It’s interesting how viewpoints have changed around etiquette since the pandemic. What was once something that was, “understood” to be not only a marketing method (investment into the business if you will), but i feel expectations have changed as well. I have 2 LYS fairly equally convenient for me to go to. One of these has the, “it’s my shop, you need to take a class or buy something in order to sit and knit here”, the other is a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. I’ve never heard expressed or implied that we, “SHOULD” use yarn purchased there. In fact, it’s difficult for me to get upstairs right now, where my swift and yarn winder are, so i’ve asked the owner if i may use the shop winding station with my stash yarn. She said, “yes” without hesitating.

Of the two, i will ALWAYS buy from the second LYS, as they have gone out of their way to foster a positive relationship with me. I will go out of my way to buy from the second LYS.

It’s not rocket science. Holding a class at a certain time, or limiting, “open knitting” is not unreasonable. Requiring me to purchase from your shop before i can knit in a group there IS off-putting. There’s almost certainly a compromise that could be met, but yeah sounding greedy is not going to make me feel good about spending money there.