When it comes to knitting, I'll admit, I haven't been very spoiled. Until very recently, the closest thing we had to a local yarn shop was Hobby Lobby. Micheal's was around, if you were up for a drive. It was easily forty-five minutes from my house, further after we moved. The yarn selection was rather pathetic and I found that more often than not I was stuck with acrylic blends or cotton. For a newer knitter, this wasn't so bad, especially after they started to carry a decent line of sock yarn, but as time went on, I started lusting for beautiful yarns of more varying materials and colors.
For those of us not lucky enough to have a local yarn shop (hereafter referred to as the LYS), there is always the option of ordering online. While this may open up a whole new range of possibilities, for someone like me, there's a need to see the color of the yarn for myself, to feel it's texture, to squeeze it for softness, before I make my final purchase. Online yarn stores, while wonderful, do not come with the satisfaction of knowing I got the perfect yarn. Instead you have to wait for it to arrive. What if it isn't what you had hoped for? What if it isn't as soft? What if the colors don't match as well as they seemed to on the digital swatches? How can you know how it feels? It's one thing if you've ordered that kind of yarn before, or received it as a gift, or even got to fondle another knitter's yarn, but if you haven't, it's all a gamble. Sure, you can have a general idea of what wool feels like, or bamboo, or cotton, but it's just not the same!
When I found out we were getting our own LYS, I was thrilled! I was going to have a place nearby to purchase all my yarn! I would be able to fondle it before purchase, hold it up to the light, and inspect it from every angle. I was going to be able to hold it while I wandered around to look at everything, deciding finally if I like this yarn better or that for the project I had in mind. More importantly, I was going to be able to get yarn that was far nicer than the craft store variety. I couldn't wait.
Of course, not all LYS's are created equal. My initiation into the world of LYS's back in Salem, Massachusetts, wasn't exactly the ideal. I walked in with my neon pink hair dressed all in black. My boyfriend looked scruffy as ever in a spiked leather jacket, black BDU pants, and a Slayer shirt. We had a stroller with us and my daughter at all of a year old tucked inside it, sucking her thumb and looking rather emo, a look she's still good at maintaining when she's not happy to be somewhere. The woman who worked there looked down her nose at us, not hiding her disgust at our presence in her store. I'll admit, I didn't know how to knit at the time. My boyfriend had suggested that we check it out because there might be something useful to make costumes with. He had thought it was a craft and fabric store, but I told him it looked like a "knitting store". We had decided to go in on a whim. In truth, if I was met by a friendly worker who wanted to be helpful, I probably would have left with my first set of knitting needles since I was seven or eight and enough yarn for at least a scarf, but that wasn't the reception I received. The woman's voice was dripping with contempt for my very presence as she asked "Can I help you?" When I told her I was just looking around, she rolled her eyes at me and walked away. I didn't want to touch anything for fear that I would somehow disturb the delicate displays and anger this woman. Instead, I just glanced around and walked out, no purchases or anything. It left the impression that knitters were all very old and grandmotherly, knitting outdated things with all the best intentions, or women like this, who thought that knitters were somehow better than the rest of us, and if you didn't look the part, you didn't deserve the time of day.
Three years later I decided to take up knitting again, and it took two more years before I would step foot in another knitting shop. Again, it was back in Massachusetts, though I still lived in Texas at the time. My ex had told me about this lovely little yarn shop he learned to knit at in Porter Square, Cambridge. Mind's Eye Yarn was a wonderful little place, nestled just a bit off the beaten path. Had I not known to look, I likely wouldn't have found it at all. It sat in an old Victorian home. Stepping into the front hall I immediately felt out of place. There was a stairway going up and a simple sign printed off a computer on the first floor door. I felt like I was somehow entering some secret society building, but once I entered, I felt right at home. This wasn't like the yarn shop I had visited previously. There was yarn in baskets, racks, and shelves scattered through the first room. The counter had a case of knitting notions. There was a shelf of knitting books on the wall next to the register. Being winter time, there was a Christmas tree adorned with scarves, hats, and other knitting projects. The girl behind the counter didn't come off as terribly friendly to me, but she told me where I could find everything as I came in and told me to ask if I needed anything. I wandered the shop, looking at everything, fondling the yarn with reckless abandon. I seriously considered buying some roving and a drop spindle to see if I could get some spinning lessons while I was up there, but decided the better of it as I would need to pack it all in my bags for the flight home. At one point the house was clearly an apartment, as the back housed a kitchen where the cupboards were filled with yarn. Even the dish washer housed an amusingly appropriate selection of dishcloth cottons. When asked about what kind of project I was shopping for, or if I was just browsing, I was given her opinion on each of the sock yarns they carried. When I finally settled on my purchase, I sat down in a rocking chair in their front room to knit. As it turns out, my ex was due to arrive there in not terribly long after my arrival, so I chose to sit, knit, and wait for him. This may sound odd to some, but my ex and I are actually friends now. It's amazing what several years can do for a relationship! Once he arrived, the girl at the yarn store, my ex, and I all sat down to knit together. She and I were both working on socks and my ex was working on his first hat. It just felt so comfortable! While I had fears that the girl who worked there didn't particularly like me, or think too highly of me, I still felt comfortable enough to enjoy my time. I went back one more time to make another purchase, but it wasn't one of those places I could just hang out for hours all the time. I just wasn't at home there. I had thought about stopping in at the knitting group or the spinning group during my two week stay, but I just didn't feel comfortable enough to dive in and meet all these new knitters. I figured I just wasn't the "hang out with the knitting group" kind of girl. It was one thing to knit with friends, but I didn't think I could make friends that knit.
When the Old Spinning Wheel opened up, even before that when they were hosting their Stitch 'N' Bitch, I wasn't entirely sure what I'd think of it. I wanted to go, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I would have nothing in common with the other knitters, which was my biggest fear. I wanted to go to the shop so badly when it opened, but I had to have a project in mind. I had to know what I was going to be purchasing for, because yarn at the LYS is notoriously expensive when you've bought nothing but craft store yarns and a couple of inexpensive online orders in your life. I had heard that most of what they would carry would be lighter material yarns. Since Texas is so warm, they probably wouldn't be carrying much in he way of wool, preferring cotton and the like. Since I'm not much for lightweight knits, I didn't know if they'd have much that would suit my interests. I'm always cold and I'm looking to knit wool diaper covers for my cloth diapered little one. It took a while for me to finally creep through the door at the Old Spinning Wheel, and even then, I went with a support group. I took my room mate with me so I wouldn't have to face them alone. If I felt out of place, at least I'd have her there with me.
That first day when I pulled up, I wasn't even sure I was in the right place. It wasn't until I saw a familiar car with Ravelry stickers on the window that I was certain I was there. I walked in to this place that looked more like a house than a store. The front room had shelving along the wall that was half-filled with yarn. The big baskets on the floor were only partially full. For a new store that was only beginning to stock up, I wasn't surprised. I'm certain they'll have a good deal more selection as time goes on. There was a giant spinning wheel in the center of the store, something that I longed to use, if only I knew how. Kids were sitting at a table in the next room over, watching movies on a portable DVD player. The knitters were all tucked away in the back of the place, chatting away. I had met some of them before at the one knitting group I attended and on Ravelry. One of them had been my inspiration for knitting socks and was the first person to tell me Ravelry even existed. We had known each other for a while from an entirely different group. I was encouraged to come on in and make myself at home. I didn't really do any knitting the whole time I was there, since my son wanted to cuddle in my lap instead, but I had a wonderful time. There was no pressure and I wasn't even once asked if I wanted to buy anything, which I suppose in some ways is a bad business practice. It was relaxing, homey, comfortable, and incredibly welcoming. I had finally felt what other knitters feel when they go to their knitting group and to their LYS.
I've always been big on supporting local businesses. The concept of thinking globally and acting locally takes on a whole variety of meanings, including buying from local retailers. I suppose local is all relative, since the yarn shop is a good forty-five minutes away. Both Micheal's and Hobby Lobby are much closer and more convenient in many ways. Of course, they don't provide the same level of comfortable shopping and an enjoyable environment where I could stay for hours. Yes, many of the yarns the store buys are shipped here, meaning there's still the cost of transportation, but they buy in bulk, reducing both the packaging and the number of trips required for solitary purchases I can make online. Let's not forget the ability to fondle the yarns! On top of it all, I get the joy of knowing that I've supported a local business rather than some big box store, some chain where the workers are often drones and know nothing about the products and services I want. I can enjoy the atmosphere. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I bought over forty dollars of yarn myself in the first week I visited and my room mate spent nearly as much. I've fallen in love with their selection of yarn and now I just need to think of projects to make with all the different styles and colors of yarn they have! At the very least, I think that's where I'll be buying all of my yarn to make longies, shorties, and covers from now on! I honestly don't think I'll ever buy another craft-store yarn again! Who needs cheap acrylics when there are so many delightful options available at the LYS?
Years ago, that first yarn shop I visited could have set me on my path. All it would have taken was a little bit of effort on the worker's part to get to know me. I would have gladly tried knitting again after I gave up on it so many years ago. However, I've come to realize that not all yarn shops are created equal. Some are far more family oriented than others. Some are far more welcoming to new faces, even faces that don't really seem like knitters at first. Some are more sterile and uncomfortable. I've found what I like in a yarn store, and as long as they're in business (and I'll do my best to keep them in business myself, if I have to...even if I need a second house just for my yarn stash!), I'll be buying all my yarn there, and visiting as often as possible. It's wonderful to be a part of the knitting family.
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