Review

I have decided that I am going to start keeping track of knitting items I come across. This includes but is not limited to, LYS, yarn, needles, notions, etc. My opinions and reviews are based solely on my experience as a knitter, yarn enthusiast, craft hobbyist, mother, and female.

One of my biggest irks over time has been the rudeness that I have encountered at LYS. Not only that but I have encountered staff looking at me if I have my child or children with me like they are the plague. I have been followed around stores to the point where I just won't shop at them anymore. I have encountered and elitist or snobbish attitude at times as well.

I also have had wonderful experiences where people have spoken kindly to my children, who are not the type of kids to 1) run around in the store, and 2) pull things off shelves. Face it, even though we have kids, and there are times where projects don't necessarily wait for babysitters, we do need to watch over our children's behaviour.

These opinions may change over time and I may review a place, item or thing again in the future.
I have been knitting for about 7 years and crocheting for about 9. I hand spin yarn on drop spindles both top and bottom whorls as well as a spinning wheel. I have been interested in crafts in general all of my life. I am the mother to two younger children and experienced in taking children to all sorts of craft stores.

So let's begin.

I'll start with The Lamb Shoppe.

First, my first trip there was actually my second trip there. I had forgotten.

Ratings are based on a five sheep rating, where five is the best, and one is the lowest.

Atmosphere: 5 sheep
I give them a 5 sheep rating since I am unaware of any other LYS in Colorado that has a coffee bar inside. They have at least 2 tables to sit around and a small sitting area. I also really like the hours that they are open. The one odd thing that I found about this LYS is that it seemed a little library like...fairly quiet and there were quite a few people in there at the time. I think that this may be a quality about LYS that is typical of them, so I didn't downgrade a sheep for it. The one thing I loved was the fact that this LYS stays open late. Most LYS in Colorado close shop at 5:30 pm, which makes it somewhat of a nightmare if you need another skein of something to finish a project.

Kid Friendly: 2 sheep
A 2 sheep rating because if you take a child there, there isn't really anything for them to look at. I hovered between a 1 and 2 rating...I raised it to a 2 because they do have the coffee bar and they did have non coffee products, such as flavored sodas.

Product: 3 sheep
This rating is in the middle...this is because the yarn selection seems wonderful, but I haven't seriously nosed around the store. I'm actually a little irritated about their bags right now. I bought a Namaste KnitTube from them and I think I got completely overcharged. Granted, it was 1) my fault for not researching better before buying, and 2) I never brought it up. Their receipt doesn't specifically include bags in their list of non returnable items. I paid $71.00 for the KnitTube whereas Dreamweaver Yarns has them for $39.00. So, learning that after I got home left a sour taste in my mind.

Staff: 4 sheep
The rating of 4 sheep is good, because I wasn't flat out ignored nor was I stalked. Their staff seemed friendly enough and they did seem to manage smiles, which believe me I have encountered many grumbly LYS staff before.

WTF (willing to frequent): 1 sheep
I'm always willing to go to any store if the product I'm looking for is about 5% to 10% more instead of waiting for it to be mailed to me from an online purchase. However, when the difference is 82% higher it just saddens me and makes me never want to go back.

So, here's the first one. I'll add more categories as I see fit. Feel free to comment if you wish. This was just something important to me.