Knitting and crochet enthusiasts no longer have to travel to find quality supplies.
Yarn, supplies and lessons can now be found in downtown Wetumpka at The Yarn Box.
Cliff Williams / The Herald Kateryna Knapp has opened The Yarn Box in downtown Wetumpka trying fill a need for quality knitting and crochet supplies.
Kateryna Knapp moved to Wetumpka in the spring and couldn’t find a shop nearby carrying the supplies she wanted.
“I moved here and decided to continue knitting but I could find any yarn around here that I liked,” Knapp said. “My knitting group was complaining about having to go to Dadeville or Auburn, Birmingham or Mobile. They were like, ‘You are the young one, jump in. You still have the energy to start something new.’ I was like maybe you are right.”
Knapp and her husband quickly identified the shipping container at the end of Company Street used as The Tourist Trap.
“We live in Wetumpka right across the bridge,” Knapp said. “We were passing this area a lot. I saw this place and was like it was small. It’s nice for a beginner, for someone who has never had a business.”
Knapp’s store has been open since Nov. 1 and is stocking different natural fiber yarns along with knitting and crochet supplies.
“I have wool and warm fiber now,” Knapp said. “For the spring and summer I will have more cotton, more linen so people can knit something more summery.”
But Knapp isn’t stopping at just supplying current knitters, she wants to grow the hobby in the area.
“I have all the basics to start or continue whatever project you have,” Knapp said. “I’m hoping to have a class each Friday and alternate knitting and crochet. It’s so everyone can find something they like or want to learn.”
While visiting The Yarn Box it is highly likely Knapp will be wearing one of her knitting or crochet projects.
“I have my bag of sweaters here,” Knapp said. “I’m like I’m bored of this one, I’ll change. I’ll put on another. I want to wear all of them while we have this weather.”
Knapp and husband were living in Ukraine before moving to Wetumpka.
“My husband is from this area,” Knapp said. “We moved to Ukraine and then moved back and were looking for a place to rent. We made some new friends and they owned a house in Wetumpka and asked us to take a look. It was just a chance. But we like this area a lot.”
Knapp hasn’t just learned the craft. Despite being young she has years of experience weaving yarn into items.
“It wasn’t my decision to get into knitting,” Knapp said. “I was taught to crochet by my grandmother when I was little and then in school my first teacher taught me how to knit. It kind of stuck with me. Some people don’t like it, it’s just not their thing. For me, it just stuck.”
