Yarn shop hop

While traveling this past month, I made a point of checking out as many yarn shops as I could. It was easy finding them using an internet search and GPS on my phone.

We traveled the Lincoln Highway from Mount Vernon, IA, to Times Square, NY, and you can read all about it here: ssudio.blogspot.com It's a bit disconnected because I didn't have any way to upload pics while I was writing.

There are quite a few shops on Long Island, and most of them are pretty nice. There was only one in Port Jefferson that I don't think I'd bother visiting again. Lots of nice yarns, but if the staff isn't friendly, then I just don't buy.

One particular shop in Cape May, NJ, is on my list-I had a coupon for 10% off the total bill, so I picked out quite a few things that I needed or had been wanting. Well.....she only took the discount off one item, one of the cheapest items! Then she argued with me about it. She also charged me full price for some things that were clearly marked with sale prices. I got it straightened out, and I actually put several things back on the shelf, but I won't shop there again. Face it-I don't get to Cape May very often, but if I do, I'll resist temptation!

One of the shops on LI was going out of business, and she had 25% off everything in the store. She's moving to Chattanooga in June. I hope she does well, she was very nice and friendly.

My new favorite out of town shop is Yarn Haven in Knoxville, TN. It's really hard to find, but worth the extra effort. The staff was very nice and helpful, and there were some really great yarns in her shop. She had some official UT sock yarn, which I wished I'd had last fall when I made socks for my SIL!

It's fun to visit other shops and see what else is out there, but I do prefer my own LYS, Hearthstone Knits in SOCO. It's like Cheers-everyone knows your name, knows what you're working on, knows your family, etc. It's very much a family.