Little Knitty Bird: LYS Tour: Hunt Country Yarns

Happy New Year fellow fiber enthusiasts! Now let's get those needles clicking and on to all our craft resolutions such as:

1) Spend as much time knitting as I did looking around on Ravelry last year.
2) Actually knit with what's in my stash and not just buy more yarn.
3) Budget. Yarn. Seriously, make a yarn budget.
4) Commit to swatching!

To kick off the new year we have the next edition in our LYS Tour series, Hunt Country Yarns! You'll find the aptly named Hunt Country Yarns nestled between antique shops and cafes in the middle of Virginia's horse, hunt, and wine country. I sat down with the owner, Bob Kelly, right before the holiday season began to learn more about him and his lovely shop!

1) How did you get started?

While I was in college I paid my own way. I had little money to spare. I needed gifts for family for Christmas so I knitted three sweaters in my Freshman year starting one month after I started school.

Each year my family got sweaters for Christmas. When I settled on a major I used to walk by the fiber arts department and I loved to watch them weaving. One of my weekend jobs working on a Christmas tree farm brought me into contact with a weaver. I borrowed a Structo loom and played for awhile. I realized what color and texture could do with weaving so then that got transferred to knitting.

When I retired from the rat race in Silicon Valley I helped out in a yarn shop while she was closing her shop. That was a 10 month adventure in managing a yarn shop.

Curious about how yarn is spun I took spinning lessons from a great person, Hannelore Cole. She owns Custom Handweavers in Mountain View CA. While she was teaching me to spin I kept refusing the weaving lessons. Well, the refusals didn't work for long. Before I knew it I was learning how to weave.

I moved with my wife to the east coast (to be with her family) and subsequently opened a yarn shop. That kept me out of trouble in one way but got me into trouble in another way. Knitting wearable items has become a passion. When I am not knitting I have a Harrisville loom that gets part of my attention and my poor 30+ year old Ashford spinning wheel gets even less attention.

There is only so much time and so much fiber!

2) Why specifically yarn and knitting for your business?

Fibers! I love to spin and weave so having a shop with fiber just fit the bill. It didn't hurt that I was a knitter.

3) What's your favorite thing about owning a yarn shop?

Getting people excited about fibers, knitting and the endless combinations and possibilities limited only by one's imagination.

4) What surprised you?

How little folks are willing to experiment. If you don't like what you've done, it's not permanent. You and ravel and start again with a new thought. People think what has been knitted is sacred and cannot be 'defiled'.

5) Any advice for folks considering opening up a yarn shop of their own?

It's a lot of work and you need to value your work. Remember, it's a business - not a social. Mind you there is nothing wrong with having folks sit and knit in your shop but it is a business first and there is work to be done before you sit down to knit. Just like a house, there is organizing, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, etc.

6) Random factoid about yourself!

I find while driving to work in the morning I never tire of seeing the world change every day. The visual experience is always there no matter where I am. It is hard to explain but if there is a flag, I don't just notice the flag, I notice the drape and the color and how the combination of the two add up to more than just a flag. I am continuously aware of the changes in color and texture. That includes people watching. There is color and texture there especially in large groups. I guess that comes from my art and photography background.