Why is is that there is always something wrong with your yarn store? Maybe I am just to picky. I got Kiwi's newsletter today, and it got me thinking...all the stores in Tucson have some little flaw. Back Door Beads is my favorite: a great store, great people, good prices, and they have a sale room. But they are kinda far away from me, and on Speedway so getting there is a headache. Purls is another nice store. I have knows the owner most of my life, her daughter is a good friend of my mothers. They carry the upscale yarns, so rarely can I afford them (but when they have sales, they have really good sales). They are way out of the way. One location is at on Oracle north of Ina and the other one is at Broadway and Pantano. Both are buys roads with traffic headache, and are still pretty far drives even without traffic. And the clerks at the Broadway store are kinda bitches. Sharron has actualy fired some people up there for being bitches. Theoreticaly, you can go there and just hang out and knit, but at the Broadway location...well, you aren't comfterbol doing that. Though the Northside has nice people, just so far away. And then there is Kiwi Knitting. They are a new store here in town, like, less than a year old. Everyone was excited when they opened, and our hopes were dashed. Kiwi is more expensive than Purl's (Stephanie told me that they buy stuff from Purl's sale bins then jack up the price and sell it at Kiwi's. Doesn't surprise me.), and their stuff isn't overall as good. I mean, they have some high end yarns, but mostly...not the greatest selection. I walk in there and I either am completly ignored or feel pressure to buy. Never any inbetween. Then there is their newsletter, which sparked this whole bitching post (ya, sorry about the bitchyness...I have a really good excuse but it is mine and you can't have it). Kiwi offers a large range of classes, which is really cool on the surface. They have this "mommy and me" type knitting class, that my mother is supposed to take with my nephew. Casper really wants to learn to knit, and I can't teach worth crap, so when I found this class, I told her about it. She is supposed to talk to Sharron about lessons for Casper, but never does...sigh, I will eventualy do it. But that class is the better ones. $35/pair and matirials are provided. There is this other class, Cloud Poncho, where it is $36, but you have to bring materials, and get the pattern online. Why, exactly, would I pay for a class when I have to bring the pattern, the yarn, the needles, etc.? Or this other one, where it is $60, but you have to bring the needles, the yarn, and have access to the pattern, which is from
Folk Vests (really good book by the way, I am making the Many Buttoned Vest from it). Why, again, would I pay someone to sit there and watch me knit something when I supply everything, including a book with the techniques in it? There are 45 individual classes (one is a spinning class that cost $57 plus $10 to rent the Navaho spindle, or you can buy one...so minimum $70 for the class. They do provide roving though), of them 5 provide yarn, 2 provide needles (of the 5 that provide yarn), and 3 provide other things. Then there are 2 series of classes(like, one class how to cast on, one class how to knit, one class how to purl, etc.) that cost per class, nearly as much as a specialty class. They have this Knit Nite that costs to attend. She used to have it on Tuesday nites, then wondered why noone showed up. Gee, I wonder? "Let's compete with an established group that is free and see what happens...". Now it is Monday nites, and still costs. Ah well. We will see what happens after her first year in buisness.
