Bluebonnet Yarn Shoppe

By anonymous on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 08:02AM PDT

Love this shop. They have the greatest teachers. Great variety. All the employees are experienced knitters with kind hearts to share their talents with you.

By Robin Schriefer on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 08:04AM PDT

Absolutely lovely store with warm atmosphere, very cordial/helpful employees and excellent selection. Worth every minute of the 70 mile trip and Austin traffic to get there.

By Christine on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 03:35PM PDT

Love this store! Pat is so nice and the Chicks With Sticks get together every Wednesday night is a must do. Excellent staff that are always ready to help you.

By twistedtexan on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 01:06PM PDT

I hope to check out Bluebonnet during my trip to Austin this weekend. I hope it is every bit as nice as y'all describe!

By anonymous on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 11:27AM PDT

Only Problem I have personally seen is: Talking bad about customers after they leave [customers who have spent over $50].

Great store. They are very helpful. I have heard mixed reviews on the classes. Personal I have not had any problems with the classes.

By anonymous on Tuesday, January 01, 2008 at 07:09AM PST

The store is nice, good selection of yarn (not needles) ... but very "CLICK-Y". Every time I go in I feel as though I am invading the space of a group of friends having coffee. When I ask questions, I am politely answered, but I bet I am one of the customers they may talk badly about when I leave.

By East Skye on Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 11:05AM PST

Wow, I guess I am not the only one who found my experiences lacking. Yes, the atmosphere is clubby in a negative way. The yarn selection is eclectic: there are a good amount of novelty yarns (not my thing), some luxury yarn, and mix of workhorse yarns. Not a great selection of needles and notions. They are always apologizing for that, but it never changes. So buy needles elsewhere and don't expect much that way. Not a lot of accessories, either. The pattern selections are pretty pedestrian.

On one visit, I spent a good hour perusing yarn, sort of blending into the background of the shop. What I heard behind me was a lot of catty, nasty talk about customers who had just left the shop, or gossip about so and so's problesm/life. Not my cup of tea. It was kind of shocking, actually. I made a hasty exit after purchasing a few items, relieved to know that I had engaged in limited conversation (thus not giving them a lot of fodder) during my time there.

Classes are pricey for what they are, and they are not very good, in my opinion. You are better off knitting with friends and figuring things out on your own; support from their "teachers" is so scant. There is a premise (except for the beginning knitters class) that you will have a certain skill level. Aren't classes supposed to help you develop skills?

Overall, if you need something in particular and you know that Bluebonnet carries it, by all means get it there. But if you are uncertain, need GOOD advice and support, there are other places far better.

By anonymous37 on Monday, January 21, 2008 at 03:12PM PST

I found it a little bit tense, being an "outsider" and not a regular. There is definitely a heirarchy system going on here. Reading the last comment confirms what I suspected. That's a shame.

Since yarneries reflect the taste of the owner, I must not be in sync here, either. I wasn't too crazy about most of the colorways they had in the more mainstream yarns, and I am not a fan of the foofoo yarns, so I wasn't impressed. I did see some Schaefer Anne that was pretty, but I wasn't looking for sock yarn.

They have a lot of yarn, but not a lot of skeins in each dye lot. That's just frustrating.

I'll go back, but only if I can't find what I want someplace else. I didn't get a warm fuzzy from the place to make me a browser on a regular basis.

By anonymous on Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 02:31PM PDT

I'm an occassional shopper there, but have not found myself to be an outsider ever - even though I crochet, most others there knit and what have you. It is located in a pricier part of town, but other than that, I've found it actually much friendlier than Hill Country Weavers, which I found to be extremely clique-y and stand-offish even when I'm standing ther ewith cash in hand. So as far as LYS in this area, I find Blue Bonnet Yarns better as they provide a much better variety of color and fibers from around the world. As an artist who sells her work, I appreciate that the yarn I get from BBY is more unusual and unique. I also appreciate their price ranges as well. And I appreciate the service I have received. I have dashed into their store desperate for specific textures and colors for custom orders and they have dropped everything, every time, to help me find what I need. I'm not a very self-conscious or shy person, so whether someone else is outgoing or not doesn't bug me. But they are so much nicer and more helpful than HCW and they do not push me to buy anything I don't want to either. Nor has anyone ever told me I should knit instead of crochet.

By anonymous on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 at 12:14AM PDT

I love this shop - it's one of the few in Austin I have found to be TRULY child-friendly - I don't often get the chance to go anywhere without all three of mine, so that is VERY important to me. Rather than the nasty "don't you dare let your child touch anything" glares I've gotten from staff at other local yarn shops (one in particular I am sure many can guess without mention), the staff at Bluebonnet is friendly and they have a toy box stuffed with a variety of things for any visiting kids to play with.