Did you know that Saturday, April 21 is the first-ever LYS Day?
A few years ago, when there seemed to be a yarn store on every other corner, there was no need for a special day. Now, when the passion for buying online has put every brick and mortar business at death’s door, it seems that there is a need to remind fiber-lovers of what a yarn store can mean to them.
How do you choose your yarn? Do you read blogs or listen to podcasts and buy whatever the latest rave is about? By the time it’s back in stock, have you forgotten why you wanted it in the first place? Do you search out whatever the designer suggests? What if it’s discontinued or only available in Kyrgyzstan?
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A good yarn store should be able to interpret all the information from the original yarn and pattern and help you find a substitute that will perform well. Here’s just some of what goes into that kind of decision: fiber content, ply, yards per gram, the yarn’s suggested gauge, the pattern’s required gauge, suggested needle size, pattern stitch, type of project, style of garment, and, of course, your personal preferences. “Angora makes me sneeze.” “No acrylic.” “It’s got to be machine-washable.” The more information, the better the chances of finding the perfect yarn for your project. (Or the perfect project for your yarn!)
How do you get started on a project? Do you check your gauge? Do you know why that’s important? Where do you get help with techniques, or pattern instructions, or sizing? You can get lots of help on the Internet today, and let’s all be thankful for that! But do you want to spend your free time looking for advice and techniques on the Internet, or would you rather be knitting? A good yarn store is the place you can get all that information at one time. We’ll help you find a good pattern (how do you know a good pattern?), choose the size to knit – pattern sizes are not like store sizes – and we’ll discuss ease, fabric, length, where adjustments can be made and where they really can’t. You can review the pattern and ask questions about techniques and abbreviations and so on. When you leave a yarn store, you should be confident you can make the project of your dreams!
Anyway, we hope you appreciate your LYS wherever it may be, and to let you know we appreciate you, we’ll be having a one-day sale on Saturday, April 21. Our annual “Anything-with-Wool” (mohair, cashmere, alpaca) Sale means you’ll get a nice discount on any of our winter yarns, including extra discounts on sale yarns. Fill up your Frequent Buyer Card for an additional 10% off, plus the first 20 people to spend $100 or more will get a sweet goodie bag filled with gifts! Everyone who comes will get a download code for free patterns on Ravelry. I hope we’ll see you on Saturday!
