# Dissapointed with Michaels



## sisterpine (May 9, 2004)

I know you pros probably get yarn at specialty places but I have had only a Michaels. Got a coupon in the mail for an extra 10 percent off of lion brand yarn and it is supposedly on sale for up to 50 percent off. So I thought a good time to stock up for the year....

They had a few 7.99 yarns on sale for 3.00 off. They had some tiny skeins of baby wool for a couple of bucks but only 1.4 oz. Nothing that I could really use, nothing really fifty percent off either. I really dislike that store.


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

I'm sorry. I know Frazzlehead and I both have yarn shops, and there are a lot of other yarn shops online that are happy to mail yarn all over the place! 

And surely there has to be a yarn store SOMEWHERE near you in AZ? 

Here is a Yarn Shop locator on the website of the company I get a lot of yarn from. http://knittingfever.com/store-locator/#map_canvas Maybe that will help you turn up something close to you?


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## MoonShadows (Jan 11, 2014)

You know every time I go into Michaels or AC Moore, I walk out shaking and scratching my head. They advertise like you'll save a bundle, but you can get most things cheaper if you just search around.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Sisterpine welcome to The Fold! Here is a link to a google search I did. It looks like there are quite a few knitting stores in Tucson. My son and daughter in love live in Tucson, I hope to get there one of these days.
https://www.google.com/#q=knitting+shops+in+tucson+az


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

Welcome, Sisterpine! 

Michael's sales are never really what I hope for. I find I have better luck just using their 40% coupon on the regular price than I do trying to buy it when it is on sale. It's just on one item, but Michael's is on my way home from work so it's easy to stop once a day until I get enough to make something with. It wouldn't work if I had to make trips that were out of my way. 

I have really noticed how many of the skeins are smaller in size than they used to be. What used to be 7 ounces is now 5 and yet the price is through the roof. Years ago I stocked up on yarn like a crazy person. Most I was buying was at 1.5 or 2.00 on sale and I literally filled bins. The stash is getting down there, but it's been a real blessing to have.


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## Falls-Acre (May 13, 2009)

I feel your pain SisterPine. I really don't like Michaels either. I don't like the quality of the merchandise they sell in general or just how difficult it can be to actually figure out when they are having a sale! The ONLY time i've ever gotten a good deal there was accidentally when I went to check out local places to see about the after-holidays sales, and Michaels had Patons wool for $3 a ball. Fortunately here we also have JoAnns and AC Moore. But AC Moore is too much like Michaels and too far for me. JoAnns is ok, and I'll sometimes pick up specialty yarns there. We do have 1 LYS here, but seriously the prices are so high on their yarns that I can only ever afford their clearance yarn! So I only really ever shop for needles there (not hooks though, they cater more for knitters than hookers... darn it!).

Honestly, when I'm looking for wool or other animal fiber yarns, I shop online. Better prices overall. And you can sometimes find awesome deals there.


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## Ana Bluebird (Dec 8, 2002)

I'm with Fallacres:
[quoteHonestly, when I'm looking for wool or other animal fiber yarns, I shop online. Better prices overall. And you can sometimes find awesome deals there. ][/quote]
Those coupons at Michaels usually don't do me a bit of good. I rarely bother anymore.


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## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Can you buy from Michaels' website? Our Michaels Stores don't have much yarn here. When I went to their store website just a second ago, they were offering a 20% off coupon to use. I don't like buying without touching - especially yarn - but if there's nothing closer that you can get to, maybe online is the way to go.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

I used to LOVE Hobby Lobby and their sales when I lived in Texas. Now I am 3 hours from a HobLob and when I am near one, I can't seem to make it fit into our schedule. 

 

I really don't miss Michael's and only go to JoAnn's if I need shiny metalic threads (and now I have a different source) or when I need buttons (and now I have a different source) or when I need...uhm, I can't think of anything- which explains why I never go!


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## KnowOneSpecial (Sep 12, 2010)

If you download the Michaels App on your phone they will have coupons in the app. Just show the cashier your phone and they'll scan it right off the phone. 


That being said.....there's a delightful local yarn shop called "Knit One, Weave Too" by there I live. The lady there does it all with yarn from fleece to knit, weave and crochet. She gets high quality stuff that is just so delightful. I'm very tactile and the cheap yarns you get at WalMart and sometimes at Michaels are like crocheting static electricity. I have yet to get a bad skein from the little shop. As an added bonus she has a ball winder that we all love to watch! It's amazing how all of those moving parts can make a perfect ball of yarn! That place is like a slice of Heaven!


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## mathchick (Aug 13, 2013)

I'm lucky enough to have a really good craft store nearby - it looks a bit like Jo-Anns on the inside, but it isn't a chain and the have an insane amount of yarn.  There's also a LYS close by that isn't too expensive given that it's handspun, hand-dyed, indie, or just generally non-cheap yarn. Still, I'll probably only do a few of my projects with yarn from there.

When it comes to Lion Brand (Fisherman's Wool!!!!) or other similar brands I wait until there's a 50% off one item coupon at JoAnn's- print 2 and bring a friend so I can get two skeins for half off. I'm fairly in love with Fisherman's Wool for a natural-looking "real" wool yarn for inexpensive, especially with a coupon. Otherwise I honestly kind of hate JoAnns - they're awful about all of the retail tricks out there, but I'll go there for the really common brands.


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## Debbie in Wa (Dec 28, 2007)

Have you gone to Knit picks.com. I know that they have a great variety of yarn.


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## Debbie in Wa (Dec 28, 2007)

Go on line to 
Herschners.com
I just got my catalog and they are having a huge yarn sale till 3/1


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## SvenskaFlicka (Nov 2, 2011)

I bought a bottle of no-slip stuff for the bottoms of socks from Herschners a while back. They only charge flat rate shipping, so it was $14 to ship the little 2 ounce bottle of non-slip stuff I bought for $6. It also took about 3 weeks to get to Minnesota from Wisconsin.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

I agree with the OP about being disappointed with supposed sales. Our closest Michael's is about 50 miles away so I don't shop there, but other places do the same thing: the sales flyer looks so promising, but the inventory doesn't seem to match. 

As someone else said, I'm also a tactile-visual shopper and want to see and touch the yarn first, otherwise online shopping would definitely be the way to go.


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## Kasota (Nov 25, 2013)

I like "I Love This Yarn" from Hobby Lobby for teaching people to crochet. It is not outrageously priced, there is a fair color selection. It's a little thicker than some other yarns and so it's easy for newbies to handle and it is a lot softer than the cheaper yarns. No fun being new and struggling to learn a new skill and the yarn is so stiff there is no way you could come out with something lovely. They periodically have 40% coupons.


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