The Colonial Yarn Shop in Shiremanstown, PA

The second in my series of yarn shop reviews is the Colonial Yarn Shop in Shiremanstown, PA. This shop has been around for quite a while (25 years!) with different owners. Kathy is the current owner/operator.

I love this shop for a variety of reasons. First of all, Kathy really knows her stuff. And, more importantly, she knows how to teach and seems to enjoy helping the knitters who come to her. There is a round table smack dab in the center of her shop to sit and knit at or just put your stuff down on while browsing. That brings me to the yarn.

There are many ways that I can think of to organize a yarn shop. The first is by fiber type (all the wool together, all the silk, etc.). The second is by weight (lace, sock, DK, worsted, bulky). The third is by manufacturer (Noro, Shaeffer, Lorna's Laces, etc.). The fourth (I've never seen it done this way but would absolutely love it) is by color. And, then there is Kathy's way. Which is actually probably the easiest to deal with and that is no particular order. Sorry Kathy, if there is a method to your yarn madness I can't tell. I actually love this though because it requires that you look at everything.

I don't particularly like to work with cotton yarns. They're ok while I'm working with them it's just the way they tend to sag and not recover later on that frustrates me to no end. Yesterday, I was looking for a particular color/weight of yarn and when I found it at Kathy's it turned out to be 100% cotton. Had her store been arranged by type of yarn as most stores tend to do I never would have found it.

Kathy offers a number of knitting classes, hosts a lace knitting group and a sock knitting group and has knit nights once or twice a month. I hope to see you there!