LITTLE ROCK — who: Maria Gornatti

what: Owner of Handworks Gallery

where: 2911 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock

How long: Since August 2000

What she does all day:

In tending to the shop, she helps people with their projects or writes patterns for them, and sometimes they just want to sit and knit. After hours, she works on her Internet business. "I'll either come in early or stay late," she said.

And she teaches knitting classes on weekends and at night. She also usually goes to the yarn market twice a year, and has sales reps who visit her seasonally. She's also started making jewelry and selling it in the store.

Would you recommend your job?:

"I would. I think if you do what you love, you can be successful at it. I've met the neatest people from all over the world," Gornatti said. "When people come in to knit, you become therapist and friend, and I've met some of my very best friends here."

Despite these perks, the economy has her rethinking her decision.

"Everyday I have to ask, 'Do I want to work for someone else? or Do I want to do what I love?'" she said.

By Shannon Sturgis Buttons for sale at Handworks.

"The Stitchin' Post used to have really great buttons, but there's no place you can buy just one button," she said. So she added this area to her store. The section has been popular. She also sells "big-holed beads" to go on scarves.

By Shannon Sturgis Knitting example.

Though Gornatti has knitted nearly everything in the store - and says she won't sell it unless the yarn has been discontinued - this scarf was done by a customer in Conroe, Texas.

"She crocheted that scarf and bought every skein of yarn I had. And then she wanted me to find substitutes for it," she said.

Gornatti's friend Dean Kumpuris visited Nepal and took a picture of this woman knitting in the Himalayas at roughly 17,000 feet above sea level. A copy of the picture sits in her store.

"And she's got a baby on her head," Gornatti added.

By Shannon Sturgis The yarn baller at Handworks Gallery.

Yarn arrives at the stores in hanks. These are not easy for knitters to use, and they are often rolled up into balls. Gornatti demonstrates how to use the yarn baller.

"It can be done by hand, but this is just faster," she said, adding that once finished, the yarn can be pulled out from the middle of the ball.

"Some people don't want you touching their yarn, but yarn is dirty. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't," she said. "I've been to Peru."