Okay...some of you have heard or read about a certain yarn having a funny smell to it. If you know the one I'm referring to, great. If you don't, it doesn't matter now because it turns out to be an isolated incident.
And that's my point.
Every once in a while a manufacturer might have a production issue. Or a problem that occurs during shipping. Or there's been a mistake with storage once it gets to a distributor. Usually, these issues are discovered and resolved immediately.
We had a similar incident once when we opened up bags of yarn and they had a funny smell. Funny's not quite the right word. Horrible is more like it.
It turns out that they were produced and packed under very humid conditions, so they hadn't dried properly. Well, you should have seen our place! Everywhere you looked we had skeins hanging up to dry. In a couple of days, all was well and the yarns were perfect.
In this recent case, a certain color seemed to have a smell. But this was not in the United States, and the yarn had a different distributor than what we have here.
Still, when we learned of the concern, we ran out into our warehouse and started sniffing. We opened bags and bags and were snorting wool. (Hint: It doesn't get you high.)
We found one bag that we thought smelled like the plastic it was in, so we laid it our for a few hours and it was just fine. But that's about it.
Soooo...if you're concerned about this brand of yarn smelling funny, it doesn't. We've got some of the best sniffers around and they assured me it was perfect.
I do have to let you know that there are some yarns that have an absolutely delightful smell. I'm sitting in my office right now inhaling the gorgeous Aveda fragrance that Natalie uses for her Namaste Farms yarns.
Ahhhh...
Thursday, September 16, 2010
See CAT at the NY Stitch 'n Pitch...and watch a world's record being made.
In this episode of Let's Knit2Gether, CAT attends the annual Stitch 'n Pitch in New York where we see crocheters go for the world's record. It looks like they did it! They wanted to have the most people ever crocheting simultaneously.
Take a look at this video and see an event that you might want to participate in next year.
When CAT mentioned she had to get a lot of approvals from Major League Baseball before posting this episode I couldn't help but chuckle. She says it took her a very long time to get through all the red tape.
My son-in-law, Mike, is an Executive Producer for MLB. Do you think that maybe -- just maybe -- he's going to be getting a call from me? (Mike, you might not want to answer your phone for a few days. But I still love you.)
Take a look at this video and see an event that you might want to participate in next year.
When CAT mentioned she had to get a lot of approvals from Major League Baseball before posting this episode I couldn't help but chuckle. She says it took her a very long time to get through all the red tape.
My son-in-law, Mike, is an Executive Producer for MLB. Do you think that maybe -- just maybe -- he's going to be getting a call from me? (Mike, you might not want to answer your phone for a few days. But I still love you.)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Life is Bliss! Read Yarnmarket's Spotlight. Enter our contest. And you could win a Debbie Bliss prize package worth over $150.
While Alex and I were up in Canada marrying off our youngest daughter, Deidre, to Matthew Grantham, Jenny was hard at work on our Spotlight. This morning she sent it out for everyone to read.
This month we feature Debbie Bliss. Her yarns are fantastic and her patterns for this winter are so gorgeous that I'm having trouble deciding which ones to make.
Be sure to read the Yarnmarket Spotlight on Debbie Bliss. And be sure to enter our contest. You'll have the chance to win a Debbie Bliss prize package worth over $150~
This month we feature Debbie Bliss. Her yarns are fantastic and her patterns for this winter are so gorgeous that I'm having trouble deciding which ones to make.
Be sure to read the Yarnmarket Spotlight on Debbie Bliss. And be sure to enter our contest. You'll have the chance to win a Debbie Bliss prize package worth over $150~
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Congratulations to the 25 winners of the Cowl Girls book by Cathy Carron
Our good friends at Vogue Knitting have selected 25 winners of the Cowl Girls book by Cathy Carron. They'll be shipping the books this week so if your name is on this list, keep an eye on your mailbox for a wonderful delivery.
The winners are:
Barbara Moff
Colleen Rettig
Jean Hochard
Denelda Harmon
Stephanie Varnadore
Elaine Boston
Natasha Zugehoer
Kacia Premo
Jenni Reiz
Nye Blades
Lisa Cooke
Vikki Day
Felicia Rivera
Susan Brinkman
Denise Clapham
Becki Greetan
Mary Hughson Brown
Lesley Silverman
Celeste Mauro
Emily Winkle
Linda Minnick
Linda Saul
Lisa Lambeth
Margarita Rubiano
Mary Even
Many thanks to those of you who participated in this giveaway. We were thrilled to partner with Vogue Knitting to offer this contest exclusively to friends of Yarnmarket.
Debbie Bliss is sheer heaven!
Stef and Jan have been toiling tirelessly today to get all the new yarns, books, patterns and projects online in time for tomorrow's newsletter. (Try saying that quickly three times...toiling tirelessly today.) Among my favorites this season is the new Debbie Bliss book, Glen. If you haven't seen this new collection of patterns, I have to tell you that it's gorgeous. And the photography in the new Glen book makes my cold Canadian blood run faster! The winter scenes are hauntingly beautiful landscapes of ice and snow. They make you want to rush right out to get yarn so you can knit up a cozy sweater.
The Glen yarn is a terrific addition to the Debbie Bliss line, and we've got oodles of it here at Yarnmarket. This is a tweedy blend of fine alpaca, Merino wool and acrylic that has that traditional look we're going to be seeing more of this autumn.
Be sure to read tomorrow's issue of the Yarnmarket newsletter. It's going to be jam-packed with fabulous fashions from the friendly folks at Yarnmarket!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Dinner with an old pal
Tonight I broke away from the office early to have dinner with a former boss of mine. Well, she's not just an old boss, she's also a friend. We worked together for a few years at The Worst Company in the Whole Wide World, Inc. (a division of AT&T). Together we endured 14 VPs in 7 years, which means our bosses had an average corporate lifespan of 6 months. When you consider that it takes 6 months to fire someone, our former bosses must have been put on Performance Improvement Plans the day they joined the organization. I suspect they were told to introduce themselves to their new staff, get settled, and then head over to HR for a "little chat."
I'm happy to say that since we were there things have settled down a bit and our old colleagues are now celebrating that as of last week they're officially working for The Worst Company in the Whole Wide World, Inc. (a division of IBM).
We're both curious to see what IBM does with the place. Let it remain autonomous? Assimilate it? Do exactly what AT&T did? (Use it as a storage facility for people at HQ that they can't fire but don't want to have hanging around the place messing things up.) Okay...I'm kidding. Maybe.
Anyway, we had a great time catching up on industry news, talking about what our old colleauges are doing, and wondering where the Devil now works. The Devil was our nemesis. If you ever met The Devil, you'd say, "Hey, I'll be darned! She really IS The Devil! Whoever would have thought The Devil works in Columbus, Ohio?!"
Once, Alex and I were at the airport. I was knitting feverishly when I looked up and there she was. The Devil! She was clicking along the hallway in her Devil shoes, intent on getting to her gate quickly to get on her Devil airplane.
I looked up and whispered to Alex, "That's The Devil."
"Hmmm...she doesn't look like The Devil," he told me.
"Oh, I know...but she's The Devil, all right."
He said, "She's got a good figure for The Devil." Well, of course she has. It's part of the Devil lure. If The Devil looked like The Devil, everyone would say, "Stay away! That's The Devil!"
I remember the moment I learned that The Devil was forced to "make more time for her family" which we all know is a euphemism for "has decided to pursue other interests." I was having lunch with two guys from our ad agency. One guy had pledged allegiance to The Devil while the other had chosen The Path of Righteousness. Guess which guy turned a whiter shade of pale because he knew he'd soon be tripping the light fandango himself?
Ahhh...memories...
My friend and I didn't think Her Satanic Majesty would stay in Columbus because The Devil should be in a far bigger and more important city. Like Tuktoyuktuk. Or Trois Rivieres. Or Washington. But, no. She remains here in Central Ohio. Just goes to show that you never really know what motivates the Heart of Darkness.
For a couple of hours we talked about our good times at The Worst Company in the Whole Wide World, Inc. (a division of IBM), what our old friends are doing now, how much weight we plan to lose one of these days, what are kids are doing that we have to pretend we think is terrific, and how we'll be able to retire in 30 years if our retirement savings keep accruing at the same rate they've done in the past 30 years.
We agreed we'd have to see each other more often...and buy stretchier pants.
On my way home I heard an interesting commercial on the radio. "Americans need to get out of debt. It's important for the health of our country. If you have more than $10,000 in credit card debt, we can help you reduce it in half. Call us now. You must have more than $10,000 in credit card debt to qualify."
Well, when I heard that I got so excited I almost drove off the road and into the sign that says the construction zone -- that isn't there -- has been brought to us by TARP. (I think all the TARP money was used to make TARP signs. But I digress into macro-economics when this is clearly a blog posting about micro-economics.)
Just think about that radio message...if you owe $10,000 in credit card debt, some guys out there are going to cut it in half for you. For nothing. No strings attached. That's fantastic!!!
First thing tomorrow morning I'm going to call their 800 number to see if I can pre-qualify for this program. And if I do, I'm going out to rack up more than $10,000 in debt so I can pay back only 1/2 of it. That way, I'll be stimulating the heck out of the local economy AND I'll get a whole bunch of neat stuff I can't afford right now because I'm living within my means.
I tell you, this new Economics is the greatest thing since Anti-Gravity Underpants. Which, I might add, I'm going to invest in with the five grand FREE MONEY I'm getting on my credit card.
I'm happy to say that since we were there things have settled down a bit and our old colleagues are now celebrating that as of last week they're officially working for The Worst Company in the Whole Wide World, Inc. (a division of IBM).
We're both curious to see what IBM does with the place. Let it remain autonomous? Assimilate it? Do exactly what AT&T did? (Use it as a storage facility for people at HQ that they can't fire but don't want to have hanging around the place messing things up.) Okay...I'm kidding. Maybe.
Anyway, we had a great time catching up on industry news, talking about what our old colleauges are doing, and wondering where the Devil now works. The Devil was our nemesis. If you ever met The Devil, you'd say, "Hey, I'll be darned! She really IS The Devil! Whoever would have thought The Devil works in Columbus, Ohio?!"
Once, Alex and I were at the airport. I was knitting feverishly when I looked up and there she was. The Devil! She was clicking along the hallway in her Devil shoes, intent on getting to her gate quickly to get on her Devil airplane.
I looked up and whispered to Alex, "That's The Devil."
"Hmmm...she doesn't look like The Devil," he told me.
"Oh, I know...but she's The Devil, all right."
He said, "She's got a good figure for The Devil." Well, of course she has. It's part of the Devil lure. If The Devil looked like The Devil, everyone would say, "Stay away! That's The Devil!"
I remember the moment I learned that The Devil was forced to "make more time for her family" which we all know is a euphemism for "has decided to pursue other interests." I was having lunch with two guys from our ad agency. One guy had pledged allegiance to The Devil while the other had chosen The Path of Righteousness. Guess which guy turned a whiter shade of pale because he knew he'd soon be tripping the light fandango himself?
Ahhh...memories...
My friend and I didn't think Her Satanic Majesty would stay in Columbus because The Devil should be in a far bigger and more important city. Like Tuktoyuktuk. Or Trois Rivieres. Or Washington. But, no. She remains here in Central Ohio. Just goes to show that you never really know what motivates the Heart of Darkness.
For a couple of hours we talked about our good times at The Worst Company in the Whole Wide World, Inc. (a division of IBM), what our old friends are doing now, how much weight we plan to lose one of these days, what are kids are doing that we have to pretend we think is terrific, and how we'll be able to retire in 30 years if our retirement savings keep accruing at the same rate they've done in the past 30 years.
We agreed we'd have to see each other more often...and buy stretchier pants.
On my way home I heard an interesting commercial on the radio. "Americans need to get out of debt. It's important for the health of our country. If you have more than $10,000 in credit card debt, we can help you reduce it in half. Call us now. You must have more than $10,000 in credit card debt to qualify."
Well, when I heard that I got so excited I almost drove off the road and into the sign that says the construction zone -- that isn't there -- has been brought to us by TARP. (I think all the TARP money was used to make TARP signs. But I digress into macro-economics when this is clearly a blog posting about micro-economics.)
Just think about that radio message...if you owe $10,000 in credit card debt, some guys out there are going to cut it in half for you. For nothing. No strings attached. That's fantastic!!!
First thing tomorrow morning I'm going to call their 800 number to see if I can pre-qualify for this program. And if I do, I'm going out to rack up more than $10,000 in debt so I can pay back only 1/2 of it. That way, I'll be stimulating the heck out of the local economy AND I'll get a whole bunch of neat stuff I can't afford right now because I'm living within my means.
I tell you, this new Economics is the greatest thing since Anti-Gravity Underpants. Which, I might add, I'm going to invest in with the five grand FREE MONEY I'm getting on my credit card.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Special Preview! Namaste Farms yarns are now available at Yarnmarket!
After weeks of planning and preparation, I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that we've just made available our exclusive selection of the exquisite Namaste Farms yarns. Crafted of the finest wool and kid mohair, these skeins are for those who appreciate original, hand-dyed yarns you'd expect to see at an artist's fair. We're launching the new line with three different collections: Ohm is a delicious combination of soft kid mohair with a silk core. The jewel colors are rich and vibrant -- perfect for your autumn wardrobe.
Charmed is a fantasy fusion of fiber and beads ranging from positively Goth to delightfully playful. The juxtaposition of skulls on pretty pink Pygora is madly unique!
Our Free Spirit Collection has a variety of fiber combinations that Natalie has created in very limited editions -- we have just one available for each of these gorgeous creations.
You can preview Natalie Redding's creations now before we announce them to all our customers. They're available in small quantities so you'll want to shop soon to buy these extraordinary yarns from a true artist.
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