Saying Goodbye

A couple weeks ago, Megan-Anne and I went into the city for the day. I love spending the afternoon in Philly. If I had it my way, I’d spend every Saturday afternoon there. I’d get a fancy grilled cheese from Melt Kraft in Reading Terminal Market, hunt down the Sugar Philly Truck to get a few macarons for my Sunday morning coffee, swing by the farmers market in Rittenhouse Square for some fresh veggies, and finish my afternoon at Rosie’s Yarn Cellar. But with Megan-Anne being pregnant and us gearing up for GAL 2016 (there is some crazy awesome stuff on the horizon that we can’t wait to tell you about), we rarely make it to the city these days. So when we finally made it out and checked off all the things on our list, it broke my heart to find out Rosie’s Yarn Cellar was closing forever.

https://instagram.com/p/7QjQ54CZtQ/?taken-by=doctor_llama

There’s always this strange dynamic when a local yarn store closes. First, there’s the denial that the store is actually closing. And once you come to terms with the fact that it’s permanent and not just because the owner is heading to TNNA for the weekend or something, guilt sets in for not making it out to the store enough. You feel lazy for making so many online purchases and promise yourself to get better about being part of the community.

Then, you notice the clearance signs and descend upon the yarn and needles. You grab a few skeins of that cashmere you’ve had your eye on for months and snatch up a pair of Addi Turbos. You already have a set a home, but wouldn’t it be great to have a second pair? You could bounce between two different sock projects when the mood strikes. And then it hits you. You’re a vulture.

You’re picking over the bones of someone else’s broken dreams. You feel like a traitor.

But you still take your armload of loot up to the register and have trouble making eye contact with the owner as she rings up your order. You apologize for not coming out more, even though the store is an hour out of your way.

https://instagram.com/p/7VSh8sHy5O/?taken-by=jac_attacking

Rosie’s Yarn Cellar was a quaint basement shop near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia that offered high-quality yarn, knitting classes, and patterns. It was there for 20 great years and now it’s gone. It’s not coming back, and as much as I’d love to blame the economy, weather, or even Megan-Anne’s swiftly growing baby bump, the only person I can blame is myself. I could have gone out more to support an LYS that I loved, but I didn’t.

About a year and a half ago, Megan-Anne and I went on an LYS adventure across Pennsylvania and New York. We didn’t come anywhere close to hitting them all, but we had a blast spreading the word about the awesome stores we did go to. Rosie’s was a call to action for me, so we’re gassing up the car and making our way to another round of local yarn stores. You’ll be able to read all about our fiber-filled adventures in October. It’s not official the way national Talk-Like-A-Pirate day is or anything, but lets make October the month of the LYS. Everyone try to get out there at least once or twice and show your local yarn store you care.

~Jac

PS: Want us to profile your favorite shop? Have the store owner hit up our contact page and we’ll do our best to get out there.