Michael highlighted in his post the other day the effect the government shutdown of various offices has had on the fiberarts industry. Following that, I became interested in how the shutdown has affected various fiberarts businesses and the community at large. With things being so uncertain, I wondered, would people be shopping and knitting less?  The stories I heard from DC area stores were surprising.

Student at Fibre Space

Fibre Space (in Old Town, Alexandria) has (and still is) offering free beginning knitting lessons to any government employee who comes in between the times of 1-5 pm at the store.  Danielle, the owner, told me that there have been between 50 and 75 beginning students coming through the store each day – so much so that they had to recruit more teachers!

Fibre Space isn’t the only store that has been offering support to furloughed government workers. The Yarn Spot in Wheaton, MD, offered afternoon tea on Friday the 4th, and has its doors open to people affected by the shutdown.  Last week, Knit & Stitch =Bliss ran a 20% off for people who are on furlough from the Federal Government; Looped Yarn Works offered 10% off to those with a government ID.

Many other stores are acting as knitting and crochet “sanctuaries” where stitchers can seek refuge from the political stress.  Dianna, from the Knitting Boutique in Glen Burnie, MD, has many federal employees who frequent her store.  She’s been listening carefully to her clientele to figure out what is the best way to help and support them in the shutdown.  “They are happy to have a place and time to knit and crochet,” Dianna accounts, “we’ve been seeing a lot more completed projects.”  This week, based on conversations with her customers, Dianna is running “Free Furlough Fridays,” where customers are invited to come in and enjoy lunch and great company.

More completed projects seem to be the case for many furloughed employees.  While they might not be pleased with the inability to go to work, they are taking advantage of the time to work on their projects.  There’s a thread on the DC/MD/VA Fiber Arts group on Ravelry called Furlough Along.  Various people have been posting their stories and sharing their knitting/crochet progress.  As a government worker related, she isn’t sure if it would be better to be working for no pay or have the time off.  Another explains that she’s back to work without pay, but the anxiety in her workplace is rampant.

This is probably why so much knitting and crochet is getting done, and why Fibre Space’s free knitting lessons are so popular.  Danielle, when asked why she is offering the free lessons said, “[I] wanted to give my craft and main stress reliever back to the community… especially those who need it most – those that are furloughed!”  Victoria, one of the owners of The Yarn Spot, echos this sentiment, “people are just sick of it [the shutdown]; they are coming here [to the store] for therapy.”

Perhaps this attitude – of serving the customers – is why many of the Local Yarn Stores haven’t noticed a downward trend in people shopping.  Perhaps it’s also because the holiday season is upon us.  Either way, I love how the fiberarts community has come together to support those people who have been hurt by the shutdown by looking to see how they can contribute.  It’s one of the things I love about the fiberarts community.

How have you been affected by the shutdown? Have you had a great expeirence at one of your Local Yarn Stores during the shutdown? I’d love to hear; comment, tweet or facebook me!