I have found a new beloved LYS.
Generally, I like to support local businesses; so, unless Michael's is having a huge sale on an ordinary yarn that I love (like Bernat Berella), my yarn money goes to the Sew-So Shop in downtown Marysville. The staff is friendly; they have a good selection of Cascade and Plymouth, and other basic yarns; they generally have some really nice yarns from Noro and Crystal Palace; and they have a discount program: spend $100, get $10 off your next purchase. I like that.
However, most of the time that I'm looking for a particular "fine yarn", they don't stock it. They're more than willing to order anything I want. And I'd never had any trouble getting what I wanted.
Until now.
I had decided I wanted a particular Rowan yarn for a particular project. Sew So doesn't stock Rowan. Any Rowan. At all. So I asked the owner to order it for me. "Oh! I don't have a Westminster distributor. Let me check on that. If I can find one, I'll order it."
That was December 1st. As of Friday, January 9, she still hadn't found a distributor nor ordered the yarn. The same day, I discovered that a store in Rocklin not only had that particular yarn in stock, but had it on sale for 20% off. Guess where I went yesterday?
Oh. My. Word.
I thought I had died and gone to yarn heaven. Beautiful beautiful beautiful yarn as far as the eye could see: bins and bins and shelves from floor to ceiling of Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Adrienne Vittadini, Jo Sharp….Click here for their product line. "This," I thought to myself, "is what a yarn shop should look like!" And, as an extra bonus, they have back issues of lots of knit and crochet magazines. Instead of sending their unsold issues back, like most places, they keep them and continue to sell them. Philosophy: sooner or later someone is going to want to use a pattern from Vogue Knitting Winter 2003 or Interweave Crochet Spring 2005, and may not have the issue available to them any other way. What an incredibly wonderful idea!
I found the Rowan Summer Tweed I wanted, but continued to look around. I ended up going home with Jo Sharp's Silkroad Aran Tweed, and a new favorite place to buy yarn.
But. Here's where my overdeveloped sense of responsibility comes in.
After the last couple of years developing a relationship with the people in Marysville, I feel guilty for loving Filati and wanting to shop there instead. Filati isn't exactly local to me (it's a 70-mile round trip), and Sew So is much more convenient (it's between my home and my office, making it easy to stop by after work). But Filati carries all the luxury yarn I could ever want, in stock. Where I can take it home. Today.
When it comes to yarn, I'm an "instant gratification" junkie.
I suppose the answer is to continue to buy relatively ordinary yarns like Cascade 220 at Sew So, but to drive to Rocklin when I want something really special. That's an acceptable moral compromise, isn't it?
So why do I feel so guilty?
Avanta Knits 
I think that's an excellent compromise. There should be room in your life for two favorite yarn shops. You wouldn't go through life with only one favorite bookstore, would you? I mean, I love Andrea Kristina's Bookstore & Kafé to death, but their selection is limited (they learned they make more money with the café) and sometimes I can't wait a week or two for a special order, so it's off to someplace that can book me instantly.
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You're right. I'd never have just one favorite bookstore. Or coffee shop, for that matter. Yarn just seems more personal, somehow. I told you I had an over-developed sense of responsibility. I just know I'm the one patron keeping the Sew-So Shop in business.Screw guilt. That should my new motto.Oh, and I love the phrase "book me instantly". Especially when taking into consideration your employer. 😀
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Don't feel guilty! Count yourself lucky to have such a marvelous yarn store within a reasonable distance! And the fact that you're not going to go there every day makes it that much more special. I have a semi-similar problem. I have an LYS which I LOVE, but their selection can be limited at times. There's another yarn shop nearby which has an amazing selection – I could spend hours there! BUT! I actually avoid shopping there because the ladies who run the store are SO unpleasant. I only go there when I'm desperate for instant-gratification yarn and then I feel guilty about it! 😀
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excellent comparison. I buy books everywhere, and I buy yarn everywhere. Very similar ethical issues; my choice is moderation in all things, including spending moderate amounts at all sorts of places.
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<i>I actually avoid shopping there because the ladies who run the store are SO unpleasant.</i>~~~I've heard this about various yarn shops and always wonder "Why?" Why would a store that depends on a very specific segment of the population alienate those same people with unpleasantness, discourtesy, and poor service? It makes absolutely no sense to me.
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Moderation? What is this moderation of which you speak? 😀
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