Knitters, quilters and needlepointers alike have a few more days to stock up for the winter craft season at the Heath Hen in Tisbury Marketplace. After being less than a week away from closing its doors permanently, the 28-year-old store was sold by owner Lynne Benson to Jan Paul, a Vineyard artist. Ms. Paul will keep the store open until Nov. 12 before closing for the winter, and will reopen in new premises come spring.

The timing of the ownership change worked perfectly for both women. Mrs. Benson had put the Heath Hen up for sale over a year ago as she made plans to retire to North Carolina with her husband, but could find no takers.

“[I’d ask] everybody who came in- ‘Do you want to buy a yarn and quilt shop?’ hoping that somebody would say yes,” she recalled. People were interested, she said, but not willing to make the full commitment.

— Ivy Ashe

Ms. Paul, a longtime Heath Hen customer, had considered taking on the shop when it was first for sale 13 years ago (when Mrs. Benson became the owner), but ultimately decided against it.

Five days before Mrs. Benson’s scheduled closing date of Oct. 31, she called Ms. Paul and said “Make me your best offer.” The two briefly negotiated.

“And then a couple days later I came in with a deposit check,” said Ms. Paul, “And never left.”

Customer response to the changes has been positive.

“They’ve come in to say goodbye to me while I’m still here,” said Mrs. Benson. “And I say, I’d like you to meet the new owner . . . they’re like what? Wonderful!

“So it has been a good experience for me. It’s not like crying and closing the door and [then] be gone forever,” she said.

“It’s so kind of Lynne to care so much and to not just move on with her life,” said Ms. Paul. “She’s just been really sweet and helpful, and [she] really cares about the future of the store. And the people. Not so much the store, she really cares about the people here.”

After 13 years at the Heath Hen, it would be hard for Mrs. Benson to simply be “gone forever.” She knows nearly all of her customers by name, and always has a cookie bone at the ready for any visiting dogs (with whom she is also on a first-name basis). Mrs. Benson used to bring her own cocker spaniel, Patches, to the store, and notes that since the changeover Patches has had “a difficult time” adjusting not to going to work every morning.

The best part of her job, she says, is going to the fair and seeing the work that customers have entered in the hall.

“Kids come in [to the store] with their ribbons, and they’re so proud,” she said. “There’s a really talented generation coming along.”

Generations young and old have been stocking up on supplies before the store closes for the winter. The greatest concern, said Mrs. Benson, has been for one of the less flashy products — thread.

“That’s been the biggest thing . . . that I’ve heard over and over and over,” she said. “‘What were we going to do if you left? Where do we get thread?’”

Ms. Paul, meanwhile, has already begun to prepare for the grand reopening, attending fabric shows and meeting with yarn representatives to keep the craft coffers full. She is not yet sure where the store will be relocating to, but is considering several places in Vineyard Haven.

Wherever the Heath Hen’s new home ends up, however, the 28-year-old store is alive and well.

“The Island needs the Heath Hen,” said Mrs. Benson. “It’s not extinct anymore.”

The Heath Hen will be open from 10 to 4 p.m from Nov. 10 through Nov. 12.