Lansing resident Kathy Scieszka and Woven Art owner Meg Croft discuss the sense of community that comes with a yarn shop.
Woven Arts, located at 325 Grove St., is one of the “hidden gems” for Lansing’s knitters, weavers, crocheters and spinners, according to Lansing resident Kathy Scieszka, who has been an active knitter there for a while. The store, however, offers more than hand-painted and hand-spun yarns.
For many it offers a sense of community.
“Usually, maybe two or three people will know each other and come but often they end up meeting other people that they haven’t met before,” said Meg Croft, East Lansing resident and current owner of the store. “Often new friends are found at your yarn shop.”
Croft compares the socialization of the club as an old-fashioned sewing bee.
“Knitting and crocheting and weaving are often solitary kind of pursuits when you’re at home … but the nice thing about many of these hobbies is that you can pick them up and bring them to a coffee shop or to your yarn shop and work together with other people,” Croft said.
Scieszka, after knitting at the shop for a long time, said “When you see people back here weaving I wanted to know what they were doing … So I just started sticking my nose into everybody’s business.”
For the woven arts community, with members of many different ages and skill levels, Croft believes many are simply drawn in.
“You get sucked into the community that forms at a shop,” Croft said.
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