Marion Ohio yarn store

 Yesterday I rode my bike from Mt. Gilead, Ohio, to Marion, Ohio, against a headwind in 90-degree heat.  

When I arrived in Marion at the Stitch and Skein yarn shop, I was impressed by the landscaping and overall tidiness of the downtown.  I was also very tired, and looked around for a bench to compose myself and have a drink of water before blowing into the yarn shop.   There weren't any.  Nor were there any bicycle racks in the downtown.  Oh well.  I suppose most people arrive by car.  Marion is the site of the Warren G. Harding Presidential library, and has an impressive historic courthouse building downtown.  It is a beautiful, historic city.  The Stitch and Skein shop is located only a block away from downtown.

 I was welcomed to the shop by Candice DeWitt, the proprietor.  

\Candice opened the shop last year in the midst of the pandemic.  Brave woman!  She was formerly in public health, and when she got burned out during the pandemic, she followed her dream.  She is young and a perfect age to begin such a venture.  Marion is very lucky to have her as an addition to the downtown scene.  

She offers a number of higher-end yarns including some you are familiar with such as Manos de Uraguay.  But I was most intrigued by the locally-produced roving and the locally-dyed "indie" yarns.  These are unique and showcase the style and creativity of the individual dyer.  The garments knitted from these yarns are one-of-a-kind and beautiful. 

She also offers local handspun yarn that includes soft-as-silk Angora.  You can see her website for more details of her offerings, including Blue-Faced Leicester and Leicester Longwool roving, which is ultra-local, being produced in Marion, Ohio, for the Livestock Conservancy's Shave-em-to-Save-em campaign.  

From their website:

"The Livestock Conservancy has long said that the way to save endangered breeds of livestock is to give them a job. In the case of wool sheep, we need to start using their wool again. Because of marketing challenges, some shepherds discard or compost the wool after their annual shearing rather than cleaning it and selling it. This program encourages fiber artists to try using rare wools, and helps shepherds learn how to prepare their wool for sale and how to reach potential customers, thereby making it more profitable to raise heritage breeds."  

Based on my visit to the sheep farm yesterday, I have a little more understanding of the pressures facing livestock farmers and how the industry adapts to the market.  Because of the lack of shearers and the low price for wool, Ohio sheepmen are more and more frequently switching to meat breeds like the Katahdin. 

Candice is definitely doing her part to support local cottage-industry producers.

I noticed the ceramic yarn bowls in the photo as I was posting it, I forgot to ask if they were also local.  

I purchased a souvenier skein of an indie sock yarn that Candice commissioned from the independent or "indie" dyer, using the colors of the Marion Popcorn Festival, which is held annually the first weekend after Labor Day. White, red and yellow.   2nd row, eighth skein in the photo below! There is a range of beautiful colors.  

 

There is a wide range of other yarns. The garments displayed on the top shelves were knitted or crocheted by Candice or her crochet instructor. 

To appeal to a broader range of crafters, Candice carries Cosmo cotton embroidery floss.  She likes it because it does not twist as much as the "other" brand.  She carries embroidery kits and supplies for cross-stitching. 

Her shop has an exposed brick wall and a vintage tin ceiling, which adds to the comfy vibe.  

She has a room dedicated to "maker space" where she offers classes.  In the rear section of her shop, a friend offers some art classes, so the space flows together. 

 

Candice is a distributor for Ashford spinning wheels and other fiber arts tools.  She currently has a display of some of her collection of wheels in her shop window. 

If you are anywhere near Marion, you should stop in and say hello to Candice.  Check out her website or her Facebook page and watch for classes.  

Shady Lane Alpaca farm in Lexington, Ohio

 I visited the Shady Lane Alpaca Farm outside Lexington, Ohio and owner Jean McClintock gave me a tour of the farm, which you can read about here, and then inside her gift shop. .

This beautiful mosaic pendant is made from emu shell and gourd shell. 

These sweaters are alpaca fiber and are designed to be worn two ways, "topsy-turvy".

Jean carries many alpaca children's garments.

She has alpaca art yarn spun by a local spinner. 

Notice the South American (Peruvian?) motifs in some of the sweaters.  

Many handcrafted items.  This art yarn was spun locally.

Of special local interest are the gourd crafts.  Mt. Gilead is the next community southwest of Lexington, and they have an annual gourd festival.  Jean is originally from Mt. Gilead. 

Jean carries some drop spindles and a lazy kate, as well as local maple syrup. 

Quite a few items of jewelry. 

When they moved to Lexington, Jean and her son renovated an old hayloft into the store, adding this window to bring in some light.  Oops! It was a load-bearing wall, and they had to shore it up quickly with another beam. 

Beautiful ponchos and pelts. 

Many hand-crafted jewelry items.

These alpaca sweaters are sold, under a different label, at high-end department stores. The cowl converts to a hood.  The natural colors are breathtakingly beautiful. 

I appreciate Jean showing me her store, even though it was off-hours for her to accommodate the schedule of my bike ride. Since, like me,  she is a member of Malabar Farms Fiber Arts Guild and invites them to the farm for several events, I am sure we will meet again soon.  We definitely share a connection since we both like fibers, farming, and gardening.   I'll share a couple of pictures of her raised-bed garden on my Bright Meadow Farms blog.