I know knitting and crocheting are having a hey day right now (and we love it!), but that means quite a few crafters don’t know what it was like to walk into a local yarn store in the early 2010s (my hey day!).
The stores had every type of worsted weight yarn imaginable. Ribbon yarns had overtaken eyelash as the new, hip novelty yarn on the scene. You could pick printed patterns out of a binder or grab a few from the store’s collection of Leisure Arts pamphlets. If this sounds like a kinder, simpler time you’d like to see or revisit, you have to check out Betsy’s Yarn and Tea in Lockport, Illinois.
We were on our way to YarnCon in Chicago, but my make-up-artist sister had a gig in Lockport. We decided to meet up there to grab her keys so we could hang in her apartment until my sister was done working.
Lockport is super cute, and Betsy’s is no exception. When you enter on the side facing the main drag, you enter into the tea shop (another one of my favorite things!). They have all kinds of tea, in bags and by the pound, along with local honey, jams, and ceramic tea accoutrements.
If you keep walking towards the back of the shop, that’s where the yarn store begins. I felt as though I had traveled back in time. They had both the major local and big craft yarn store yarns of my crafting youth, and I got such a kick out of wandering around the store.
The local selection (my go-to purchases) were pretty much non-existent in the yarn department, but we did get some tea and local jam. The ambiance by itself is worth the stop if you find yourself in Lockport!
FahrOut Fiber Adventures 