The Local Yarn Shop
Where: 213 E. Washington St.
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday
Phone: 565-5443
On only her fourth day of business in Sequim, a customer walks into Terry Mendicino’s shop and blurts out, “A new yarn shop! Cool!”
That’s exactly the reaction Mendicino has been hoping for in opening The Local Yarn Shop at 213 E. Washington St. on Dec. 1.
“Everybody’s thanking me for opening the shop — it’s an exciting and humbling experience,” she said.
Mendicino started on her path with the versatile spun thread from the ground up — er, make that the hoof up. Fourteen years ago in Oregon she had a small hobby farm with sheep to train her border collies in herding competitions nationally.
“My neighbor said, ‘You have to spin that fleece! You could get five sweaters from one sheared sheep.’ So I got a spinning flock and learned to spin, knit and weave.”
While in Oregon, she’d even come to Sequim to purchase herding sheep and learned it wasn’t rainy like the rest of western Washington but an oasis of sunshine. That was important for her, after spending many years in Sequin, Texas. When her husband, an environmental engineer, took a job in Seattle about a year ago, they decided to settle in Sequim with him commuting back to the peninsula on the weekends.
“I love Sequim and I’m so happy to be here. The people have just been amazing,” Mendicino said.
She decided to open her own shop because she said she couldn’t find a store-sponsored knitting klatch like the one she’d attended religiously in Oregon, sharing the clicking camaraderie with a group that formed a common bond through yarn. In the past three months while readying her store for its grand opening on Dec. 5, Mendicino joined a local spinning and weaving guild whose members have helped her organize the store.
Gesturing into the bright and airy room with overstuffed chairs, Mendicino said, “I wanted it to be warm, comfortable, cozy and inviting. I want people to sit, hang out and crochet or knit.”
The small shop is vibrant with a coloring box assortment of dozens and dozens of skeins bursting from the display containers plus an array of handicraft notions, patterns and bags.
“I have yarn for everyone — acrylic, basic 100-percent wool, basic Merino, cashmere, hand-dyed and hand-painted yarn. I have yarn from $6-$30 a skein and everything in between. The more expensive ones are Merino with silk, mohair and Merino with cashmere, but I also have very reasonable baby llama yarn,” Mendicino said.
One favorite is a brand called Peter Pan and Wendy from the United Kingdom because it’s very soft, comes in an acrylic blend or Merino, is washable and is available in pastels and bright colors.
“A 400-gram ball of yarn will make a child’s sweater, so it’s definitely the yarn to make something for your grandkids,” Mendicino suggested.
She plans to share her knowledge and that of other area instructors in the diverse types of knitting styles, including the art of Portuguese purling. Classes for beginners to more advanced knitters will start in January. People who get stuck on their projects are welcome to bring them in and ask Mendicino for assistance.
“A lot of people want instant gratification and want one-skein projects like hats, cowls, mittens and capelets. I’ll also offer a sock class, lace class, quick-knit cowl class, sweater class, spinning and eventually weaving. I also do Navaho spindle and weaving that’s almost a lost art,” Mendicino said. “And I’ll take orders on yarn for something special.”
Parting to assist several customers, Mendicino said, “Yarn is an addiction — there are yarns you just have to have. Most of us will have more yarn than we’ll ever knit in a lifetime,” — which is what she’s counting on in her new venture.
