Knit & Pearls

Introducing Noel

We're so excited to welcome Noël Anderson-Corwin, our newest staff member to Knit & Pearls. She’ll be teaching a variety of classes as well as helping out in the store of course.

A Canton resident, Noël started her journey into all things fiber as a young girl. “My mom is the root of it all,” she says, noting that her mother was a traditional basket weaver. “I have memories of watching her do that.” Also a crocheter, knitter and sewer, Noël’s mother taught her to crochet when she was around 9. “My family in general is very crafty.”

She remembers her first crochet project: a bag with a chain handle. “I made so many of those things,” she laughs. “That was the coolest thing to me.“ It was also the kind of project she could easily bring in the car. She says she spent a lot of time traveling from her family home in the Binghamton, New York area, to visit relatives in the Albany area. “Having something to do in the car was important,” she says.

Noël enjoys the sense of accomplishment that comes from working with fibers, which she experimented with a lot as an undergraduate Sculpture student at RISD. “I like making things in general,” she says. “Fibers are specifically such an awesome connection that brings you back to earth.” Wool is her favorite fiber to work with. “There is something so grounding about it. I feel like everything is hurry hurry hurry, get to the next thing. I don’t like that but it’s so much of life all the time.” Knitting and other fiber crafts are a way to step back and take time, she says. “It's like raising a child. It can’t be rushed. It’s a process. There’s lots of quiet space that can be had there.” Noël's passion for fibers continued into graduate school at Marywood University where she earned her Masters in Sculpture with a concentration in Fibers.

Noël usually opts to knit if she’s making something to wear and reserves crocheting for items like toys or accessories. “I prefer the aesthetic of knitting when I wear it,” she says, adding that she can also find her mistakes more easily when she knits.

Noël found her way to Knit & Pearls after she and her husband moved to the area for his job. Their daughter, Stella, was 3 at the time and Noël was looking to meet people. "The first thing I did was look up yarn shops,” she says. After a couple of years as a customer, Noël joined the team this spring.

In addition to her popular needle felted dryer balls class, she has taught beginner knitting and a drop spindle class, with more to come. ”I’ll teach basically whatever they want,” she says. “If I don’t have experience I’m willing to sort it out.”

Noël loves sharing her love of fibers with others. “It’s nice to sit down with people who share a similar interest, who are trying to learn something new or expand their skills.”

Welcome to Knit & Pearls

Welcome to Knit & Pearls! It’s how we greet everyone who walks in the store. It’s how we want you to feel…always welcome!

Posted on May 31, 2018

Hi and welcome to our new Knit & Pearls blog!! Cannot tell you how excited we are to be starting on this adventure. We have been discussing the idea for so long, it’s such a pleasure to see it come to fruition.

Knit & Pearls is a local yarn shop (LYS) residing in Avon, CT which is a small, close-“knit” town in the beautiful Farmington Valley. We really strive to not only be a LYS that carries high quality yarn and knitting, crochet and weaving supplies but to be the place you think of when you need to be creative, need to unwind or to just forget the issues of the day. Our mission is to combine great crafting with a sense of community and comfort. The greatest compliment is when customers come in and tells us how warm and welcoming the store is. With the addition of our new blog, we are hoping to share this sense of community even more!

My name is Heather and Janet and I are the co-owners of Knit & Pearls. Our journey to this point could not have been more different but our partnership works so well because of it! As two working moms with spouses and kids still at home, we have found a way to balance the demands of working with the needs of our family. With the help of long time employee and friend, Cindy, and our latest addition to the family, Nicole, we are a full complement of skills and talents. Looking forward to see what the future has in store!!

So much happens every day at the store, it is awesome to think we will be able to share them with others through the blog. Whether it’s the excitement of a new shipment or the excitement of picking out our next colorwave family for Yarns to Inspire (did I mention we have our own hand-dyed line?) or the latest project progress, we will try to hit the highlights so that you don’t miss any of the fun.