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My YARN SHOP DAY at THREADS in Dunbarton

Let me tell you about last Saturday. As part of YSD I was at THREADS WOOL SHOP in Dunbarton. (143 Glasgow road, Dunbarton, G82 1RQ ).

Dumbarton is a town on the north bank of the River Clyde about half an hour from Glasgow.

I got an amazing welcome from the owner Linda, her daughter Lorna, Nancy, the knitting expert, and Prince, Nancy’s dog, and official shop mascot.

Treads is not dissimilar to Aladin’s cave, it is full to the brim with yarn, buttons, ribbons, knitting and crochet accessories…also Linda sells lovely handmade garments and baby sets too.

Linda’s team had invested a lot of time, care and attention to the day, she had organized radio adverts on the local station, social media updates, goodie bags, for all the customers, raffle prizes and special discounts on the day and a lot of bargain wool too. I was really chuffed that they asked me and my blankets to be part of such a special day.

I was so busy chatting to Linda’s customers, that I only managed to take a couple of quick snapshots between visitors so I can show you how lovely the shop is.

I met a lot of lovely ladies of all ages, and I chatted all day about yarn, crochet, blankets, colors, you name it. I got A LOT of compliments about my blankets and I was so overwhelmed by the kindness of the ladies I met, a special mention goes to Linda’s crochet and knitting club members, they all came to say hello. I met some regular customers and some new one that came for the event thanks to the adverts and social media.

In the flurry of activity, I realized, that I did not have a real grasp of how important local shops are and how important it is to support local businesses as it means you support local events that connect people together and that was to me the most obvious and special part of the day.

An old lady came in, she got a warm welcome bought one ball of yarn and she pulled out from her bag some pictures of what she had made for her relatives, she was so proud of her achievements and she loved the care and attention that Linda and her team gave her. The shop was really busy but she got the same care and attention that other customers that bought much more got.

I thought that was very special, and it embodies the spirit of Treads and of many of those small independent yarn shops. They do not only sell yarn, buttons ribbons, and accessories, they also have a vital role in the community, they are places where people not only buy yarn but also can go for a chat, some exchange ideas, they’re an invaluable source of knitting and crochet advice and news, and are great for discussing your WIPs and next projects.

Linda’s host’s classes virtually every day of the week, where you can learn to crochet or knitting. She also has crochet and knitting clubs where people can spend a few hours, every week, knitting and crochet together.

And if you think that local shop do not offer the same bargains that the big online retailers do, you are mistaken, most shop like Threads, have custom’loyalty schemes’, they use their discretion to reward regular customers, which means you get discounts on the items you actually want to buy, rather than being tempted by multi-buy offers online, you get a warm welcome and you have a chance to feel the yarn you buy and get a true sense of the colour too which is very difficult to do online.

So remember your local Yarn Shop is VITAL to your community. Especially now, with independent traders closing down every day do you really want the next one to be your local Aladdin’s cave full of squidgy beautiful yarn????

I don’t think so!

I came back home with a big smile on my face, I had a wonderful day, I got some bargains too! I bought some lovely yarn to take home with me and also a present too…Linda gave me a lovely candle and I was so touched look…

FIG TREE… how thoughtful!

thank you again to Linda and all the ladies of Dunbarton to make my first YSD an AMAZING ONE!!

Nice cakes which I HAD to try IMMEDIATELY!!! LOL

love,

Lucia xx

‘Emily’ my February blanket: a humble homage to the Brontë sisters.

As you probably knew already, last weekend, I went to my first STYLECRAFT’S BLOGSTARS meeting.

It will take all week for the experience to sink in and I am still in the process to write a blog entry about what I saw , who I met and millions of ideas and exciting new projects, but today I am going to give you an update on my plans for the February blanket.

Stylecraft’s HQ is in Yorkshire in the north east of England, a wonderful rugged landscape well worth a visit if you got the chance.

While I was there for the weekend, I decided to stay an extra day and fulfil a wish that I had wanted for ages.

I went to Haworth to see the Brontë Parsonage.

As with all the things that you put up off for a long time, I had developed some sort of concern that there was a possibility of disappointment. And that my experience wasn’t going to be what I expected. But I m very pleased to say that it was not the case for this visit.

I wanted to see the house in winter, and also I wanted to see it when it wasn’t too crowded because in a very selfish way it was quite an important pilgrimage for me.

I was very fortunate, I arrived there at twilight ,just before closing, beautifully quiet, as the museum had just reopened last week and many are not aware of it.

It was wonderful to be standing in solitude in their very front garden.

You are wondering why a 50 something year old woman is so fascinated by the Brontë sisters?

Well I, have been fascinated by them for most of my life, since I read their novels and poems when I was a teenager, I never saw them as a gloomy trio of unmarried women in a isolated village in the Yorkshire’s moors telling tales of love , despair and sometimes happy endings.

I thought of them as witty , intelligent and also quite troubled women, well ahead of their time, raising topics that are still pertinent today , 200 years later. Drawing attention with their novels on subjects such as; choosing your own path, independence and being true to yourself .

The Brontë sisters have all an extraordinary ability to express their emotions so intensely about, not just love , loss, and passion; but also about rage, madness, and domestic abuse, and the reality of working just with the sole purpose to survive.

What also appeals to me a great deal is the fact that you can be an extraordinary individual without living a life full of epic experiences.

So back to my visit…

I was standing at twilight in the front garden of the parsonage and looking at the colours, the light, the moss on the tombstones, the interiors of the house with their soft dusty blues , greens and purples, the books, paintings, clothes, kitchen utensils and objects of an ordinary life and I felt so content in being there.

To capture in a tangible way how I felt , I m going to dedicate my February blanket to my favourite Brontë sister, Emily, a blanket to remember my visit to Haworth on a beautiful winter afternoon.

I selected the yarn , a mix of tweeds and solid colours , some soft alpaca mix for comfort against the gloomy weather, and a general mood for the blanket.

the tomato looks more like an hot pink in this picture…which is not right but it give you an idea, hopefully in the next few days if it is not raining I will be able to take a better picture.

The pattern is nearly there too; I am still tweaking with it. It is going to be different from what I normally make but hopefully will work . more updates as the week progresses.

Love you all Lucia x