Sponsor Profile: Second Story Knits

What is your website? Email?

www.secondstoryknits.com

info@secondstoryknits.com 

What is your Ravelry name/group? 

Second Story Knits

Where are you located and what are your hours?

We're at 4706 Bethesda Avenue, just off Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda, MD.  Our hours are
11-7 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday;
11-9 Thursday; 10-6 Saturday; and 12-6 Sunday.
Be sure to join us at our community knit/crochet night every Wednesday. 

What kinds of things do you carry?

We stock yarns to inspire your creations, whether it's a delicate lace shawl or an indestructible toddler sweater!  Our yarns range from hearty basics to sinful luxury, although we will admit to a preference for natural fibers.  And we love hand-dyes wherever they come from--we stock Shalimar from right up the road in Frederick, Black Trillium from Portland, Oregon, and yarns from everywhere in between.

How long have you been in business, and what inspired you to open your business?
We just started our fourth year in business!  We were both long-time yarn store employees, and when the owner decided to sell, we saw the chance to create the kind of place we would want as knitters--beautiful yarns, expert advice, and a warm and friendly atmosphere.  We love yarn as much as you do!

What's your favorite thing about having a LYS? 

Not one thing, but two:  the chance to work with amazing yarn, and the chance to work with our amazing customers.

2017: StarKnits

I create what I call project support. Quality project bags in very useful shapes and sizes and fun attractive fabrics,  stitch markers (both knitting and crochet) and custom crochet hooks. I love helping to organize and protect your projects as you carry them around. 

starknits.etsy.com

Twitter: @starknits

Facebook

2017: SpaceCadet

At SpaceCadet, we hand-dye luxury yarn and fiber (in merino, silk, linen, and bamboo) by mixing our dyes directly from the primary colours, letting the colour lead the way and exploring where it takes us.  We dye full skeins, ombre and one-of-a-kind sweater kits, and coordinating Mini-Skein sets.

spacecadetyarn.com

Twitter: @SpaceCadetYarn

Facebook

Ravelry: SpacecadetCreates

2017: Snallygaster Fibers

We specialize in pooling sock yarns. This creates spiraling stripes as the sock is knit.This year we focused on 2 fingering weight bases: a superwash merino/nylon blend for durable socks and a luxe blend with a touch of cashmere for extra snuggle factor. We also have sets of mini-skeins for gradient shawls.

snallygasterfibers.com

Facebook

Ravelry: LadieKae

2017: Rising Tide Fiber Co. (new vendor!!)

Rising Tide carries a wide range of ethically sourced yarns including blends of merino, alpaca, cashmere, yak, and silk. Knitters and crocheters love our highly saturated colorways that come in many tonal, varigated, gradient and self striping colors. We love to see the finished objects of customers who fell in love with our beach themed and inspired colorways.

risingtidefiberco.com

Facebook

Ravelry Group

2017 Charity Collection

This year The Homespun Yarn Party and Knitters and Crocheters Care are collecting knit and crocheted Comfort Monsters, water bottle holders and shawls for TAPS - Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, and hats, scarves and mittens for children and young adults at Alternative House, and chemo caps to donate to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Beth Haneke’s name.

TAPS provides a wide variety of programs and information to all those affected by a death of a loved one in the line of military duty. Each Memorial Day weekend, TAPS invites their members to attend their four-day Memorial Day event in Arlington, Virginia. Members are offered workshops and other forms of support where they learn to share, cope and heal from some of America’s leading experts on trauma and grief. Since 2003, Knitters and Crocheters Care (KCC) has attended this event; we teach knitting and crocheting and provide comfort items to attendees that stop by the KCC table. Last year Bonnie Carroll, founder of TAPS was one of the extraordinary people who were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the nation’s highest civilian honor. You can read more about this amazing woman here: www.taps.org/BonnieCarroll

What is a Comfort Monster? A Comfort Monster can be as simple as a stuffed square with funky eyes, or as challenging as an elaborately decorated stuffed animal. Just make sure it’s soft and huggable. What is a water bottle holder or water bottle sling? There are a bunch of knit and crochet patterns on Ravelry -- any one of those patterns will work for this program.

Alternative House, located in Fairfax, Virginia - supports at-risk children, youth and families, provides crisis intervention and neighborhood outreach. We are collecting hats, scarves and mittens for children and young adults at Alternative House. Alternative House continues to see an increase in requests for assistance, they rise to the challenge because of generous donations from the metro DC community. Last year they opened a new program to help young people who are homeless while still in high school and who don’t have the support of a parent or guardian. Your generous donation of cold weather items may make the difference between a young person going to school or staying home during the next harsh winter

Chemo Caps to be donated to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Beth Haneke’s name. Beth was one of the Homespun Yarn Party’s volunteers for several years. Beth Haneke and her beautiful golden retriever service dogs were a regular sight at past events. Beth was a cancer survivor who dealt with serious health issues over the years. Unfortunately, she lost her fight just a few weeks ago on February 25, 2017. We checked with her family and they would love for us to donate chemo caps in Beth’s name.

Additionally, if you’re looking to destash - Knitters and Crocheters Care is collecting yarn for charity projects and charitable organizations throughout the DC metro area.

You can also grab your knitting needles and/or your crochet hooks, and come and knit/crochet with us. You are welcome to bring your own yarn, however, we will provide charity yarn for you to work with. We will have a couple of knit and crochet charity scarves going at the charity table. Please come by and add a few rows!

Hope you can participate!!

Sponsor Profile: Nature's Yarns

1. What is your website? Email?
naturesyarnsinc.com/
info@naturesyarnsinc.com
You can sign up for our newsletter on our website, right on the front page. It comes out 2-3 times a month.

2. What is your Ravelry name/group?
Group name: Natures-Yarns

3. Where are you located and what are your hours?
11212 Lee Hwy (Jermantown Square)
Fairfax, VA 22030
Hours: 11:00 am until 6:00 pm Monday through Saturday, 
and 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Sunday.

4. What kinds of things do you carry?
Yarns – all weights, lots of colors, so many different kinds of fibers (!), from lots of companies both big and small! We carry fiber and spindles, plus fiber packs for needle felting. On our needle wall, we carry HiyaHiya Sharps, Addi Turbos and Knitter’s Pride (both Dreamz and Carbons) in circular needles, plus Karbonz and Dreamz straight needles and interchangeable tips & cords.  We have notions (stitch markers, holders, yarn cozies, pins and much more), project bags yarn bowls, books, booklets, patterns, pretty shawl pins, gift tags – and more!

5. How long have you been in business, and what inspired you to open a LYS?
We've been in business 9 years. We really enjoy all of the fiber arts and LOVE working with others that share our interests and/or want to dive into fiber.

6. What's your favorite thing about having a LYS?
Meeting the people and touching the yarn!