Ashley Spencer took up spinning and weaving in 2020; when local yarn got hard to come by, the Benton County native started dreaming of a shop of her own. A space opened up in spring 2024, and that July, Yarn Alchemy did too, inside 8th Street Market. The shelves run well past yarn — Isager, Jamieson's of Shetland, Malabrigo, and NORO, then the craft itself: Joe Doster spindles, Oxford punch needles, felting and embroidery supplies. The stock is half the idea, though. The shop is open seven days a week, and three of those days it's also an open workroom: Midweek Craft Break on Wednesday midday, Community Craft Night on Thursday evening, Coffee & Crafts on Saturday morning. Bring whatever's already on your needles; snacks and drinks are welcome. The teaching classroom is on summer break and does not reopen until fall 2026. It comes back in a dedicated learning space in the same building, and Spencer is filling the schedule through spring 2027 by open call. Anyone can pitch a class. If your hands are idle in the meantime, the shop has an assignment: all through 2026 it's collecting handmade hats — more than 400 wanted, all sizes — for CASA of NWA's Christmas boxes for kids in foster care.