The Artful Yarn … where every skein tells a story

The Artful Yarn is open! We are so thrilled to have opened just three days ago and are having a ton of fun! Meeting new folks is always the best part and we met quite a few over this past weekend. It’s quite a rush to see that folks embrace our vibe of woman-owned, family-owned businesses from right here in the USA! Plus they are diggin’ the whole hand-dyed, hand-spun or hand-painted, organic, recycled, minimally-processed vibe – along with US-sourced fibers where we can. The Wall o’ Yarn (as we call our one big wall)  is a beautiful, colorful sight!

Now we are getting the whole social-networking thing up and running. Thankfully we have a 16-year-old son who can just come click-click something on the computer and there’s a link on the website. I should have the website up in the next day or two. Have to – because the Sun Paper is running a little article about The Artful Yarn this week! How cool is that!

So grab your calendar now! We’ve got some fun class ideas which will be posted on our website: www.theartfulyarn.com  and we are going to be open on the first Thursday night of every month for Chagrin First Thursdays. That night all the stores and restaurants in Chagrin Falls are open until 9:00 PM. So we are having Yarntini Night! Come sit and knit, crochet, spin, anything fiber fun from 6:30-8:30 PM. It’s a great chance to get away from home, work, somebody’s practice, volunteering, whatever! Just come and relax!

We also have Learn to Knit (and Purl!) classes running every Sunday afternoon for just $10. Again, check out the website for the details on that and how to register.

So psyched to be open and looking forward to meeting all of you! Come visit us. Tell us what you think, what you would like to see and what you would like to do in the way of classes or events. And if you’re an awesome teacher, let us know if you are interested in teaching something at The Artful Yarn!

I am so psyched! We’re just a few weeks away from opening and I can see things really shaping up. Wrapped up yarn buying for the near term. Still have a few colors to select for a couple of yarns, but I think I’m getting there. Some yarns will be dyed just for The Artful Yarn and will come in a little later in August and some in September. People have been very supportive and are working hard to help get things to us by our opening.  We plan to get into our space the weekend of July 15 to start painting and assembling cubbies, etc. I’ll keep you posted on a firm “Opening Day” date.

Originally we weren’t going to offer books, but seeing how well our space is being planned by April, our designer, we’re going to offer some books and special edition magazines. One magazine is called, Jane Austen Knits. As an English major and huge fan of Pride and Prejudice, I decided that was a sign! Hahaha! The cover photo of a ruffley scarf/cowl sold me instantly! We’ll have some great yarn to knit that item for sure!

We are also going for a real mix of fibers, textures and colors. A little bit of everything! You’ll have to come visit the shop and let us know what you think. The thing that’s really great about working with smaller producers is how nimble they are. We’ll be able to special order yarns for projects quickly with few restrictions on quantities which will be really nice.

Thanks for checking in at our blog! We’re posting in two categories for now but as things really get geared up, we’ll post new updates in different categories. Enjoy the week!

Just a quick post to let you know that as we bring in new yarn and accessories we’ll share that info with you here.

The Artful Yarn will feature mostly hand-spun, hand-dyed, or hand-painted yarns from local, regional and US domestic sources where possible. We’re all about women and/or family-owned companies who are doing things sustainably. (We think that’s a word and if it isn’t, we just coined it!) We’ll also have needles, some notions and other cool stuff – and some opportunities to knit in the collective.  We’re going to try for a weekly blog posting. So hope you will keep us in your “Favorites” and check us out.  The 15-year-old son is helping us get all 2011 with a website, FaceBook, Twitter account, etc. Give us some time to get that whole groove established. In the meantime, we’ve got a Ravelry group “The Artful Yarn” where you can join us for info and conversation as well.

Cheers!