Finished My Halloween Socks!

Hey Everyone!

I finished up my Halloween socks, Sunday morning, just in time to get them washed and blocked as well. They are ready to go for Thursday. I am glad I got them done over the weekend. Going into the weekend, I knew I would be working, at least four days this week, and I was asked to pick up a shift tomorrow morning as well. So this week I will be working at least five days.

I typically wear store bought “cheap” socks for work. Considering that the yarn I had ordered in the most recent orders was between about $27 – $33 per hank, which will knit up into a pair. That, combined with the time I put into to knitting up each pair, makes me not want to wear them just for work.

This week, we are experiencing some unseasonably cold morning low temperatures, combined with the wind chill makes it feel like it is down in the 20’s. Portland is right at the mouth of the Columbia River Gorge, which is bad enough for getting the east wind. The wind is funneled down the gorge, so this time of year, through the winter months, we have strong east winds that are cold, and go right through all the layers you are wearing. Areas out in the east part of the county, like Troutdale, Fairview, Wood Village, Gresham (Where I work), and far Northeast Portland, are that much closer to the river and the mouth of the Gorge get hit even harder. I checked what it was this morning while I was at work, at about 7 am. The temperature was at 35 degrees Fahrenheit, but felt like 24/25 with the wind chill.

So yeah, here I am at about 2:00 pm, ready to get some knitting done, while my laundry is in the dryer, and before having to go to bed in about five hours to start it all over again tomorrow morning at 3:15 am, to start work at 5:00 am. I have to pay for the yarn I ordered somehow.

2 Pairs of Socks on the Needles

Hey Everyone!

Yesterday, it sank in that it was the 10th of October (Today is the 11th), and that Halloween is three weeks away. I had ordered some Halloween themed sock yarn I want to get knit up, washed and blocked before Halloween, so I can wear them this Halloween.

I still have the second Heirloom Pumpkin Sock, on the needles. I am still working on the leg of this particular sock.

That being said, I decided to switch over to my Halloween sock yarn, and make sure I get them done in time.

Yesterday, I did a couple gauge swatches, to determine which size needles to use for these socks. I made swatches with my 2.5mm size 1 and 2.75mm size 2 needles.

I am using my 2.75mm size 2 needles for these socks.

As of writing this post, I am still working on the cuff, of my first sock. The yarn I am using is the Creepy Crawlers colorway, on the Sock Yarn base from KnittedWit.

I normally don’t wear my handmade socks to work, since I work stock crew, and don’t want to be wearing my nice socks that takes so much time to make, as well as costs more than store bought socks. With the wear and tear I put on my work clothes (including socks and shoes), I don’t want to put my hand knit socks through that wear and tear.

Multiple Occasions of Poor Customer Service

Hey Everyone!

My last yarn order FINALLY arrived. Let me tell you, waiting for definitely was irritating. I have ordered from the company I ordered this yarn from a total of three times, and all three orders had shipping delays that were not communicated until after the order was submitted if at all. My first order was delayed because they were too busy with fiber festivals and only had a blurb about it on a side page that was not easily accessible, and didn’t pop up until after I ordered. The second shipment was the quickest to ship, but was still quite slow to ship. The yarn I had ordered this latest time, I only ordered because I wanted the colors that bad. I knew I was doing a preorder, but the statement about when shipping was going to occur was a bit confusing, but had stated that orders would start shipping on September 20th. So, ok, I put my order in on the first day preorders were open, which was like the 6th or 7th of September. September 20th, came and went. So did the 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th. Finally, Sunday the 29th, I got an email in the evening that my order shipped. “It’s about time”, I thought to myself. On my shipping tracking it stated that the label was created super early the morning of the 30th, which the time difference accounted for. Ok fine. I’d deal. So I checked the tracking info a couple of times a day, to see when it would be accepted by the post office (ie to get an idea when it was taken to the post office). Monday passed, so did Tuesday (which was October 1st), and Wednesday, as did Thursday. Friday morning I had checked it again a few times throughout the morning (like before I went to work, when I got off work, and when I got home from work), so I finally went and showered after I got home (as I was hot, sweaty and gross). I got thinking that I should email the owner to see what was up, once I got done with my shower, as having been waiting 15 days after shipping was supposed to start (and 5 days after the label was created, which is usually a sign it will ship that day), it was nuts. It finally shipped, on Friday, and arrived today (a month after I ordered it).

So, I will not be ordering from this particular company again. I should learned after the first or second delay, but three times in a row, is unprofessional, and I am sure that I am not the only one this has happened to.

I guess it gets to me, because I have not only ordered from plenty of other companies online, and had way better customer service and communication. Not to mention the fact that I have worked from a professional knitting studio, and I have been the one to make runs to UPS, USPS, and even a fedex run in the time I worked there, because the item got finished up and packed after the UPS and Mailman had already come to the studio. It was important to us, and the business to get orders out in a very timely manner.

The yarn itself is beautiful, though the product is only half the experience of yarn shopping. Customer service is the other half. Shipping turn around time and being clear on actual shipping time, is a big part of that for online orders.

This is the yarn I had ordered:

Like I mentioned, it’s beautiful, but the experiences I have had with shipping delays that were not clearly communicated right up front, on multiple occasions, were the largest factor in why I won’t be ordering from Bumblebee Acres fiber Farm anymore.

Earlier this afternoon, I finished up the first sock of the pair I am knitting up out of Heirloom Pumpkin from Forbidden Fiber Company.

I have been wanting to work with this yarn for quite a few months. I love the colors even more now that I am seeing them in a sock.