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Yarn Shop Reviews
Nebraska
Brown Sheep Wool Co.
100662 County Rd. 16
Mitchell, NE 69357
308-635-2198
Reviewed by Marie Greene
In Mitchell, NE (just 6 miles W. of Scottsbluff) we have the home of Brown Sheep Wool Co. They have a little store attached to their offices where you can go and stock up on their richly colored wool. They have a mill ends bin that has great bargains ($9 a pound for any type of yarn in the bin--including their hand dyed yarns and silk blends). The discount you get from purchasing your yarn at their office is remarkable. They seem very small town and friendly, and one can be waited on by Mr. Brown himself. Their yarn sells all over the country, but here we have the advantage. For folks in or around the Scottsbluff area (or just travelling through--we are on the Oregon trail!) Brown Sheep is a great place to stock up on some terrific yarn at terrific prices.
This shop was reviewed by a second knitter.
Reviewed by Ruth Provance
I live in Virginia, but I am from Scottsbluff. I visited the Brown Sheep
Wool Company probably about the time they started making yarn, 24 years ago,
at an open house they had at the mill. It was fascinating, and I bought
quite a bit of yarn from them back then. Then, as now, they supplied the
Navajo with a lot of wool which they wove into beautiful blankets and rugs.
My life moved on, and so did I. Only in the last few years did I discover
that Brown Sheep Yarn has become a boutique brand, available in fine yarn
shops across the country.
I was recently back home, and visited the mill again. A tour was about to
start, and I joined in. The tour starting was one person, so don't be
afraid to ask for a tour! The lady running the yarn shop was the tour
guide, so I kind of had to go along. It was fun. Quite a difference from
two decades back.
The shop on the premises sells mostly seconds, which are still of good
quality, but the price has gone up. It is now $11 per pound, or something
like $25 per pound for the hand painted yarn seconds. I found that there
was no discount from the retail price for the first quality yarn (I think
they don't want to undersell their retailers), but they have it all, in all
the colors. I bought six skeins of Burley Spun and four skeins of Nature
Spun seconds.
I may be slightly biased, but I think that a visit to Brown Sheep yarns is
worth the trip off the interstate. It is about 50 miles from I-80, and
Scottsbluff is a comfortable town with several national chain motels, less
than 200 miles from Denver. It is also on a good route from the East to
Yellowstone National Park. There are several local attractions for the
Western History buff, especially the landmarks on the Oregon trail, Scotts
Bluff National Monument, and Chimney Rock, not far away in Bayard. Combine
an educational history tour with a stash expansion expedition!
ImagiKnit Yarn Shop
223 N. Lincoln
Hastings, NE 68901
402-462-yarn
Reviewed by by Beth Kollars
I was very pleased to find the great selection of high end yarns.
It is a small shop, but Karla the owner has some really great items. She has pretty much anything you could want from wool to novelty yarns. She also offers classes and times to just come and sit and knit.
Her store is very child friendly, she even has toys for kids to play with while you enjoy her shop.
Karla is willing to help with projects and questions and will even special order if needed.
It is by far my favorite yarn store that I have been in. It is a great asset to the area.
The Plum Nelly
113 North Hastings Avenue
Hastings, NE, 68901
402-462-2490
Owner Iris Nunley
Reviewed by Beth Kollars
This is a nice store, with plenty of room to move around. They have an okay selection of yarns, but it isn't huge. They also sell fiber of spinning and weaving. They have a wide selection of books and other thinks related to knitting, crocheting, spinning and weaving.
I don't think this store to be child friendly. There are lots of things that can be broken and touched that a small child just couldn't help not touching. They also had many candy dishes full of candy around. That I didn't care for due to the fact I would usually have a child with me. I also felt that it wasn't ok to touch the yarn. When I would go in, they would put the yarn back that I had taken down if I stepped away from it, not asking if I wanted it. In most cases I would looking for something to go with it.
They are willing to help with a project if you need it. They are all around nice, but with a limited brand selections and the lack of child friendly shopping this isn't my first choice for shopping.
Prairie Threads
627 Main Street
Clearwater, NE 68726
402-485-2155
Reviewed by Faydra Jones
This great little shop just opened Summer 2009. MareLee Thorneberry is the owner. The evidence of almost 40 years of fiber art experience abounds there. She loves teaching and has classes in just about all areas of fiber arts. My 17 year old daughter and myself have been taking spinning lessons the last 6 weeks and absolutely love it! From MareLee's knowledge in evaluating raw fleece (from a local Icelandic sheep producer), her skilled hands showing us how to separate, wash & spin the fleece, along with her patience while we struggle through something, our knowledge and confidence has just skyrocketed! We have learned so much and look forward to learning as much as we possibly can in the future. (I would love to learn to weave, as well.) MareLee is a rare gem in the fiber world. Prairie Threads stocks a good selection of Brown Sheep Co., along with other natural yarns and fibers. You can also see and experience weaving, spinning, knitting & crocheting supplies and tools. Many of the tools are ones of her own design made by a local craftsman. (I like my niddy noddy made from Nebraska wood!) She carries some quilting kits, as well. There are also some really nice & unique gift items, such as jewelry and pottery from local Nebraska artists. It's a beautiful shop and well worth your time to drop in. I know this may sound like a commercial for Prairie Threads, but I'm not affiliated with this business. My only connection is the great respect I have for MareLee Thorneberry as one of her students. 11/09
String of Purls
8721 Shamrock Road
Omaha, NE 68114
402-393-5648
Reviewed by Eliza Badurina
Luckily for me, I happened upon a reference to String Of Purls, a fabulous little store just off Pacific & 87th, around the back of an outdoor shopping mall. (Called, I believe, Countryside, but don't hold me to that.) This store is AMAZING. Yarns of every stripe (forgive the pun). Fabulous staff who were friendly, professional, and actually HELPFUL to a new knitter like myself. A gorgeous interior with funky samples and comfortable places to rest your dogs while you decide if you really NEED that extra five skeins of wool that is so tactile you want to eat it. The return policies are fair, the prices are more than reasonable (and marked on the skeins, unlike the other store in town), and there are tons of classes and instructional stuffs available so you can keep learning while you're adding to your stash.
If I never found another LYS in this area, I'd be happy with this one. It's more than worth a look-see, and I'm pretty sure you'll be hooked after the first visit. I know I am.
This shop was reviewed by a second knitter.
Reviewed by Lorna Wierda
Pearls are one of the beautiful and rare treasures of nature but Omaha has a whole String of Purls! This rare and beautiful shop is a delight to the eye and a resource to knitters of every skill level. It carries a wide variety of knitting fibers all arranged by color and yarn weight and offers classes for both new and experienced knitters of all ages. The most outstanding facet of this shop is its staff. They always seems to have time to fix a knitting emergency or help patrons figure out what it is they really want to create and the best yarns to do it with. A String of Purls even has its own designer on staff. The shop is open seven days a week and invites knitters to come in knit and share. It is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon or evening purchasing yarn, dreaming great dreams and finding the help to make them come true.
This shop was reviewed by a third knitter.
Reviewed by Barbara Foor
While visiting Omaha to attend the 2004 annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting, I discovered with our meeting credentials, an ad for String of Pearls - proprietors, Susie Buffet and Robyn Hubbard. An avid knitter, I just had to check it out. I visited the store and learned that Susie is Warren Buffet's daughter. (Warren is the second richest person in the world.)
The shop was upscale and inviting with comfortable sofas, books, and a large stock of needles and accessories. The yarns were beautiful and the staff was friendly.
This shop was reviewed by a fourth knitter.
Reviewed by Rose Welchans
This store offers everything, yarn put in very easy to get to bins, books, and a staff that is wonderful. I too used to go to another yarn store in town where the manager was terribly rude to me several times I went in. Once I actually left in tears. When I heard a new store was opening, I was there the first day they opened!! I have ordered more yarn over the phone and it came very quickly. They have lots of classes offered at all times. They know the yarn, what to do with what and always want to help you succeed to enjoy knitting. It is a warm (think fireplace and sofa) and a friendly place to look, learn and enjoy. So go enjoy this shop.
This shop was reviewed by a fifth knitter.
Reviewed by Judith Brodnicki
This is the most magnificent yarn shop! They have terrific yarns of all sizes and colors, of course, but it's mainly the staff and the people who drop in to knit that make it a marvelous place. Anne and Robyn, two of the owners, always welcome you in a way that makes you feel they've been waiting all day just to see you. They and their staff happily help anyone who comes into the store whether it's just a little snag or a big problem, and they always encourage you to do a little more than you thought you might have been able to do in the first place.
I'd been away from knitting for about 20 years until I was told about String of Purls; now you'll find me knitting all of the time. I like to stop in on Thursday nights for sit and knit. It's so refreshing to be with fellow knitters (and crocheters) as well as to be around all of those beautiful yarns - so many colors and textures and patterns! It's the kind of store that gives you more ideas than you have hands to knit with!
Threads
Sutter Place Mall
5221 South 48th Street
Lincoln, NE 68516
402-489-9550
Reviewed by Shawn Stoner
So much more than a yarn shop, Threads is truly a treasure. Gladys and her staff (Sandra and Nancy) strive to supply the community and region with the highest quality merchandise and equipment available.
Unsurpassed service is the word that comes to mind, if they don't have what you are looking for they will gladly order it for you. In addition to supplying the Lincoln area with hand and machine knitting yarns, Threads carries an extensive line of tatting and bobbin lace supplies; threads in a wide variety of sizes and materials; beading
supplies; books, videos and design software; knitting machines, and the list goes on.
Threads also offers classes in tatting, bobbin lace, beading, braiding, machine and hand knitting and crocheting. Threads also sponsors machine
knitting clubs and graciously allows the Lincoln Lacemakers to use the store as a meeting spot for their monthly meetings.
This shop was reviewed by a second knitter.
Reviewed by Rachel Suntop
This is a great store. I lived in Lincoln for 2 years and visited the store often. Each time i went, I was made to feel welcome. There's a pretty good selection of knitting yarns as well as weaving yarn, white wool fleece for spinning and felting, lacemaking and beadmaking supplies. I went here for knitting machine lessons with Shawn and always had a good time.
This shop was reviewed by a third knitter.
Reviewed by Ruth Provance
I visited this shop in June, 2007. The new owner, Salli Sternberg, is phasing out the beads and machine knitting, and is focusing more on hand-knitting yarns. At the time I visited, she was introducing a new yarn every week, and planning to offer knitting and crochet classes. She had a good selection of books, and was very welcoming and friendly.
The shop is located in the Sutter Place Mall, which looks like a strip mall at first glance, but Threads is inside. There was no sign on the outside of the mall, but don't let that discourage you. The other shops in the mall seem to focus on home decor, which did not interest my poor brother, who brought me to the shop at my request. I didn't stay as long as I might have, as he was standing there shuffling his feet with his hands in his pockets! 9/07
Touche
6053 Maple St.
Omaha, NE 68104
402-502-2586
Reviewed by Ricky Snell
I visit Touche on a regular basis. Glinda, the owner, is so down to earth, friendly and extremely helpful. Each time I have frequented I was made to feel right at home. Even the customers seem just as friendly. Many classes from Knitting to Basket Weaving are offered. If the class you want is not listed in her monthly newsletter, I'm almost certain she would find a way to teach you! There are several yarns to choose from ranging from novelty yarns, wools, wool blends, cottons, and sock yarns. For those that would like to get together and share this beloved craft of knitting, there is a Stitch-n-Bitch that meets regularly on the last monday of the month in the shop. If I had to choose from the three LYS's in the Omaha area, this would, without a doubt, be my favorite.
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