Rowan yarn, what some would call the gold-standard material for hand knitting, has its origins among the stone-built cottages of the Pennine hills in West Yorkshire, England, nestled in the Green Lane Mill in the small English community of Holmfirth.
For decades, Rowan has produced premium yarns from organic fibres and these luxurious yarns, as they're often referred to, are used in the only two pattern collections that Rowan puts out a year.
They're the cream of the crop; only a few select stores in Canada carry the product, most located in major cities like Vancouver and Toronto.
Oh, and Humboldt.
So this isn't a story about Rowan yarns at all.
It's about the Main Street store in our city that has the honour of carrying Rowan yarn, Janome sewing machines and other high-end products from countless shelves of patterns, yards and yards of material for knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting and an eye-stopping array of other materials to quench the itch for anyone looking to callus their thumb with a needle and thread.
Haus of Stitches has occupied its spot along Highway 20 in Humboldt for 22 years and its association with the Saskatchewan Stiches Conference - a local 11-day event that brings experts from all over to lead classes on textiles - earned the store a spot as a finalist in the Saskatchewan Tourism Awards of Excellence.
"It's amazing," said Wendy Toye, store owner. "We've been nominated before but have never made it to the finals, so even that itself is just a huge honour."
Toye, who grew up in LeRoy before moving to Watson to raise a family, has lived in Humboldt for about 30 years and can firmly say that there isn't really anything like the store, and the annual conference it holds, anywhere else in North America.
In fact, there wasn't anything comparable to Haus of Stitches before its establishment, Toye said.
"There was a craft store in town, and a fabric store too, but there wasn't really anything that sold high-quality yarn," Toye said. "There was a void here."
So Toye, who's held a lifelong passion for knitting and sewing since her days as a little girl mastering the craft with the 4-H Club, decided to open her own business.
"What made you decide that you should be the one to fill that so-called void," I asked.
Toye twirls her finger next to her temple, making the cuckoo sign, and laughs.
"A little crazy," she answered. "But it was something I felt Humboldt really needed."
Twenty-two years later and a finalist for a provincial excellence under her belt, many would agree with Toye.
Haus of Stitches conducts its own classes on sewing, knitting, crocheting and the like, led by Toye and other local masters of textile art, but it wasn't until 10 years ago when Toye had another epiphany, similar to the one she had to open the store in the first place. She was attending a textiles trade show when she noticed a little gaffe; more people were in the classrooms learning the crafts than they were out on the floor perusing the products.
"I realized people really want to learn this stuff," Toye said. "They want to know how they can do it themselves, not just shop for it."
Toye said sewing trade shows in Saskatchewan are few and far between, mostly because of the smaller population; there simply aren't that many people to support it.
But what if, every year, masters in everything from quilting to embroidery, from dressmaking to upcycling, from sewing your own high-end bra to grafting, would make the trip to St. Peter's Abbey in Muenster, where the conference is held, and show how it's done?
And that's how the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference was conceived.
The first year, the conference was held over a five-day period; 50 people attended.
This year, it'll be a decade since it first started, and has in recent years expanded to over 11 days.
"Over 300 people attend now," Toye beamed. "It's hugely popular. Every year, we have about 12 or so people who are regular participants each conference. People can choose to do one class, two classes, all of them, really however many they like."
The conference is like no other, as gleaned just from their pamphlet for this year's lineup, running from May 29 until June 8.
