As the saying goes, teaching an old dog new tricks may be hard, but Fontelle Jones of Great Yarns! is up to the challenge.
In this case, the old dog is yours truly; the new trick is knitting.
We had heard great things about Great Yarns! – and Fontelle – from lots of different sources for quite a while and decided it was a perfect time to see for ourselves. In response to our e-mail inquiry about lessons, we received a cheery, “I’d love to teach you to knit.”
And now, after more than 40 years of crafting and plenty of failed attempts at self-teaching, we have finally learned to knit. Our first project, a scarf with alternating blocks of Stockinette and Reverse Stockinette stitches, is coming along slowly and not without challenges, but we are knitting.
Our success is credited in no small part to Fontelle’s teaching style and bubbly enthusiasm for her craft.
More than 20 years ago, Fontelle decided to open Great Yarns!, a shop dedicated to passing on her love of knitting and bringing wonderful, unique fibers to Everett area crafters.
| Great Yarns!
4023 Rucker Ave., Everett 425-252-8155 E-mail: info@greatyarns.com Web site: www.greatyarns.com. Shop hours:10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday; closed Sunday. |
Visit the shop on any given day and you’ll find regular customers sitting around a table working on their current projects or browsing through the shelves of exotic yarns to select the perfect fibers for future endeavors.
Fontelle’s teaching style is probably as close to failure-proof as you can get, because she shows you how to “read” the stitches you’re creating right off the bat. When you know how the stitches should look and what to check for, it’s much easier to avoid mistakes completely or to catch them early enough to resolve with minimal effort.
In fact, after only one lesson, we realized what we’d been doing wrong during all those self-teaching attempts over the years.
Once you learn the basics, including casting on, knit and purl stitches and unknitting to correct mistakes, Fontelle gets you started on your first project, and the shop is full of ideas for knitters of all skill levels.
Try a simple scarf, or be a bit more daring by taking on a sweater, T-shirt, shrug, purse or poncho. You can even try a kit that includes enough yarn to make two or three garments, no two of which will be alike because of the blended yarns featured in each kit.
Great Yarns! has a staff of eight experienced knitters, including several who are crochet experts as well, and a custom knitter. There’s also a full-time finisher, who will sew the pieces of your garment together or, as Fontelle puts it, if you’re stuck on a pattern or just sick of the whole thing, will finish your project for you.
So if you’ve been thinking about learning to knit or have tried to teach yourself without success, check out the Spring 2006 class schedule at Great Yarns! and take the plunge. Not only will you pick up a new skill, you’ll have fun and probably make some new friends at the same time.
And don’t forget, if you’ve taken a class or workshop in the Snohomish County area and were pleased with the shop or instructor, let us know and we’ll share your information with Craft Corner readers in our Readers’ Recommendations box in future columns.
Send information to Jonetta Coffin, c/o Herald Features, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206; e-mail to jrocoffin@aol.com; or phone 425-238-4985 and leave a message for a call back.
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