters are welcome