Happy Birthday To Ewe!

For Ewe Turns Three

The Journey:
My Grandma taught me how to crochet when I was five. Being creative became my destiny. When I wasn’t playing with a hook and string, I was playing actual strings – I started playing violin at age 8. On a chance encounter with a lady knitting on a crowded bus, I expanded my sticks and strings repertoire even further. Here I was: an 11 year old bi-craftual violinist, ready to take on the world.

Life brought on many changes as I grew up, but sticks and strings were a constant. I had a professional performing and teaching career in music for 35+ years. Marriage and children were in the mix as well and many times knitting ebbed and flowed around my busy life.

And then my mom got sick.
I knit to stay busy. I knit to relax. I knit to keep the fear of losing her at bay.
I knit at her bedside as she left me. And then I knit my way through my grief for a whole year – 52 projects worth.
Knitting saved my life and changed me forever.

The Dream:
One day after a really bad day at a job I knew I should leave, I mused aloud about opening a yarn shop. Six months later I lost my job. Nine months later we were in the middle of a global pandemic.
Sounds like the perfect time to start a small business, right?
Actually, it was. I had time to think, take business classes, and make plans. And dream. Lots of time to dream.
From all that came For Ewe 1.0 in our original location.

For Ewe: an Inclusive Fiber Community

Our Yarns
From the beginning, I wanted to stock yarns by small independent companies operated by women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ folks – yarns that folks don’t see everyday – and get them in front of a wider audience.

Our Community
I wanted our community to reflect the diversity of our little college town and its surrounding area. For Ewe is built on the model of my grandmother’s house: everyone is welcome, loved, and respected just as they are, with a big warm greeting.

For Ewe 2.0: Growing Bigger

In July of 2024, we left our cozy little 400 square foot space – and those prohibitive stairs to the second floor – and moved into a beautiful ground floor location. This meant more room to expand our inventory, our community, and our vision.

What’s next? More education programs, more special guests and events, and more community building and outreach. We look forward to teaching another generation of new crafters as we continue to bring new products to seasoned yarnies.

Our Favorite Things

All around the shop we have samples to showcase our yarn selection and inspire folks to create new and exciting projects. Here are a few of our favorites:

Assigned Pooling
These projects are made with yarns that are dyed 85% in a main color and 15% in a “pop” contrast color. When working the pattern, there is a special stitch pattern that is created when the pop color appears, creating pools of the special colors and textures throughout the project. Best of all, assigned pooling works for both knit and crochet patterns.

Photo credit: Lisa Whitfield

Photo credit: Lisa Whitfield

Mosaic Knitting
For the folks who are ready to do colorwork beyond stripes, but aren’t quite ready for stranded colorwork, mosaic colorwork is a great entry point. It uses only one color per row/round and slips the stitches of the other color being used. The result can be visually stunning and look a lot more difficult than it actually is.

We are so happy to be part of the Yarn Discovery Tour and its group of independently owned and operated Local Yarn Shops. Each shop is unique and wonderful in its own way. For Ewe is still a new kid on this block, looking up to the big kids. As we celebrate three full years in business, we look forward to welcoming you into the shop and helping you find your next favorite project.

Until then, Keep It Crafty, Y’all.

Share & follow
For any inquiries, please contact:
Lisa Whitfield
[email protected]
for-ewe.com
Facebook.com/forewecommunity
Instagram.com/for_ewe

Submitted by Lisa W. from For Ewe