Where I live, it's a 2 hour flight, 900+ miles to the nearest Michaels. Also, there's no free shipping to Alaska. No matter how much I order. So, on a Sister's trip in Oregon and I picked up all this! Some of it was ordered online and sent to my mom who drove it down(1st Pic) . But it's hard to know if you like a color if it's not in person(2nd Pic) .

The yarn vs the bag(3rd). The bag(4th) (90% full still more room!)

A few disclosures: 1) I’m a wheelchair user which makes parking a bit easier but other things slightly more challenging. 2) I went with my 21 year old daughter & her friend who are knitters/fiber enthusiasts even more than I am which definitely impacted my experience (for the better).

First, 10/10 will do again. Already looking for hotels for next year & considering extending the stay to include Friday instead of just Saturday night.

We live close enough that we got an early (but not obnoxiously so) start & arrived shortly after 9am on Saturday. People talking about how packed it is are not kidding. There are people directing traffic in the bathrooms to keep things moving efficiently. But, facilities are clean & well kept & people are exceedingly polite & kind. Everyone is so happy & excited. Even with long lines, people were patient & respectful. Because I’m in a chair big crowds are a special kind of hell more often than not. It was really not a problem. That being said, if you don’t love crowds & you’re not afraid you’ll miss out on something the difference between Saturday & Sunday was insane. Sunday is busy, but not wall to wall people. And there was plenty of beautiful yarn & other goodies still to purchase. If you’re only going for one day & you don’t mind missing certain events like the auction going on Sunday would be my choice. That being said, I think the overnight stay & having both days was 100% worth it. We left at like 4:45 on Saturday & hadn’t seen everything yet. The traffic on the way out is definitely awful. It took an hour longer to get to our hotel than it would normally. Still worth it, but if you’re going with someone who hates sitting in traffic maybe offer to drive instead.

The auction is great fun to watch even if you’re not bidding, but if you’re in the market for any equipment it looked like decent quality & went for under market value prices.

There are A LOT of vendors, and it’s not cheap, but it’s cool stuff & all the vendors we chatted with were delightful. People really do sell out of their stock. It’s mostly wool & wool blends, but there was a good amount of alpaca & silk, some cotton, some angora, some yak & even a little Quivet & Vicuña. There’s other artisans/crafts too (silversmith, woodworking, baskets, soaps,foods, etc). You could definitely bring a non fiber enthusiast & they’d have fun (if they’re typically down with festivals & such). The food vendors had great stuff & the food trucks were great too. I will say, the apple cider donut was definitely good & the hot apple cider was also delicious, but I feel like the people telling me it was a “can’t miss” thing must not live in an area where you can get that stuff from September through December. Since I’m in a wheelchair waiting in line isn’t hard, but imo it wasn’t worth the time. Again, I’m spoiled. I live in New England. Fresh apple cider donuts aren’t hard to come by.

The demonstrations were fun to watch, the antiques museum was great fun, the animals adorable & it was an amazing weekend. I spent too much money, and it will take me 3 days to recover (I definitely used a week’s worth of spoons in 2 days), but it was awesome. I think my very favorite part was seeing everyone wearing sweaters/scarves/hats etc that were handmade & watching people compliment random strangers on beautiful colorwork or great cabling or whatever. You could stop anyone and ask about a pattern or where they got the yarn or whatever & you’d get a cheerful reply. It was awesome. ❤️

I pulled this out of yarn ball and was absolutely delighted. I'm not sure what happened here, but its magically thick and soft. I have never been so delighted by a yarn inconsistency.

This mohair is drops kid silk, which has been completely fine otherwise and has normal mohair distribution. No hating on the magical tuft will be tolerated!

I'm still having a blast with all the potential these books offer for colorway ideas! My favorites of this drop are Wondercrawl and Best in Dungeon. What are yours?

Went to Michael’s had a plan! plan was get some cotton yarn to crochet hand towels for Xmas for My Hubby‘s family this year my plan went out the window 😅😜
To be fair they had really good stuff on clearance that I just had to give them a home🤷🏻‍♀️ cotton was on sale 5$ can’t beat it. Wish I found more of that facet yarn by loops and thread that color way slate. It’s so pretty. I will be making myself something nice with that eventually. I tossed into the pic the lionsbrand mandala yarn hubby surprised me with 2 nights ago that color way is chewy it’s so pretty. I had to show it. I’m gonna make a jacket with that.

I love making crochet blankets with an ombre look but a lot of yarn lines are extremely limited in the kind of ombres they can make, especially when looking at the yarn online vs. in person, so I wanted to try with threads similar to how the Sultan line is made.

Has anyone found any threads that mimic the Sultan line? Most tutorials online about "DIY yarn" talk about holding 6~12 cones of thin sewing thread together and it's not quite the thing I'm going for.

Bonus points if the threads are cotton and/or come in sets rather than having to buy them individually.

Hi Yarn Buddies <3

I recently got serious about crocheting, transitioning from chunky blankets to decor, bags, sweaters, and other wearables. I love trying new materials, and learning about different yarn and threads. I've realized that as I learn more about these materials, there appears to be a huge gap in accessing quality yarn here, and I wanted to know if other people are experiencing this too.

In my area I have the option of three big box stores (Michaels, Hobby Lobby or Walmart) to buy my crocheting materials. While I've found a lot of yarns and blends I like from those stores, they don't seem to offer anything of real quality. The crochet thread is scratchy, there's not any lace weight yarn available, their natural blends are all mixed with plastic. I also would prefer to shop local, but there's only two shops in my area that carry a wide selection of yarns, and they have a 50% markup from what's available through online retailers. I want to support them, but it's not within my affordability to pay a steep markup for something that seems available for cheaper elsewhere. Most of the online retailers are located overseas, and while I'm not too worried about shipping fees or tariffs (even though that does impact affordability), I am concerned about the yarn's feel, drape, colorway and dye lot and how it's going to be a gamble ordering online, and a painful return process if anything goes wrong. Shopping through Amazon provides a similar problem, but also introduces "popular brands" which have very little digital footprint elsewhere to confirm how they work up, even when searching on youtube, reddit, tiktok and facebook. There's also a huge lack of accountability and regulation when it comes to the actual fiber content on Amazon, so again, another gamble. I would love to not support Amazon or the other big box stores at all, but I feel stuck.

Am I missing something? Could I not be looking hard enough? Do you relate to this? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Thanks :)

EDIT: You all are so wonderful. Thank you for your suggestions! I'm going to visit my local art thrift and have found a handful of websites to check out too. I'm going to be asking around at my art shops if there's community events, and I'll check facebook too. As per the discussion part -- am I wrong for thinking it's odd that so many of us can't access these things in a local store? I thought a lot of people are into fiber arts but maybe my internet bubble is just impacting that perception.

For reference, my current liked yarns are loops and threads: facets (forbidden, sry), delicate dk, soft ombre & bulky brushed rainbow, I also picked up the michael's brand crochet thread. at hl I have the yarn bee simply flawless yarn. I like the bernat baby softee and the mainstays chenille and chunky chenille lines from walmart. I like all of these, the yarn bee is probably my favorite, but none of them are really good quality or great yarns, just nice enough and cheap. I'm interested in the malabrigo silkpaca and knitting for olive (hesitant, private equity) merino as a bump up from my current quality for some mesh shawl and sweater work.

I knit a lot and I don't have unlimited money so I'm looking for a less expensive yarn that I can buy in the EU. Are hobbii and drops good yarns?

I swear to GOD I got this at hobby lobby but I can’t figure out what yarn it is. I started this sweater 5 years ago and forgot about it and now that I picked it up again I’m worried I’m playing yarn chicken. I believe it’s either acrylic, bamboo, viscose, or a mix of them. Doesn’t feel like I love this yarn, more like the “bambootiful” yarn bee yarn. That’s actually what I thought it was til I realized I don’t think there is a tweed-like one in that collection.

Why does the site look like it isn't real? There were like, two of them at some point and it always seems like everything is always sold out. Did I find the right site?

i need more of this brown yarn, making a project for my dad. unfortunately i believe i bought this from joann so i have no idea if this brand even exists anymore. any dupes will help too!
the yarn is a typical weight 4 acrylic, i've been using a 3.75mm hook on it. the yarn has a slight sheen to it and it smells like chemicals from the dye lol
please help!!

I am currently crocheting a beret. But it came out a big tight, I can easily stretch it out with my hands, but it quickly 'shrinks' back and shivels slightly. Can I block it? And make it stay in that more stretches out position? Or is that not how blocking works.

Its 100% acrylic, I crocheted it kinda losely, and i dont own a steamer.

Please help

I'm planning on making my GF a winder and swift set for Christmas, and after researching the best winders on the market, I've seen the hands-down winner appears to be the Stanwood winder.

My questions:

- What makes the Stanwood the best?

- How is the tension on the cake/ball controlled?

- What changes would you make, if any?

I found this random scrap ball in the depths of my yarn stash bins. It's so cool but I simply can't think of a use for it, even straining my brain to any sort of children's craft projects or items. Have any of you even seen this before? What can it be used for?

PS - If anyone wants it, I'm open to mailing it to a good home!

I got a bit ahead of myself and washed a bunch of yarn at once in the delicates bags. I am in pain while I wait for it all to dry

I havent taken any out to really assess the damages yet, but I can see its **bad**

I have a Hedgehog Fiber pattern for a t-shirt that I want to do, however it calls or Hedgehog Fiber “Oh So Fine” cashmere. I don’t want to use cashmere, but I don’t know what weight yarn this translates to. I have some sock yarn or fingering yarn, but I’m afraid it wouldn’t work.

Does anyone have experience with the yarn the pattern calls for?

I made the mistake of washing a bunch of my acrylic yarn all at once and the delicates bags did NOT prevent disaster from striking

I have so much untangling and winding to do 🥲

What I know of it: I got it from Walmart, it’s fingering weight, it’s multi color and sparkly. I think it’s acrylic but I will say, it doesn’t feel scratchy or overly fuzzy like what you’d expect Walmart acrylic yarn to feel like so I’m not too sure. I think it’s Lionbrand, but again, im not too sure. I want to find what kind of yarn it is so I can buy more colours

This has been in my stash for way too long and I would love to make something but I don’t have any ideas….. I tossed some on needles to see what it’s like. I don’t I want a scarf and hat out of this. It’s not the most washable yarn. I’m a beginner-ish. Im picking this up again now my babies are growing up and I can have a bit of time for a hobby. I haven’t knitted in over 8 years.
I have 6 balls 54 yards per ball.
I would love some ideas / recommendations on what to do.
I would love recommendations for an easy pattern too

What is your favorite yarn brands for -

1. Adult blankets

2. Baby blankets

3. Amigurumi

4. Wearables

And where do you like to buy it??

So this is my final order from Denmark. I am US based BTW. First picture is the rest of the yarn. I also added as the 3rd pic if you missed the first haul pic. Second picture is everything organized per project. It came out to 20 total projects that I bought yarn for the biggest size for the project. It is ALL Drops yarn from different lines. It came to a total of 130 50g skeins for projects and an extra 13 skeins. So 143 skeins of Drops yarn for just under $500.

Cracked footman on my Ashford Traveller and I need a new drive band too. The shop I originally bought from doesn't carry Ashford parts anymore and ordering directly means weeks of waiting. I just want a shop that sells spinning wheels and also keeps spinning wheel parts on the shelf. Something I can order and have show up in a few days. Do places like that exist or is it manufacturer direct every time something wears out?

I really want to start creating wool blankets to keep on hand. We are supposed to be having a really bad winter this year and of course it's just now hitting me😫🤦‍♀️ I think superwash will be really helpful in this instance because it will grow, so I can use less yarn/make a smaller blanket. But then I also won't have to worry about the husband or kids accidentally washing it.

Tagged along with my sister to her work conference and did a little shopping while she worked.