the fella got off of work early today, so we decided to go check out another LYS that we'd never been to before. (i'd thought that it was a good drive away, but it's not too far!) i must say, i think that this store was awsome. It's called Stitches and Scones, and it may just turn into my favored LYS while we are still in this area. everyone was super helpful and friendly. granted, i do have one of the coolest accessories for starting up conversations at LYS--a guy who knits. it's pretty fabulous when a staff member comes over to G and quietly tells him there are couches if he wants to sit down to wait for me, and he says "oh! actually, i knit too!" it's so the best. anyhow, the people were nice, the selection was awesome, and they have a really cool incentive/discount program--the sell a bag with there shop logo to you for $15, and then every time you come in and buy something, if you have the bag, you save 10%. how cool is that? and who couldn't use more project bags?
That said, let me offer forth my opinion (and this is just based on my experiances at the named shops--take it with a grain of salt) of the Indianapolis area LYS G and i have been to. Sure, the now defunct Bo Peep's was super friendly, but they really didn't have all that great a selection.
Mass Ave Knit Shop is just huge, has lots of yarn (however, there seems to be A LOT of novelty shite), and is overall pretty friendly. it is at times, however, rather lousey with the cliques. G and i have been going there for close to two years now, so we're pretty well recognized, but it was rather interesting with some of the staff for a while. the owner, Susan, is a freakin' doll though.
The Knit Shop, a fancy botique-style store right on 82nd street, is full of high-end yarns, but some of the staff make me want to pull out my freakin' hair. it was here that one of the works informed me that i was S.O.L. if i wanted lace weight yarn that wasn't mohair. HA! the owner has a couple Pomeranians that run all over the shop, too, which for me isn't a problem, but i'm not allergic to dogs.
The Golden Thimble in Broadripple has a lot of yarn in a tiny tiny space, but no one has ever been nice to us when we've gone there. they eye us suspiciously as we walk around and everything. also, they have a minimum purchase price for credit cards which is posted NO where that i saw. i wanted a set of needles and had to buy (oh i know twist my arm) a skein of yarn to meet the price requirement. not a big deal, but i would have liked some warning. That's all the shops i've been to around here. if anyone knows of any i missed, let me know cause i'd like to check them out!
so, you wanna see the yarn i picked up from Stitches and Scones?
they had Rowan Cork on their sale wall--40% off--so i picked up 3 skiens of the "Sour" colorway for a scarf. more on the scarf as it develops. i've got a bitchin' design in my head, and we'll see if i can translate it to 3-d real life shit.