Linda Falkenstein
Sunset Yarn, left, and Fiddlesticks Knits are bringing the yarn to Madison makers.
For some reason, everyone remembers the building. It’s been a bicycle shop, a patisserie and Fit 2 Eat, a healthy deli. There’s something charming about the little gabled cottage where Speedway Road meets Mineral Point Road. Sunset Yarn owner Lynette Tucker thought so too, when she and her husband were walking past in December 2019 and noticed a for rent sign. The owner of the building and Fit 2 Eat was closing the deli and looking for a tenant. And Tucker had been dreaming of opening a yarn shop.
With the Knitting Tree gone and Wisconsin Craft Market in the process of a going-out-of-business sale, Madison was without a real yarn store — almost inconceivable, Tucker observes, since Madison boasts one of the largest membership knitters guilds in the United States.
She remembers saying to her husband, Tom, “We have to do this, this was meant to be.” The lease was already signed when COVID-19 hit in March. “I didn’t know what to do,” Tucker says.
But there were upsides. The shutdown gave her time to remodel the space. The kitchen equipment was donated to Catholic Charities, with the exception of an oven that’s now behind a wall. And Tucker had all summer to create a website and online ordering platform before she finally opened the doors to real life customers in November 2020.
Tucker stocks such national brands as Cascade but also local yarns from Blackberry Ridge, GalPaca, Sun Valley Fibers and Ewetopia. “I noticed I was carrying a lot of solids,” says Tucker, “and I needed some variegated yarns. But the supply chain was slow so I looked locally.”
Yarn is arranged by weight through several small rooms filled with sample knits of hats, vests, mittens and sweaters. Customers wanted classes, too, and Tucker obliged. Upcoming classes include beginning knitting, socks and mosaic knitting. The cafe tables in the south-facing front windows make a good place for knitting groups to meet, as does an easy chair near the big gas fireplace.
Fiddlesticks Knits at 1976 Atwood Ave. opened in August. Owner Erica Hainz stresses inclusivity and accessibility. “We want to be welcoming to everyone,” says Hainz, who stocks a variety of tools for knitters who struggle with joint and muscle pain. A basket of beginner’s kits with needles, instructions and a small ball of yarn are available free to anyone who wants to try knitting or crocheting but doesn’t have funds. Fiddlesticks also has a lending library of knitting needles, crochet hooks and more that anyone can check out like a library book — a boon to someone who needs a special size needle for just a small part of one project that might never be used again.
Classes currently include sessions with knitting experts and instruction in socks, and the shop’s calendar is dotted with social knitting nights and crafting hours. A big oval table in a rear room is reservable for fiber-related events.
The shop carries such national brands as Cascade, Rowan and Malabrigo, but also a good selection of locally produced or hand-dyed yarns, without duplicating Sunset’s: Lady Purl, Evergreen Fiber Works, Hook and Shuttle, Fangirl, BlackCat and Ohmi Fibers. Fiddlesticks also makes a point of supporting brands that are BIPOC- and woman-owned, and that operate sustainably.
“If you’re putting all that work into a project, you want to feel good about the materials,” Hainz says. “We do as much as we can to source ethically from mills and farms that pay well and have safe working conditions.”
