Local Yarn Stores and Customer Service

February 15, 2007 by Laura Nixon

Today I was disappointed with my local yarn stores. It may have just been a bad day for the clerks also, as we had 6 inches of snow drop last night, but I was ready to spend money and they didnâ€™t help.

I wanted a certain pattern for a sweater I saw online at the Brown Sheep Company. I had the required yarn because I bought it for a class, but this yarn wasnâ€™t right for the pattern we were using in the class. Now, I should have used this yarn as a credit on the material I did use in class, but I so loved this Lambâ€™s Pride Worsted and wanted to keep it.

So, I called two of my local stores and ask if they had this sweater pattern made by Brown Sheep Company.

No they did not have the pattern. So not what I wanted to hear.

End of conversation. What?

Neither store volunteered to order the pattern I wanted. Not what I expected from either store because they both usually have great customer service. A good yarn store earns customers by word of mouth as much as they do advertising.

I really wanted that pattern! So I called Brown Sheep Company and asked if they sold to individuals. NO, they didnâ€™t, but they did give me the name and number of a store that could help me. Ellen, of Needle Magic (1-877-922-0117) was highly recommended by the person at Brown Sheep. Ellen found the pattern, told me the required amount of yarn necessary, and took my billing and shipping info happily. She informed me that she works at the mill, but not for the mill and has access to all patterns and yarn that Brown Sheep carries. I will defiantly call Ellen again for more supplies.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy, I canâ€™t wait to get the pattern to start using some of my stash.

And, I will also give my local yarn stores another chance at allowing me to spend more money with them. Must work hard to keep them open! LOL

Have you read?

Beyond Basic Pumpkin Knitting Patterns

Over the years I have shared a lot of pumpkin knitting patterns, and I’ve knit and crocheted a lot of pumpkins myself. But it feels like there are always more fun things to try with knit pumpkins, so this year I wanted to look a little more beyond basic stockinette or ribbed pumpkins and share some pumpkin patterns with cables, bobbles and colorwork.

In the cable collection we’ve got these cute little basic cable and ribbed pumpkins from Elly Bear Knits. There are two sizes that make a wide, flat pumpkin and a taller round pumpkin. Both are worked in the round as a tube that’s cinched top and bottom when you’re done, and they use bulky weight yarn.

Another cute cable pumpkin knitting pattern comes from Gray Bear Akswokrat. This one is knit flat and it looks like a chunky yarn but you could use other weights to make pumpkins of different sizes. This one also has an I-cord stem and uses yarn to cinch up the sections of the pumpkin, giving it a more natural look.

Add some bobbles to your pumpkins with this design from Autumn Shelter Makes. Also worked in the round in a tube, it features a repeating pattern of bobbles and uses yarn wrapped around the outside to make segments. This one looks like worsted weight yarn to me.

Of course there’s nothing that says your pumpkin has to be a single color, so let’s throw in some colorwork. I love the look of the Cozy Fall Pumpkin knitting pattern from South Stitch Girls. The little leather loop adds a rustic touch but you could also just add a stick. These pumpkins have five colorwork options and are worked in worsted weight yarn in the round.

There’s also the Autumn Fair Isle Trio pumpkins pattern from Equestriann Style, which has three different sizes of pumpkins with four colorwork designs. They are worked in super bulky yarn in the round and look good with high contrast or more muted color combinations.