LOVE YOUR YARN SHOP DAY - with Stitch Solihull

Ana Dugdale, owner of Stitch Solihull will tell you she is passionate about her business! She is a crafter, maker and yarn lover but she is also a staunch believer in the enormous benefits of communal crafting. Her shop, located in Notcutts Garden Centre on the outskirts of Solihull really is the hub of a growing knitting community and it is in no small way due to Ana. Her willingness to offer workshops, support indie designers and hold events at the shop makes Stitch Solihull a welcome crafters sanctuary, so it was no surprise to learn that she would be taking part in national Love Your Yarn Shop Day. Ana asked if she could have some of our sample garments to showcase MillaMia on the day, and we were only too pleased to help out.

Here is Ana's account of her best day ever!

Love Your Yarn Shop Day was a huge success for us, it was our second busiest day ever which is incredible! We offered 20% off everything for one day only which was very popular as it's the only day of the year we do this.

Gorgeous cashmere

We had pop-up stalls from Cashmered with their gorgeous cashmere yarn and patterns and from Katie Jackson with her crochet amigurumi and homewares. At just 15, Katie is the youngest regular at out Stitch and Sip groups and makes her own crocheted creations. She comes up with all the designs herself and is definitely going to go far!

 

 

Some of Katie's pretty crochet and a fabulous Teddy blanket in the making!

We also hosted an all day Stitch and Sip with homemade cake and plenty of tea and coffee. This was very well attended with people working on their own projects and sharing inspiration and ideas. We have Stitch and Sip sessions 3 times each week (Thursday 11-1, Friday 2-4, Saturday 11-1) which costs just £1 towards the cost of tea and biscuits. They're open to knitters, crocheters, cross stitchers, spinners and anyone else who wants to work on projects in a social environment.

Stitch and Sip attendees enjoying some gentle crafting on one of Ana's comfy sofas!

The MillaMia sample garments were a big draw, especially the Charlie Cardigan. The Charlotte Cardigan from Wonderland was the first project I ever knitted when we opened so it was great to see the child and adult versions together. People enjoyed trying them on and pulling out balls of yarn to compare and combine colours.

A lovely rail full of MillaMia samples ready to try on

Love Your Yarn Shop Day was certainly a fun and successful day for us - thanks to everyone who came along and supported us. We'll see you next year!

More lovely crocheted items to buy

Stitch Solihull can be found at Cedar Cottage, Notcutts Garden Centre, Stratford Road, Shirley, B90 4EN, tel 0121 315 6888; on Facebook, Twitter and online at www.stitchsolihull.tictail.com

(posted by Max and Ana!)