Missouri Star Quilt Company to Acquire LoveCrafts

In news I first saw reported by the Craft Industry Alliance, Hamilton, Missouri, based Missouri Star Quilt Company is in the process of acquiring British yarn craft company LoveCrafts.

Update: On 10/8 WEBS sent out an email with news of the deal, saying that nothing will change in users’ experience of WEBS online or in person. “We want to assure you that our commitment to providing you with the best experience remains the same, whether shopping online or in our retail store in Northampton, MA,” the statement said. “You’ll still be able to get the WEBS Discount, we’ll still have closeouts, and we’ll be working on bringing your favorite yarns back in stock!”

That bit about getting yarns back in stock may be a reference to complaints from some visitors that quality and stock have gone down since the company was purchased by LoveCrafts.

SkyNews reported that the deal could be done early this week, and is valued at millions of pounds. LoveCrafts is backed by several UK technology funds and saw its sales skyrocket during the pandemic, but it has been looking for a buyer this year because of declining sales.

Missouri Star Quilt Company might not be a name a lot of knitters and crocheters know, but it’s a destination shop for quilters. Founded in 2008 as a small, local fabric store, it has grown into the home of the biggest quilting channel on YouTube, with free tutorials published weekly. Hamilton is now known as Quilt Town USA, and is home to nearly 20 themed craft shops under the Missouri Star Quilt Company banner, including shops dedicated to florals, batiks, men’s fabrics and accessories, to name just a few.

One of the shops is a knitting and crochet shop, so this acquisition is sure to enhance their selection and their e-commerce footprint in yarn (right now it doesn’t look to me like it’s possible to buy yarn on their website).

LoveCrafts, on the other hand, is probably a company you’ve heard of. It was founded in 2012 as LoveKnitting, which branched out into LoveCrochet in 2015, but the two were brought under the same roof in 2019 with the launch of LoveCrafts. In 2021 they bought WEBS, one of the largest brick and mortar yarn stores in the United States, which also has a substantial online presence. WEBS has its own yarn line, Valley Yarns, and had also previously acquired Tahki Stacy Charles.

The Craft Industry Alliance reported that Edward Griffith, one of the founders of LoveCrafts, said the companies share a common mission and vision around the importance of crafting and community. They further reported that Jeff Martin, CEO of Missouri Star’s parent company, said the acquisition not only helps them to expand their product offerings but also to bring together passionate communities of makers.

[Photo via Missouri Star Quilt Company]

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Why should the fireplace get all the fun? Instead of knitting stockings this year, why not whip up a pair of Christmas themed socks? These Christmas sock knitting patterns are lots of fun to make and you can wear them to holiday gatherings for years to come.

For our friends in the southern part of the world, there are the Christmas in July socks from the Kiwi Lodge – Kylie (Ravelry link). These shorty socks are covered in Christmas trees and have bright pink heels and toes for a tropical feel. There’s also an option to make a longer sock if you celebrate somewhere it’s colder.

Twin Stitches Designs (Ravelry) has a fun pattern with mix and match colorwork motifs you can use to build your own cozy Christmas socks. From the sample socks I see Christmas puddings, trucks hauling trees, Santa belts, ornaments and a couple of different borders. There may be more patterns included but the listing doesn’t say. Make a pair that matches or use different motifs on each foot for extra holiday cheer.

If you want to stick to Christmas puddings on your holiday socks, check out this cute pattern from Stone Knits. These lovely socks feature a band of puddings around the leg and a bit of holly by the toes.

These vintage holiday light socks from Grey Owl Knits by Sarah are classic looking and lots of fun at the same time. I love this color combination but of course you can make your lights and stripes whatever colors you like or have on hand. They’re worked using stranded knitting.

And if you’d like even more of a mix of patterns for your socks, try Barbara Ceglédi’s Christmas Chaos socks, a free pattern on Ravelry. The pattern includes 25 little motifs you can choose from, ranging from snowflakes and Christmas trees to elf hats, reindeer and hearts.

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