A little while back I mentioned that Mind's Eye Yarns was closing down. Just a few days ago I got an email from the Down Cellar mailing list saying that they were closing as well. This put me into quite a shocked and grieving mood. (It put Pickle into a frantic one, as he is now deputizing for all the yarncrafters he knows at the closing sales. I mailed him my half-filled discount card.)
I'm not sure what it means that I can accept with sadness and resignation Mind's Eye closing, but cannot imagine Down Cellar closing with nearly as much equanimity. Does it have to do with the size of the store, or how long I've shopped at each one, or how well I know the owners? Maybe all of them, and maybe something more. I've tried imagining some of the other LYSes I've visited over the years announcing that they have to close down. It's too sad an exercise to keep up for long.
In any case, if anyone near Basking Ridge, NJ has ever dreamed of owning a yarn store... there's your chance.
Given these back-to-back announcements from my two oldest and most beloved LYSes, I've been a little bit wary of cementing my loyalty to any new yarn stores lately (what if my patronage is cursed?!) But last week I decided that surely WEBS is too big to be brought down, and I ordered three skeins of Madeline Tosh Merino Light in Mare. Named (I assume) for the Latin word for the sea, Mare is a gorgeous colorway - it's so dark it's nearly black, but when you look closer there are all these underlying glints of rich sapphire and copper.
This is the same yarn and colorway that Amy and Luna got for me as part of last year's birthday present. I had no idea what it wanted to be then, other than beautiful. Recently I saw the cardigan pattern Ink and thought, well, I do have some gorgeously soft fingering yarn that I'm not going to be using for socks...
I ordered enough to make any of the sizes I'm trying to decide between. When you have a 31" chest and are getting perfect gauge, are you supposed to knit to the 30" size or the 34" size?
The beginning collar edging is knit exactly the same way for all sizes, so at least I have some time to consider it.
It's so sad to hear that you're losing a second LYS. I can only imagine the work and community it takes to keep a small business running. It's really unfortunate that they weren't able to make it last.
ReplyDeleteI think probably part of the reason it was so shocking to me was that Down Cellar seemed like it was doing really, really well. There were always new things coming in to the shop, there was a vibrant and bustling community... The owner didn't go into details about why she was closing down, but it did seem like a personal/life decision rather than financial squeeze. I'm sure it was the right choice for her, but I'm still sad to see the store go.
DeleteInk is absolutely gorgeous (queued it!) and paired with madtosh, this is going to be a fantastic sweater! Sorry to hear about the LYS closings. Do you have any left in your area at all? I have to drive an hour to get to my nearest LYS, which is probably good for stash? Webs is pretty great, I lived a 10 minute walk away from them for four years, the owners and staff are some of the most wonderful people I've ever met, so I think they are worthy of loyalty.
ReplyDeleteThere's one LYS in my area that I can get to by bus, but I never seem to set aside the time to visit. I've gotten into the habit of visiting LYSes when I go to NJ to see my parents, or Boston to see my college friends, or Utah to spend time with my boyfriend. I've started buying a bit more yarn online, but at the rate my stash is growing, I may have to ease up on that soon too.
DeleteThis yarn is beautiful. I'm sorry to hear about the LYS closing; we don't have very many where I live either. And I'm kind of a tightwad so even when I go to one, I'm afraid to buy anything. Must get over that if I want them to stay in business...
ReplyDeleteTrue, it's easier to convince myself that it's okay to shell out for a beautiful luxury yarn if I remind myself that I'm supporting a local small business!
DeleteWhat a beautiful yarn! In case you weren't already planning to, make sure you alternate skeins, I learnt this the hard way with this yarn (different color). Depends on how you want the fit as to which size to go with. I'd probably go to the bigger size, since it says its meant to be worn with positive ease :) Looks gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I like slim fitted garments better... and I assumed that the pattern was written so that it would produce positive ease as knitted. I'll recheck the given measurements.
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