Share
The first-ever Charlotte Area Yarn Crawl, Thursday through Sunday, will take craft lovers through Davidson, Gastonia, Charlotte, Pineville and Mint Hill in a 10-store hunt for fun finds at local businesses.
Yarn goodies and prizes, each worth $100 or more, await 20 lucky customers whose names are pulled from a drawing.
When Debbie Davis, owner of The Fibre Studio at Yarns To Dye For in Charlotte, learned how other cities sponsored yarn crawls, she wanted to bring the idea to Charlotte area. Local stores quickly embraced the idea.
"I think it's a good opportunity to get everyone familiar with all the different shops in Charlotte, and promote knitting and crocheting," said Davis, who opened her store on Colwick Road a year ago.
And visitors also will see how yarns and stores are quite different now from years ago, Davis said.
Area owners say their stores have different personalities, but they complement each other. At Knit One, Stitch Too in Huntersville, owner Betsy Weber is known for throwing wacky parties, including Mardi Gras events where customers wear masks and beads while completing their yarn projects.
At two weeks old, Yarnhouse Knits in NoDa is the new kid on the block - and being in the arts district adds to the neighborhood feel of his store, owner Christopher Wysocki said.
All places boast beautiful products that might be quite different than what people expect.
"I don't look at knitting as a craft," Davis said. "I look at it as an art, because it's very creative."
Here's how the yarn crawl works: Customers pick up "passports" at any participating store, then have them stamped at each shop they visit. Participants who get stamps from nine of the 10 shops will be eligible for a prize.
Charlotte
•Baskets of Yarn, 648-D Griffith Road, in Fordham Park; 704-561-0911, www.basketsofyarn.com.
•Charlotte Yarn, 1235 East Blvd.; 704-373-7442; www.charlotteyarn.com.
•The Fibre Studio at Yarns To Dye For, 4370 Colwick Road;704-366-7577, www.fibrestudioshop.com.
•Yarnhouse Knits, 3205 N. Davidson St., Suite 103; 704-293-8885; www.yarnhouseknits.com.
Gastonia
•Close Knits Knittery & Press, 208 S. Oakland St.; 704-833-0088, closeknitknitterypress.blogspot.com.
•Things Remembered, Custom Framing and So Much More, 3805 S. New Hope Road; 704-824-0473, www.thingsremembered-framing.com.
Mint Hill
•Cottage Yarn, 7717 Matthews-Mint Hill Road; 704-545-8440, www.cottageyarn.com.
Huntersville
•Knit One, Stitch Too, 9709-C Sam Furr Road; 704-655-9558, www.knitonestitchtoo.com.
Davidson
•The Needlecraft Center, 102 S. Main Street, Davidson; 704-892-8988, www.needlecraftcenter.com.
Pineville
•The Yarn Shop by Rainy Day Creations, 315 Main St.; www.rainydaycreationsinc.com, 704-889-1308.
