6330 N. Oracle Rd., #D-242 Tucson, AZ 85704 (520) 229-YARN (9276)
Archive for the ‘Who's Who at Tucson Yarn’ Category
Make no mistake about it. Laraine is NOT a Knit Doctor – not even a Knit Paramedic. Laraine is a relatively new knitter who will be happy to show you around the shop, ring up a sale, register you for a class or wind your yarn. A former high school principal and a now a practicing attorney and Realtor, Laraine is proud of how much she has learned about knitting in the past few years from her good friends and partners Ava, Cyd and Nancy. Laraine enjoys working with luxurious yarns and simple patterns to make gorgeous tunics and shawls — projects that make it appear that she is a better knitter than she really is.
Vicky is the newest addition to the Tucson Yarn staff. She has been knitting for 3 1/2 years and she truly enjoys it. A mother of four (plus an adorable Rottweiler puppy) and a Tucson resident for 14 years, Vicky enjoys the people she has met while knitting. She is always looking to “stretch” her skills and she loves helping others. Need help with felted slippers? Just ask Vicky. At last count she had knitted at least 40 pair.
Angie Smith began knitting in 1985 when she was an exchange student in Germany. She is a fundraising consultant in her other life, but enjoyed the yarn store and staff so much, she joined the team a few days a week. Her goal is to earn stock options at Tucson Yarn, but in the meantime, she knits a lot of accessories — bowls, shawls, purses and such. She has two girls, Quincey - 8 and Elliott - 5 and a husband at home who support and indulge her knitting obsession. She is learning more each day and will learn her lesson and knit gauges for her projects — at least if Cyd has anything to do with it!
Ava has been knitting since she was a child – really. She also supported herself during her college years by knitting for others. A superb knitter, Ava loves color (especially those coppery tones) and always “tweaks” a pattern to give it her personal interpretation. With three daughters who each have a full schedule (Ava is a proud “soccer mom”), it is amazing that Ava has time to knit at all, but she does. In fact, Ava will tell you that knitting is therapeutic and helps her survive all that carpooling. If you see someone sitting at a stoplight finishing a row, it just might be Ava.
Gloria and her husband Tom first came to Tucson for a vacation in 1994. When they got on the plane to go back to New York, they were the owners of a large mound of dirt that was to become their retirement home. First they were “snow flakes” (could only get down here a few weeks a year). Then they became snowbirds and now they are here full time and are officially Tucsonans.
You will usually will find something for one of her grandchildren on Gloria’s needles”. The kids are getting bigger and it’s getting hard to always please them, so Gloria decided to start to knit for grown ups that have requests and for herself. The very first sweater she made for herself was a Louisa Harding pattern…and then she made her husband a sweater out of the same yarn (but a different pattern of course). He loves his too.
Her son-in-law requested a sweater that has sleeves long enough to fit him. He is 6′3″ tall. She made him a Mission Falls pattern with washable worsted wool. It came out great.
Gloria continues to learn at Tucson Yarn, from the staff and the customers as well. She is getting better and better. So come on in to the shop, say hello to Gloria, and show her your projects. She loves to see what everyone is working on and gets inspiration from it.
Cyd, who is our creative director and heads our instructional program, is not only an expert knitter, she is unquestionably the master of color. With a degree in Fine Art, she has an eye for design and color that is unparalleled.
Cyd also teaches many of our classes and is working on a series of books about knitting. She has her roots in art and museum education and those skills have translated seamlessly into the world of knitting. Cyd enjoys working with both groups and individuals and teaching how to conquer some of the more intriguing techniques in knitting – the mitered square, Entrelac, or even socks on circular needles. She’s developed a unique system of “mapping” that will keep any project on track no matter how long it sits on your needles.
Cyd loves to experiment with all kinds of yarns and enjoys helping her clients knit projects that expand their knitting horizons.
