I'm starting to panic!

[yarnhookncandle]

I wasn't too worried when I kept hearing about all the stores cutting back on their yarn selection, Wal-Mart shook me a teensy tiny bit but I have always preferred Hobby Lobby and knew I could depend on them for almost any yarn I needed. I went in Hobby Lobby last week and in their clearance section I found quite a bit of Yarn Bee Highland Thistle which I love to work with so I grabbed quite a bit of it. I saw the lady who works there that I've become friends with and asked her about it. She told me they have stopped carrying the Highland Thistle, she tried to re-order it forever and could never get it in. She said they will also be cutting their yarn selection in half and will be putting a bunch on clearance probably sometime around March. According to her....Hobby Lobby has told them they want the yarns down to three sides, at my Hobby Lobby they have three aisles both sides so six sides of yarn. Now I am starting to panic. I keep hoping she is wrong but I kind of doubt it, she has worked there a long time.

 

I'm wondering if anyone else here has heard this from their Hobby Lobby?

This is just crazy, all the stores are getting rid of most of their yarn.

[lizdini]

I don't think it's time to panic just yet. I don't know about your friend, but most people who work at a store don't really know what decisions are being made at corporate. I can tell you from experience working at Micheals that yarn (and other items) would go on clearance, so it would look like it was going out of stock, but then it would be replenished, including many of the same exact items that were clearanced. I did the ordering and I didn't know when something like that would happen. That said, stores will generally get rid of items that don't make them much profit, and I can't see yarn as being a big profit generator. So it would make sense for them to fill up some of that space with items that do turn a profit. At least from a certain point of view.

[YarnMover]

They cut down on the yarn at the Michael's here and filled the rows with holiday items. They had been cutting back for some time. I usually order online, but for those that don't there is still a Joann's and an AC Moore. AC Moore has a really nice yarn area.

[PBLKNP]

Do they think no one knits or crochets anymore???

 

Our local Walmart is down to next to nothing for yarn and notions. Luckily, we still have Michaels near me, but AC Moore is a major hike (45 minutes away). I've been doing more shopping online for anything like SS or Red Heart, etc. as I know the online places will have what I'm looking for.

 

I also frequent my LYS...if you like acrylic blends, you can nearly always get Plymouth Encore at LYSs. It's a bit more expensive, but worth it if you're making something nice.

[yarnhookncandle]

We don't have an AC Moore, wish we did.

I'm wondering if this lady is right about Hobby Lobby cutting back on yarn which ones will they discontinue. They also had all their "Senso" on clearance or most of it if I remember correctly. I have a bunch of it so I didn't pick any up. Hancock's has Senso if I ever need anymore.

I did ask her if I should drop in at least once a week and check the clearance bin but she said probably not till around March would they have the yarn they are getting rid of on clearance.

I'm hoping she is mistaken.

[zeropixie]

I just went to www.hobbylobby.com and filled out their customer servey and then contacted them. Most companies like to have public feedback so it can't hurt to let them know how important they are to our craft.

Think I'll do the same with Michaels.

[onfire4Jesus]

From being in the retail business for many years, many years ago I do know that supplies change. New styles and colors come out; same with yarn. Packaging changes too and sometimes it is the manufacturer that wants items discounted to clear out the old to bring in the new. With times and the economy being as they are now, companies cannot afford to have items that don't sell, they need and want to keep things fresh. They have to decrease in unprofitable areas and increase in more profitable areas.

If you are concerned about your HL, you could eMail them and ask.

[yarnhookncandle]

I understand wanting to take out the old and bring in the new but according to my friend they aren't doing that, they are cutting way back on the yarn supply they carry. I don't understand this because every time I go to Hobby Lobby (believe me it's a lot....at least once a week) the yarn aisle is always busy and about every other person at the checkout has yarn or fabric. I'm hoping she is wrong and that's why I posted the comment here, wondered if anyone else had heard this from the Hobby Lobby in their area. I think emailing and asking is the best thing to do.

[pinkroses]

I don't have a Hobby Lobby,

We have Michales, AcMoores , and JoAnn's

I get so frustrated, the stores will have to realize we do use yarn and fabric.

And the price of every thing going up too.

I will probably end up buying a lot of mine on-line, pinkroses

[Daisy]

I don't have a Hobby Lobby or an AC Moore's anywhere near me. I have to depend on JoAnn's or Michaels for most of my yarn. Our Walmart and Meijer has cut back on yarn too, and I ain't to happy about it. I guess I will have to shop on-line, like the rest of us.

[beth eathorne]

my hobby lobby is already down to 3 isles. i am looking online more and more for the things i need. its easy to sit down and order from home but if the rest of you are like me i am not very good at waiting if i need a yarn fix.

[Wiste]

I really hope this trend does not continue. I love my new hobby. I don't usually mind shopping online but I like to see and feel the yarn before I buy it.

[Sylviaf]

I just did the survey, too. We need more yarn, not less!

[pakat]

I just did their survey too and inquired if they were down sizing.

[Craw]

I don't have a Hobby Lobby here. Wish I did! We have AC Moore, Michaels, and Joanns. Of those 3, AC Moore has the largest yarn dept. but that's the furthest away from me. It's mostly RHSS but I don't use that much any more. My Walmart never really had much and now they have even less than that so they're outta the picture. I wind up ordering most things online because that's the only way to get the color I want or the necessary amount of skeins in the same dye lot. It does kinda limit me because I like to pet a yarn first to know what it is and I don't like surprise colors that look nothing like what I see on my monitor. I'm leery of ordering what I'm not familiar with. Sometimes, if there's a yarn I'm dying to try and can't find around here in the stores, I'll tag a skein of it on an order I'm placing for something else. That way I get to see what it is and if I don't like it, I'm only stuck with one skein.

[happy stitcher]

Our HL has cut back. They used to have several more "sides" than they do now. I've noticed a lot more yarn on clearance for awhile now, and just thought they were re-organizing, getting rid of things that hadn't sold, etc. But the last time I was in there I turned the corner down a yarn aisle and the next aisle wasn't yarn anymore.

[PBLKNP]

Some e-tailers (like Knitpicks) have yarn cards/samples where you can check out the yarn ahead of time. It's a bit of a $$$ outlay, but worth it, rather than a very LARGE $$$ outlay, only to find the subtle pink you saw on the website is actually hot pink...

[Feederofthepack]

So true! Besides the Wal-mart, My Meijer store really expanded their yarn selection a couple of years ago to two whole isles. That didn't even last a year. they are down to next to nothing now. I live in a big city with lots of craft stores and LYSs but the rest of my crocheting family live in a small town. They have to go out of town for yarn or tell me exactly what to send them.

[JoBug]

I was at Hobby Lobby right after Christmas, and it seemed to me they are ADDING yarns, they now had I Love This Yarn in Cotton, and other blends too..... I woulod DIE without our Hobby Lobby store, its the only one I can count on here in this town.

Micheals has a good supply, we have a JoAnn's but they dont have but two isles of yarn, and to be honest, they wont GIVE it t me for free, after al its MY store, JoAnn

's...thats my name....hehehehehehe

I find you can get different brands and colors at Micheals than Hobby Lobby, so I came to th concltion it is a consiricy, that they can only carry certain ones from certain brands to kep them both in the market...lol