Newspaper Clipping: Dianne Lutz, October 3, 2006
- Title
- Newspaper Clipping: Dianne Lutz, October 3, 2006
- Accession Number
- 16 June 2026
- Accession Date
- 2026.38.1.25
- Accession Creator
- Meadow Knapp
- Description
-
Greater Greer News newspaper clipping of an interview with Dianne Lutz of Yarns Forever
Dianne Lutz is pictured above - Contributor
-
Lark Reynolds [writer]
Ken Osburn [photographer] - Date
- October 3, 2006
- Storage Location
- Box 33, Folder #2
- Text
-
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2006 GREATER GREER NEWS
BUSINESS
Lutz, Diane
KEN OSBURN / Staff
Dianne Lutz, owner of Yarns Forever, holds a purse she made.
Yarn shop offers haven for knitters
Woman finds her niche as shop owner
By Lark Reynolds
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]
Dianne Lutz was earning a master's degree in technology management when her life took a sharp turn. After a friend told Lutz, she should learn to knit, she "just got addicted."
She became so involved in her new hobby, she eventually decid-ed to open her own yarn shop and work evenings there, while keep-ing her regular job as a computer programmer for Rocke=well Auto-mation.
Soon her business, Yarns For-ever, began to dominate her thoughts.
"I had to make a decision, be-cause my mind was focused here (the shop)," Lutz said.
So in April, Lutz gave up com-puter programming to cous her full attention on her yarn store a Middleton Street, Greer, and she hasn't looked back.
Many of the customers who made the store a success at the start still patronize Yarns Forev-er, including Linda Davis, who moved to Greer from Southern California in 1996. One of Davis' favorite aspects of Yarns Forever is its cozy atmosphere.
"She's got a table in the shop, and she's got these sofas. So if you're working on a project and you're not sure, no problem, you just sit down, someone . . . Is going to help you with it, " Davis said.
Lutz also offers classes through the shop, such as knit-ting for beginners, and how to make socks and hats. She said her students range in age from 12 to 90 years old. One 12-year-old girl saved her money until she could pay for the class.
Lutz' daughter, Diana, 12, is carrying on the family passion for knitting.
"She loves to make hats," Lutz said.
Her daughter is in the march-ing band at Blue Ridge High School, so "while they're travel-ing ,she'll take her knitting to help pass the time, and teach oth-er kids on the bus," Lutz said.
Lutz said learning to knit offers many benefits to people, espe-cially young people, because it teaches them discipline, among other skills.
"It teaches them math, be-cause a lot of times you have to add and you have to count. It also teaches them, you know what? It's OK to make a mistake," she said.
Lutz tries to keep her shop stocked with unique items, and she visits yarn shops around the country to glean new ideas.
"My No. I goal for my shop is to have unique items," Lutz said.
Davis thinks Yarns Forever meets that goal. She said when she lived in Southern California, "in order to go to another shop that didn't have half the yarns that Dianne did, I had to drive half an hour."
Lutz said she sometimes is questioned about how she could leave her previous job and educa-tion behind to run a yarn shop.
Her response is, "Finally, I feel like I'm doing what I born to do."