Do you love your local yarn shop? Well, of course you do! What knitter/crocheter/yarn addict doesn’t, right? And to celebrate that universal love we all have for our favourite yarn dealers, I’m pretty chuffed to be able to write about Love Your Yarn Shop; the latest event from UK Hand Knitting (UKHKA).
This nationwide campaign is a nine-week yarnstravaganza that’s all about taking our collective love for knitting, yarn and all things crafty, and sharing it with all our favourite yarn shops dotted across the UK – including us at Baa! (your number one yarn shop in Stonehaven, obvs!).
The Love Your Yarn Shop 2025 campaign launched on 29th March and will run right through ‘till 31st May. It’s all about championing independent yarn shops and celebrating our woolly brilliant local yarn shop owners who help keep our yarn stash full (or overflowing in my case – oops!) and knitting needles busy.
Getting involved in Love Your Yarn Shop is easy peasy. All you have to do is pick up a loyalty card next time you visit Baa! in Stonehaven, Scotland and each time you pop in, we’ll give you a stamp. Collect four stamps, and we’ll enter you into the UKHKA’s prize draw to win one of 50 prizes, all worth £40 each. How good is that?
There’s also a grand total of eight instant win prizes (each worth £25) up for grabs which you could win just for showing up, shopping small and supporting for your fave indie yarn shop. I know I’m in!
We couldn’t resist making Love Your Yarn Shop a bit more spesh, so we’ve added a few woolly bonuses of our own to tell you about.
Eeek! Yep, you read that right – we’ve got a bundle of in-store discounts running throughout the nine weeks to help you make the most of the event. Each week we’ll be offering something different giving you more opportunities to stock up on your fave yarns, discover something new to try or finally cast on that knitting project you’ve been daydreaming about.
We’re already a couple of weeks in, but here’s what’s coming up throughout April and May:
Week 2 (9th–12th April): 15% off West Yorkshire Spinners Elements DK
Week 3 (16th–19th April): 15% off all sock yarn
Week 4 (23rd–26th April): 10% off Clover crochet hooks, KnitPro knitting needles and ChiaoGoo needles
Week 5 (30th April–3rd May): 15% off BC Garn Loch Lomond Lace
Week 6 (7th–13th May): 15% off Scheepjes Stone Washed and River Washed XL (instore AND online until stocks run out!)
Week 7 (14th–17th May): 10% off all books
Week 8+9 (21st- 31st May): 15% off BC Garn Bio Balance (instore AND online)
Discounts are available in-store only (unless specified otherwise), we’d love you to pop in, have a squish and treat yourself to something lovely – and don’t forget to get your loyalty card stamped while you’re here!
One of our wonderful customers, L-z, has generously donated a handmade Lattice Sampler Shawl (knitted up in Scheepjes Whirl), and we’re raffling it off at the end of April to raise money for MND Scotland.
Raffle tickets are just £2 and we’ll have them on sale in the shop throughout the month. Money will be popped straight into our official MND Scotland collection tin and the lucky winner will be drawn at the end of April.
FYI: I know, the shawl is bloomin’ super, isn’t it? So, just in case you were wondering, the Lattice Sampler Shawl is an asymmetric triangular shawl by Jennifer Weissman and the knitting pattern is free on Ravelry. It’s a relatively simple and mindful knit featuring bands of lattice lace and simple garter stitch. Plus, it only uses one ball of
Well, obvs we think Love Your Yarn Shop matters – Baa! is an independent yarn shop, after all! But, seriously, craft campaigns like this one from UK Hand Knitting really are important.
See, local yarn shops like our friendly knitting shop in Stonehaven are more than just lovely places to pick up craft supplies for your latest knitting project or plan your next crocheted piece – we’re part of the overall crafting community and an integral one at that, even if I do say so myself.
Baa! is somewhere our Scottish crafters can flock to learn, to chat and to feel inspired. Our craft workshops often sell out the moment Janice lists them on Eventbrite and we have regular customers who pop in just to say hello, to squish some yarn and to simply feel better about their day. It’s not just about buying yarn (although, let’s be honest, the yarn is pretty excellent), it’s about connection.
One of the best things about working with an independent yarn shop is the fact that we’re able to help people discover a new craft. I flippin’ love knitting and I want you to love it too, so to be able to facilitate future knitting addictions, to chat through grand knitting plans and help decide on the right yarn for future knitting projects – that’s the good stuff! That’s what keeps me going and I’m sure the same can be said for Janice too.
Every time you visit Baa! in Stonehaven, tap to read one of our blog posts online or book your ticket to one of our craft workshops, it all matters. Yeah, okay, it helps keep us all in a job – but above that, it also helps keep our brilliant crafting community alive!
So a big woolly thank you to you. For your loyalty, for every time you pop in, and your support of lovely campaigns like Love Your Yarn Shop that help keep small businesses like ours a regular part of your everyday.
Plus, it makes knitting cool and I’m so here for that.
If you’re local to Stonehaven, or somewhere nearby in Scotland, we’d love to see you whilst the event is on (well, and always to be honest). Remember – you only need four stamps, so four yarn shop visits, to be entered into UKHKA’s prize draw for one of those 50 prizes worth £40. As I said, the Love Your Yarn Shop campaign is on until Saturday 31st May, so there’s plenty of time to pick up your card and start collecting those stamps.
You’ll find Baa! tucked just off Market Square in Stonehaven, at 43 Evan Street, AB39 2ET. If you’re local, you probably know the way already, but if you’re visiting from further afield, it’s a lovely little trip especially if you’re like me and you fancy a stroll from the train station or a wander around town.
If you’re driving, aim for the town square where there’s plenty of paid parking. You’ll also find free on-street parking on the surrounding roads. Just keep an eye out for the time restrictions on signposts so you don’t get a ticket.
Coming by train is easy peasy lemon squeezy. Head out the main exit of the station and walk straight ahead. Turn left onto Arduthie Road and keep going. After about 12 minutes, the road curves slightly left into Evan Street and there we are, right ahead of you.
We’re also just a 3-minute walk from the Stonehaven Bus Station, which has great North and South connections.
We’re open Wednesday to Saturday, 9:30am to 5:30pm (with a wee lunch break from 1pm–2pm).
There we have it! In the meantime, I would love to say a big, woolly thank you from me and all of us at Baa! Cheers for being part of this brilliant creative community and for supporting independent yarn shops here in Scotland (and beyond).
Catch you again soon!
