There are a ton of yarn stores near me, and by "a ton" I mean at least 6 within 5 miles that I know of but I've only been to four of them. I really don't buy enough quantity to justify weekly trips there or anything, usually people become loyal to one store. One of these stores is particularly high-end and I've avoided going there because I'd heard the staff were especially snotty and they liked to overcharge. But I was on the hunt for a particular yarn and since they are close by, I thought I'd at least poke my head in and see what I could see, see, see.

Well, shut mah mouth, it was such a nice place. Really well laid out, bright, a nice mix of wallet-busters and inexpensive-o wool. They had a sale room in the back where everything was 50% off (always good to have) and a healthy supply of tools (even better). The staff was nice, I think. I wasn't entirely sure who was staff and who were layabout customers (yarn stores always have lounges and they're always occupied with knitters talking smack about whatever). When I couldn't find the yarn I wanted, I found something that looked close and the cashier (who turned out to be the new owner) told me sotto voce that the supplier for the yarn I was looking for was a cheatin' not-nice-nik and everyone was selling the last of their supplies of the stuff and wouldn't be ordering anything more. When I asked her if the stuff I was buying would work as a replacement, she told me she "wouldn't be surprised if they came from the same mill" which was just folksy enough to convince me.

Yarn what I bought. I normally despise self-striping sock yarn because it is always ugly (ALWAYS) but the Koigu was half off and a really hideous colorway so I thought I would make some small lounge pants.


from Wildfiber