Orono shop offers haven for knitters

Beth Gardner’s shop, Spin Me A Yarn, may be the best-kept secret in knitting circles. Three years ago she opened the shop in part of a renovated garage at her home in Orono.

“Knitting,” she said, “is sort of an addiction with me. I knit in waiting rooms, on planes and in bed. I’m the only person I know who has knit on the beach in the Caribbean.”

In the last 15 years, Gardner has knit more than 100 sweaters and that’s not counting the ones she gave away as gifts.

“I let [my customers] try on the sweaters I’ve knit to see if they like the style and color,” she said. “That makes it easier for them to decide it they want to knit one like it.”

The shop had been a dream for years, she said. “Then I went to visit a friend in California and she said, ‘Do it.'” At about the same time, a knitting shop in Orono closed. Her children were grown so it seemed like the right time.

Gardner began knitting in the usual way – she was about 10 years old when her grandmother taught her. “I made scarves that were 10 feet long,” she said. Later, after she’d spent years spinning yarn, and not knitting, she returned to knitting. “I knitted Christmas stockings for my children that were 3 or 4 feet long. They still have them.” She also knit sweaters for her children. Many sweaters.

Gardner’s shop looks and feels more like a living room than a shop and that’s exactly what she had in mind – a place where knitters could come to buy yarn and knitting supplies, learn to knit, get assistance with projects and have conversations about knitting. Currently, no knitting groups meet at the shop, but Gardner hopes to form one this fall.

The shop is paneled with tongue-and-groove pine. The couch is comfortable. The overstuffed chairs rock. And in winter, a gas fireplace casts warmth into the room. One wall is lined with shelves that hold Rowan, Classic Elite, Green Mountain Spinnery, Peace Fleece, Brown Sheep, Bartlett and Berroco yarns in the muted colors Gardner favors. The yarns are alpaca, mohair, wool, cotton, rayon and silk blends.

“Even though I don’t have a huge inventory, I can order any color,” she said. And since most of her suppliers are in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, yarn orders arrive in two days.

In her “real life,” Gardner is a teacher at Holden Elementary School where she teaches reading. Before that, she taught for 10 years at Indian Island schools.

“I’ve taught seven teachers at work to knit,” she said. She even converted one crocheter to knitting. She also has taught some of her pupils to knit, including a boy named Sam, who, in turn, inspired one of his buddies to take up needles.

In addition to yarn, Gardner sells patterns and knitting needles. Her inventory also includes skeins of yarn of her own spinning.

She has knitting books available for use in the shop. Among her favorites are “The Ultimate Knitters’ Guide” and “Style Your Own Kids’ Knits” by Kate Buller, and “How to Knit” by Debbie Bliss.

For others with dreams of opening small yarn shops, Gardner has this advice, “If it’s your passion, go for it.”

Spin Me A Yarn at 87 Forest Ave. in Orono is open by appointment by calling 866-4371, or by chance.

Snippets

Jude Spacks of Belfast has a way to use fabric scraps in a creative way. She will conduct a mandala workshop Sunday Sept. 7 at the Temple of the Feminine Divine, 31 Central St., Bangor. Call Lise Herbold at 589-4344 for information about time and fees.

Rosalita Feero will open Cotton Petals Fabric Shop at 2836 Bennoch Road in Alton on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5-6. The shop will cater to the interests of quilters and will carry fabrics, batting, notions, patterns, books and kits. To learn more about the shop and its services, call 394-3472 after Sept. 4.

A reader in Bangor suggests that cross-stitch enthusiasts visit www.xs-collecticles.com. The Web site offers free patterns adapted from great works of art, including Matisse’s well-known “Blue Nude.”