Wonderful Things

Great selection of international yarns, but the service leaves a lot to be desired. None of the yarn is marked with prices. When you ask about a price, the staff snaps at you that the prices are posted on spreadsheets in each section of yarn. These spreadsheets (especially in the discount area) are out of date and difficult to navigate due to the unclear naming conventions of each yarn.
I picked out some lovely Icelandic wool yarn with the help of the very friendly and talkative store cat who followed me around the multi-​room store. Thank goodness this feline employee is in tune with customer needs, the two-​legged employees definitely were not.

Too bad the above reviewer didn’t have a good experience, but I feel VERY lucky to have this unusual resource in my neighborhood. True the «elderly» staff (what does this mean? Perhaps the reviewer should examine her attitude?) lets you wander at your leisure without interference, but is perfectly happy to help you when you need it. It’s more like shopping in someone’s home. Deb, the owner, is extremely knowledgeable and will patiently take the time to help with any knitting question. And while I’m at it, why anyone would expect a yarn store to be child-​proof is beyond me. Anyway, the selection is amazing and reasonably priced within a large range. Should it be a surprise that local yarns that are not made in a factory are more expensive than others? Or, in the country, there’s a dirt parking lot with potholes? This is not a mall, thank God. Any crafty person who can put up with a lack of Formica and blacktop will be delighted with the abundant selection and authenticity of this homey enterprise.

As a place to wander around, explore, and look at a lot of Wonderful Things, this place lives up to its name. As a shopping experience, it’s somewhat lacking.
The interior of the shop is homey but labyrinthine, in a way that you don’t mind getting lost in except when you’re looking for a specific thing. To get to it, you have to park behind, in a dirt parking lot with enormous potholes. I came on a quest for some knitting needles and perhaps interesting, locally made yarn. The needles are spread out throughout the yarn section by brand, which is somewhat confusing, and very few things have prices marked on them. NONE of the yarn has prices marked on it; instead the prices are listed on a chart near the door of each room — the problem is that the lists are often out of date and don’t include newer items in the room, and are in a slightly haphazard alphabetical order. The «Yarn Orphanage,» a 50% off clearance area, turned up some possible gems, but many of them were not on the list, nor did the list indicate whether the price listed was the regular or discounted price. There’s a lot of lovely yarn from local spinneries and dyers, but it’s definitely pricey — so don’t even look closely unless you have money to burn.
The staff is, by and large, elderly, and won’t really help you or acknowledge you unless you approach them — when you do, they’re just fine. Near the register, you’ll find jewelry and artisan knitting needles, which I wish I’d been able to give more attention (but didn’t for the sake of my own wallet).
Aside from yarn, the stock also includes lots of handicrafts, gifts, and especially Judaic gift items (some beautiful menorahs), but the aisles in these areas are narrow, so if you take kids here, make sure to reinforce «DON’T TOUCH.» (Unless you have money to burn.)
At any rate, if you’re making the drive up or down route 7 and want to see some neat stuff, it’s worth a stop, but not the best shopping experience.