Michaels seems cheaper -- but on a lot of things, it isn't.

Right now we are super lucky to have lots of yarn stores. Most seem to have an emphasis on the expensive stuff, because that's really what's selling. But in most places, if you ask for cheaper wool or acrylic or blends, they do have them -- they're just not going to be on a big display.

N & NE have two new yarn stores: Naked Sheep on Killingsworth across from Beaterville, and Close Knit on Alberta at 23rd. Downtown there is Knit/Purl at 11th & Alder. NW has Lint (17th & NW Marshall) and Knit Knot Studio (NW Glisan at 13th). SW has NW Wools in Multnomah Village. SE has Yarn Garden (Hawthorne at 14th), Mabel's (Division at 31st), and Abundant Yarn in Sellwood. There's also Molehill Farms and Tangle in Lake Oswego. And I've not hit on the outlying stores.

Yarn Garden is the biggest store in town, but it's also the most chaotic, so I wouldn't recommend it if you need any handholding or are easily overwhelmed. I think the prices aren't going to vary too much from store to store, but ymmv. Each of the stores I mentioned though are good and have their own strengths.