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LYS Etiquette?


KateCrochets

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There are 2 LYSs in my area, one doesnt cater to crocheters at all. The other one does (Let It Rain Yarn in Mukilteo, WA). They have the yummiest wooden crochet hooks and have a free weekly knit & crochet group and hosts weekend retreats a few times a year. They carry yarn that the big stores dont have and have more in the way of natural fibers.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've only had the pleasure of going into a LYS once, when I was visiting my hubby's family in Memphis right after I got back from Kuwait. At that point, I had had to order all of my yarn online, no petting allowed. Hubby told me I could buy whatever I wanted (What was he thinking? Probably cause I had told him the same thing in the coin store) Loved the yarns, such variety! It was mainly knitting oriented, very few crochet patterns, but they had all sorts of worked up projects around the store, probably about as many crochet as knitted. The prices were more than a little high, but they had some beautiful yarns on sale. I must have spent more than an hour looking through the sale areas (poor hubby). The point of this little stroll down memory lane: If I could find one in the area I live (wasn't one in Killeen, and so far haven't found one in Wichita, maybe on the east side, but I don't venture there) I would so be visiting. In case you're currious, I bought two skeins of a burgundy cashmere, two eyelash ones that were so very soft and a cool stripped ribbon yarn. Sadly, I haven't used any of them yet.

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I had a conversation with the owner of the LYS I go to this weekend........she was shocked that an owner of a LYS would refuse a sale to a crocheter!! She said it doesn't matter what the customer is going to do with it - she's glad for the sale!

I've had a few peices on display at this LYS, and now I teach crochet there!

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We have two LYS. One of them is new, small, and the owner is super friendly. She made bread pudding the saturday I was there, saying it was " a full service shop, so if you're hungry I have warm bread pudding" Wowzers! I guilt-buy there sometimes (but use what I buy)

 

the other LYS...not so much. It's huge, has good prices and a great selection. But they aren't very friendly. They don't label any shelves, so there are 4 rooms of yarn and I have no idea what is where. They also have one small room that they have a knitting group sit in and work...the room you have to pass through to get to the other rooms. a r oom lined with shelves of yarn. You can't go in there on group days, b/c you feel like you're intruding- you hafta squeeze behind this big group of chattering knitters to get to anything. I like to look at yarn, but not with a group of 15 strangers sitting there staring at me b/c I'm in their way

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WOW!! I would have been so shocked too! :eek It's hard to know what I would have done but I probably would have gone out to my car and then decided to return the yarn. :irk If she would have refused I would call the cops. :tryme:grumpy Some people are so mean and evil!!

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I'm like you, KateCrochets, when I go into my lys, I feel kinda odd if I leave w/out buying anything. The owner is really nice, and the yarn is great (even though most of it is out of my budget)!

 

So when I do get ready to visit, I make sure I have a little bit of cash on hand, so that if anything, I can buy a skein of some new fiber or blend to play with. Gets rid of the guilt, and gives me another little purchase to pet at home. Lol!

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My only complaint about the LYSs I've been to in Phoenix is that they are so heavily knitting oriented. I dont have a thing against knitting, I would just like to see more crochet patterns and hooks. (I'm a tool addict, any new nifty gadget, I have to have it!) I've only encountered one store where I was told "we dont crochet here" in a very condescending tone. By the owner herself! I havent gone back to that store. I think its very petty (and ridiculous) of the owner to have such an attitude. *shrug* But thats her deal...

 

I went to my first LYS over the weekend and I was also met with the same lack of crochet-vibe in the store. There were like 4 hooks of random sizes next to a wall of knitting needles. I asked the employee if they carried more crochet stuff. She said no, because all the employees were knitters and no one really crocheted - thus, they didn't really know what to stock for crochet. I wasn't offended by that - I actually appreciated her honesty. But her tone when talking about crochet - as if knitting was the only acceptable fiber craft - that irked me. I think she just doesn't know what she's missing out on. :hook

 

But all in all, a good shop, nice selection and in the same shopping plaza as a great pizza place and an Irish bar. It will be a great way to get my husband to let me go yarn shopping! (once the bar is smoke-free, that is)

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I have a great LYS near me. I do try to buy something when I visit. I'm not sure it's out of guilt that I buy. For me it's more about (1) supporting the local small business owner, (2) showing that I appreciate the advice I recieve there, and (3) doing my part to help keep them in business so that I continue to have a place to buy higher quality yarns locally.

 

Just my :2c

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Bottom line...you don't have to buy anything if you don't want anything. I always let them know that I am looking around just in case I see something to come back for. Eventually I come back to show my support and I bring others along.

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I love walking around the LYS' that are near me. I have 4 within 30-40 minutes. There used to be another but sadly it went out of business. I so feel for small store owners. My DH is closing his business. It has been in business for 60 years in our town. He is very bitter about it. But times have changed and unfortunelty people no longer buy cd's/music in a store (that was his business) But back to LYS - I'm actually going to one today - it has to be a planned trip because they are a distance away. But I looked online for some yarn I bought in SanDiego, and I need more and this shop has it. So off I go..........TammyG

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I think there are a couple of LYS within about 40 minutes of my place. The only one I've ever gone to was really nice. The first time I went was because I was actually looking for something that you can't get at a big box store. They didn't have what I was looking for, but I bought some other very nice stuff instead. Somewhat out of guilt, somewhat out of oooOOOooo, I've got to have this! I'm just now using it and I got it back in November. The one lady at my LYS only knits, the other crochets (and knits I think...). They don't have a ton of crochet stuff, but are very friendly. I've felt welcome the couple of times I've been there and had good conversations. I think I don't buy more there because I haven't really ventured into wearables and most of the stuff there is WAY too nice for 'just' an afghan... I keep drooling though and I may just have to start trying wearables... although I shudder at the pattern changes I'd have to do for my XL+ size....

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  • 2 weeks later...

I just learned to crochet after Christmas so I thought I would take some Christmas money and check out a LYS.

I had my Happy Hooker book with me so that I could get help with finding the right yarn.

 

It was a tiny shop with one woman and when I showed her the page with my project on it (ipod monkey cosy), she showed me my choices of yarn.

She then said how she had never heard of the book but she thought that the projects were really interesting.

I spent my time happily looking at the yarn while she sat down and happily looked at the book!

In fact when I bought two different yarns she said politely that I didn't need that much for a project (of course I still bought it :devil ).

At checkout time she was still reading it.

 

I was so naive when I went into the store, I thought it was odd that she didn't know about a top selling crochet book

but then I also had no idea that crocheters weren't loved by all (how could anyone not love us...we make such cute things!)

At the time I was a bit disappointed that the shop was so small and didn't carry a lot of yarn but I guess her attitude made up for that.

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I've only been to my LYS once, and I didn't feel pressured to buy anything, although I did. I finally found a cotton yarn thinner than Lilys Sugar 'n Cream, that I love, and it wasn't too expensive either. If pressure is involved, I'd probably just frown and walk out, then never go again.

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My friend and I usually go together as an outing. The store is really nice and usually busy. There's always a knitting group entrenched in the seating area that you have to squeeze around. They carry only more expensive stuff and I'm not good enough yet to buy the good stuff! They have lots of patterns though. We look through everything searching for crochet (its all mixed up with the knitting patterns), go up and down the isles several times. I have never bought anything and I do feel bad because I want the small business to do well. Luckily my friend usually buys something!

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