Sock it to me

I think I have a small sheep growing in my closet. My stash is growing. I can't help it. I've been bitten by the sock bug and I can't stop obsessing about it.

My first frantic stop, really, was at Knitty Cat. The Lorna's Laces on the right...I bought a skein months ago. The other day when I was reorganizing my sock stash, I came across my little wound cake and realized that it was awfully small. There was just no way to get 2 good socks out of them. Maybe little ones or short ones, either way I called Knitty cat and I was in luck they had a skein. Knitty Cat is great. Small, but great. I raced over there to acquire the skein.

Atmosphere: 4 sheep
It's small, but it's welcoming.

Kid friendly: 4 sheep
Ann, the owner, and her customers have never glared at my children which as a parent is such a wonderful thing. I wish people really understood this more and how much of a relief it is not to go into a place and feel like you are carrying the plague.

Product: 4 sheep
Quite a selection for a small store. I could use a larger sock selection, but I've seen worse. If Knitty Cat doesn't have it, Ann will take note on perhaps ordering in the future.

Staff: 5 sheep
Ann knows me by name and I've never taken a class at her store. She's more than happy to tell of any of her sales before hand and she advertises them on her Ravelry. Knowledgable and helpful to any questions regarding knitting.

WTF (willing to frequent): 5 sheep
Great store. I always like to come here during sales and not.

However, a Jitterbug, 2 more Lorna's Laces and a Fortissma followed me home as well.

Today String, A Knitting Boutique an additional skein of Cherry Tree Hill, Noro and Fortissma followed me home.

I'm always a tiny bit disappointed when I go to this store. Today I am disappointed because when I just went to get this link, I noticed that they are having a sale on Saturday and the owner didn't even bother to mention it. I'll just be happy with my find of solid black yarn, although Colorful Yarns had solid colors as well.

I went to Knitty Cat once and a situation similar was occurring and the owner very kindly mentioned it to me. To which I made a special trip the following Saturday and bought twice as much as I would have normally. Kudos to Knitty Cat.

I think I'll just skip String and Lambbe Shoppe altogether from now on.

Atmosphere: 4 sheep
It's organized by color.

Kid friendly: 4 sheep
No kid distractions unfortunately, but they don't glare at you if you have one.

Product: 4 sheep
Lots of yarn and notions. They carry a large selection of other Noro items besides Kuryeon and Silk Garden.

Staff: 2 sheep
The staff is friendly when they talk to you. Sometimes it's hard to get their attention, I'm not sure if it's because of classes or just other customers.

WTF (willing to frequent): 1 sheep
I will not come back to this store as I was disappointed that no one happened to mention the sale...their big annual sale...was only 2 days away. I understand this, but at the same time, why not say something?

Finally, today I went to Colorful Yarns and found the orange Opal yarn I was looking for. Yay! On sale, double yay!

In addition, 3 other Opal's on sale and 2 Regia because there was a nice customer who showed me a sock she was knitting with it and it looked super cool.

So, there you go. :)

Here's my list so far in order of knitting stores I prefer.

Atmosphere: 4 sheep
Well lit and nice environment.

Product: 4 sheep
Great selection of sock yarn. Don't forget to check out their clearance area. That's where I found the 3 balls of Opal and granted I probably would not have picked those color when normally looking for yarn, sales are always a good thing.

Staff: 4 sheep
Depends on the staff...sometimes you get someone who is a people person. Sometimes you just get a sales person.

WTF (willing to frequent): 4 sheep
The only thing that sometimes causes me to pause before going to this store is that I have to have cash. I like their selection. I like their prices.

1) Purls of Wisdom
2) A Knitted Peace - They have Kauni
3) Knitty Cat - Smaller selection
4) Knit Knack
5) Colorful Yarns - Good prices
6) Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins
7) Recycled Lamb - has a box of toys for the kids to play with while you shop
8) The Cottage Yarn
9) Showers of Flowers
10) The Lambbe Shoppe - Mostly likely will not return to
11) String, A Knitting Boutique - Will not return to