Need needle and thread? New fabric store Louisville Fiber Supply opens on Baxter Avenue

Matthew Glowicki, Louisville Courier Journal
·4 min read

For Patricia Stone, the opening of her new fabric and yarn store in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood is somewhat of a homecoming.

Her grandmother was born in a house a block away. She remembers running up Baxter Avenue to catch a city bus after classes at Mercy Academy, back when it was on Broadway. Her gym class was at Rubel Park, a stone’s throw from her new shop.

“It’s just sort of fun becoming reacquainted with this neighborhood,” she said, after decades away from Louisville. “I really like this neighborhood. I feel at home here. This shop feels very comfortable to me, and I hope people feel comfortable when they come in.”

Patricia Stone -- with dog Bennie -- is owner of the Louisville Fiber Supply, a store that sells fabrics, yarns and supplies. The store is at 622 Baxter Ave. in the Original Highlands. Oct. 18, 2023.
Patricia Stone -- with dog Bennie -- is owner of the Louisville Fiber Supply, a store that sells fabrics, yarns and supplies. The store is at 622 Baxter Ave. in the Original Highlands. Oct. 18, 2023.

Louisville Fiber Supply, 622 Baxter Ave., officially opened in late September, the realization of Stone’s long-held desire to open a shop to inspire and encourage those new and old to the craft.

The store takes the place of the Safety & Security Store, which closed in September 2022 after 22 years in business.

Bennie the dog is Stone’s main associate, basking in the sun of the large front windows. Looking past his nose prints on those front windows, a vibrant wall of color-coded yarn in cubbies covers one side of the shop while rolls and bolts of fabric fill the other.

The Louisville Fiber Supply sells fabrics, yarns and supplies. The store is at 622 Baxter Ave. in the Original Highlands. Bennie the dog may also greet you with a wag. Oct. 18, 2023.
The Louisville Fiber Supply sells fabrics, yarns and supplies. The store is at 622 Baxter Ave. in the Original Highlands. Bennie the dog may also greet you with a wag. Oct. 18, 2023.

Stone’s curated offerings include 22 different yarns (she hopes to stock up to 40), apparel fabrics, quilting cotton, denim, and rayon. She also sells patterns, knitting needles, needlepoint kits, threads and notions.

The shop also has a sustainability aspect, she said, with organic yarns and fabrics, humanely raised wool, and recycled yarns among its selections.

After 30-some years in Vermont, with her children moved out of the house and her family still in Kentucky, Stone moved back to Louisville late last year.

Leaving behind her job as a production and art director for a small publisher, Stone looked for a job in the field but, not finding anything that spoke to her, decided to be her own boss.

Stone’s mother taught her to sew as a child, and she built on those skills in home economics classes, adding knitting to her skill set in high school. Her prom dress and her wedding gown were her own creations.

A quilt hangs as artwork at Louisville Fiber Supply, a store that sells fabrics, yarns and supplies. The store is at 622 Baxter Ave. in the Original Highlands. Bennie the dog may also greet you with a wag. Oct. 18, 2023.
A quilt hangs as artwork at Louisville Fiber Supply, a store that sells fabrics, yarns and supplies. The store is at 622 Baxter Ave. in the Original Highlands. Bennie the dog may also greet you with a wag. Oct. 18, 2023.

“I just find it really relaxing and sort of meditative,” she said.

As much as the craft can be a solo hobby, Stone said, she’s found community through crafting nights where people gather to work on their projects and stitch side by side.

She plans to start crafting nights at her shop in November on Wednesday evenings. Knitting and crochet classes are set to begin in January, starting at the beginner level and going up from there based on customer interest and demand.

“It’s not just about did you buy that yarn here, but I want you to feel welcome here, feel like you can craft here,” she said. “And hopefully, eventually, that leads to you being like, ‘I want to buy this yarn, or I want to get my knitting needles here.’”

Some of the fabrics for sale at the Louisville Fiber Supply, a store that sells fabrics, yarns and supplies. The store is at 622 Baxter Ave. in the Original Highlands. Oct. 18, 2023.
Some of the fabrics for sale at the Louisville Fiber Supply, a store that sells fabrics, yarns and supplies. The store is at 622 Baxter Ave. in the Original Highlands. Oct. 18, 2023.

Part of the appeal of shopping at a locally owned store, she said, will be the personalized attention from the owner.

A woman recently came into the shop wanting help with making the heel on a holiday stocking. Stone took the stocking into her hands, knitting the first few rows before handing it back to have the woman do the next rows while she watched on.

“In my publishing job, I was supporting people to get the best book we could get, so I really like helping people get that perfect book or blouse or sweater or socks or whatever,” she said. “I really want people to be able to make what they want and help them complete their projects.”

Louisville Fiber Supply is open Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. The shop is closed on Mondays.

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Growth & development reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at mglowicki@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Fiber Supply brings yarns and fabrics to Baxter Avenue