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  #1  
Old July 24th 03, 07:52 PM
SlinkyToy
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Default Would you believe

I went to the LYS today to buy a set of DPNs so I can start the sleeves of
my sweater...and I bought ONLY what I went in for!

I do have to say, the atmosphere in my LYS has changed over the last couple
of years. Until about 3 years ago there was another more knitting-oriented
store. The owner of that store retired, so the erstwhile weaving store has
picked up the slack. Now that handknitting is such a popular hobby she's
really gotten uptight about things. The place is stuffed with yarn, most if
it nothing I care to knit with -- nasty ribbons, eyelash, hairy mohair (yes,
I did buy some last week at a different YS but it was cheap on sale).

Today she had a knitting group in the front room blocking access to most of
the yarn I was interested in looking at - the sock yarns and the worsted
knitting yarns. Couldn't get there from here, which is probably a good
thing for my checkbook, but was irritating at the time.

I guess its a good thing I know how to spin!


Ads
  #2  
Old July 24th 03, 09:01 PM
SlinkyToy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Nah, mostly I just wanted to bitch, er, complain. I had no intention of
buying yarn, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to pet some!

"Katherine Burgess" wrote in message
...
I was about to say "congratulations", Slinky, but I guess that you are
looking more for sympathy. Poor baby! Hope your yarn shop reverts to
something more friendly to you.
Do you feel better now? g
Katherine

"SlinkyToy" wrote in message
. ..
I went to the LYS today to buy a set of DPNs so I can start the sleeves

of
my sweater...and I bought ONLY what I went in for!

I do have to say, the atmosphere in my LYS has changed over the last

couple
of years. Until about 3 years ago there was another more

knitting-oriented
store. The owner of that store retired, so the erstwhile weaving store

has
picked up the slack. Now that handknitting is such a popular hobby

she's
really gotten uptight about things. The place is stuffed with yarn,

most
if
it nothing I care to knit with -- nasty ribbons, eyelash, hairy mohair

(yes,
I did buy some last week at a different YS but it was cheap on sale).

Today she had a knitting group in the front room blocking access to most

of
the yarn I was interested in looking at - the sock yarns and the worsted
knitting yarns. Couldn't get there from here, which is probably a good
thing for my checkbook, but was irritating at the time.

I guess its a good thing I know how to spin!






  #3  
Old July 25th 03, 03:33 PM
Helen \Halla\ Fleischer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

| On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 18:52:25 GMT, "SlinkyToy" wrote:

I went to the LYS today to buy a set of DPNs so I can start the sleeves of
my sweater...and I bought ONLY what I went in for!


Well at that point I was ready to be proud of your will power.

I do have to say, the atmosphere in my LYS has changed over the last couple
of years. Until about 3 years ago there was another more knitting-oriented
store. The owner of that store retired, so the erstwhile weaving store has
picked up the slack. Now that handknitting is such a popular hobby she's
really gotten uptight about things. The place is stuffed with yarn, most if
it nothing I care to knit with -- nasty ribbons, eyelash, hairy mohair (yes,
I did buy some last week at a different YS but it was cheap on sale).


Ahem, some of us love nasty ribbons and eyelash, if not hairy mohair.
For one thing these are things I cannot spin at home. My LYS stays in
business because of the popularity of those novelties for scarf knitting.
Otherwise she'd be hard up competing with Michael's and Walmart.

Today she had a knitting group in the front room blocking access to most of
the yarn I was interested in looking at - the sock yarns and the worsted
knitting yarns. Couldn't get there from here, which is probably a good
thing for my checkbook, but was irritating at the time.


Well, that's a bad problem if customers can't get to the displays! But
golly, fingering yarn and worsted DK are what I spin best! I do like the
commercial sock yarns, though, especially the computer-dyed self-patterning
ones made with superwash and that little bit of nylon for strength. I
haven't had to darn any socks since I switched to those.

I guess its a good thing I know how to spin!

It is. It's a joy to make things all the way from fiber to finish, even
without such provocation.


Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/
  #4  
Old July 25th 03, 03:45 PM
SlinkyToy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Gosh, let a girl have a rant

This particular YS was doing fine business as a weaving shop. It was (back
then) the only place I could find decent cotton yarn to use for things like
baby sweaters and whatnot. With the advent of Helen's Yarn Barn (yes, that
was the shop's name) closing and knitting becoming a trendy activity, the
remaining, former weaving shop, has turned into a yuppified joint in which
her long-time customers (me) feel like outcasts. When the place is full of
trendy 30-somethings discussing their Louis Vuitton knock-off bags and their
Tods moccasins and shoppers with money in their pockets can't actually shop,
something is definitely wrong. IMO.

PS -- I *did* buy three sets of DPNs. On the theory that I'll want to work
both sleeves at once and probably will need more than four dpns to pick up
the sleeves initially. Never hurts to have spares. Ok, I *can* say a nice
thing about the "new and improved" LYS - she hasn't raised prices on needles
an iota in years. I paid $4 per set for INOX DPNs yesterday.

"Helen "Halla" Fleischer" wrote in message
...
| On Thu, 24 Jul 2003 18:52:25 GMT, "SlinkyToy"

wrote:

I went to the LYS today to buy a set of DPNs so I can start the sleeves

of
my sweater...and I bought ONLY what I went in for!


Well at that point I was ready to be proud of your will power.



  #5  
Old July 25th 03, 04:23 PM
Helen \Halla\ Fleischer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

| On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 14:45:49 GMT, "SlinkyToy" wrote:

Gosh, let a girl have a rant


But of course!

This particular YS was doing fine business as a weaving shop. It was (back
then) the only place I could find decent cotton yarn to use for things like
baby sweaters and whatnot. With the advent of Helen's Yarn Barn (yes, that
was the shop's name) closing and knitting becoming a trendy activity, the
remaining, former weaving shop, has turned into a yuppified joint in which
her long-time customers (me) feel like outcasts. When the place is full of
trendy 30-somethings discussing their Louis Vuitton knock-off bags and their
Tods moccasins and shoppers with money in their pockets can't actually shop,
something is definitely wrong. IMO.


I know the feeling. One of our MD weaving stores did that, too. Now it
isn't worth the trip, since it's 90% the same stuff as my LYS and at higher
prices. Oh, but I would love to have gone to your shop when it was Helen's
Yarn Barn! I used to buy my purses from a shop called Helen's Handbags. I
have a soft spot for such names. I guess the desperate hope of yarn shop
owners is that by hooking bored yuppies on knitting, they can keep their
heads above water, now and in the future if they continue the habit. But
never at the expense of making it difficult for anyone to shop! That's a
big no-no in my book.

PS -- I *did* buy three sets of DPNs. On the theory that I'll want to work
both sleeves at once and probably will need more than four dpns to pick up
the sleeves initially. Never hurts to have spares. Ok, I *can* say a nice
thing about the "new and improved" LYS - she hasn't raised prices on needles
an iota in years. I paid $4 per set for INOX DPNs yesterday.


I don't think the wholesale on those has gone up in all that time, either,
because the same is true at my LYS. I have the same theory on spares and I
love to work sleeves at the same time, especially when I'm making them up
as I go along.


Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/
  #6  
Old July 25th 03, 11:18 PM
Claire
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I must admit that I am awfully envious of you guys having so many places
around you that sell yarn. It (knitting) doesn't seem to really have caught
on over here (UK) quite as much and finding a small independent yarn shop is
like looking for hen's teeth. And even those are more haberdashers than wool
shops so have very little choice. My nearest is nearly an hour away which is
a nuisance when I find that I don't have the right sized needles or have
lost my stitch holder (yet again) or just have the urge to satisfy my
wool-obsessed consumerism. Apart from the occasional guilty foray into John
Lewis' I've been trying to support small businesses by using the old
fashioned wool shops but have had so little luck finding a good one since I
moved that today I went to the Hobbycraft superstore and have now been
converted to the Dark Side. There was so much choice! (The department store
had given over half the wool space to garden furniture so I had to try the
big out-of-town shops)

I must admit that the experience was all the more enjoyable as I had free
rein to indulge my yarn fetish as much as I wanted. I have a really good
excuse - for the first time I know in advance what colour to knit the
bootees! Pink!

Claire
(gleefully counting her skeins in many shades of girly pink)


"Helen "Halla" Fleischer" wrote in message
...
| On Fri, 25 Jul 2003 14:45:49 GMT, "SlinkyToy"

wrote:

Gosh, let a girl have a rant


But of course!

This particular YS was doing fine business as a weaving shop. It was

(back
then) the only place I could find decent cotton yarn to use for things

like
baby sweaters and whatnot. With the advent of Helen's Yarn Barn (yes,

that
was the shop's name) closing and knitting becoming a trendy activity, the
remaining, former weaving shop, has turned into a yuppified joint in

which
her long-time customers (me) feel like outcasts. When the place is full

of
trendy 30-somethings discussing their Louis Vuitton knock-off bags and

their
Tods moccasins and shoppers with money in their pockets can't actually

shop,
something is definitely wrong. IMO.


I know the feeling. One of our MD weaving stores did that, too. Now it
isn't worth the trip, since it's 90% the same stuff as my LYS and at

higher
prices. Oh, but I would love to have gone to your shop when it was Helen's
Yarn Barn! I used to buy my purses from a shop called Helen's Handbags. I
have a soft spot for such names. I guess the desperate hope of yarn

shop
owners is that by hooking bored yuppies on knitting, they can keep their
heads above water, now and in the future if they continue the habit. But
never at the expense of making it difficult for anyone to shop! That's a
big no-no in my book.

PS -- I *did* buy three sets of DPNs. On the theory that I'll want to

work
both sleeves at once and probably will need more than four dpns to pick

up
the sleeves initially. Never hurts to have spares. Ok, I *can* say a

nice
thing about the "new and improved" LYS - she hasn't raised prices on

needles
an iota in years. I paid $4 per set for INOX DPNs yesterday.


I don't think the wholesale on those has gone up in all that time, either,
because the same is true at my LYS. I have the same theory on spares and I
love to work sleeves at the same time, especially when I'm making them up
as I go along.


Helen "Halla" Fleischer,
Fantasy & Fiber Artist in Fairland, MD USA
http://home.covad.net/~drgandalf/halla/



  #7  
Old July 26th 03, 03:31 AM
Katherine Burgess
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Claire" wrote
snip
.. Apart from the occasional guilty foray into John
Lewis' I've been trying to support small businesses by using the old
fashioned wool shops but have had so little luck finding a good one since

I
moved that today I went to the Hobbycraft superstore and have now been
converted to the Dark Side.


Welcome to the Dark Side, Claire! We all live here, quite happily. g
Katherine


  #8  
Old July 26th 03, 08:57 AM
Ophelia
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Claire" wrote in message
...
I must admit that I am awfully envious of you guys having so many places
around you that sell yarn. It (knitting) doesn't seem to really have

caught
on over here (UK) quite as much and finding a small independent yarn shop

is
like looking for hen's teeth.


I am in Scotland Claire and the only place I can get decent wool is in John
Lewis. I always wait for my annual trip down to Yorkshire and stock up
then. There is a super wool shop in Thirsk and when I was down there a few
weeks ago they had a sale)))

And even those are more haberdashers than wool
shops so have very little choice. My nearest is nearly an hour away which

is
a nuisance when I find that I don't have the right sized needles or have
lost my stitch holder (yet again) or just have the urge to satisfy my
wool-obsessed consumerism. Apart from the occasional guilty foray into

John
Lewis' I've been trying to support small businesses by using the old
fashioned wool shops but have had so little luck finding a good one since

I
moved that today I went to the Hobbycraft superstore and have now been
converted to the Dark Side. There was so much choice! (The department

store

Where is there a Hobbycraft shop?? I am not sure we get them up here I
would love to visit one though next time I am south of the border.

had given over half the wool space to garden furniture so I had to try the
big out-of-town shops)


It is very good to support local shops but you first have to find them

Ophelia



  #9  
Old July 26th 03, 02:35 PM
SlinkyToy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Ophelia --

Jamieson&Smith Woolbrokers in Lerwick on Shetland do mail order and their
stuff is to die for. Order a color card and a single hank of say, natural
white jumper weight. Then you'll know the hand of the yarn AND have the
entire color line at your disposal.

Michelle
Who has an entire bin of J&S at UK prices thanks to a friend near Reading
and who needs to start knitting it up one of these years

PS -- the one "wool shop" I found in the Hampshire/Reading area when I was
there a few years ago was populated largely by tacky handicrafts and a huge
woman who smoked like a chimney. All the wool were wee DK skeins in two
bins directly under the worst of the smog. I bought one at 30p so that I
could say I had some British yarn. Then I heard about J&S...

"Ophelia" wrote in message
...

"Claire" wrote in message
...
I must admit that I am awfully envious of you guys having so many places
around you that sell yarn. It (knitting) doesn't seem to really have

caught
on over here (UK) quite as much and finding a small independent yarn

shop
is
like looking for hen's teeth.


I am in Scotland Claire and the only place I can get decent wool is in

John
Lewis. I always wait for my annual trip down to Yorkshire and stock up
then. There is a super wool shop in Thirsk and when I was down there a

few
weeks ago they had a sale)))

And even those are more haberdashers than wool
shops so have very little choice. My nearest is nearly an hour away

which
is
a nuisance when I find that I don't have the right sized needles or have
lost my stitch holder (yet again) or just have the urge to satisfy my
wool-obsessed consumerism. Apart from the occasional guilty foray into

John
Lewis' I've been trying to support small businesses by using the old
fashioned wool shops but have had so little luck finding a good one

since
I
moved that today I went to the Hobbycraft superstore and have now been
converted to the Dark Side. There was so much choice! (The department

store

Where is there a Hobbycraft shop?? I am not sure we get them up here I
would love to visit one though next time I am south of the border.

had given over half the wool space to garden furniture so I had to try

the
big out-of-town shops)


It is very good to support local shops but you first have to find them

Ophelia





  #10  
Old July 26th 03, 03:28 PM
SlinkyToy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

http://www.shetland-wool-brokers.zetnet.co.uk/

Just between you, me, and the 3k other readers of this list, J&S is thought
to be the supplier for VY yarns (ie, AS yarns).


"Ophelia" wrote in message
...
Thank you Slinky)

I shall investigate further Is there a website or phone number please?

O

Jamieson&Smith Woolbrokers in Lerwick on Shetland do mail order and

their
stuff is to die for. Order a color card and a single hank of say,

natural
white jumper weight. Then you'll know the hand of the yarn AND have the
entire color line at your disposal.

Michelle
Who has an entire bin of J&S at UK prices thanks to a friend near

Reading
and who needs to start knitting it up one of these years

PS -- the one "wool shop" I found in the Hampshire/Reading area when I

was
there a few years ago was populated largely by tacky handicrafts and a

huge
woman who smoked like a chimney. All the wool were wee DK skeins in two
bins directly under the worst of the smog. I bought one at 30p so that

I
could say I had some British yarn. Then I heard about J&S...

"Ophelia" wrote in message
...

"Claire" wrote in message
...
I must admit that I am awfully envious of you guys having so many

places
around you that sell yarn. It (knitting) doesn't seem to really have
caught
on over here (UK) quite as much and finding a small independent yarn

shop
is
like looking for hen's teeth.

I am in Scotland Claire and the only place I can get decent wool is in

John
Lewis. I always wait for my annual trip down to Yorkshire and stock

up
then. There is a super wool shop in Thirsk and when I was down there

a
few
weeks ago they had a sale)))

And even those are more haberdashers than wool
shops so have very little choice. My nearest is nearly an hour away

which
is
a nuisance when I find that I don't have the right sized needles or

have
lost my stitch holder (yet again) or just have the urge to satisfy

my
wool-obsessed consumerism. Apart from the occasional guilty foray

into
John
Lewis' I've been trying to support small businesses by using the old
fashioned wool shops but have had so little luck finding a good one

since
I
moved that today I went to the Hobbycraft superstore and have now

been
converted to the Dark Side. There was so much choice! (The

department
store

Where is there a Hobbycraft shop?? I am not sure we get them up

here I
would love to visit one though next time I am south of the border.

had given over half the wool space to garden furniture so I had to

try
the
big out-of-town shops)

It is very good to support local shops but you first have to find

them

Ophelia









 




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