i am a fairly fanatical knitter....i have knitting...

i am a fairly fanatical knitter....i have knitting tattoos...i love to knit. I received a $50 gift certificate to Blazing Needles and was SO excited to go shopping! I always support local and my LYS that i buy from regularly is walking distance so I'd never had the need to try Blazing Needles.
Straight up the store is gorgeous. Its beyond gorgeous actually.... They have a great selection of yarn but not as much as I'd hoped for. The prices were $3 or $4 dollars more for the same sock yarn I could get at my LYS. Meh. They had a great button selection but they were so over priced that I walked away from the button drawers really disgusted. $10 or $15 for a single button...sure the button was handmade and lovely but give me a break.
They have alot of cute little knitting kits for quick projects and they were reasonably priced. They also have a washer for felting your projects....they have free coffee- i'm pretty sure it was free but no one ever offered me any when i sat down to look through a mitten book so i cant be sure.
I ended up buying the book and several skeins of yarn and decided to come back that wknd to hang out and knit and hopefully meet some neat people and be social.
I came back on Saturday and lemme tell you....the super cool people of the world gather here....a bit too cool for my tastes. They were all pretty impressed with themselves and their projects. They were drinking wine and a few people had brought snacks. I was offered wine but i dont drink...coffee was still not offered and i was way too intimidated by the cool kids to ask. I sat quietly listening to conversation and occasionally interjected a comment or two but it was quite clear that since i was not a regular that no one could give a crap less about who i was and i guess knitting mittens isnt that cool because no one asked what i was knitting. I felt really lame and left with in the hour.
I went back with my mom some time later and bought some more yarn (they DO have a great selection) and a maryjane/ballet slipper pattern. I had some questions about the pattern so i went back on a Saturday for communal knitting and experienced the same attitudes...snobby, hipster, homeschooling, upper class knitters. No coffee offered and i was made to feel really ignorant for my pattern questions...and it was the OWNER that helped me. :( I got my pattern stuff figured out and left shortly.
Last year I began looking for a lace wedding shawl pattern and my LYS had a few ideas but i went to Blazing Needles to see if they had any other ideas. For the first time i encountered a super friendly and helpful person. She went through the computer and we browsed for about 15 min. I found something i liked and thanked her.
All in all the store is lovely and the yarn selection is pretty good. The people that hang out there are elitist knitters that make me sick. I dont like buying anything from them unless i have no other option. The yarn prices are jacked up and its not really worth it IMO.
I met an employee at a BBQ recently and told her about my experiences there and she acknowledged that yes indeed...it was a cliquish crowd and felt bad that the environment is a turn off. That speaks volumes to me when their employees know they arent very welcoming.
Unless you have an "in" there then dont be surprised if you have a crappy experience. Its definitely a disappointment.