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Yarn FarmEvery once in awhile, someone gets really emphatic that I need to go to a shop or a restaurant. And that’s how I ended up at the Yarn Farm

I was chatting up Jody Combs at RooBarb Studios about my crochet habit when she said, “Well obviously you’ve been to the Yarn Farm.”

I shook my head slowly no, knowing that I had obviously done something wrong. 

Jody looked at me gobsmacked and told me that I better get myself there as soon as possible. 

So there I was, on a snowy day, doing exactly what Jody told me to do. 

I pulled up to a smallish building and had no idea what I was in for. Especially since I’m newer to the nice yarn. 

I met the owner, who was excited to see me. We gushed over making things, as she told me she does everything from raising the goats to spinning and dying into yarn. That makes her more knowledgeable about the yarn she sells than most yarn shop owners. 

Yarn Farm SweatersAnd even better, she started showing me her knits, which are also available for purchase. As she described her thought process behind the colors, it hit me just how much work went into making just one sweater. I was currently holding something that was fully created by one person, every step of the way, and that made it a very unique sweater, full of her love and energy. I stroked it just a bit lighter, in pure awe of what she had done. 

As she took up some spinning, I was left to wander the store and pepper her with the questions that kept filling my mind. And then I was struck again. This woman was very openly and graciously sharing her knowledge with me. At many yarn shops, I’ve had owners sneer at my lack of knowledge about yarn and write me off. This was one of the few times that I felt like I had a real teacher. There was a bit of me that wanted to ask her to teach me everything she knows, but the side that wanted to seem semi-normal won out. 

So instead, I embarked on a very scientific process that every yarn lover does in a yarn shop: the squishing of the yarn. 

I started off tentatively by just squishing those that had called to me from across the room, but as I got more comfortable, I got bolder, wanting to squish it all. We discussed how some shop owners won’t let you squish the yarn, and I thought how sad those shops must be. Because as I squished and squished, I fell madly in love with one skein of yarn… 

Yarn Farm SweaterIt was the perfect shade of blue with different gradients of it throughout. It felt like a dream. It was one of the more expensive choices in the shop, and a small part of me didn’t care. I wanted that yarn. So I did what any normal person would do: I squished other yarns like I hadn’t found the perfect yarn already, all while staring over my shoulder at my real love. 

I tried to talk myself into it. I’d figure out what I’d make later. No big deal. Yes, I had just spent a ridiculous amount on yarn for presents, but soon that yarn would be gone. And I’d need more yarn. That yarn. And I’d make something to wear. Wouldn’t that feel amazing against my skin? 

Although I’m a master at talking myself into these things, for once I didn’t want to start a fight with my husband, who thinks I have way too much yarn. So despite that not being a real thing, I went home without my true love. But on my next stop, I assure you, it’s coming home with me. 

The Yarn Farm is only open on Saturdays, but it is open at other times by appointment. It’s a great place for the yarn newbie to the absolute yarn nerd. Everyone is welcome here. All that is needed is a desire to learn and create. 

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