Big or Little

[sparklingbutterfly]

Brunette_Star

There's only one little yarn store near my area, and I'm sorry but the women who work there are total snobs. I told them I was a college student looking for a sock pattern. I was looking around at all the cashmere and alpaca and asked if they had wool yarn or acrylic yarn to practice with. The woman clearly wrinkled her nose and asked what I wanted with that. I told her I was going to make a pair of socks for my Dad for Christmas. She handed me a 60% cashmere yarn with angora and wool mixed in. I asked if she had something with more wool in it, and she replied "Well, don't you want to make nice socks?" like it was a horrid sin I didn't want cashmere. I was still trying to be nice at this point and explained my dad's a country man who doesn't like fancy fabrics. (Heck, he'd probably wear cotton ties if he could get away with it!)

The woman asked me what the last project I made was. I told her a baby blanket. I'd used acrylic yarn and a free Lion Brand pattern. She asked "Did I just hear you say Lion Brand?" as though it was a bad thing.

At that point I just left. I'm sure not all small yarn stores are like that, but this one was just ridiculous. That's why I buy yarn at craft stores.

i hate yarn snobs! grrrr.... not everyone can afford expenisive yarn.....my mom and i are actually quite partial to Red Heart.....you can find it at malwart......I can't stand the lady at one of the LYS in my city she is so snobby.....but all her yarns are very expensive you have to practically go in there with a gold credit card!  

[Brunette_Star]

Blue-eyes-green

Hmmm... my favorite yarn store is the largest independently owned fiber store in New England, so I can't really call it small, but I definately prefer the indie stores. I also have the problem of being a fibre snob- acrylc yarn is just awful now that I've discovered wool. However it means I can't knit as much as I'm both broke and cheap. I'm also a needle snob- My favortie needles are bamboo, and metal or even plastic just don't do the trick anymore.

I personally wouldn't call you a snob until you started sneering at people who crochet with acrylic yarn and plastic hooks or knit with plastic needles. biggrin

ForestGreen - Part of me is tempted to go back now just to tell those people I crochet and see how they react. But I won't. lol  

[Zahra Ovaci]

Well, depends on what you mean by "large", I suppose. If by "large" you mean "chain stores", i.e. Hobby Lobby and whatnot, then I definitely prefer the smaller stores. However, as for examples is the case at my own LYS, with small stores you run into the problem of not enough selection - My LYS owner carries a good supply, but not a great supply, with no gradation between the (relatively, for 1300 yds) cheap $15 solid-colored wool laceweight and the $60 punch-in-the-gut beautiful handpainted silk laceweight. Which, of course, is why I gets my $20, 2k yds alpaca laceweights online smile (if you want my source, drop me a line, it's an etsy seller)

As far as being a yarn snob goes, I'm middling. I use natural fibers on most stuff because I like what they can do, and save the acrylics for toys and other things that don't need to breathe. I don't crochet (though I know how) because I'm not as fond of the fabric produced, not because it's an "inferior" art or whatever. Crochet is damned useful when you need something sturdy, and fast (at least that's what I use it for).

Chain stores are often the only place I can get cheap, local tatting supplies, though. I have a dozen shuttles, somewhere around here, but I can never seem to find one when I want one!  

[StarBreeze8]

Ive been quite depressed since ALL of the "little" yarn stores in my area (minus 1 that I know about) have closed in the last 3/4 of a year.

I like the little places, however I know I can just hop the train and get to some good stores as well.  

[taligator]

I love going into the small stores and looking at all the yarns but I cannot stand the attitudes and prices of those stores.

I can't afford to pay $20 for a small hank of yarn and need several hanks to complete a decent sized project, it's just not practical.

I can be a fiber snob, but mostly I just like things that look and feel good. They do wonderful things with acrylics nowadays and so it's not so bad as it was even a couple years ago.

There are several local yarns shops and most seem to be anti-crochet and I think that's just plain annoying. I started out knitting but began crocheting when I realized I could do it faster. I don't like the attitudes of people that work in the independent yarn stores, I've had nothing but negative experiences in there just getting information about a yarn is an ordeal.

The one yarn store that I do like is so dirty and packed full of yarn and that I don't like going into it. It's called the Yarn Hut and I always end up calling it the Yarn Hovel and I fear one day I'll say that to the owner and be terribly embarassed ...

I buy my yarns mostly at Wal-Mart and Michaels for the selection and affordibility.  

[Tes]

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I generally avoid the big chain stores because it's hard to impossible to find a decent wool/animal fibre. Being that I felt I can't just go use a synthetic.
Though if I were to take up knitting(lol and I can't, I've tried) I would snatch up some of that OH SO SOFT synthetic stuff SO fast. However I would do so from one of the locally owned chain of craft stores that also sell wools but at a decreased selection (where I work actually) because I don't like the idea of my hard earned Canadian dollars going to pad some American Corporate pocket.

I don't know what it is stateside but the small stores around here are all very easy to deal with, they are pricier but have better product and actually carry animal fibres.
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[taligator]

Tes

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I generally avoid the big chain stores because it's hard to impossible to find a decent wool/animal fibre. Being that I felt I can't just go use a synthetic.
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Lion makes several nice wool yarns. They have a fisherman's which is a cream color and takes very well to kool-aid dying. They also have worsted weight wools.

Caron also makes one called 'Felt It' which is made of wool roving for felting projects.

Both of these can be picked up at most Michael's and Wal-Mart stores. smile

I personally love Cascade 220 yarns. It's 220 yards of pure gorgeous wool in worsted weight. Typically they are $6 which is a bonus. It's good yarn and comes in a lot of different colors. You can buy it at PatternWorks.com or HelloKnitty.com.

Cascade can be purchased in most yarn stores too but I find buying it online easier.  

[Umberella]

I'm afraid I frequent the big stores and shop at Joanne's online almost exclusively. I've bought some expensive yarn and ended up making some seriously FUGLY stuff out of it.
So if my stuff is gonna be ugly, it had better be cheap too. I cringe at anything over $5 for just one little roll of yarn.  

[Tes]

taligator

Lion makes several nice wool yarns. They have a fisherman's which is a cream color and takes very well to kool-aid dying. They also have worsted weight wools.

Caron also makes one called 'Felt It' which is made of wool roving for felting projects.

Both of these can be picked up at most Michael's and Wal-Mart stores. smile

I personally love Cascade 220 yarns. It's 220 yards of pure gorgeous wool in worsted weight. Typically they are $6 which is a bonus. It's good yarn and comes in a lot of different colors. You can buy it at PatternWorks.com or HelloKnitty.com.

Cascade can be purchased in most yarn stores too but I find buying it online easier.

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I won't shop in American stores either if I can avoid it. I despise Walmart especially so, and I don't much care for Michaels, I went in and scoured the yarns and there was nothing natural (well there was cotton, still not what I need.) Maybe it's different stateside. Michael's is so far removed from the actual crafting scene around here it's rediculous they don't seem to carry anything of local interest. It's a international chain, and stocks like everywhere is the same.

So as far as big Canadian box stores go there is Zellers(which carries half decent wools but not a whole lot of selection), Crafts Canada closed about a year ago and Lewis Craft just last month or so.
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