Meet Our Team
Susan Glenwallis, Owner
My knitting experience started with four inches of a scarf and it’s still on the needles
three decades later. Not much happened after that. But Susan always had a knack for
selling. “I don’t like to push you into something but rather ask the right questions to get you the perfect item.”
Fast forward thirty years. How did Susan go from knitting school dropout to local yarn
store owner? On her own in a new city and surrounded by men at her job, she decided
to take a knitting class to meet people. Bored with her first project, a simple washcloth,
she leaped right into an intermediate-level baby sweater with an intarsia whale on the
front (having no idea that she shouldn’t know how to do it). Her knitting class instructor began encouraging Susan to open a yarn store of her own, going so far as to find a location to set up shop. At this point, she was a new bride with a full-time career. She’d just buried her father, and she was opening a yarn store. The store began in an arts and crafts mall, Pepper Tree Place in Downtown Bay City. Three years later and a few blocks down the road, A Piece of Ewe sublet space in a popular gift shop, My Secret Garden. Susan and her crew held classes and sold yarn, patterns, notions, and needles for the next eight years. When My Secret Garden wanted to expand, she found the perfect spot with our own parking lot.
Grand experiment or life’s work? Susan’s decision became clear when she woke up at 3 a.m., designing floor plans and developing yarn displays. She believed she could, so
she did it: she bought a building the day before Thanksgiving, started immediate
renovations, and opened her own door at 506 Columbus Avenue in January of 2016 –
and the rest is history being made.
Ravelry handle: gideon1
Go-to project: shawls and sweaters
Favorite yarn weight: fingering
Lorena, Store Manager
I am the Store Manager and have been working in the store since March of 2022. I have been coming into the store since just before the move to Columbus Ave.
I of course love the yarn, but I like the feeling of family/kindred spirit with customers and fellow employees.
My favorite brand would be Keenan Hand Dyed Yarn. The colors are fantastic, and she is as well.
I try to treat each customer as I want to be treated, that is to let them know we are glad they are there and have the same interests.
I have a large family and talk a lot about my many cousins.
I have a lot of great memories, mostly when you realize someone is happy with the experience with us. It was really great when Toni Lipsey and her mother, Gwen visited and when Jody Long visited. It is always special when Deirdre of Keenan Hand Dyed Yarn visits and does a trunk show.
Mary Ellen
What is your favorite product at A Piece of Ewe: It is awfully hard to narrow it down because everything is squishy, beautiful fun. I couldn’t choose between the yarns, so I will say the Knitter’s Pride Dreamz needles. They are so smooth to work with and are in virtually every project I work on!
How old were you, and how did you learn to Knit or crochet: When I was in fourth grade, our teacher, Mrs. McDonald, offered to teach knitting to interested students during recess. So at age 9, I learned to knit my first sweater. Thank you, Mrs. McDonald!
What has been the most complex fiber arts project you have made and why: The Fluxus shawl by Natasha Hornby. It had many new stitches and combinations, which made it super exciting but very challenging, too.
Emma
I moved to Bay City from Fayetteville, NC in 2019, but I’m originally from northeastern PA- so if I ask you to “show me on the hand” it’s because I’m not a Michigan Native and I’m still learning the state! I’ve been crocheting for about 20 years and knitting and doing Tunisian crochet for 12. I also weave a little bit on inkle and rigid heddle looms, and I’m gearing up to dip my toes into floor loom weaving. Most recently, I’ve been learning how to spin my own yarn. I’ve been working for A Piece of Ewe for about two years, and my favorite part of my job is teaching classes. I love to help other people figure out new skills. The best part about working here, for me, is when customers come in with a project they’re stuck on and I’m able to “diagnose” what went wrong or what their next step should be. It really makes me smile when I can help someone work through a project that’s stalled and get them back in the groove. In that vein, I’d say my most common piece of advice is “there’s no yarn police. If it works- it works!” It’s also a lot of fun getting to put together colors and yarns for projects customers bring in. I love to nudge people toward colors they might not have considered and encourage customers to work with the colors they like and that bring them joy! My favorite yarn is anything with lots of color. Anyone who’s met me in person knows my wardrobe is pretty monochromatic, so I get to play with really wild colors for my accessories because black goes with everything! Outside of work and the yarn world, my hobbies include cooking and reading. I also enjoy painting (walls or landscapes, it’s all the same to me) and keeping tropical fish and hanging around with my pack of elderly dogs.
Marilyn
Hi! I'm Marilyn Bremer and I've been a part time associate for over 5 years . I enjoy meeting new people who love yarn and knitting as much as I do. I love variegated sock yarn a lot. At least that seems to be the biggest part of my stash! Keenan hand dyed and Madeline Tosh are current favorites. I think making our customers feel welcome and appreciated are super important. I feel we have a friendly atmosphere here. I don't have any other hobbies outside of knitting but I've been told my chocolate cookies are pretty amazing! My favorite tip for customers would be to always buy the best yarn you can afford, because I think your skill level improves with the quality of the yarn. Hope that makes sense! I have learned so much from my fellow associates and all the knitters and crocheters I've met along the way.