Melina Gingras learned to crochet by watching her mom when she was a little girl, and within a few years, she was, ahem, hooked.

"I was the kid who sneaked needles and yarn in her backpack and knit during recess," says Gingras. "It has always been a very relaxing thing for me."

With this in mind, it’s no surprise that Gingras went on become a talented, impassioned yarnsmith who recently opened a shop, Midwest Yarn, at 3385 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in Bay View.

Although she is technically the sole owner and operator of Midwest Yarn, Gingras sees her business as a family venture due to the support of her husband and mother as well as the presence of her young sons, ages 5 and 4 months.

"My oldest son started coming here with me when he was 2 1/2," she says. "And the baby loves yarn. He holds onto it and rubs it in his face. I think he might be a knitter someday."

Prior to the walk-in shop, Gingras had an Etsy shop and did consignment work for people and magazines. She also spent time visiting other yarn shops in southeastern Wisconsin before deciding to open her own.

At first, Gingras created a business plan for the future, but when she stumbled upon the Bay View space, she knew it was meant for her and her family and opened the business sooner than originally planned.

The space is cozy, more like a hybrid between a yarn shop and a living room."It’s our home away from home," says Gingras.

Gingras grew up in Milwaukee, attended Nicolet High School, and earned a bachelors degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Today, she lives on the South Side with her husband and children.

Midwest Yarn carries a variety of different yarns along with needles, buttons, patterns and books. Classes are available as well, including the basics like intro to knitting and crocheting to more niche instruction like how to knit with plarn ("yarn" made from plastic bags.)

"A lot of people take a class as a refresher. They used to knit when they were younger and want to relearn," says Gingras.

Recently, more and more males have attended classes. "One guy in particular signed up for a class because he wanted to make a pair of socks for his wife," she says. "I think that is so cool."

Gingras, who dyes her own yarn under the brand name OMG, is trying to raise money through indiegogo crowdfunding so she can produce on a larger scale. She named her yarn "OMG" because her initials are "MG" and because she’s "a child of the internet."

"I need to move my yarn dying – it’s taking over the house right now," she says.

Today, Gingras prefers knitting to crocheting, but still does both. She likes to knit quick projects, rather than larger ones.

"I like the instant gratification of smaller pieces like scarves, cowls, hats and I’ve made a ton of knit socks," says Gingras. "I participate every year in a sock knitting competition online."

Supporting the neighborhood schools – and the larger community – is important to Gingras. She has created hats for premature babies and is involved with neighborhood schools and other small businesses.

In the future, she plans to expand OMG, offer more classes in the shop and, possibly, get into yarn bombing – non-permanent street art made from yarn.

"I think yarn bombing the Hoan Bridge would be fun," she says.

Midwest Yarn is open Tuesdays-Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.