Sick of seeing your favourite local yarn shops disappear? Join our campaign!   It’s all too common of a tale, and one that I’ve heard from so many friends in the past few years –lovely local yarn shops closing down. Whatever the reason, it’s always sad to see a shop go, not just because they often represent at least one person’s livelihood, but also because of the unique and valuable communities which grow up around the shops.  So many of us will know of wonderful stories from our local knitting community. A friend told me recently of an all-night sewing session, stitching together blanket squares which members of her knitting group had made to send to refugees facing a cold winter without a roof. Another friend, having been diagnosed with cancer, was inundated with gifts of soft and stylish hats to keep her head warm when she lost her hair. On a smaller, but equally important, scale – we look after each other. If one of the regulars at our knitting group doesn’t turn up, we call to check on her. We prove, time and time again, that the kindness and generosity of knitters knows no bounds.  Of course, the shops themselves may need to evolve to match our changing shopping habits – perhaps running more workshops, or finding new and exciting products to stock. That’s all great of course, but just like our local pubs, butchers and post offices, it’s a “use it or lose it” deal – if we stop calling in to our local knitting shops to pick up a new set of needles or book on to a class, we will lose them, and the community that goes along with them.  The good news is that as knitters, there’s something very simple that we can do to keep these vital community hubs open. Just keep visiting your local shop! As an extra incentive, when you buy Knit Now in 2016, you’ll be able to get special discounts at participating stores up and down the country.  At Knit Now, we’re working with AIYSO (the Association of Independent Yarn Shop Owners) to bring you more news from your local knitting communities, but we want to hear from you too! If you share any stories or photos from your local shops online, please use the hashtag #StitchedTogether or email our editor, Kate on kate.heppell@practicalpublishing.co.uk.