Salish Sea Yarn Co.

Katie Gaible didn’t let the pandemic stop her from living out her dream. Last October, she opened Salish Sea Yarn Co. right in the heart of Eastsound.

In such a tiny little village, it’s important to be in the middle of where all of the main action is. From what I’ve observed over the years, the closer you are to the Brown Bear Baking – Ray’s Pharmacy – Darvill’s Bookstore triad, the better. Being even a block too far beyond the heart of activity can mean death to a business. Katie, on the other hand, is smack-dab in the coveted centerpiece, where all traffic either continues straight on Main Street or turns up North Beach Road or Prune Alley.

Her sign tells you to turn toward the ocean, walk a tiny jaunt, and voila! – you come upon a happy, colorful haven of creativity! Go any farther, and you’ll be hovering over the Sound itself.

I’m not a knitter, but ever since I saw this store taking shape, I knew I wanted to photograph it for the blog. In these times – and especially before this past winter set in – it was psychologically uplifting to see people pushing forward, making progress with their ambitions, and forging good despite the looming heaviness in the world. We see it all around us now in town – construction on shops that closed months ago and will soon be reborn into new entities for the hope-filled summertime. But Katie was like a pandemic pioneer, stepping out when few could envision life beyond isolation.

I went in for my first visit a few weeks ago and happened upon a sweet, supportive interaction. David, Katie’s husband, happened to come by for a few minutes. He looked at all of the new additions to her store, soaking in the variety and expressing encouraging comments about each new thing that jumped out at him. Nothing about his demeanor said he was unengaged, even though he was only dashing in and out, their two- and four-year-olds awaiting his attention elsewhere.

Come on in to this cozy enclave of lightheartedness and enjoy a fun little photographic look-see with me…

I learned some fascinating things about Katie. Her background is actually in computer science, and she feels that knitting isn’t on the other end of the spectrum, as those of us who don’t do it might assume. Because there are patterns, directions, and definitive steps to follow when creating a garment, she likens it to the type of mindset that’s necessary for computer science.

After three years of knitting, Katie created this beautiful shawl and called it The Salish Sea, which became the inspiration for the name of her store.

She not only carries a wide variety of yarn colors and styles, she also dyes her own.

You can even buy yarn spun by women from Tajikistan. Each skein has a card that shows the actual woman on the other side of the world who made your cashgora skein. For a look into the life of the people who do this for a living, go here.

Next time you come into town, stop in Katie’s shop and feel invigorated by the newness, the inspiration, and the dazzling color on every wall.

Not long after I had popped in to see Salish Sea Yarn Co., I was walking down the street and a friend pulled her car over in front of me. She got out excitedly, showing me her new sweater. It turns out, she’s one of Katie’s most frequent customers and had heard I was just in there! Love it, Catherine!