Crystal Lake’s new yarn store aims to unite craft community: ‘The yarn addicts are here’

Crystal Lake resident Kendall Nolan always wanted to open her own yarn store since tagging along as a child at the shop where her mother worked in Chicago. Now, after retiring from a long career as a credit director of a multinational engineering firm in California and Nevada, she’s back in Illinois with the grand opening of her store Colorways Yarn Shoppe.

“I had a fantasy about opening a yarn shop because I have such amazing memories of being in that yarn shop,” she said.

Located at 1D Crystal Lake Plaza, Colorways Yarn Shoppe is scheduled to open Dec. 5 with plenty of Prosecco, a ribbon cutting and raffles. The store will feature an assortment of ethically sourced, high quality, unique, hand-dyed and luxury yarns in an array of colors, along with everyday essentials of crochet and knitting supplies and accessories. Nolan’s goal is to carry yarns that cannot be found at big box craft stores or are only available online.

Nolan said she’s hearing from plenty of people in the knitting community, eager for her store to open.

“The yarn addicts are here,” she said.

Nolan moved to Crystal Lake just over a year ago to be close to her sister, who lives in Cary. Artistry definitely runs in the family, as her mom was a fiber artist and her sister, Kristen Henmueller, is a painter. Henmueller teaches painting classes at the Cary Park District and owns Chasing Creativity Art Studio, which is a mobile art studio that hosts classes and paint-and-sips

“I just grew up in a household filled with yarn and my clothes were knitted and crocheted,” Nolan said. “[My mother] was an incredibly crafty person.”

Together, the family is starting a new generation of yarn store workers as Henmueller’s teenage sons plan to help out at Colorways Yarn Shoppe, she said.

Nolan plans to host knitting and crocheting classes in the future that she and experts can teach. Her main craft is embroidery, and Nolan is still learning new techniques in the yarn arts.

“I am completely addicted to crafts,” she said. “It’s kind of what keeps me sane.”

One of the places Nolan learns knitting is at the Crystal Lake Public Library. Karamy Cronin-Haupt, who works at the library’s children’s department and teaches crochet, said the library started hosting classes last year and they have filled up fast every time. There is always a waitlist for the classes, which are usually held quarterly. Cronin-Haupt describes knitting and crocheting as an “underground movement” that has grown in popularity, especially for younger generations.

“It’s been really fun to see the multi-generational aspect of it as well,” she said. Cronin-Haupt personally enjoys crocheting for the calming and therapeutic effects it can have.

“Usually, when I would get super stressed out right before Christmas trying to get everything together, I would crochet a long line and then just put it back in the box,” she said. “It’s been my happy place, now.”

Keep up with updates on the Colorways Yarn Shoppe’s grand opening on its Instagram page: Instagram.com/colorwaysyarnshoppe.