My aunt is really starting to embrace my knitting hobby – which is excellent since she has a car and I don’t. Today she took me to my first ever LYS (local yarn store).
What can I say but wow! Knitters who live in large cities with several LYS’s to choose from don’t know what a treat it is to finally SEE and TOUCH all the yarns you’ve only read about. My favorites were the merinos like Koigu and Supermerino. I’d been looking at a lot of cotton yarns (particularly striped or variegated lines) online lately, so I was thrilled to see Fixation, Fantasy Naturale, Berocco Cotton Twist, and Santana. They also had a decent selection of Cascade 220, Encore and all the Noro yarns. The prices, alas, were rather steep for a dedicated bargain hunter like myself, so left only with some notions and needles for my next Harry Potter scarf.
That’s a 16″ sz. 7 Clover circ, coilless safety pins, stitch markers, point protectors for circular needles, and some double-ended stitch holders.
The next stop was a nearby Jo-Ann’s. What a dump! The knitting section was stuck back in the furthest corner and was a complete mess. Other than a few common yarns I hadn’t yet seen in person before (such as Lion Brand Landscapes and Caron Wintuk), their yarn selection didn’t even compare to my local Wal-Mart. I was amused to note how one yarn with a big CLEARANCE tag on it had been marked down from $2.19 to $2.00. Wow. What a deal!
Meanwhile, non-crafter Mom was already bored out of her mind, so we caught up with her next door in Tuesday Morning. I’d never heard of Tuesday Morning before and didn’t have a clue what they sell, so it was quite a shock to walk down an aisle and see yarn. Specifically, 3-skein packs of Lion Brand yarn. At first I saw nothing but Wool-Ease Sportweight and a couple bags of hot pink PolarSpun. Then I caught sight of… Cotton-Ease! And if the Jo-Ann and Michaels stores I’ve visited are any indication, probably the only Cotton-Ease in town. I didn’t think I’d get the chance to join the Cotton-E Craze, but lookie-lookie!
That’s 6 Cherry Red, 6 Pineapple, 3 Pistachio, 3 Orangeade and 3 Candy Blue. I left behind one lonely bag of Cherry Red in a different dye lot (of course, now I wish I’d gotten it too!). I haven’t decided what I’m going to make with them, but there’s a pretty good chance a Sitcom Chic is in my future. There was also some Cotton-Ease patterns in the Spring-Summer FCEK. Mental note to check that in the morning.
The day was ended at Barnes & Noble where I perused some knitting magazines and books but, with an eye to how much I’d spent already, bought nothing. :-/
yay LYS!!
it was pretty funny.
I walked into mine for the first time a few months ago and was so overwhelmed, I walked out with nothing. LOL Not even a set of needles or anything. The second time I went, I walked out with the yarn for my Clapotis (silk garden #205 and a couple other things). THe lady in front of me bought a set of Denise needles, and when I left, I ended up turning right back around and buying my first (yes, first) set! lol
oh, I forgot. if you have a Hobby Lobby near you, I also spied some cotton-ease there in a clearance section (basically some shelfing where they didn’t have regular stock yet.). i bought 5-6 skeins in white & ice blue. lol