Martha's Vineyard, MA: Heath Hen Yarn and Quilt Shop

I chose one of the coldest days of the year to explore Heath Hen Yarn and Quilt Shop. The store is located in Vineyard Haven on the island of Martha's Vineyard, and is a short walk from Main Street and the Vineyard Haven ferry. The store is a bit off the beaten path, so I got directions from the hotel. Even on this frigid day, the walk was reasonable: about 10 minutes from my room at the Mansion House Inn.

It wasn't the most beautiful walk that one could take on the island, but I had a mission: I needed yarn. I was in danger of finishing the sock I had with me, and I couldn't imagine being caught on the ferry home with no knitting.

The shop is located in a small plaza with a seafood/takeout store, a toy shop, consignment shop, and some offices. When I walked in, there was one staff person who was helping a customer, so I slipped in unnoticed. The store consists of two rooms: the first room is dedicated to quilting and cross-stitch, and the second room to knitting. There is a pass-through window on the wall between the two rooms, and through that window I could see many sample garments hanging, and I knew immediately that my yarn was in there.

The store is cozy, with wide plank wooden floors and a calming color scheme on the walls -- exactly what you'd expect for the Vineyard. It was warm and smelled of wool: just the thing I needed on this very cold winter day.

The yarn room was organized by type of yarn. The "staples" such as Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride, Jamieson, and Cascade 220 are to your left as you enter. There were about 5 colorways each of the Jamieson and Cascade 220, and maybe 10 colorways of Lamb's Pride. I also saw some Rowan Tapestry on that wall as well. Below eye level were lower-end staples, mainly Plymouth Encore.

The bulk of the display space, however, was given over to Berroco. The entire back wall and center "island" display area were almost completely devoted to Berroco yarns. There was some novelty yarn, but most of it was the more "conservative" of the Berroco line, such as Foliage, Pure Merino, Cotton Twist, Memoirs.

The sock yarn selection was slim: 3 colorways of Jawoll Jacquard, and approximately 5 colorways of Opal. I didn't pay too much attention to their selection of baby yarns, but it was not overwhelming.

I appreciated seeing many of the samples that the store had on display. A log-cabin style afghan that I had seen on the web and didn't care for was actually quite nice in person. I was disappointed that the samples were not labeled with the pattern name or source.

Yarns seemed to be about standard retail price. The store carried a very small selection of knitting-specific notions, such as stitch markers, darning needles, etc. -- nothing I hadn't seen elsewhere. The knitting needles are kept behind the cash register, which I found a bit odd. I spotted Clover bamboo, Pony Pearl DPNs, and Addi Turbo circulars. I think you just ask the staff for the needles you need.

I don't know much (OK, anything) about cross-stitch or quilting, so I can't really evaluate the store on those grounds. They had an assortment of fabric and sewing notions, but I can't speak to the selection. There were some cute cross-stitch kits displayed behind the counter that were Martha's Vineyard specific. If you are vacationing on the island and like cross-stitch, it might be a nice souvenir. The local theme was carried into their selection of buttons and shawl pins, many of which had a seashell or nautical theme.

When I made my purchase (2 skeins of Jawoll jacquard sock yarn in a colorway I'd actually been looking for), the shopkeeper was polite and businesslike. There were two other customers in the store awaiting her assistance, so perhaps that was the reason, but I was surprised that she didn't ask if I needed needles, or try to chat me up in general. In fact, I don't think she said much beyond telling me the amount due. Perhaps in the summer tourist season there is more friendliness.

Overall, I don't think the store is a place that I need to visit again, unless I am desperately in need of a project while on Island. It's nice enough, but I didn't find there to be enough of a selection. However, (and I think this is important to note), business and the economy on the Vineyard are very slow in the off-season; the quantity and selection of yarns may improve considerably in the summer months, during the height of tourist season. For that reason, I am not going to issue a star-rating for this store, because I'm not sure that it would reflect the reality in July.

The store offers both knitting and quilting classes. Please check their website for address, hours, class schedule, etc. Keep in mind that winter hours may be very different from summer hours.