A new yarn shop called Hook & Needle Nook LLC has opened in a 1,700-square-foot leased space in the St. Cloud Building at 1508 N. Monroe. 

Owner and manager Esther Wheeler says the business opened in early June. 

“We have two suites; one is filled with yarn and the other with looms and spinning wheels,” says Wheeler. “We also have a nook area with couches and refreshments where people can sit, work on projects, or talk about their ideas.”

She says the shop carries tools, supplies, fiber, fleece, and yarn, as well as looms and spinning wheels, some of which are used or taken on consignment. 

The shop carries yarn from typical suppliers, as well as yarn and fiber from several local dyers, she says. 

Later this summer, Wheeler says the shop will also host two classes, one on spinning and spindle work and the other on sock knitting. 

Wheeler and her husband Robert Jundt are the shop’s only employees. 

A former biochemistry professor, Wheeler says her second passion is fiber arts, which is why she decided to open a shop as a haven for fiber artists. 

“A fiber artist is anyone who knits, crochets, spins fiber into yarn, or weaves it into material,” she says. “These artists take fiber and turn it into beautiful things, and I wanted this shop to be a place where they could come and enjoy.”