BOARDMAN, Ohio – Mark Vogel, a YouTube vlogger, called Three Sheep Gallery & Workshop “one of my absolute favorite yarn shops that I’ve ever visited.”
The shop’s owner, Linda Shevel, is proud of the endorsement from the internet celebrity who recently completed the 2025 Yarn Discovery Tour of Northeast Ohio.
Shevel points out Three Sheep Gallery & Workshop in Boardman, Ohio, is not just a place to buy yarn, wool and knitting needles. To her, it’s a community for creative people.
“Come and look and be inspired,” Shevel says. “Inspire each other. Have a cup of tea. Learn something new.”
Shevel knits, crochets and weaves and teaches others in those arts. She believes the learning curve is shorter with weaving.
“You could come in … sit down at a loom and within five minutes, you’re weaving,” Shevel says, adding her class is like a weaving experience for families, friends or solo weavers, young and old. “You end up with a piece of fabric that could become anything, because it’s fabric… You sit down and have a positive experience right away.”
Even if two people choose the same colors, each will end up with a unique, handmade piece. But there is no shortage of colors at the shop. Shevel has shelves containing a variety of thread colors for weaving on the hand-crafted looms.
She also sells alpaca and Shetland wool yarns, fine worsted weighted yarns perfect for sweaters and hats, as well as soft sock yarns in many colors. Shevel spins her own yarns, twisting the fibers for each purpose and offers several quality brands.
She believes when you spend time making something, it should be with fine yarn that creates a garment that drapes better and stands the test of time. She specializes in high-quality skeins of yarn, wool and fibers not widely available.
More than anything, Shevel hopes visitors to her shop and those who attend her Ewe & Me Retreats are inspired to learn new knitting skills and meet others in the community. She encourages aspiring artisans to overcome their negative internal voices to tap into their creativity.
“And then there’s the crafting part of it. Emotionally, psychologically, it’s good for our bodies to create things and do the repetitive motion of knitting or crocheting or weaving,” Shevel says.
Crocheters and knitters can attend weekly open afternoons, bringing friends and family, while meeting others with similar craft interests. While Shevel is a wealth of knowledge, she recently celebrated the Shetland Islands’ Shetland Wool Week in her shop. She served a fruited tea loaf and tuned into the festivities remotely, connecting local knitters with a famous Shetland designer.
“We Zoomed with her and she could see what everybody was working on and they could ask questions,” Shevel says, adding it was a fun way to encourage local knitters. “I want people to feel good.”
And it’s a giving community. One knitter who regularly comes to Three Sheep donated her excess yarn to St. Vincent de Paul after downsizing. The organization forwarded the items to a women’s shelter where residents learned to knit and crochet.
At the most recent Fall Foliage Retreat at Salt Fork State Park, the Three Sheep community made knitted knockers, non-irritating prostheses for those who have undergone breast surgery.
The Three Sheep Gallery opened in 2016 and is located at 6010 Market St., north of Southern Park Mall.
Holiday shoppers will find a variety of handmade items for sale, hand knitted hats, crocheted scarves and hand-woven cloth that can be turned into clothes, scarves, wall hangings or table runners.
Additionally, there are premade kits with all the yarns and patterns a crafter needs to make something beautiful for themselves or others. Books, hooks, patterns and other items of interest to fiber artists are available.
Classes like loom weaving can be bought in advance – $60 for two hours. Gift certificates also are available.
Pictured at top: Shop owner Linda Shevel welcomes visitors to Three Sheep Gallery & Workshop in Boardman, where she teaches knitting, crocheting and weaving.