For Liz Sorenson, owner of Sheep and Shawl on Routes 5 and 10 in South Deerfield, knitting isn’t just a pastime, it’s a business.
Since opening the local yarn shop in the Tibetan Plaza about three years ago, in August 2013, Sorenson said that everything the store offers has more than doubled, including raw materials such as yarns, classes and locally-made artisan products.
The store sells fiber products, such as natural fiber yarn (which, Sorenson said, is unusual), needle felting supplies and a myriad of other knitting supplies.
Inside the space, colored yarns and knitting materials are stacked from floor to ceiling. In the back, a weaving loom sits in a small room, where classes are offered on artisan skills such as two-color brioche stitching, top-down socks with magic loop (a knitting technique using circular knitting needles), and toe-up socks with magic loop.
Sorenson sits down behind the loom and explains that after graduating from Clark University, where she received a degree in psychology, and spending about 20 years working for the state in environmental planning, she retired, moved from the eastern end of the state to Franklin County and opened the business.
“I wanted something more grounding,” she said, while passing a shuttle under stretched threads to create a pattern in the weave. “To be near rivers and farms, and get away from the Boston suburbs and traffic. This became my retirement career.”
Sorenson said she just finished a five-year weaving program at the Hill Institute in Florence.
With a customer base that stretches throughout New England, Sorenson said the space has become a watering hole for the local knitting community — bringing hobbyists in contact with suppliers. Sorenson added that there aren’t any other yarn stores in Franklin County.
“It’s a big fiber community,” she commented later, while sitting on a couch tucked away in the corner of the store, backlit by late morning sunlight. “When I started the shop, it was mostly to support local artisans.”
She added that while it has taken some effort and time to gain footing in the local knitting community, today, the business is constantly expanding — mostly through word of mouth.
The business owner also said that weekly classes, a free knitting and crochet group and yearly special events are a big reason why customers are so loyal. Classes are taught by local artisans and range in price from about $10 to $30 per session.
Throughout the year, the store participates in and hosts knitting events and special classes, such as a New England-wide yarn store crawl, artisan workshops and speaking events.
For more information and to see a class schedule, visit: sheepandshawl.com.
You can reach Andy Castillo at: acastillo@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 263.
On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo