{image1}If Caitlin Walsh's life were a scarf, it would be a colorful one. As a kid, she zigzagged around the globe with her international teacher parents, living in Holland, Bolivia and Africa. Later, the 24-year-old settled in Baltimore and New York City, but today Walsh is happily pinned down in Bay View, running a lollipop-cute yarn shop called Loop.
Loop Yarn Shop, 2900 S. Delaware Ave., features boocoo balls of yarn and accessories, including hooks, needles, "The Stitch 'n Bitch Knitter's Handbook," baby beret kits and handmade garments like skinny scarves, ponchos, hipster granny pins and shawls.
Walsh's mother, Patricia Colloton-Walsh, teaches on-site knitting and crocheting classes, from beginners (two two-hour sessions cost $60) to pro (one two-hour session: $35). She also hosts "open knits" and instructs mini-classes for seasoned yarnheads who want to learn new tricks like how to add fringe or make pompons.
"Beginners usually go crazy making scarves, but eventually they get bored and move on," says Walsh, who graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore two years ago. "Plus, people knit in all seasons now, not just winter."
{image2}This spring, ribbon and cotton yarns will be the coveted fibers and the popular poncho will be replaced by something looser (think "cape-let"), says Walsh.
As a kid, she tried to copy the fast-clicking needles of her mother, but she didn't take the hobby seriously until she was a teenager attending Pius High School. In college, she started her own business selling knitted hats and baby belongings at upscale shops on the East Coast and at Boutique Bebe in Milwaukee. Today, she has pieces from her "Loop" line at Lela in the Third Ward.
Recently, yarning has experienced a flush of new fiber fiends, and the age-old stigma of Grandma knitting ugly afghans and scratchy sweaters has been replaced with a fresher, somewhat funkier version of the hobby.
"There are so many more yarn choices, which makes it more fun," says Walsh. "It can be a quick creative outlet. People are realizing they don't have to spend lots of time or be really skilled to make something awesome."
Loop Yarn Shop's hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday from noon until 4 p.m. For more information, call (414) 481-4843.
The Loop Yarn Shop web site is: loopyarnshop.com
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
