Part III:
Crocheters In The Local Yarn Shop (LYS)
I do not (read Part IV next week) believe that Retailers should be totally left off the hook (pun intended) but your local shops are in many ways a partnership between the proprietor and the customer. IF you want a shop to be Crochet Friendly – well you have to support that by purchasing the products they sell at the price they can afford to offer them.
Shopping in an LYS does not make you a “YARN SNOB”, a term I find divisive and smacking annoyingly of “Have vs Have Nots”
It JUST Does Not Have To Be That Way. It does NOTHING to improve the craft or the industry.
I am NOT embarassed because I Crochet.
I don’t hide what I enjoy behind “fancy terms” like Fiber Artist.
Yarn choices for my business activities are often dictated by others. Yarn Choices for my personal projects are dictated by what I can afford and what will be suitable for the project.
I want Crochet to be accepted and respected –
That means I invest much thought in planning my projects, thinking about how the item will be used and what stitches and materials will give me the best result – including what yarns I can afford.
Each project deserves as the utmost care and pride in creativity and craftsmanship I can invest put into my work, the quality of the workmanship, the thought I give in planning each project -whether it is a garment for a beloved grand. child, an afghan or cap for charity
I also spend a fair amount of time helping other to improve the quality of their work without regard to what yarns they can afford.
In other words, I have enough respect for myself and my work to be secure in my accomplishments and see no need to be defensive about that work.
I am pleased to admit I can Knit, but …
I LOVE To Crochet
and in the words of that immortal 1970 movie:
Love means never having to say you’re sorry
Okay, I am not going to spend $100 on Buffalo Gold for a baby sweater. (adult is more like $300 much less what plus size will require) I can and do choose to spend an extra $10 for many of the Sirdar yarns or Kraemer’s Little Lehigh or Brown Sheep’s Cotton Fleece – although I hope to soon try Serendipity Tweed – They are well priced and better quality and offer good yardage – and will produce a product worth my time to make and the love with which it is given. There are other “Yarn Store Brands” that also offer quality product at a fair price.
If I cannot afford a certain yarn, then I do not rant on the Internet about unfair it is. I don’t abuse the shop staff about how they are “gouging me” – such rudeness is uncivil, impolite and embarrassing to all.
Nor, do I think it helps the image of Crochet when “professionals” create an unbusiness-like disturbance on the floor or a trade show… causing one retailer to comment (as I took her order for quality Crochet Patterns) “I am not really sure I want those kinds of people in my shop. We prefer to be welcoming not combative”. (Behavior that was commented on Other Retailers and well none of us were amuzed.)
No where in the Miranda decision did the court say “If you cannot afford higher priced goods, we will provide it for you”
If your funds are limited and you do not wish to limit your supplies so choose lower priced goods, that is your decision to make – and none of my business.
But if that is your situation, I decline to accept the concept that just because you want something you are entitled to have it. This is not food, medicine or shelter or legal representation in a court of law. Although it might be fun to try to convince the insurance companies to offer yarn and hooks instead of anti-depressants or other mind altering substances or local government to trade yarn for guns instead of cash to be spent on street drugs.
With rare exceptions, I have been treated like any other customer (good, bad or indifferent) even after I said I Crocheted – I have not been, and some stupid comment is made about Crochet I just look at them with a sad expression and say “I am so sorry you are so limited in your skills, it must be very difficult to own/work in a yarn store without the proper knowledge of how your products can be used…”
On the other hand, there has been a many a time when I wanted to take out a baseball bat our from under the cash drawer and knock the chip off the shoulder of the Crochet Only Customer. For goodness sakes, can you really blame the shop owner who prefers the customers who seem happy to be there over the ones who are only there to bargain hunt and STILL complain about the cost.
If Crocheters want better treatment in the LYS, they need to knock the chip off their shoulder, take pride in their choices and treat others the way they wish to be treated. Shop owners and their staff are human beings.
Courtesy & Respect are a Two Way Street.
Wheat
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Thank you for this. I have been having this same discussion/debate with other members of my crochet group for 2 years now. They call me the yarn snob because I’m willing to spend the extra money to buy good yarn to not waste my time. In regards to LYS’s, the one closest to me (still a good 30 min trek) has since been educated in crochet when I walked in the first time. I was wearing something I made and she went nuts over it. She honestly didn’t realize that crocheters made things out of nicer yarns. While she offers crochet classes, they’re usually her knitting customers who want to learn crochet. She now recognizes me when I walk in (2 years later) and always recommends yarns and hooks to me. I think if more crocheters would realize that yarn is yarn and not specifically for just crochet or knitting we would have a better reputation in the LYS. I’ll get off my soapbox. 🙂
Similarly I have had good experiences from my LYS. I visit at least monthly and usually make a purchase. I use “good” yarn for my crochet projects and the owner appreciates that. That said, I still feel with her tone that that puts me just slightly about the crocheters she treats with disdain and still far below the knitters. Again though it is a 2 way street. If we want crocheters to be treated with respect we need to treat the LYS owners with respect and support their business. I know she was very unhappy at the Merchant Show.
> At 11:00 AM 7/19/2007, ! Carol in NH wrote:
I think in order for crochet to become the new knitting,
crocheters need to change their attitudes toward yarn buying. And while purchasing on line is a godsend to people in rural areas or like me, who can’t drive, it’s not the be-all and end-all.
Knitters have known for a long time that there’s a value in their task, and if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well and nicely and with beautiful yarns.
Yet, we crocheters continue to undervalue what we do and just want to get it done for the lowest possible price tag, without regard to how nice (or not) it will be and the value of the time we put into it.
I’m feeling outraged to be included in that group!
Carol in NH
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