StevenBe, A Yarn Garage Workshop

Treat yourself...make sure you make StevenBe a stop on your hop! 

"StevenBe purveyor of fine fibers, creative workshop for all needle and fiber  arts, designer to inspire.

My interest in fiber arts started early at the age of 4 with mimicking my mother as she knit. Finally, given some worsted and Canadian needles from Mary Maxim, I started my life-long journey. My mother is and has remained my mentor and inspiration during my 45-year evolution. I knitted, crocheted, macrame'd and rug hooked my way through the 70s. Mom opened her own yarn shop in the early 70s, which she still operates today in Wisconsin. This opened up a whole new world of options with all those "fancy European yarns." As one decade turned to the next, I pursued a fashion career - it was either that or the stage. In these later years, I have found both in my love of fiber.

My 25 years in the fashion industry led me around the world with homes in New York, Miami and Minneapolis. I was able to see the world working in Europe and Asia and learning the fiber world from a commercial angle. Exhausted and tired of travel, I left the industry in 2003 to find my next calling. With my background in the needle arts and the resurgence of knitting in the public eye, I borrowed some yarn from Mom and opened my first shop in Rosemount, a southern suburb of Minneapolis. It was a hit from day one, and I immediately began working harder than I ever had corporately. I loved writing my own patterns and using fiber and yarn in a artistic fashion. Minneapolis has an amazing fiber-loving community and wonderful yarn shops. I brought yet another personality to the mix with my flamboyant and extravagant inventory. Although I love teaching and sharing my passion, I enjoy inspiring most of all. Everyone who visits the Yarn Garage should leave anxious to pick up the yarn and needles to create.

After 7 years of acclaimed success in Rosemount, I got my 7-year itch. My yearning to try something new led me to the inner city of Minneapolis where I found a turn-of-the-century converted forestation waiting to come to life. I cleaned up, repainted and inventoried StevenBe: A Yarn Garage Workshop. My goal is not to be just another yarn shop but a fiber lover's studio, a spa for fiber lovers, a country club for the needle artists. I have created an opulent, inspirational environment for people to not only shop but to gather and create. There are a least three to four events weekly with catered luncheons, local musicians and visiting artists from all walks of life.

I have come to where I am now with a carefree and fun loving attitude that, "There are no mistakes, only variations." I strive to provide customer service above and beyond. Creative people of all skill levels and enthusiasms are welcomed with open arms. I confess that I operate my shops more from my heart than from my head. Many would say I am over inventoried and have created a treasure hunt in organized chaos. I love my things and enthusiastically share with everyone who walks through the door. Currently, with two shops, I often work seven days a week but never regret a moment of it. All of this is made possible with an amazing staff both current and past. My glitter divas Lori, Jordan, Jessie, Jeremy, Michelle, Dora, Missy, Kerri, and of course Mama Christa, make my business the awesome place that it is.

I have created mini art crawls for myself and clients to explore all that Minneapolis has to offer. We are surrounded by an inspiring community in a city where fine arts are center stage. I love to promote other small local businesses and artists. We have a monthly "Drama, knitting, drama" night where we all gather to enjoy local theatre. My true spare-time passion is creating one of my obscure, wearable fiber arts creations, which incorporate cassette tapes or findings from the local hardware store. What ever I am doing, I seem to be creating.

What's next you ask? There is no limit to my visions. I am still working on my book, hopefully to be published soon. I would love to the do the Glitter Rock Knitter Tour, taking my unique experience on the road to share with fiber lovers everywhere. I am constantly working on creating my StevenBe brand, offering unique fibers and patterns, but most importantly an experience. If you are looking for excitement and experimentation, taking a walk off the beaten path, come join me for a Glitter Knitter adventure."

Use of Groupon is suspended during shop hop weekend.

Coldwater Lakeside Yarn

Coldwater Lakeside Yarn is owned by the very lovely Cynthia...she too has a story to tell.

"For some reason, my professional training as a lawyer and my passion for the world of fiber seemed to intersect in strange ways. When I graduated from law school in 1983, I didn’t even know how to knit. My dreams of “changing the world” envisioned a very different future than being  the happy owner of Coldwater Lakeside Yarn in Excelsior, Minnesota.  Yet, it wasn’t even 4 months after passing the bar exam that I was in a car accident on a law firm trip and was laid up with a compression fracture in my spine .  After a week of reading and playing solitaire, I turned to my Swedish knitter friend and said “I’m in”.  I cast on a Penny Straker sweater and never looked back!   I was a lawyer and a knitter and while I never knit at the negotiating table, my needles did come out on business trips and at continuing legal education seminars.

In 2001, my world completely changed when my husband died of pancreatic cancer and I left the practice of law to care for my three children---then 7, 4 and 4.   Ah, the soothing click of Addi Turbos and gentle loft of unspun Icelandic wool .    

Two years later as my twins went off to first grade,  I answered an ad for a sales position at my suburban LYS in Chicagoland and my new career was born, albeit humbly.    Picture the scene--  it’s my first day on the job and the legal receptionist from a large health care system where I had acted as senior staff counsel  12 years prior, enters  the shop with her husband.  She introduces me to him as follows:       “[Husband’s Name],   this is Cynthia.  She was my favorite attorney in the office and everyone thought she had such a bright future.”   (Turns to me)   “And now you’re working in a yarn store . . . (pregnant pause) . . .  did you have a breakdown?”

Breakdown?   Nah, but all that had happened allowed me to see my life in a new way.   My 16 year old non-knitting daughter, an old soul in her own right, says “Mom, now your work changes the world one knitter at a time.”  She is right; we are changed by our knitting and our knitting is inspired by change.  My hope is that Coldwater Lakeside Yarn is a place to inspire that change as well as creativity, confidence and camaraderie.  

See you at the Hop!"

3 Kittens Needle Arts

3 Kittens Needle Arts is one of the oldest yarn and needlepoint stores in the Twin Cities, having been in existence for over 35 years. We provide the expertise so you can GET INSPIRED!

 3 Kittens sells yarn, needles, buttons (we’re known for our button wall), patterns and books, needlepoint canvases and threads. In addition, we offer a variety of classes in knitting, crochet and needlepoint, and we have finishing services for all three crafts. 

One of our employees, Janine Kosel, is the co-author of Norwegian Handknits and the upcoming Swedish Handknits. All of our employees are expert knitters, crocheters or needlepointers with years of experience and knowledge. 

Get inspired at 3 Kittens!

Double Ewe

Double Ewe is another new shop on the hop this year.  we asked Kelly Judson, the owner of Double Ewe, about her knitting story.  It's sweet...

"My knitting story begins…hmmm…come to think of it, I’m not sure where it really begins.  I have no memory of actually learning to knit.  I know I didn’t learn from my mom or my grandma, because my knitting style was completely different than theirs.  So, no warm, fuzzy memories of sitting with my grandma while she patiently guided my hands for me; I would have loved that, but it didn’t happen.

 

The thing is, even though I knew how to knit early in life, I didn’t really knit.  I just started, and started; never finishing anything.  Then years passed, and I stopped starting.  Nothing yarnie was going on in my life.  Then one day in about 2002, or maybe it was 2003, the details are sort of fuzzy, a friend of mine mentioned that she was taking a class and learning to knit a scarf.  Something clicked in my head, and I thought, “I should knit.”  So that day, I bought some yarn and some needles, and I started again.  And this time, I learned that I was totally capable of actually finishing.   

I haven’t been able to put down the needles since, and it just felt natural to open a yarn shop.  So for over five years, I’ve spent every day surrounded by yarn.    My knitting style has changed in those years, and now I knit exactly like my mom does, (and my grandma did).  It’s almost like they did teach me after all."

See we told you...sweet! 

Amazing Threads

Did you know that Dayton's department store once had a Art & Needle department?  Read Bobbi's story about the beginnings of Amazing Threads!

"Knitting started for me again in the late 90's. I had knit and crochet as a child and adolescent. I took a few years off from knitting to raise children, work, get a PhD and enjoy sewing and other crafts.  My BFF (Best Friends Forever) started me knitting again and it was like riding a bike.  I remembered knits and purls and in no time was enjoying the process of knitting. I remembered how I loved the process and how it worked to calm my nerves and feed my soul.  I had also begun to share my renewed passion with friends. Voila, I was enjoying time with friends again while knitting; an activity I seem to have forgotten in the child rearing years. 

I took my knitting everywhere; children's sporting events, social gatherings and the like. I then went in search of yarn shops in the Twin Cities. Many had closed in the 80's and only 1 had opened in the 90's. There were only 8 shops and nothing in the NW suburbs.  I gathered data from knitters and looked at the demographics in Maple Grove and efore I knew it I was opening a small shop in Osseo.  The response from knitters was overwhelming. 

In 2002, Amazing Threads was the 9th store in the Twin Cities. Other women (and a few men) were looking for a place to share their common passion. It didn't take long for my part-time job to become a full time reality. Knitters needed a comfortable place to meet and enjoy their passion. It's funny, I remembered sometime in the first couple of years at my shop that my FIRST REAL JOB was in the Art & Needle Department on the 8th floor of Dayton's.  Knitting has been a passion since childhood.

In 2004, we moved to a bigger space in Maple Grove with a terrific classroom so that we could accommodate up to 24 knitters & crocheters at once. Our classroom serves our social knitting groups, classes and guest designers while providing coffee, tea, water, conference tables, and comfy executive chairs. Since 2004 our store has grown and expanded to meet the needs of our community of knitters. We carry base yarns, novelties, and 100's of brands along with commercial, specialty, and exclusive patterns.  We carry more yarns and brands than any store in the five state area.We have been touted as a "hand dyers heaven" by the Minnesota Knitters Guild.  In 2011, we became a Concept Store within a Store for Rowan, SMC Select and SMC Yarns. One of only two stores like this in the US. New customers are often awed by our depth and selection and our staff are always ready to assist in project selection. Amazing Threads specializes in yarn and color coordination for any project. 

We can't wait for you to enjoy our shop during the Shop Hop." 

 

Needlework Unlimited

Rejoice!  Needlework Unlimited is back in the yarn shop hop this year! Karen, the owner of this amazing shop has a great story to tell.  Well let her tell it...

"My earliest knitting memory is sitting at the kitchen table in the farmhouse I grew up in, as a precocious five year old. My mother would cast on and start a row and then hand the needles off to me. The rows seemed very long, but they were probably only forty stitches or so. When I got to the end, I needed help to turn the knitting around and begin the next row.  Every row I worked on probably gave my mom another few minutes of peace to work on dinner or some baking. 

My knitting was sporadic then, and every hole became an armhole so one of my dolls could wear that creation. When I was 16, I contracted 'mono' (you can insert a joke here, but I was truly 16 and never been kissed). While recovering, my mom let me choose a knitting project from a current Seventeen Make It magazine. I chose the bright yellow wool halter top with a watermelon design on the front (it was the 70's, after all). I remember putting it on once for about 3 minutes as the wool was extremely itchy. I was proud that I finished, even though it was not comfortable to wear.

Many years have passed since then, but my love of knitting and working with fibers has only grown. 

As a new grandmother, I now have the intense joy of making treasures for our family's new love, Matthew. Sharing my joy and love of knitting with our customers at Needlework Unlimited has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. 

Thanks to you all!"  

Thank you Karen for an amazing fiber shop!

Shepherd's Choice

Shepherd's Choice is a yarn shop located in historic downtown Anoka. 

You might know Shepherd's Choice for the amazing all natural cleaning products or their own line of hand made all natural personal care products.  You might also know them for their broad range of Blue Sky Alpaca and Spud and Chloe selection of yarns too!  You might not know that they now have a fiber co-op on the top level of the shop.  They have spinning fibers, looms and alpaca products.  You can even rent time on a rug loom!

Crafty Planet

 
 

One of the newest shops on the hop this year is Crafty Planet. An independent yarn, fabric, and needlework retailer who prides itself on a do-it-yourself ethos, bringing you the coolest craft stuff in the galaxy! Much to their dismay, no one in the Twin Cities carried stuff like Sublime Stitching, or hundreds of bolts of super cool reproduction and modern fabrics, so they thought “What the heck,” and in 2003 they decided to open a shop themselves!

In addition to fabrics from the likes of Amy Butler, Alexander Henry, and Echino, they carry a growing (and growing and growing) knitting section, books, patterns, a great kids’ crafty kits section, offer private parties and so much more; not to mention an abundance of classes with the best-est, friendliest instructors around...if they do say so themselves!

The Yarnery

We thought it fitting that the first blog post of our Shop Hop Website profile the "oldest" yarn shop on the tour.  We put oldest in quotations because while they have been around for over 40 years, they certainly aren't old in spirit.  Shelves in the Yarnery pair tried and true traditional Rowan yarns with new hand dyed yarns like Madelinetosh with ease. 

If you haven't been to the Yarnery before, you are in for a treat.  Nestled in an old house on beautiful Grand Avenue in St. Paul, this well stocked shop is comforting from the moment you step inside.  The shelves are full of yarn, the bookcases are full of a great selection of books, and completed samples are everywhere!

The Kreisman Maddux family are the original and current owners! They also own Beka, Inc. which manufactures high quality rigid heddle looms, yarn swifts and toys at their St. Paul location on Selby Avenue. Even after 40 years, they remain dedicated to innovation, quality, and above all, a love of excellent yarn.

For more information about the Yarnery; check out their website.