In my hometown of Calgary, AB, most of the local yarn stores are found in the city’s centre – in trendy and often downtown-adjacent districts. Which makes the far-flung suburbs somewhat of a yarn desert.
Enter Yarn Twisters, a local yarn shop owned by friends Lisa Overby and Michelle Hemmaway, that opened in Mahogany in 2018. I discovered this shop shortly after it opened on accident when meeting up with a fellow crafty friend for lunch nearby. It didn’t take much convincing to detour over there and the eclectic plethora of yarns I’d never seen before in every size, colour, and price point, plus the warmth of the ladies who ran it, has kept me coming back ever since.
The pair met at a neighbourhood knitting circle hosted by a mutual friend. They both laugh today at how looking back it wasn’t an “instant connection,” but they grew closer over time, bonding over motherhood and knitting, having “playdates without children” with a group of fellow moms on the block until they were having regular coffee dates together.
“We used to joke that when our kids are grown we should open a knitting store,” Michelle says. “And Lisa’s husband must have overheard because he was like, ‘why wait?’”
“He scouted out a location, and I think he already contacted the developer at that point!” Lisa laughs. On June 26, 2021, Yarn Twisters will celebrate their third birthday.
The dynamic duo split the tasks of running Yarn Twisters evenly, with analytical Michelle managing the backend “paper stuff” operations and creative Lisa, who’s also been at the needles the longest of the two, takes on much of the vendor sourcing and dyeing their in-house yarns. “She keeps me in line from buying aaalll the yarn,” Lisa says.
Lisa started knitting when her eldest son was a toddler. Her grandmother had died when she was pregnant and Lisa found herself in possession of her grandma’s knitting needles. Her mom taught her how to cast on, and Lisa spent the following three years — which also included a move to a new house — knitting a single scarf in stockinette stitch with chenille yarn. “Nobody told me that stockinette rolls up,” she says. “I didn’t even bind it off in the end, I just ripped the whole thing out and now it’s crocheted into a garland for our Christmas tree.” More than a decade and two more kids later, she’s still at it.
“My kids get annoyed at me now, like I just won’t stop knitting, especially if I’m watching something,” she says. “If we’re watching a movie or whatever they keep the lights off to stop me.”
“Just seems like a waste of time!” Michelle chimes in, like any fellow knitter would. “My kids tried that too but now one of my daughters crochets so she insists we keep the lights on for both of us.”
Michelle had only started knitting just before that fateful Knit Night where she and Lisa met. Their friend Rose taught her the basics so they could share the craft together, instead of Michelle “staring at her while she knit,” she jokes. Now she loves knitting garments for herself.
With a gaggle of eight kids total between their two families — a couple of whom made cameos during our video call, including Michelle’s baby girl with the most expressive eyebrows I’ve ever seen — they practically have a workforce at the ready. Some of them are even talking about one day taking over the business.
“We have an amazing community around us,” Michelle says.
Great story Centaine!