Several weeks ago, I received a phone call from a fellow member of State College High School’s outstanding Class of 1970. My good friend Ellen Herman Campbell wanted to know if I might be able to write a column about the 10th anniversary of Scraps & Skeins, a special fabric store operated by Strawberry Fields. Ellen is just as kind-hearted today as she was in the late 1960s, an outstanding individual who deserves a “yes” to her request.
My problem? What I know about crafts like sewing, knitting or quilting would fit within a thimble.
But then I realized the solution to this problem was close at hand. My dear wife of 47 years, Kathy, sews and knits. And even better, she studied journalism at the University of Missouri and spent nearly 10 years in magazine writing. And that’s why I asked Kathy to dust off her journalism degree and to take over this particular column from me. Kathy, take it away…
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I freely confess—fabric stores and yarn shops are some of my favorite places to spend money. I’m also a big fan of thrift stores. So, when I walked into Scraps & Skeins, I felt like I hit paydirt.
The shop sits in a small business park on the southwest edge of State College. A wall plaque just inside the front door defines the shop as, “a unique, creative reuse store” and it operates under the umbrella of Strawberry Fields, a nonprofit organization supporting individuals with developmental delays, intellectual disabilities and mental health challenges. But beyond that inspiring cause, what I found to be so compelling was the charming display of merchandise, tidy organization and attention to detail.
My first visit to the shop was sometime in 2017, four years after Bill and I returned to State College, his hometown. The shop’s front room contained a delightful arrangement of merchandise: a pieced quilt top, needlework kits, a dresser full of buttons and notions. The next room of “scraps” featured generous stacks of trimmed and ironed fabric, a shelf of “fat quarters,” a table of sewing machines, assorted crafting and sewing supplies. In the sunny “skeins” room I discovered cubbies of yarn skeins organized by color and fiber content (acrylic, wool, cotton, silk, etc.), baskets of yarn cakes, patterns, knitting needles, books, patterns and a reclaimed dining room hutch holding additional needlework supplies.
THE SPARK
I remember thinking, “Who is running this place? Because someone really knows what they’re doing!” As it turns out that “someone” was and is a group of dedicated volunteers with a passion for fiber arts and a burden to help individuals with disabilities.
Ellen Campbell, who once served as board president for Strawberry Fields, provided the spark for the shop’s inception. She was visiting Ithaca, New York, with her husband, Jim, when she stumbled upon SewGreen, a “resale fabric store.” As Ellen chatted with store employees, she learned that SewGreen provides internships and apprentice programs for troubled teens.
“Employment for adults with disabilities has always been a huge need,” says Ellen. “As we were driving home, I said to Jim, ‘This would be so great for Strawberry Fields to do to create an employment program.’”
Ellen presented the idea to the other board members. Cindy Pasquinelli, the enthusiastic CEO of Strawberry Fields, was open to trying it out. And Ellen’s friends — the fiber enthusiasts with a concern for the disadvantaged — were thrilled to take on the challenge.
WHERE IS YOUR SHOP?
Ellen’s friends, a group of seven women, went to work. Using informal networks, they solicited donations and spread the word about the endeavor. Collecting, organizing and pricing the merchandise required quite a bit of time and energy. Their first sale took place in September 2014 in a booth at a local fiber arts festival.
“We got a huge response,” says Ellen. “And people kept asking us, ‘Where is your shop?’”
Cindy Pasquinelli was so encouraged by the response that she rented a room next to the offices of Strawberry Fields for Scraps & Skeins to grow. The shop — run solely by volunteers — opened on Jan. 22, 2015. By the spring, sales were strong enough that Strawberry Fields began looking to hire a shop manager.
At that time, Dottie Ewing was finishing up her degree at South Hills School of Business and Technology and serving as an intern at Strawberry Fields. “Part of that program was to go over and support Scraps & Skeins if they needed any help,” says Dottie. “And one thing that really struck me was the environment of Scraps & Skeins. I thought, in a professional job setting, I want to be around people like this.”
When the manager’s position opened, Dottie wasn’t even going to apply because she didn’t feel qualified. Due to her own family situation, she had some experience working with people with disabilities, but she knew little about fiber and textile arts. “I had learned a lot from the volunteers, but during my interview I was still so nervous,” she says.
Dottie survived the interview and became Scraps & Skeins’ first paid employee, splitting her time between Strawberry Fields and Scraps & Skeins. The shop continued to grow and several years later moved across the parking lot to a larger location.
A FAVORITE STORY
Today, Dottie provides much of the direction for the shop’s 15 volunteers and the four other employees, adults with disabilities. One of the earliest hires was Julie Burris, who currently works as the assistant manager.
“The growth I’ve seen in Julie is one of my favorite employee stories,” says Dottie. “She started as a volunteer, and we saw something she didn’t see in herself. Super organized, very intelligent. But she really wasn’t that confident. Ellen and myself encouraged her to apply for a position.”
Individuals hired by Strawberry Fields often receive aid from other agencies, so sometimes there are limits as to how long they can work and what they can do. “But Julie did her research,” says Dottie, “and we were able to hire her. So now she helps with donations and daily operations. Whenever I’m off I don’t have to worry about a thing.”
“I love the people—the staff, volunteers and customers,” Julie writes in an online post. “I have worked regular retail and know that how friendly everyone is at Scraps & Skeins is a rarity. This job gives me purpose and a reason to get out of bed in the morning.”
“I think over the years we have probably supported 35 to 40 individuals with mental health challenges,” notes Dottie. “One of my jobs is to find things for the employees to do. But when the volunteers are here, they are happy to take the reins to work with the employees.”
Ellen affirms Dottie’s perspective. “With Julie it’s been a wonderful friendship, a team-building thing for the two of us,” she says. “We text back and forth, and I feel like that is good social support. So those informal connections that are made between our employees and our volunteers are perfect.”
ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT
I was pretty sure my appreciation for Scraps & Skeins is shared by others. So I polled my friends at a recent afternoon gathering of the Centre Knitters Guild. The ladies enthusiastically praised the shop, and the guild’s vice president, Julie Breuninger, says, “I can wax on and on about Scraps & Skeins. It’s so friendly. And I love knowing that what I buy goes to a good cause.”
“We get customers making day trips to our store from as far away as Pittsburgh, New York, Maryland and Virginia,” says volunteer Patti Spicer, a former store manager at Joann Fabrics who has used her retail experience to help organize the merchandise at the reuse store. At Scraps & Skeins she works with vintage items and donated sewing machines, making sure they perform well enough to be sold.
Patti adds, “It’s a happy place to serve, knowing we’re able to provide jobs for people in an affordable way in such a fun environment.”
Of course, the shop is still soliciting donations. A donations barrel sits on the shop’s sidewalk so patrons can easily unload their yarn, fabric and craft supplies. The donations team weighs everything that comes into the store. In 2015 they received 12,770 pounds of material. In 2024 they collected 30,881 pounds. The shop’s online sales (which began due to COVID) are equally impressive. Dottie notes that the shop averages $1,000 a month in online sales and purchases are sent out across the country.
FIBER ARTS SHOWCASE
As a final touch to celebrate their 10th anniversary, Scraps & Skeins is hosting a Fiber Arts Showcase May 3 at the Toftrees Golf Resort. The contest will give customers the opportunity to showcase creations made over the past 10years using upcycled materials purchased from Scraps & Skeins. Go to https://www.scrapsandskeins.org/ and select Fiber Arts Showcase for details concerning entry categories, judging, prizes and deadlines.
Scraps & Skeins is located at 2766 W. College Ave., Suite 4 (use the entrance off Enterprise Drive). Current hours are: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday plus the third Saturday of each month.
