Beverly, the official greeter at Ball & Skein & More.

Focusing on goods from local, woman and family-owned, small, and fair-trade businesses

—Entering the Ball & Skein & More shop in Cambria is stepping into a wonderland of everything the fiber artist dreams about. The racks at Ball & Skein & More are filled with yarns, accessories, and books from over 80 vendors. Yarn enthusiasts will discover richly colored and luxuriously textured yarns ranging from domestic and imported wool to alpaca, llama, cashmere, linen, cotton, and bamboo. Inspiring samples of scarves, hats, sweaters, shawls, blankets, socks, and baby apparel are displayed among the yarn. You can also find colorful accessories like stitch markers and needle toppers that bring joy to the user and make wonderful gifts.

Owner Annie Groeninger focuses on female/family-owned small businesses and fair-trade vendors, including Manos del Uruguay, Trendsetter, Urth Yarns, Smirligans, Round Mountain Fibers, JUL, Emma Ball, Binkwaffle, Katrinkles, Allstitch Studio, Maika, Cowgirlblues, Fibres of Life, Lemonwood, and Cocoknits—to name just a few! “Being a small, woman-owned business, it just seems natural to support others,” said Annie. You can also find world-renowned brands such as Berroco, Della Q, Juniper Moon Farm, Noro, Lang, Lykke, and Skacel. The shop is the largest on the Central Coast and has one of the largest collections of yarn west of the Mississippi.

There’s a new addition to the front of the shop—a Free Fiber Library.  You may be familiar with the concept of free little libraries from seeing them in your neighborhoods. The general idea of the Fiber Library (aka Fibrary) is to provide a place for new crafters to get inspiration, tools, and fiber to experiment with. It’s also a great place for those of us who have a little “too much stash” to pass on yarn or other tools, or patterns to others.

Serendipity & fate & more

Ready to retire from 30 years in technology, most recently 17 years at Amazon as a senior manager building Amazon Fresh shopping features, Annie was looking for something new.

She had already fallen in love with the Central Coast during a visit in 2021. Returning in February 2023 on a “retirement recon trip,” looking for someplace with lots of sunshine, she walked into Ball & Skein. There was a sign in the window, “Do you want to buy a yarn shop?”

“Yes, I do want to buy a yarn shop,” she said to herself. Six weeks later, she was back in Cambria signing the contract to buy the shop! Along with Beverly, her Bernese Mountain dog, she took ownership of the shop in October 2023.

Beverly is part of the staff in this pet-friendly shop whose happy face can be seen on custom project bags and shop stickers. “She is a working dog who greets customers by leaning in and accompanies Mom to the post office to ship orders,” said Annie.

Sip & Stitch & more

Annie offers classes from introduction to knitting or crocheting to project-based classes for learning more advanced skills, such as the world-famous Butterfly Shawl (using short rows) and Doodling with Yarn (using playful stranded colorwork). In addition to the classes, there are free community stitching events at the shop. Friday Fiber Friends meets every Friday from 12 – 1:30PM and is a great learning and socializing opportunity for the community.

The monthly Sip & Stitch meet-up includes a choice of wines sourced from Central Coast vineyards and premium teas from Course & Wale. Course & Wale is dedicated to community and good cheer and inspired by a passion for knitting. Even the names of the wines reflect the company’s commitment: Knit One is a Cabernet Sauvignon, Purl Two is a Chardonnay, and Tink is the Rosé.

A fitting match for Annie’s commitment to supporting local, woman/family-owned, small, and fair-trade artisans, Course & Wale supports knitting non-profits that build skills, offer comfort, and provide warmth. Cheers, dears!

Great for gifts too

Ball & Skein offers a wide assortment of crafting accessories, from practical to whimsical. Cute project bags and greeting cards by Emma Ball, handy knitting lights from Lumos & Lumos, and hand-crafted wooden yarn minders by Lemonwood are among the offerings. Not just for knitting or crochet projects, colorful Maika project bags add punch to any picnic or shopping outing. For the younger set, potholder kits and the Discover series offer simplified packaged introductions to knitting, crocheting, and weaving.  For more advanced crocheters, there’s a colorful assortment of amigurumi kits, including giraffes, pigs, puppies, and ballerina bears.

And you don’t want to miss the Cambria-themed stitching stickers designed and made locally by Celeste Ward of Make It A Good Daisy designs, or the Moonstone Beach inspired custom-designed yarns, beanie kits, or yarn minders.

Ball & Skein offers a wide assortment of crafting accessories, from practical to whimsical. Cute project bags and greeting cards by Emma Ball, handy knitting lights from Lumos & Lumos, and hand-crafted wooden yarn minders by Lemonwood are among the offerings. Not just for knitting or crochet projects, colorful Maika project bags add punch to any picnic or shopping outing. For the younger set, potholder kits and the Discover series offer simplified packaged introductions to knitting, crocheting, and weaving.

The shop features a private label hand-dyed yarn with a palette of colors named after Cambria’s attractions: Fiscallini Ranch, Shamel Park, Santa Rosa Creek, Elephant Seal, Olallieberry, Scarecrow Fest, and Squibb House, to name a few. And you don’t want to miss the Cambria-themed stitching stickers designed and made locally by Celeste Ward of Make It A Good Daisy designs, or the Moonstone Beach-inspired custom-designed yarns, beanie kits, or yarn minders.

For the latest classes and news

Annie writes an engaging and informative newsletter every week or two. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter to be the first to know about new products, new classes, and events!

Check out the website for merchandise that can be purchased online and the events and class calendar.

Ball & Skein & More is located at 4210 Bridge St. in Cambria. The shop is open Every Day from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. For schedules or more information, visit cambriayarn.com or call (805) 927-3280.

—Jackie Iddings