A visit to the Knitting Knest!

There's a new shop on Main Street in Henderson........a cozy place just perfect for The Knitting Knest!!  Local residents remember the building as a gas station but it has taken on a decidedly feminine touch thanks to shop owners Deb, Geri and Brenda. You can read the story of how these friends founded their business by clicking here.

I don't knit and I don't crochet but my daughter can do both so I had to check out the shop. Some day I am going to learn to crochet so I needed to get familiar with where I might actually take some lessons. :-)   Here's Deb, ready to greet customers.........

The shop is so inviting, just perfect for relaxing with some yarn and a project.  Geri and a friend are doing just that........

 

The shop features many hand-dyed yarns and lots of lovely antiques and gift items. Almost all of the furniture pieces are for sale.

Every chair in the shop is comfy and inviting. And Deb and Geri's little dogs would agree. They are so cute!

Notice the plates and serving knives in this cupboard. Owner Brenda makes these and I'll tell you more about them in a minute........

After my first visit to the shop, I found I needed to stop in for a visit several times. That's because our church women's group invited Deb, Brenda and Geri to be our guests at our annual Guest Day event at St. Paul's UCC here in Henderson. I volunteered to coordinate the details so I stopped in often to get to know them and learn about the yarns, projects and other goodies at the shop.
My part of the evening was to add some decor. Last spring, my mother gave me this spinning wheel planter that she bought at auction. I wasn't sure I'd ever have a use for it but it was perfect for the yarn-themed evening.  And the fresh flowers from neighbor Sue's garden added the perfect touch to the planter box that is cut into the spinning wheel base. Note that this is not a real spinning wheel. It's from the 1970's which makes me think it was a Bicentennial item. This is what it looked like in front of my fireplace.........

and on the table as guests arrived.......

There were doorprizes .......... books on prayer shawls and little crystal dishes filled with knitted (or are they crocheted?) dishcloths and scrubbies from the ladies of the Knitting Knest.  Prior to introducing Deb and Brenda, I shared a little information on how prayers shawls originated and the story of one that was made for me. I met a woman while at the hospital with my mother and that connection led to someone making this prayer shawl. She sent my name to someone in Pella, Iowa and the shawl came in the mail. I cannot find the name and I wonder if anyone out there might know of a group in Pella that makes prayer shawls. One of the ladies at the program noticed that the shawl had a design that looked like an angel on the back. Honestly, I had not noticed it was the shape of an angel. I only know it brought comfort at a time when I needed it. The booklets shown above are from Leisure Arts and I found them at JoAnn's. They are excellent!!!

Since Deb and Brenda were our guests, I took some yarn scraps and made corsages for them. Geri wasn't able to be at the program because she was at the shop, which is open on Thursday evenings. I remembered making pom-poms for my roller skates, so I took some yarn scraps and made pom-poms, then clipped and sculpted with my scissors until I got the look I wanted.

Brenda and Deb brought some lovely scarves and gift items to share. That's Brenda on the left, then Deb and our pastor, Pastor Brigit. She made the scarf that Deb is holding and is telling us about a scarf project that the United Church of Christ is doing next summer.

In addition to all things yarn, Brenda makes a number of the lovely gifts in the shop......the "kuriosities". She makes the tile coasters that Deb is holding and she also does those lovely plates and serving knife sets that are perfect for cheese and crackers. She enjoys finding just the right plates at thrift shops and then adds beads and baubles to the knives for a really unique serving set!

Following the program, there was dessert! Carol, Doris and Joann prepared the goodies.........

 and everyone enjoyed them and the chance to chat. Oh, and win doorprizes. LOL!

 

It was a lovely evening and many of us came away inspired to make something lovely from yarn. Perhaps, something in this chest is where that something will begin. If you are in Henderson, be sure to stop and check out this trunk and all the other goodies at the shop. Oh, and I will keep you updated on whether I learn to crochet. :-)
Have a great Friday!
Sandi