A Word From a Yarn Store Owner and Knitter

Angelika's Yarn Store is dedicated to knitters and crocheters at all levels.

Angelika's Yarn Store stocks many weights and blends of quality knitting and crochet yarns, books, crochet and hand knitting tools, focusing heavily on Lorna's Laces Yarn and Cascade Yarns ! See my list of yarns at Yarns

I am stocked in a extremely wide size range of knitting needles and crochet hooks. If you don't see the crochet hook, hand knitting needle, yarn or any knitting or crochet tools or supplies you need, feel free to contact us. See my list of needles here, and my crochet hooks here.

In my opinion, in this time of high pressure jobs and long work days, juggling family is feat only a magician should try! Crochet and hand knitting is a source of therapy. Just 15 minutes before retiring at night will relax the muscles in your head and body, and allow you to go to sleep a little sooner. Balance your busy life with the opposite end of the spectrum, which is in your favorite chair and your favorite knitting needles or crochet hook and a delightfully soft or colorful yarn.

A great resource for prospective machine knitters with articles on how to select a knitting machine for those who have never checked into knitting machines before, including extensive information on the gauges of different knitting machines and how machine knitting compares to hand knitting. See : Before you buy a knitting machine, you should know . . . . . and other technical articles

A little about me, then the store. My partner and I opened The Yarn Store in 1987 in Coos Bay, Oregon. She went onto other professions and I continued with the knitting and crochet business, working heavily with machine knitters and designing knitting machine patterns, which were published in knitting machine magazines. When the boom in hand knitting began in 2000, I was ready for it. All the wonderful yarns and the new knitters !!
I'm still a one-woman yarn store. I am now located downtown Portland, Oregon. I work with hand knitters, machine knitters and crocheters, and time permitting, I try to get a few knit designs published. I still love my knitting machines and continue to put them to work with hand knit yarns.
My mission statement is customer service!! I feel that is more important than the products. You can read some of the wonderful emails I get on my testimonial page. I am a lover of fine quality yarns, and hope you like what I've chosen to stock.

My Advice: Keep to simpler patterns. Knit and crochet therapy is supposed to be fun and relaxing. And if that means nothing but scarves in stockinet stitch, so be it! Don't stress this part of your life with complex patterns. Bring a smile to your eyes, fingers and mind with simple patterns and beautiful yarns. Along those lines, I have attempted to bring in the very basic of crochet and knit leaflets and patterns. To me, it isn't necessarily fancy stitches and upscale shapes, it is simple shapes, easy stitches and beautiful, colorful, quality yarns that makes for a therapeutic session and a happy knitter or crocheter. See the links at the left for hand knitting and crochet patterns.

Join our group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/KnitIntl/, where crocheters, hand and machine knitters are discussing techniques, achievements and troubles. We highlight the differences and common features between hand & machine knitting.

If you are new to machine knitting and don't know what machine to get for yourself, I have written 3 articles: What Every Hand Knitter Should Know Before Buying a Knitting Machine ( or Is Machine Knitting Cheating?or Hand and Machine Knitting: The differences and similarities.), and Selecting Your Knitting Machine , andDifferent Yarns for Different Knitting Machines Yes, these are large articles. But my goal is to educate you about knitting machines. It is best to take some time, learn about what a knitting machine can or can not do, learn where they can speed up your knitting, or where it is best to just hand knit. Hopefully this will prevent any frustration when you purchase your machine.