Among the Pines

I was going to Mory’s, the fish market next door, when I came upon this fashion shop. They are full of stylish little trinkets and beautiful clothing. It caters a bit to the upper end, but is a wonderful little place. They also sell yarn and handmade goods. The people were soooo friendly. I am glad I found it :)

This is probably the most unusual yarn shop I have been to. When I found it on Ravelry I pulled up their web site — and I was a little nervous about going to it (it was about a three hour drive away — not exactly a small drive) because the web site seemed much more devoted to it’s clothing and hand crafted gifts than it’s yarn. It was the words «largest yarn shop north of the twin cities» that gave me hope and decided on this as a destination.
The shop itself was not easy to find. I tried plugging the address into Map Quest and ended up having to use Famous Dave’s for directions — which is in the same mall area — because Mapquest could not find an exact match for the address for the shop. The road going to the mall is a frontage road that goes behind the mall — and there was no signage on the back of the mall so after we passed it and I looked back and saw the Famous Dave’s sign — we turned around and went back.
When we pulled up we were a little disheartened — it didn’t look like a yarn store — it looked like a girlie boutique. I opened the door and the first thing I saw were really cute red shoes — HU? The shoes are cute — but where is the yarn!!! Ahhhhhh — There it is — in the back of the store. It’s almost like the store has a split personality — the front is froo froo boutique — with $ 40.00 t-​shirts and kitchy hanging frames — and the back is where the fiber goodness lives.
The yarn was in cubes along the back three quarters of the shop. All the standards were there and a few non-​standards. I admired the Lizard ridge bowl that was sitting on a pile of yarn — and when I asked if the pattern was available (most yarn shops will sell the patterns they have on display) the shop owner printed me out a copy of it and just said here ya go! Very nice! I am anxious to make it.
The only thing I wish had been different was that I wasn’t able to really shop. I was interrupted by the shop owner who wanted to talk yarn — which was just fine — I LOVE talking yarn — but it was not an experience where I was able to look at the yarn and think about what I wanted to make and then put it in my basket. I honestly would have spent more money if I had been left alone a little more to think about what I wanted to make in relation to the yarns available at the shop.
The other thing I didn’t care for was how my husband was treated. I find at many yarn shops my husband is not treated real well. I am not sure why it freaks people out to have a man come into a yarn shop — but the reaction is often very interesting to watch and makes for fun discussion later. This shop was no exception. The owner yelled Red Alert when my husband came in and made a «joke» about him either trying to squash my yarn shopping or coming in to bring me the checkbook. Probably not the best way to get me to spend a butt-​load in your store is to insult me and the man I love. I’m just saying.
The other issue I have was that the bathroom was not marked and it was made clear (even before I talked to the owner about it) that it was one of those shops where they didn’t want you to use their bathroom. This is a pet peeve of mine. I have been in retail for many many years and I have had to clean the grossest bathrooms ever — and I still think you should have a restroom available to a customer. We drove three hours to get to this shop and my hubby had to leave me at the store to go find a gas station to use the bathroom because this shop didn’t make one welcome to guests. (And I had to stop at the Rest Area on the way out of town because I was afraid to ask to use the restroom.) When I talked to the shop owner she said she does have one available but she doesn’t mark it and she pretty much only lets people use it if they ask.
Overall I would say the experience was ok. I liked the selection of yarn and the prices were just slightly higher than I pay here in the cities which I think is to be expected. If you are in the area I would tell you to stop in, but I wouldn’t recommend driving from the Twin Cities up there like I did. There wasn’t anything there that I couldn’t find here in the cities at any number of the Local Yarn Stores that I love.