Guest Author - Carla McCune-Cano
Finding yarn and supplies can be a chore. It can be daunting to find a great price on your favorite yarns. Sometimes it is difficult to find certain supplies. For example, it took me weeks to find a store that had a hairpin lace loom here in my hometown. Let’s take a look at where we crocheters can buy our supplies.
Local yarn shops: Many towns have a small yarn shop. I feel many of these can be a bit pricey. I have learned, however, that they offer the finest quality yarns. If you have several yarn shops to choose from you get the best deal by shopping from several and finding the best deal. They offer many sales and promotions on the whole I find. I also love the feeling of community you get from buying locally. Many also offer classes to help you learn new techniques. Sometimes it can be a chore to find one offering classes in crochet versus knitting but generally if you let them know you are interested they will work it out for you.
Department stores: There are several large chains that offer yarn. Wal-Mart has stopped offering a large line of yarns and the color selection is small but it is very inexpensive yarn and a good name brand. I use Red Heart frequently for afghans. Michael’s offer a few more selections but I feel that the price is a bit high for the yarns compared to quality. Hobby Lobby has become a favorite of mine for the selection of yarns and the great sales you can catch. I have stock piled when they go on sale for much lower price than suggested retail.
Online: Well I really do not know where to start on this avenue of shopping. I use Herrschners regularly. It is by far my favorite place to shop. They have a wonderful selection of yarns and the price is right most of the time. I also love that I can buy for several of the crafts I do, not just yarn supplies. I also love to hit their sales pages. There are so many places to buy online that you can get just about any kind of yarn for just about any price. For hand dyed yarns I love to shop etsy.com. You must watch their ratings but I have never been burned when buying from their crafters. It is a wonderful place to share your craft and buy and sell from people that appreciate handcrafted items.
I would love to hear about where you find your treasured yarn supplies and trinkets. Please join us in the forum and tell us about your favorite place to shop for supplies. What are your favorite yarns and supplies? I know I am always on the look out for quality supplies.
