New to Crochet as well as Crochetville

[MamaMia2GandM]

Hi, my name is Mia. I am relatively new to crochet but am absolutely loving it! I started my first project (a doily) in February of this year and have since made a baby afghan, two shawlettes, and a few headbands/ear warmers to learn new stitches. My next project will be a USMC blanket for my son who will enter basic training in September so we'll see how it goes, hopefully I'm not biting off more than I can chew.  

Besides crochet I enjoy cross stitch, painting plastercraft houses (think Christmas Villages), and making bead jewelry mostly.  

Outside of crafting I love to travel, which we do a lot of.  My favorite destinations are Hawaii (Maui in particular) (my husband lived on Oahu and Kauai as a child) and Alaska (I lived there in my early 20's). We also love to cruise.  We have been on 14 or 15 cruises to date and have several planned in the next year (as well as a trip to Hawaii and a trip to Alaska). We are also big into snorkeling and taking underwater photos of the myriad sea-life. I also really love photography.  I'm not a great photographer, but I have a really great camera which makes me seem much better than I am.  Mostly nature/wildlife and photo documenting our travel adventures, though I hope to get another lens soon and start working on some family portraiture as well. 

I have a wonderful husband, two adult sons (23 and 19) and a 16 1/2 year old Papillon dog that is almost 100% deaf (she can hear if we clap our hands really loudly - but it startles her of course and then our hands burn so we avoid it) and she had one eye surgically removed a few years ago (cancer) and is probably more than 50% blind in the remaining eye, poor thing. But she is still active and goes for walks every evening and runs and prances like she was a puppy still. 

We live in the Phoenix metro area (yes, hot, hot, hot) and really love fall, winter and spring! We would travel all summer if we could make it work, just to avoid the heat. 

What I anticipate using this site for the most is to learn from you all that have been doing this a lot longer than I have, the expertise of so many talented men and women. And of course seeing all of your wonderful projects! I spend a lot of time on Pinterest looking at what other people are making...

So, with that said... my first question is where is your favorite place to buy yarn online?  The local stores that I have available to me are Michael's, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, Wal-Mart and Target.  None of which have been overly impressive with their selection of yarn.  Hobby Lobby is the best for selection but I can either get the weight I need but not the color or vice versa.  I'm thinking I'm going to do much better online, but there are so many places and I don't know where to start.  If you have a favorite that you'd be inclined to share with me, I'd be exceedingly grateful!

Have a great day! 

Mia

[howieann]

Hello!

[Tampa Doll]

Hi  and Welcome    to Crochetville from the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Grab your yarn and hooks, put your feet up and sit a spell.

[greyhoundgrandma]

Hello from Mississippi!    Love the shawls!

I buy on line from Joanne, knitpicks, Jimmy beans wool, knitting-warehouse....I'm sure there are others, but that's what comes to mind right now. It really depends on what yarn you're looking for--you can buy many directly from the manufacturer. The March natcromo blog tour--crochetville.com--features a shop/manufacturer each day. Just be careful buying thru ebay or Amazon because prices are sometimes inflated.

[magiccrochetfan]

Hi Mia, welcome to the ville!  You have made a lot of things since Feb, looking good!

Besides the chain stores you mentioned, have you gone to a locally-owned yarn specialty shop (LYS)?  There you will find a different range of yarns.  Some will be a lot more expensive than the chain stores, but some will be moderately priced especially when you consider the yardage and the quality.  One thing I find is that the LYS brands usually have a color range I like better than the chain brands.  the afghan in my avatar was made with Berrocco Comfort, for example; its a nylon-acrylic blend and i chose it largely for the colors.  There are some LYS that focus mainly on knitting and don't really seem to understand crocheting, but that seems to be changing in many stores---you might find the most crochet-oriented stores by looking for ones that offer crochet lessons or feature crochet patterns on their sites.

A knitting and crocheting site called Ravelry has some listings for yarn stores, here is the one for your location http://www.ravelry.com/shops/search?geo=true&address=Gilbert%2C+AZ%2C+USA&accuracy=4&lat=33.3528264&lng=-111.78902700000003&radius=150&units=miles&visited=&fuzzy=1&query=&loc=gilbert+az  You might want to check out some of those.  

As far as online, I've ordered from Webs, Jimmy Beans, FiberWild.  Joanns online site has some yarns that are only sold online.  Annie's has a lot of yarns and they've been a longtime source for patterns too.  Deramores and Wool Warehouse are located in the UK but offer cheap shipping to the US and have yarns that are hard to find here.  

[redrosesdz]

Welcome to Crochetville! 

Your projects look wonderful! You've got a talent for crocheting.

Others have already given you great advice for yarn. So, I'm going to add 2 completely opposite suggestions. First, see if there's any fiber fairs/festivals in your area. Around me, they're usually in the fall. It's a great place to find unique and handspun yarn. Second, check goodwill, salvation army, and estate sales and auctions. It's a great way to stock up on yarn. The best scores are from seniors downsizing or moving to retirement homes. 

[MamaMia2GandM]

Wow! You ladies are amazing! Thank you so much for all of the advice on places to look for yarn online. And the link from Ravelry with specialty shops in my area is a Godsend, thank you Kathy. I think I'll take my mom out shopping soon, what fun this will be!

I also thank you for the warm welcome! I think I'm going to like it here. ?

[magiccrochetfan]

You're welcome

in case some shops have moved or closed and not updated their listing, I guess it'd be good to call ahead.   Do be prepared to feel overwhelmed with yarny goodness!  Oh and if you buy yarn in a hank you need to know how to work with it http://www.berroco.com/learning-center/how-videos/how-winding-yarn  the shop may wind it for you but that is how to do it yourself.

[Terri/LadySorce]

Howdy from Oklahoma

 Welcome to Crochetville

[PinkGlitter]

Hello from Texas!