Can anyone recommend a local yarn store? I have tried the big box craft stores but can’t find what I am looking for.
I am working on a project that has to be completed by 11/9 so I can’t afford the time for it to be shipped from someplace afar.
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https://www.holleysyarn.com/shop.htm was recommended to me before, although I haven’t been there myself (ended up finding what I needed at a big box)
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Thanks! I will call them. I am looking for orange eyelash yarn which is so specific they should be able to tell me if they have any.
I’ve been there. Can’t believe it has survived for so long. Went in once on a Saturday morning and the place was packed with people. I had no idea fiber arts was so big (this was prior to me joining DMS) as to support a small store like this with a Joann Fabrics just down the road.
And while I can’t say it’s great or not great due to my lack of fiber arts skills, there is a Lowes in the same parking lot along with two fabric stores (Calico and Fabric Factory) a stones throw north of there for some serious maker multi-tasking.
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How local? My wife loves West 7th wool in fort worth (https://goo.gl/maps/q7Ct5uCoGRP2) , and in Lewsiville there is Fiberlady (https://goo.gl/maps/Fy8NNiqCUmk) .
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Shout out to Fiberlady in Lewisville - they have been a longtime supporter of Dallas Makerspace. They gave us a solid deal on the loom and I would love to see us support them as much as possible.
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I’ve not actually been here to be able to testify to the type of stock, but a friend in Bonham loves this place.
There’s also a teeny little store at the SW corner of Arapaho & Coit:
http://yarnandstitches.com
Haven’t been in for a few years, but it continues to survive despite their location.
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I have used various skeins of Fiberlady’s and do highly recommend them. Now with that in mind they process their own yarn, so if you’re looking for just a place to buy your more common brands at a local yarn shop, they may not be a good fit. West 7th Wool is nice. I’ve been to McKinney Knittery but it’s been a while. You may be able to look up DFW Yarn Crawl and they usually have a listing of stores that were at least open as of August this year.
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Thanks. I’m definitely not driving to Fort Worth for one skein of novelty yarn, but I might check out Fiber Lady.
OMGosh, Fiber Circle looks amazing. It might actually be worth making a future pilgrimage to Farmersville.
some mentioned who were not here, so I put them here
https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Fiber_arts_suppliers
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Love Fiberlady but they won’t have eyelash yarn.
I will say out of big box, hobby lobby seems to consistently have best selection
The Knittery / Fiber Circle, haven’t been, but understand will be the most comparable to what Woolie Ewe used to be, wide range of medium and highe-end yarns. I hear nice things about the ft worth store but I’d call
Locally, if not big box, go north to shop for widest selection
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My wife’s favorite place is the knitting fairy in grand prairie, but it’s a drive.
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Knitting fairy closed 
Re doing home grown wool
I love working from raw fleece. Anyone interested in the process or learning to spin, come to our Tuesday night Fiberfrolics in CA.
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I live in Dallas and my wife is mostly in Idaho. We have pasture raised Finn sheep and have shorn them recently and sent the fleece to a place to process. Should I tell them to save some to the raw fleece or what stage is good for processing? Washed? Carded? I don’t even know what the various stages of processing are. Let me know. Perhaps I can get some down here in various stages for those interested. The sheep are young and very soft.
Your processing photos above from the fleece stage looks pretty cool!
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Finn is awesome fleece. That pic with the 9 panels and bottom row that is white (2nd from bottom pic in previous post) that’s Finn. Nice breed.
Stages with fleece prep:
Shearing
Skirting (tossing dirty nasty edges of belly and breech wool).
Scouring (hot water/soap, cleaning out dirt and lanolin)
Processing for spinning (many methods, several in pic above…combs, cards, drum card, flicking, lock spinning, sent to a mill, plus sometimes blending with other fibers, etc) This is what a lot of the tools in our fiber cabinet in ca are for.
Spinning (although can spin before scour, I don’t)
Use in a project
Dyeing can be done at any point in process once lanolin is removed. You’ve heard the term “dyed on the wool”? Right. It’s dyeing the fleece after scouring but before further processing by tools. Can dye then, or dye the prepped fiber, or the spun yarn, or the finished object.
Re fleece you have
Do what makes the most sense for you money wise for your flock costs. But there IS a market for raw fleece you’d sell, as well as roving you get back from a mill. If you need helping tapping into some of that (if this is a newer thing for you) lemme know and I can give you a few avenues to check out.
The short answer is the last 6-7 years, if I don’t buy from a local shepherd, then I’ve bought…um, a lot 
from sellers on fb, and a few on Etsy. There’s several fb fleece groups that have been the best so far. If you go that route, I can give a few thoughts on what is important to include in post info if you’re selling raw fleece.
Buying fleece, usually they’re at least “lightly skirted” (get out dung tags and nasty bits). Sometimes more. It depends. Main thing is being clear if selling. Also be clear about level of VM (vegetable matter, hay, grass, burrs) and any issues (like a fleece break or matting, other things). Need good pics. One from each side (cut and outside, and one of average lock with staple length against a ruler)
I’m at DMS frequently on tuesday nights if there’s a fiber thing happening and you want to chat in person
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Thanks. I’m sending this link to my wife for her thoughts. The flock is in northern Idaho.
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