Sixteen is a funny age for a yarn shop. Not quite the wide-eyed kid it once was, yet still far from being all grown up. Not quite the wide-eyed kid it once was, yet still far from being all grown up. A little like a Sixteen Candles moment, minus the teenage angst and cafeteria drama, and with far better knitwear.

It is old enough to know what it loves. The reliable comfort of a good worsted. The excitement of an indie dyer’s first delivery. The way a new class fills the room with chatter. Yet it is still young enough to be delighted by surprises, like the walk-in customer who has just discovered the joy of hand-dyed yarn, the yarn-over that finally clicks for someone mid-class, or the perfect colourway that changes an entire project plan.

Sixteen years have stitched themselves quietly into this place. Shelves have shifted, yarns have changed, but the feeling when you walk in has stayed the same, a mix of possibility, welcome, and the sense that you might leave with more than just what you came for.

Here is to sixteen years of making and mending, of small discoveries and big cast-ons. Not a child anymore, not quite a grown-up, but exactly the right age to keep the curiosity alive. And while there may not be candles to blow out, there will always be a new skein to wind.