Recently, I’ve been doing some shopping on the Internet, because I either don’t want to drive 45 minutes east or west to go to my local yarn shop, or already know that there’s a big chance that my local yarn shops won’t have what I need. Plus, I found some fancy yarn online that I couldn’t resist. I feel that it would be good to spread the word about my recent online shopping experiences, so here are a few reviews.
1) Paradise Fibers, Spokane, WA, www.paradisefibers.net: I sent my Secret Pal 10 (SP10) spoilee an email with more specific questions for her to answer about her preferences, like and dislikes, etc. She replied, and then I searched the Internet for an item that I wanted to get for her. I found it here, in the proper color and at a decent price, so I made an order for it. (Sorry, I can’t tell you what it was that I ordered, because she hasn’t received her package yet!) Since I ordered it so late at night, it was the next morning when I received an email about the item; they didn’t have any of that particular item in store at the current time, but would be getting a shipment in about a week, and they would mail my item as soon as possible. And they did. It came packaged properly with an invoice and a handwritten thank you message from the owner, with an attached business card. Since I’ve ordered once from them, I am now on their promotional email list and get occasional emails about store sales and specials.
2) WEBS, Northampton, MA, www.yarn.com: The last time I visited one of my local yarn shops, Sea Needles in Bethany Beach, DE, I picked up a couple of Inox 24″ size 2 circular needles and have been using them to knit my first sock (still in progress). I love them — the price is decent, they’re smooth, the cable doesn’t retain memory, the tips are perfect — so I was searching for Inox 40″ circular needles, and found them here, so I ordered them in size 2 and 3. I received an email after I paid for them that the size 2 was on backorder and may not be in for weeks, however the size 3 came within five days. It was a few weeks before I received an email that my backordered size 2s had been shipped. When they arrived in a floppy plastic bag envelope and I opened the package, they were bent. I made a mental note to myself not to purchase anything but indescructible items from them in the future.
Etsy! I have to break the list here and tell you that I love, love, LOVE Etsy! What’s Etsy? A web site marketplace for all kinds of handmade items (even cookies) and they have a good deal of hand-painted yarn vendors which I’m especially interested in.
3) Kindred Spirits Yarn, Great Neck, NY: Beautiful hand-painted yarns from a self-professed avid knitter. I ordered
an 880-yard hank of laceweight merino and as the owner offers to complimentary wind any purchased yarn into center-pull balls if requested, I made the request (because I have yet to purchase a swift and winder). My yarn came in a Priority Mail box, wrapped nicely in tissue paper and with a business card and invoice. A good transaction, and the yarn is wonderful! She has a very nice selection of wool silk, wool lace, wool sock and superwash sock yarns in her etsy shop, so if you’re in need (or want) of any of those yarns, go see them!
4) See Jayne Knit Yarns, Vancouver, Canada: Finally, the pièce de résistance! Remember this post: Natural inspiration? I sent that peacock’s feather close-up photo to Jayne, the owner of this Etsy shop, who promptly went to work trying to dye yarn to look just like the picture. With her magical dyeing skills, she had soon made the most beautiful colorway for yarn that I’d ever seen… Austin Peacock! Four 250-yard hanks of hand-painted luxury merino alpaca silk DK in that colorway is now mine, as a special Mother’s Day gift to myself. I’m considering making a clapotis with it, but I’m not positive. When the package arrived, it was packed professionally, and each hank had a handmade beaded stitch maker and 
a business card attached to it, along with handwritten yarn specifications on the back. It was a superb transaction, the yarn is more gorgeous than the picture, and communication with Jayne was excellent. She will definitely get more business from me in the future, and I highly recommend her! I am in love with this yarn!
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After we left the festival, we stopped by The Fine Needle, the only local yarn shop I haven’t visited yet, which happens to be in Snow Hill, too. There I bought a Noro Daria Bag kit, which included three skeins of Noro Multi in color #19 (left), along with the bag pattern. These skeins are 55% cotton and 45% rayon, and they’re more like a stiff, satiny cord. They should prove to make a nice, sturdy bag if I ever get around to working on it. But for now, it’s best that every new yarn I’ve purchased recently stays in their boxes or bags until I have turned all my WIPs into FOs. Wish me luck! 🙂
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