I recently finished the Friendship Shawl – a joy to knit in lovely Malabrigo Dos Tierras – and while I was blocking and photographing it, it got me thinking about friendship and how important it is. I have been lucky enough to make friends in all the different walks of life I have been through, some of them are still with me, some have lost touch, some have been back in touch now that children are growing up and leaving home and now this lovely business is bringing me new friends. A bittersweet element of that has been the way in which friends of mine and of my parents’ have popped in to the shop over the last few weeks to offer condolences and messages of support to me, my father and my sisters. I have appreciated it so much, although it usually ends in tears.
The very last thing on my mind, or in my business plan, when I started this business was friendship. Stock, yes. Cashflow forecasts, yes. Friendship not so much. Yet within days of opening, and despite the fact that Covid restrictions were still in place and we had to wear masks indoors, people were asking if I was planning to start a knitting group. As soon as we were able to gather indoors face to face, I got one going, and we haven’t really looked back. There is a hard core of regulars, but others come and go depending on their mood and work patterns. We occasionally even have people who are on their holidays come and join us. At the group there is talk of health, partners and life, but mostly the focus is on common interests – knitting, crochet, stitching and yarn. I love the way in which the members of the group encourage each other to try new patterns and more difficult projects and I think that some friendships have developed there which continue outside the group, which is lovely. And of course the group brought me Mandy, who works here 3 days a week and I can no longer imagine the shop without her. With hindsight, I should have considered the knitting group element of the business as being necessary- after all I spent the previous 16 years helping people create friendships in antenatal classes.
The days and hours for the knitting group (currently in the process of being renamed – suggestions welcome) are as follows:
First Tuesday of the month: 11am – 1pm
Second Tuesday of the month: 2-4pm
Third Saturday of the month: 2 – 4pm
Fourth Tuesday of the month: 7 – 9pm
Please note that we have changed the evening session from a Wednesday to a Tuesday night for consistency. So the next evening session will be on Tuesday 25th June.
It’s not only the knitting groups that forge friendships, some have been created or strengthened in the knitting and crocheting courses that we run as well. Through them I myself have gained another friend in Claire Howard of Claire Howard Jewellery, who came here to learn to knit and then to learn to knit socks, and who runs her excellent jewellery making courses here from time to time. She is a welcome companion on this journey I am taking as a business woman – she makes it feel less lonely and I think we encourage each other in different ways to improve our respective businesses. And she designed a lovely set of stitch markers exclusively for the shop as well!
As an aside, I am always interested to know what people would like to learn – currently we are having to put on another Fairisle Knitting workshop in September because the recent one was so popular. Please let me know here if you have any special requests for workshops.
So if you are at a loose end, or looking for like minded company, why not come and try our knitting group or learn a new skill in one of our workshops. All are welcome. Details are on the website or you can ask in the shop. We look forward to seeing you.