It's funny how much novels can influence your perceptions of reality. Though I've been knitting for over two years now, I've never been to an LYS (local yarn shop, for you non-knitters) because I didn't even know there were any yarn stores on Oahu until recently. I finally made it to one last weeked and I have to say that I was rather disappointed. The teeny tiny windowless shop was stacked floor-to-ceiling with yarns of every shape and size and color with no organizational system apparent to me. (I do have to say the proprietor was very helpful, and when I told her vaguely that I wanted a soft gray worsted weight she knew exactly where to pull some skeins out of the piles for me to look at.)
I had always envisioned yarn shops to be like the ones in "The Friday Night Knitting Club" or Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street series. I pictured an airy but welcoming boutique with wood floors and cozy area for knitters to sit and chat and sip lattes, with shelves of yarn organized by color along the walls, baskets of yarn fitting the season displayed in the middle of the floor and inspiring knitted samples scattered around. I imagined a warm atmosphere with holiday decorations and maybe some free homemade cookies for the customers. I thought my first trip to an LYS would be a sensory feast where I could walk around idly feeling the different textures and admiring the stunning array of colors.
I had this image built up in my mind because I've read about quaint, charming, idyllic little knitting shops and that's what I hoped for. Though I'm pretty sure there's no shop like that on Oahu I figure the stores in the books must have been inspired by knitting shops somewhere, and I hope someday soon to happen upon one of those gems.
Ah, you need to come to Wisconsin. My fave shop here is lovely. It has wood floors and shelves floor to ceiling stocked with yarn. It's organized by weight and then brand. It also has a coffee shop and a sitting area where you can eat, knit and chat as long as you want. It's fantastic.
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