I am ashamed to say that I have never purchased a skein of yarn from anywhere but a big box crafts store - or worse, Meijer. Frankly, I find small shops intimidating. So many colors, styles, dye lots... I've ventured into two in my life. The second visit was yesterday, and I took my son.
He of course wandered around picking up as many balls of yarn as his little hands could hold, while I panicked about his leaving traces of his lunch (guacamole from Los Tres Amigos next door) on something pricey, like cashmere. Please, please, pick up only green yarns! I thought at him as loudly as I could, smiling at the two employees, drinking their tea, their needles a blur the speed of which I could only hope to someday attain.
"Well, isn't he a cutie." One remarks.
"Yes, thank you. He's got a thing for yarn." He hugs or kidnaps every project I work on.
"We don't see a whole lot of boys or men in here. You know, with a thing for yarn." She smiles.
I think about mentioning the guy who taught me to knit and think better of it. Just because I know a guy who knits doesn't mean she's wrong. My own husband, right now paying the check next door, views holding a ball of yarn as akin to carrying my purse or buying tampons. That is, I'd have to force it into his cold, dead hands.
"That's a shame." I reply civilly, unnaturally muddling through this whole small-talk banter that somehow is not a natural part of my genetic make-up.
The bell jingles as Daddy-B enters the shop and starts looking around. I wave to him, relieved by the interruption, but he heads past me into the deeper recesses of the shop. Quietly, a few minutes later, we head out to the car.
"They had lots of pretty stuff in there," he admits.
"Yeah. Hey, you know how Jeff taught me to knit in college, and no one ever teased him for that?"
"Uh-huh."
"I'd like lil' b to be like that. I want him to be so self-assured that he can do anything, even knit or take ballet, and no one ever thinks to tease him for it."
He turns the car out onto the road. " Yeah. That would be great."
"Of course, he'll have to take up lifting."
"Oh of course."
www.hookandneedlearts.etsy.com
6 comments:
LOL! :) My DS has a thing for yarn too - it's become quite the mission to keep it out of his grubby hands. I will warn you - knitting with merino wool will ruin you for acrylic!i
Please don't be intimidated by yarn shops! I am a yarn shop owner (in the process of selling/closing, long story) and I always loved when someone, ANYONE, with an interest in yarn related hobbies came in. True, it can seem like you're out of place (hey, I was a new knitter once too) when everyone else is carring on about cables and stitch patterns that I have never even heard of, but we all understand that you have to start somewhere. In fact, teaching beginners and new students is my favorite thing to do.
As for you little one, bring him everywhere! And if it's a 'good' yarn shop they won't mind him touching everything, that's what WE do, isn't it:)
Also, beautiful blankets! There are some lucky baby's out there tonight,.
Don't you love those conversations with your husband? :) I took my son out of the house when I was on maternity leave and went to a craft store. I was wandering around the isles when husband called (Mr. Mook) and he was horrified I was going to teach our son how to knit and that I will make it a common thing - to take him to yarn stores. I told him to chill out, that he was only 5 weeks old and yes, someday he'll wonder how, just like my little brother did - and he isn't even ashamed to talk about it to his buddies :) Men.
Men come up with the strangest ideas, don't they. lol There's no shame in buying from big box stores... but lys are addictive, so be careful! I don't suppose it was Rae's Yarn Boutique you slipped into, was it? I *love* that place & visit it every time I'm in the area...
Where's Rae's if I may be so bold? I was in The Knitty Hipster (the other one I visited, also in the area, was Ewe-nique Yarns).
Here's the website (she has a fairly active blog, too). http://www.raesyarnboutique.com/
She's sort of in the back end of Frandor; I forget street names, though! If you want to see fancy yarns she has quite a few. Socks That Rock is a favorite of mine, and there are many other handpainted, etc.. :)
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