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Maker+Stitch marks five years

Yarn shop in Edwards offers creativity and connection

Maker+Stitch fosters creativity and community.
Maker+Stitch/Courtesy photoMakerAndStitch-VDN-120322-2

Maker+Stitch believes that creativity is the truest form of connection. This destination yarn shop in Edwards invites people to gather, create and explore — especially this week as their founders, Cathryn Cooper and Liza Alrick celebrate five years.

The idea behind Maker+Stitch came about from a lifelong love of knitting.

“I remember visiting Kathy Morrow’s yarn shop in Minturn with my kids after school, and my regular stitch and bitch group with friends was a critical way for me to relax and connect my internal community,” Cooper said. In the summer of 2016, Alrick went on a hiking and knitting trip in Iceland with renowned knitter and knitting retreat host, Helene Magnusson.



Upon her return, Cathryn saw her photos and signed up for the same hiking and knitting trip in June of the following year. Inspired by the landscape and the passionate group of knitters on the trip, Cathryn came home, put together a business plan and called Liza. The model in Iceland was a perfect way to expand their passion of building community in the Vail Valley through knitting to not just friends and family, but the valley as a whole.

Maker+Stitch, a destination yard shop at The Corner at Edwards, is celebrating its 5th Anniversary.
Maker+Stitch/Courtesy photo

“We felt a yarn shop would be a great amenity to the valley. We wanted to create an opportunity for creative connection in a valley that highlights athleticism and fine dining,” Cooper said.

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Five years later, Maker+Stitch is what the pair envisioned and even more. There’s a growing community of knitters and crocheters in the area and among second-home owners that grew exponentially over the COVID pandemic.

“We felt fortunate that people could find refuge and connection during those times by visiting our store, in person and virtually. What truly amazes us is as the immediate threat of COVID fades, the knitting community continues to thrive. We are always excited to see knitters of different ages and backgrounds connect over projects by sitting on our couches in the shop,” Cooper said.

Groups like this one from Michigan plan a trip to Maker+Stitch each time they visit the Vail Valley.
Maker+Stitch/Courtesy photo

Cooper and Alrick are always bringing in new yarns and patterns to share with their knitters.

“We’re always looking for ones we think our community would love to create with. We work with large, world-renowned yarn companies, right down to small local Colorado creators, and plan to continue searching for the best yarns for our makers,” Cooper said.

Maker+Stitch finds unique yarns, sourced from around the world and Colorado.
Maker+Stitch/Courtesy photo

Knitters young and old stop in and Cooper and Alrick are grateful to watch a new generation of knitters be inspired. Community is one of the pillars of their business model. They are always excited to incorporate new people into our community through tourism and young knitters. Maker+Stitch hosts several group knitting sessions and lessons a week and their Knitting Retreats have sold out in minutes.

“This past year, our 12 seats on the hut trip sold out in 20 minutes! We are so thrilled that we are able to attract people from within the valley and from all over the country to share in our vision, push their comfort zones, and explore their creativity in the beauty of the backcountry,” Alrick said.

In the short time that Maker+Stitch has been in Edwards, bonds have been made and friendships formed.

“Not a week goes by that we don’t have a customer tell us how grateful they are that we are here. We are so thrilled to serve as a destination yarn shop as well as a local refuge. We have many groups of knitters that plan annual or bi-annual trips to come to our shop and to knit in our beautiful community,” Cooper said.

Knitting is a great way to create a unique, handcrafted gift for someone.
Maker+Stitch/Courtesy photoMakerAndStitch5-VDN-120322-5

Stop by the shop or visit the website, Instagram and Facebook to find anniversary specials to celebrate this milestone. Flash sales, gatherings in the shop, new yarns you won’t want to miss, cider and goodies through Saturday are on the calendar. There is also a Trunk Show with The Conifer Collective on Saturday. The Conifer Collective will bring in a truckload of Colorado hand-dyed yarns until 4 p.m. Meet owner Audrey LaCrone to discuss each and every skein you are curious about.

What do the next five years hold for Maker+Stitch?

“We’d love to continue growing our community and bringing people together. In a world where it is so easy to get isolated, it’s important to continue to foster and encourage real connection,” Cooper said.


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