Needle In A Haystack

This was my first visit here. I had a knitting project that was a little confusing and I thought that by going to a «mom and pop» store, I would be able to discuss my project and get recommendations. All I can say is that I won’t go back for the following reasons. I walked in and there was only one customer in the store, a lady checking out at the register. Then a man came in. I had walked past the lady at the register and she knew I was there. I had to walk up to the register to get her attention as I felt she was going to help the man next.
As I explained my project to the woman, she was very distracted, not at all helpful, and was somewhat dismissive. As I tried to talk to her, the phone rang and then two small children showed up. The woman was distracted by the phone, which her daughter picked up. Her daughter was also taking care of the man that had walked in after me. I had to repeatedly tell her what I needed and it was like she could care less about helping me. As I checked out, the daughter was helping the man pick out colors for his needlepoint, seriously? The two children were behind the counter playing. It was chaos.
I thought because this is a small shop in Montrose, I would get great customer service and the attention you sometimes don’t get at the bigger craft stores. That could not be further from the truth. I believe they prefer «locals» and just can’t be bothered with some «outsider». This is a shame because the small stores in Montrose are becoming few and far between. I agree with the other comments, it’s nice to support local businesses, but when they treat you like this, it’s just not worth it. Next time I will go to Joann’s or Michael’s.

I went into this store looking for needles. There were a package of 16 needles assorted sizes for 1.49 fifty cents cheaper than the quilting place.
I bought the package and scrounged around for another penny. The store clerk was very nice and said not too worry it would break the store. She guided me where to get binding also at Mayhall sewing next door

It’s honestly a cute place. I’ve been here for years, simply because it’s the nearest speciality yarn shop near me. They don’t have a large yarn selection and they seem to be more about needlepoint.
Their selection of yarn is good and they sell many cascade yarns. Lois is quite helpful, sweet and knowledgeable. She has aided me on more than one occasion. Jan is very helpful and such a sweetheart. My friend’s mother and I have gotten such great help from her. She’s patient and willing to help on our projects.
They have lots of patterns available for sale. Most of their needles are Clovers of all sizes and types or Chiaogoo (circulars). Their pricing is on the more expensive side, so I tend to only buy yarn there.
The owner however, I’ve stayed clear of for many years. Recently, I was reminded of how unfriendly she is and how negative she can be. She’s very judgemental and isn’t very helpful. She made me uncomfortable enough that I decided to leave after I was able to ask a question. I felt like I was imposing on her time, even though I have been a returning customer that I’m sure often got overlooked. She also made a comment that made it seem to me that she thinks she’s better or above others.
I’m supposedly on their email list? I signed up for it but rarely do I ever know when they have sales. Though I know the online presence isn’t essential, I feel as though it would help get more customers.
In sum, stay clear of the owner, there’s lots of parking available in the back lot (free for 3 hours, though you won’t be there long), not a huge selection of yarn, and they do have some very helpful and knowledgeable women in there.

Found Lois to be very helpful. They have a good selection considering that they feature all needle arts, but are primarily needlepoint and embroidery. Considering it’s a small store I thought the yarn selection and knitting needles was pretty good. As to another comment I saw online, prices are a little bit high but when you consider that Montrose keeps their streets in good repair and parking is free and plentiful, I have no complaint. I’ll be back.

The only reason I’m giving this shop 3 stars is because of the lack of yarn selection compared to other knitting shops I’ve been to. I agree with another poster that the shop carries about ²⁄₃ needlework thread and ¹⁄₃ yarn. Their selection of worsted yarn consisted of a few different brands. I fell in love with a gorgeous variegated yarn that I didn’t realize cost $ 30. It is hand-​dyed but $ 30 for one hank?! Ok, I’ll bite, but only because it was such beautiful yarn. Regardless, while one owner was very friendly to me and answered my questions, the other just sat there and flipped through a catalog. They do have a punch-​card reward system, but I do not live in the area so it would be difficult to fill, especially with a lack of yarn selection.

I really, really wanted to like this place.
I went here once a while ago, got some yarn for a crochet project and it was an okay experience. The woman who rang me up was friendly enough.
Recently, I had another crochet project and wanted to follow the instructions exactly, so I was hoping that I’d be able to go in for advice and to find out what the instructions actually called for (the size of crochet needle was new to me, 1.5mm? I didn’t see it in stock. The yarn was measured by grams per yards, wasn’t even sure what this particular weight looked like).
When I entered, the owner (?) was helping another customer, and from what I could gather, she was looking for a project for the child that was with her, and for another kid at home. I wandered around the back where another woman was seated for at least 10 minutes, reading yarn labels, trying to find what I needed. Two other women walked in, greeted the woman at the table and then went to the front. At this point, the customer left, the woman from the table also walked to the front, and they all proceeded to talk so much trash about the customer! Everything from her only knowing one stitch so they weren’t sure if she’d complete the project to how she asked about sales and said she’d purchase something if she was given a discount. Knowing that I’d be talked about as soon as I left, and feeling uncomfortable that this was all going on in front of me, I left without buying anything.
I had heard that these women were catty, and that’s really a shame. I almost signed up for a knit along and was hoping this would be my default local yarn shop. Instead, I went to Jo-​Ann and received better service.

While a resident of Montrose, I decided to check out Needle In A Haystack one night after work. As soon as I walked in the store I had a bad feeling. I looked around for a bit while the two ladies working there whispered in the back. Neither one of the employees asked if I needed help, nor did they stop their whispering long enough to say hello. I left after a few minutes and never went back. I have a feeling some of these reviews were left by friends of the owners or employees, or worse yet, the actual owners of the store. I’m learning not to trust Unilocal too much these days.
EDIT: People can hear you behind your little wall of judgement, ladies.

As a novice knitter, I had little idea of what I would need to start my new hobby nor where to go, luckily Unilocal pointed me to Needle In A Haystack! With friendly and enthusiastic staff members, a wide selection of materials and classes, I was able to start my first project with confidence.
A few days later, I stopped back in to pick up more supplies for my next project and I could tell by the other customers that they have a little community in there. I look forward to coming back whenever I’m in town!

Great selection of all things needlepoint. I stopped by to check it out and left with 8 skeins of yarn (about $ 85 worth of goods). They have tons of supplies, instructional guides, and accessories.
I happened to find them because I was looking at Shibui Knits online, was smitten with the colors and yarn blends and thought I’d have to drive all the way downtown to get any. I checked retail locations, and surprise! This store carries Shibui And I work half a mile away! I was very happy and stopped by on my lunch break.
The lady inside was very helpful and even suggested I check out their crochet and knitting classes if I needed help with a project. It sounds like there’s quite a community supporting this store, which is nice.
I will definitely be back.
They also have punch cards. Spend $ 150 and get $ 15 back!

This is the cutest little place! They have a good selection of yarn and needles (a least from what I’ve seen) and the older ladies who run it are really sweet! Super close to so many other places :)

Great place! Go here for all your knitting needs! Great selection of yarn and books and supplies!

This store is not as small as some have noted. I think what the Unilocal users are trying to note (when saying“small”) is that ²⁄₃ of the store is needle point of some sort and ¹⁄₃ is knitting related.
Good selection of yarns and notions.
The help is wonderfully charming and always ready to assist.
No pressure to buy (though I always buy something) no sales person hounding you.
Working a block away and visiting this location at least once a week, I can attest to their consistency. Definitely worth stopping by.
As an aside:
Let’s be adults about this — if you need help, ask for it.
If someone offers you what you are looking for for free — well, hell! Be thankful and happy, I would be.

I have to totally agree with Veronica! These ladies were just rude. Here is what went down.
I was in the store (which is the size of a children’s shoe box) for about 15 minutes before anyone said a word to me. If I am in your tiny store for that long with nothing in my hands I am not finding what I came in for! So once the ladies behind the counter looked up from their gossiping long enough to ask me if I needed something. I asked if they had any wood or metal embroidery hoops. One of the ladies behind the counter scoffed and said that she had some wood hoops at home that she was willing to get rid of. Okay lady clearly I have not been at this as long as you have being seeing as I do not have any gray hairs but I still have good reason for not wanting one of your stores crappy plastic rings. RUDE. So despite being an avid supporter of local businesses, I ended up buying all the materials I needed from
(which was great!).

The store is small but has good selection and was a good place to go when I first learned how to knit.
They have a lunch hour knitting where you can drop by for 1 – 2 hours and pay a reasonable fee to get help for your knitting project, or get a quick technical help in knitting. Jan – the instructor was very patient, helpful, and friendly.

This is a very small store, but they have a lot of goodies packed away inside.
They have an extremely good set of cross stitch charts. They also have a few kits, but not many. Charts obviously take up less space than kits, so they’re obviously a better choice for a small store like this to stock.
The staff are friendly and helpful, and are happy to chat with the customers.
They also had a selection of knitting and crochet books and supplies, but I can’t really comment on that part of the store, as I don’t do either of those. They also had some needle felting supplies, which made me happy, because in the past I’ve mostly had to buy that sort of thing online.