finding things........in stores....

[butterfly_girl]

The Michaels where I live seems pretty well stocked for yarn and stuff.......but it does seem like there's a lot of the same style....eyelash, etc......I've never really used that before. Seems like it would be tricky. I would like to see a bigger selection of crochet books and magazines......

[origami]

You know what's sad? Between Michael's, Jo-Ann's and Rag Shop, I can get a much better selection of yarn from my Super Wal-Mart!

 

Our Walmart isn't all that great. They pretty much only carry Red Heart and Mainstays. I'm not a yarn snob but prefer going to JoAnn's where there is a much wider selection of brands. Sometimes I want cotton yarn and sometimes I want wool. JoAnn's is really good about sending out coupons. Our Ben Franklin's is starting to carry a wider variety of yarn too. And sometimes I *do* go to the local yarn store. No one else carries Cascade 220 which is a great felting yarn in lots of great colors. (I've heard rumors Michael's may start carrying it. I can't find ANY felting yarn at Michael's AT ALL for the time being.)

[LibiLou]

I would give my left, (need my right:) ) arm for a good and I mean a good yarn shop with everything in it. Yarn, hooks, needles, thread and anything else a knitter or crocheter needs.

 

Oh what a dream.

 

We have a couple good LYS's here, actual yarn stores, that's all they sell. But...their prices..oi! And most the yarn they sell is high-end, trendy stuff. I can't even walk into the back of the store, they have so much wool. I guess I'm cheap, but paying $6 for 3 ozs of acrylic..I mean, really? Just plain acrylic.

 

I, personally, like my Michael's, Robert's and Walmart. Those are the places I buy my yarn. Though, I must say, I usually know more about yarn and crocheting then most the workers there. Which is really sad, since I've only been crocheting since June! If it's not scrapbooking or tole painting, they just don't know.

[quirkyvirgo]

I went to the JoAnn's in Tulsa and asked the lady at the front counter (because she's the only employee I saw) if they carried yarn winders and she had no clue what I was talking about. I tried to describe it and she just said she was pretty sure they didn't have it but if they did it would be by the yarn, not even fully understanding what I was talking about. Yes, she said "pretty sure we don't have it." Not, let me ask, I'll check for you, anything. I definitely understand that everybody can't know everything but the least they can do is ask. Sheesh!

[donnalynn2]

Our Walmart isn't all that great. They pretty much only carry Red Heart and Mainstays. I'm not a yarn snob but prefer going to JoAnn's where there is a much wider selection of brands. Sometimes I want cotton yarn and sometimes I want wool. JoAnn's is really good about sending out coupons. Our Ben Franklin's is starting to carry a wider variety of yarn too. And sometimes I *do* go to the local yarn store. No one else carries Cascade 220 which is a great felting yarn in lots of great colors. (I've heard rumors Michael's may start carrying it. I can't find ANY felting yarn at Michael's AT ALL for the time being.)

Wow! Well we have 3 Super Wal-Mart's in the town where I live and 2 out of the 3 have excellent yarn centres! Just this summer they started carrying fun fur and a whole bunch of the specialty stuff. It's amazing the selection they have!

[kayveryn]

heh.... i've miffed people by being too helpful.... i work at walmart, and someone came up to me one day and asked for chalk (i was a cashier in the garden center at the time) so i asked them if they wanted chalkboard chalk, sidewalk chalk, tailor's chalk, chalk for a plumb line, or the spray on sidewalk/window chalk... got a blank look, then they decided on sidewalk chalk... so i asked them if they wanted a big bucket or a little bucket...(the big buckets are in toys, small ones in stationery, different sides of the store)...by now theyre getting a bit huffy, but i didnt want to parade them all over the store thru 5 diffrent departments looking for the chalk.... they finally decided a big bucket... just as well since toys was right next to the garden center at the time...lol!

 

 

kayveryn

[origami]

I went to the JoAnn's in Tulsa and asked the lady at the front counter (because she's the only employee I saw) if they carried yarn winders and she had no clue what I was talking about. I tried to describe it and she just said she was pretty sure they didn't have it but if they did it would be by the yarn, not even fully understanding what I was talking about. Yes, she said "pretty sure we don't have it." Not, let me ask, I'll check for you, anything. I definitely understand that everybody can't know everything but the least they can do is ask. Sheesh!

 

They carry them on their website but not in the store itself. If you go there and sign up to be a preferred customer, just wait and soon there will be a fifty percent off sale. That's the time to buy your yarn winder.

[origami]

Wow! Well we have 3 Super Wal-Mart's in the town where I live and 2 out of the 3 have excellent yarn centres! Just this summer they started carrying fun fur and a whole bunch of the specialty stuff. It's amazing the selection they have!

 

Well, the one that is within a decent driving distance is definitely not even a reasonably adequate Walmart -- let alone a Super Walmart. They have Red Heart, Mainstays, some Caron SS and Lion Brand homespun but not much else. I will occasionally buy some Red Heart for various projects but if I want a good selection, I go to JoAnn's.

[NurseFrawg]

*Beware kinda in a rant mode* There is this new yarn shop in town. It is owned and operated by the same people who have the fabric shop/ sewing/ vacuum cleaner place. Anyways, many of you have talked about petting the yarn and not making the yarn be something it doesn't want to be. Well the same is true for fabric and sometimes I just like to look well because I don't sew all that well and sometimes go a bit overboard when buying. (I have 75 scrub tops that my Mom made for me:blush )

Anyway when Mom visited we went to this shop. Ohhhh like kids in the candy store, but without the sticky hands. The people where really mean:irk . The look they gave when I said politely I didn't need any help right now that I was just looking was mean:irk . So this store looks like a very very yummy yarn store and I can't make up my mind if I want to go there or not. I mean I don't have a job and have a lot of yarn that is talking to me already, but it would be nice to look so I would have an idea what's out there and it would be nice to get out of the house, but I just don't need a mean salesperson right now.

The funny thing is it's not a huge town... there is only a WalMart not even a Super one and a medium size JoAnns. Both WalMart and JoAnns have a very slim selection of yarns and fabrics... you would think these owners would be nicer to keep business local. It is just as easy to go to another city close by to get better service.

It would be great if we could do a "shopper's arrest" kinda like a "citizen's arrest" for rude and uncaring salespeople.

Okay enough ranting...

Elizabeth

[donnalynn2]

Sometimes I forget what it's like to live in a small town area. I grew up in a small area (they still don't have a Michael's there or even a Fazoli's for goodness sakes!) but living in Ocala, it's a huge town where there are 3 SUPER Wal-Marts. I remember when I was in Michigan over Christmas, their Super Wal-Mart was about 1/2 the size of the ones we have here. We just got our 3rd Super Wal-Mart on the complete West side of town (mostly retired people live there, but that's where I work) and they only have a small section of yarn, but they do carry fun fur. The other 2 Wal-Marts on the other side of town have like 3 whole aisles dedicated to yarn. Maybe that's why the craft stores in town have dropped their supply of yarn? Not sure.

[Stacey]

Our Walmart isn't all that great. They pretty much only carry Red Heart and Mainstays. I'm not a yarn snob but prefer going to JoAnn's where there is a much wider selection of brands.

For me it's the opposite--the Walmart here has a reasonable selection, but Joann's is awful. They mostly only carry Caron Wintuk and some Lion Brand stuff, and hardly any thread at all. It's a small store and they only have one side of a really short aisle for yarn. The next closest Joann's is about 50 miles away or so, and it's got tons and tons of yarn, so when I get out that way I like to stop in and look at all the pretty stuff.

[quirkyvirgo]

Origami,

Thanks for the tip on buying a yarn winder. I checked on the website and I could use the 50% off coupon they have but with shipping it would make it about the same price as my LYS. And there's just something about being able to pay for something and walk off with it, not worrying about the mail and what could go wrong. Thanks for the advice though!

 

Tandi

[Lucki721]

We have a ACMoore, Michael's (pretty new, been here a year) and Super Wal-Mart all within a 7 mile radius from where I live. Because of this, I have a towel closet full of yarn, and then some in bins out in the garage! There is no way I can crochet it all. I wanted to start a business of sorts (making ponchos), but having 3 kids hasn't given me much time in recent days to work on things.

 

I am getting to a point, lol! All these stores carry a decent selection of yarn, ACMoore has about 6 aisles of yarn, ranging from the red heart to Lion Brand, to really expensive stuff you can find in a yarn shop. I shop there mostly for yarn. Michaels has a decent selection as well, and carries Microspun whereas ACMoore doesn't. Like you guys though, there is a whole aisle dedicated to the novelty stuff. Wal-Mart has two aisles, but a good selection of Lion Brand. The last time I was there I checked on the Lion Wool and they haven't stocked it yet. I saw it ACMoore, and picked up a skein to make a camera case, and to try felting.

 

I am getting ready to move to Florida (St. Pete/Tampa area), I hope the selection of yarn is decent, even though it's probably too warm to sit outdoors to crochet, lol! It's popular here because of how cold it is (winters are loooooong and brutal in CT).

 

If you have a rant about how customer service is or how crappy the selection at your store is, why not write or call the corporate offices? We've had a lot of problems at our local Olive Garden (I swear we are red flagged, lol) and we have seen results by 'voicing our opinion'. It may be food, but hey, it's still our hard earned cash, same goes for yarn.

[linderkay]

Haaaahaaaa....as an "ex" Michael's worker, there was not a single person in that store that knew a thing about yarn. They do not hire according to experience, you just must "like" crafts. You don't have to know how to do them. Even the framing department starts from scratch. They are lucky to keep any good employees because they just have no budget. The lady that worked the yarn where I worked, was a 10 year employee of Michael's and made $7.00 an hour. She had not the first clue about yarn, at all, and would say so. I do not remember them having a hairpin lace loom though. I stayed there for the people that worked there, they were absolutely great people, and for the discounts. THAT was great. I did not bring much money home but lots of fun stuff including yarn.

[crochetdiva]

I have to say that there are a few wonderful employees at the Michaels here. In particular two women that are extremely helpful and cheerful in the yarn area. I swear some people are hired simply because they don't smile. LOL. I worked in Fabricland for a while and LOVED helping people...and got reprimanded several times for spending TOO much time helping people. So sometimes it might be the management that lays down the law, and not the employees themselves.

 

Our Walmart only has one aisle of yarn...but a pretty good quantity. Michaels only has one aisle too. We have one really good LYS and one that is just starting out.

When I lived on Vancouver island my girlfriend and I used to frequent the only yarn store in town just to get a good laugh. We decided to own a yarn store you needed to be devoid of any personality. We teased that we should open a yarn store next door and be pleasant....that would have been good competition.

[origami]

Origami,

Thanks for the tip on buying a yarn winder. I checked on the website and I could use the 50% off coupon they have but with shipping it would make it about the same price as my LYS. And there's just something about being able to pay for something and walk off with it, not worrying about the mail and what could go wrong. Thanks for the advice though!

 

Our LYS must overcharge for theirs because it was cheaper for me to get mine from Joann's, even with the shipping. I saved over ten dollars! I'll probably end up getting my Denise knitting needle kit from the LYS though because JoAnn's doesn't have those -- and I don't want the Boye kit.

[jenf1676]

I am suprised by everyone saying that Joanns has good yarn. I was yarn shopping online one day at joanns and they had so much and when I went to the store they only had on small isle maybe six feet long and it was less then 50% stocked.

 

Again, I dont know were everyone is from but the Michaels I work in is in Massachussetts and the full timers there ( department managers and lead sales people) have been there for years and are very knowledgeable about the products we sell they can answer almost any question and help you find almost any product. If corporate sends the product to us then it is on the shelves. The cahiers however, they will hire anyone. Just yesterday one of the new cashiers punched in and started wandering the store then asked me what she was doing today. I said to her you are a cashier, you will be ringing on a register. I think they need to find more qualified cahiers, preferably ones who know and care about crafts.

[seagull1993]

>> Just yesterday one of the new cashiers punched in and started wandering the store then asked me what she was doing today. I said to her you are a cashier, you will be ringing on a register. I think they need to find more qualified cahiers, preferably ones who know and care about crafts. <<

 

And, definitely cashiers who know and care about ringing up sales! :-D

[origami]

I am suprised by everyone saying that Joanns has good yarn. I was yarn shopping online one day at joanns and they had so much and when I went to the store they only had on small isle maybe six feet long and it was less then 50% stocked.

 

Depends on where you are at. Our JoAnn's has about 3 aisles of yarn plus some overflow bins and shelves in lots of varieties. Our Michael's has a couple aisles of yarn too but it is half novelty stuff, half baby pastel acrylic stuff. I think it depends on the individual store. Our JoAnn's has a lot more varieties of threads (3, 5, 10) than Michael's.