Don't you just wish you could play with yarn all day long? Ooh! Wouldn't it be better if you could make a living at it? Well, some ambitious businesspeople have managed to do just that. We at Crochet me have had a blast getting to know Sheila Weinberger, an entrepreneur who left a career in law to open Threaded Bliss Yarns, a "new breed of local yarn store" in Central Tennessee. Here, she answers some burning questions. Let's live a little vicariously, shall we?

Crochet me: What were your thoughts when you woke up the morning of your opening day? Was the day everything you’d hoped it would be?

Sheila: I actually think that by then I was so exhausted I probably was almost numb, but I can vividly remember the drive to the store that morning. That 15-minute trip from my house to the shop felt as if I were flying through the air. I don’t recall any other time in my life when I actually felt that excited about something. The day was even better than I’d hoped it would be. In fact that entire day was positively surreal. I simply could not stop thinking how lucky I am and could hardly believe the amazing response I got that day from strangers, friends, and family alike.  Although I’d surprisingly slept like a baby the night before we opened, the night of opening day I did not get a moment's rest.  Basically, I laid in bed all night giggling!

Cm: When did you first decide to leave your career as a lawyer to open a yarn store? Why did you do it? Did people think you were nuts?

Sheila: First off, people have always thought that I’m nuts! When I decided to leave the law, I had absolutely no inkling that I’d end up opening a yarn store or even that I’d end up starting a business of any kind, let alone retail. I left that career when I realized that if I’d stayed in it any longer, I risked becoming someone I wouldn’t like very much. Additionally, I had been in that field long enough to know that while I loved the theoretical side of the law and the client counseling I got to do, I really hated the system in which I had to practice. Plus, September 11, 2001 caused a big shift in my priorities and I realized I would not be on my death bed wishing I’d practiced more law!

Cm: What’s your favourite type of music? Do you play it in the store?

Sheila: Favorite type of music? That’s a tough one since I truly have very eclectic musical tastes. If I had to pick just one genre to have with me on a desert island, it would probably be classic rhythm and blues. The music I play in the store varies as well but often I toss in some of my favorites.

Cm: When you’re not creating things or working, how do you enjoy spending your time?

Sheila: Time? What’s that? I’ve been working 24/7/365 since about February [2004] but if I remember correctly, I enjoy cooking/baking, live music, spending time with friends and family and playing Frisbee at the dog park with Rudy. Since the shop’s been open, I find that I spend quite a bit of my free time playing with yarn –- knitting and trying desperately to get the hang of crochet.

Cm: Speaking of time: In your opinion, why is now the right time for the yarn/fibre industry?

Sheila: Now is the right time because of September 11, 2001. It was immediately following that awful day that yarn stores and other craft related stores saw their business explode.  Research has shown that since that time more than 4 million people have taken up knitting and crochet alone. If you watch the media, hardly two weeks goes by that either the network news, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, or any other major media outlet says something about knitting. In short, this industry has exploded and the suppliers have multiplied, the variety of yarns and related accessories has never been broader and those who knit and crochet have never had better choices. I’ve also recently noticed that the clothing manufacturers are getting on this bandwagon as well. Almost every catalog I get and every fashion magazine I see has loads of knitted and crocheted ponchos these days and crocheted embellishments. 

Cm: You’ve recently started crocheting. What was your first project?

Sheila: My first project wasn’t much of anything.  It was meant to be a rug but instead is just some sort of big thing with edges that gets larger with each row!  My second project –- and I’m still working on getting it right -– is the sushi toilet paper roll cover!  I love that thing and have recently had a crochet epiphany and figured out why my “rice” kept curling.

Cm: When we spoke the other day, a customer was showing you photographs of her crocheted work. Do you get many crocheters coming through your doors?

Sheila: I’m pleasantly surprised at the number of crocheters that have come to the shop and anticipate that the number will continue to grow. I predicted a while ago that crochet was going to become the Next Big Thing and it appears to be headed that direction. Just last week I hired a woman to work and teach at the shop who crochets beautifully (and knits that way too!).

Cm: Do you carry any products specifically geared toward crocheters? Why/why not?