By Julianna Parker

Transcript Staff Writer

Shelves are stuffed with brightly colored balls of yarn at the store tucked next to Harold’s on Campus Corner.

More balls and skeins litter the remaining surfaces. While still in the process of moving to its new location, Happy Cat Yarn Shop is already bursting with enthusiasm for knitting, just like its owner, Danya Streetman.

Happy Cat has outgrown two facilities in less than two years. This week the store is moving to a larger location at 588 Buchanan Ave. on Campus Corner.

Streetman said she is planning to open the new location Wednesday.

She left a few items in the old store, including the yarn for making Harry Potter-themed scarves and sweaters. When she opens, she plans to have a celebration and pass down the house colors to the new shop by means of a human chain.

Streetman is enthusiastic about her work.

“She’s making a livelihood from her passion,” fellow-knitter Renee Wegemer said. “It really is an extension of herself.”

And Streetman incorporates all her passions into her job.

A Harry Potter knitting club will begin soon after the store opens.

Streetman said her daughter, Dalyn Boyd, is the real Harry Potter fan. But both sported Harry and the Potters band T-shirts Wednesday at Happy Cat.

Boyd said she got the idea to start a Harry Potter knitting group when she found “Charmed Knits,” a book with patterns for knitting anything remotely related to Harry Potter.

Boyd said she modifies some of the patterns and is creating her own pattern for the Sorting Hat featured in the series.

Knitting and Harry Potter may not seem to relate at first glance, but Streetman and Boyd pointed out knitting frequently was featured in the books and movies: Hermione’s house elf clothes, the Weasleys’ matching homemade sweaters, Dobby’s mismatched socks he gave to Harry and even the multi-colored house coat Mrs. Weasley wore in one of the movies.

“That’s my favorite thing in the whole world,” Streetman said as she placed her hand over her heart.

Knitting and crocheting also are very close to Streetman’s heart.

And there is a difference between the two.

Knitting uses two needles to make lines of stitches that form a whole creation.

Crocheting uses just the hook to create a string of stitches that can then be stitched into creative designs.

“It’s very person-specific,” Streetman said. “It’s fun, but people very much have a personality in one or the other.”

Streetman has been crocheting since she was in kindergarten. One of her mother’s college-age students taught Streetman to crochet using her fingers.

When she grew up, she had three children and was a stay-at-home mom. She would knit or crochet as she waited for her children to get out of school or extracurricular activities. That’s where she got the idea for starting a yarn shop.

Boyd followed her mom’s example.

“I’ve been crocheting since I was really tiny,” the 13-year-old said.

She started knitting a few years ago, and now tests out most of Happy Cat’s products herself.

“At first she just really loved knitting, and now she’s, like, Superknitter,” Streetman said.

Boyd types out the patterns for all her creations. She said she hopes one day to publish her own pattern book.

Husband Steven has also gotten in on the act, providing music for knitters at Happy Cat by playing his guitar.

He’s also working on organizing a two- or three-piece jazz set to play during lunch.

Danya Streetman’s store is divided into two sections, with one side as the hang out, shop and chat side, and the other set up with tables and a drum set. That part of the shop will be a place where locals can come to knit, socialize and listen to live music during lunch or on the weekends, Streetman said.

The shop stocks a lot of novelty yarn, such as Peruvian and Icelandic or hand-spun and kettle-dyed.

The “100 percent bamboo” yarn is surprisingly fine and soft.

One of the most popular yarns is the self-striping kind that creates multi-hued stripes on projects without having to change yarn, Streetman said.

Streetman has enjoyed her store thus far, but her true passion is teaching.

She said she really enjoys helping someone discover the joy of knitting or crocheting.

Last year, Streetman and Wegemer formed a knitting group at McKinley Elementary. Nearly 60 children had joined the Knit Wits by the end of the year, and the students requested the group continue this coming year, Wegemer said.

Streetman conducts a few group lessons a week at her store, but mostly teaches people how to knit or crochet when they come into Happy Cat.

“We have a lot of walk-ins that are just really interested in knitting,” she said. By the time they leave, Streetman has taught them how to knit and helped them pick out yarn to start their first project.

Information about classes or groups can be found at the shop’s Web site, happycatyarnshop.com.

Happy Cat customer Bobbie Ferguson said the personal attention customers receive is what sets this shop apart.

“Through the years those small individual stores have gone out, and this is bringing something from the old days where women would go and meet,” she said.

Knitting or crocheting isn’t really as hard as it seems, Streetman said.

“It just depends on how much you want to challenge yourself,” Streetman said.

She said that with three children she’s got enough of a challenge, so she tends to stick with simple projects such as scarves, hats or bags.

Streetman and Boyd said they had wanted to knit socks for a while, but were too intimidated to start.

“We finally just decided to do it,” Boyd said.

“And it wasn’t hard at all,” Streetman said.

Streetman doesn’t claim to be an expert knitter or crocheter. But she has captured the pastime’s magic, and tries to share that with those who come into her shop.

“It is very, very soothing,” she said. “You just become addicted.”

And it’s not just a solo activity.

“You can hang out with friends, watch sports,” Streetman said. In fact, she said some women have even claimed it now allows them to watch sports with their husbands.

Boyd agrees the hobby is great for socializing.

“It’s fun to do in groups because you can discuss projects,” she said. “… You kind of have other people to bounce ideas off of.”

There are few rules, but once you learn the basic moves, the hobby allows for loads of personal choice and creativity, Streetman said.

Julianna Parker

366-3550

parker@normantranscript.com