Spark (50 Grove St., Somerville; 617-718-9132; www.sparkcrafts.com), an upscale crafts studio in Davis Square, offers classes, tools, workshops and craft parties like Girls' Night Out.

Move over, Oprah: Crafting together may be bigger than book groups.  Coming into this inviting and exciting converted industrial building -- all colors and skylights -- you feel that creative tingle produced by beautiful yarn and scintillating dishes of sugary-looking, brightly colored beads for jewelry-making.  There's also that humming surge of sociability among the shoppers and workshoppers who come here, knitted into homey togetherness, to take classes, work on their own or shop for supplies.  Solo, you can have an $8 day pass that gives you access to studio space.  Beads, including Swarovski crystals, "findings" (bite-sized appurtenances) and neck-and-shoulder molds for arranging your evolving necklace are all here.  One of the studio's arresting stones might dramatically anchor a necklace, or you could concoct a twisty-wire necklace sprinkled with a dizzy constellation of sparkly beads and dots.  Knitting supplies include inexpensive, colorful lion wool for beginners, up through merino wools that knit in complexity.  Spark's expert staff members both teach classes (gather your gang for a shower or other knitter's click-fest) and amend the occasional dropped stitch.  Making cards with dye-cut punches, ribbons and all manner of doodads combines old-school fun with professional production.