Discontinued!

No no no, my blog is not discontinued despite what the title claims!

This post is about how all my favorite yarn lines are being discontinued at the same time!  I understand how yarn is related to style, which fluctuates quite often, but I will tell you this, trying to get my hands on some of the colors I have not previously had in certain yarn lines is putting a strain on my budget.  I am now officially on a yarn diet.  I will not be buying any more! I have plenty to work with, now I just need to sell some stuff on Etsy LOL!

A picture of the Imagination sock, and 4 skeins of Stroll sock on top

I have just discovered the yarn line on knit picks of "Imagination Hand Painted Sock" yarn (especially "Fairy Princess, second from left on bottom rows in photo).  It is my inner child's fantasy.  It has such color lines as "Mermaid Lagoon" and "Evil Stepmother" which are absolutely stunning!  My inner child squealed when we received the box of new yarn a few weeks ago.  They are so pretty and soft, and the verigations of color are beautiful!  Only to log on to Ravelry two days ago to discover they are discontinuing a whole lot of the colors I wanted, both in this line and their other hand painted sock "Stroll".  It frustrates me to no end, because it feels like they are doing this on purpose.  Granted, not just for me, but for other customers too.  I haven't been to big on the heavier yarns as of late.  For whatever reason, my hands prefer the smaller gauge yarns, and don't feel so worn out after knitting with sock yarn, as when I am knitting with K on her regular worsted weight yarn, my hands feel tired!  Maybe its also because I use huge aluminum needles that are more slippery than my wooden ones... But they're discontinuing whole lines of worsted weight yarns that I haven't even had the chance of trying!  I can't afford all of this!

In my mind, the conversation between the leaders at KP goes something like this:  

"Look Bob!  We had a big run on Imagination this week"  
"Great Darcy, lets discontinue it so they all scramble to spend a crap ton of money this week!  Who cares how the consumers feel."   
"But Bob, if we do that, then the customers might rebel against us!"  
"Yes, I see your point Darcy.  Lets discontinue some other brands or colors as well.  Maybe they won't think we're out for their money if we say its to bring in new colors and brands for more money!"  
"Gee Bob, you're so smart.  Charge them more for new lines of yarn that are the exact same as the old lines, and convince them the new lines are more 'designer'.  I like how you think Bob... We're going to get huge raises this year!"

*None of the above conversation happened, was over heard, or anything other than an act of my imagination to reason as why they're doing this.

I wound up breaking down and buying MORE yarn because I want those colors!  I like "Frog Prince" and "Pirate King".  I think a whole lot of people (or just me) will be getting lots of socks in the future!  Thank goodness for the Rav group "Sock Knitters Anonymous"... They have a monthly sock knitting challenge.  Maybe I'll challenge myself this year to make 6 pairs of socks...

This act by KP has definitely made me wary of their ways. I think Andrea @ CDA Yarn and Fiber will be getting more of my money soon.  Maybe after I use up a bit of my stash!  This out of control yarn habit I have better get under control soon!  I know in the near future, I will not have so much time to knit as I have in the last few months.  Mostly because the week of Black Friday, I'll be working tons of hours.  (Yay? I think not!)  And the night of Thanksgiving is going to be the roughest I'll ever have had.  I have to be at work at 11:45.  We open at midnight.  I'll be there until 8:15 am.  UUUuuuuuggghhh.  This is when I miss Borders the most.  Because even though we were open at 6 am, we were slow until afternoon.  Everyone was at places like Walmart and Target and Best Buy to get the best deals they could.  Now I work at one of those retailers, and I will have to deal with everyone wanting my help right now! And do I know where xxx product is? NO, I don't work that area of the store! I've only worked on the clothing!  Go find someone in that area to help you!  Bah humbug!


Ok, so my inner scrooge is coming out early.  Sorry about the sneak peek.  May my zen return before I rip a Black Friday shoppers throat out!


And on that positive note, just wanted to say D's socks are about half way done.  Just finishing up the gusset increases/heel flap. Once the heel is turned then its 4-6" for a leg, and I'm done.  Let me tell you what a trial it has been getting to the half way point!  Everything is so busy for me right now!  The kids are all signed up for 4H, our first meeting is in Dec with a group in Dalton Gardens (about 20 min from where we live now, but all the groups around our area didn't have the things K wanted to be involved in.  Better to have a group with 3/4ths the things she wanted to sign up for and be in a satellite group for 1 thing than be in a group with 1 thing she wants, and have to satellite out for 3 others...


Speaking of K and 4H... She signed up for knitting and cat this year, she wants to do crochet, sewing, non-horse, gardening, and something else, but for her 1st year, I figured it was better to under-work her rather than overwork her and her get frustrated.  T was signed up for Cloverbuds too, even tho he said he didn't want to LOL.  Too bad, Mommy makes the decisions here!  Ok, off to take care of the herd!  Everyone have a great weekend!
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Sock it to me!

I have been working hard, or hardly working depending on the stance you're looking from.  I started a new job, just a temporary holiday help, and supposedly only 9 hours a week, but this week I've racked up almost 11, and I have Saturday too!  So I'll be getting almost 15 hours if i get another 4 hours on Saturday.  Putting up Christmas stuff is getting me into the Christmas mood already!

After getting home from work today, I was exhausted!  If I was asked a question, I couldn't answer because I was so tired.  I just became a zombie for a bit.

But that is not why you're Socking it to me!  This is why:

I finished K's pair of socks, with enough yarn to make a second pair!  This is the same pair in different lights.  The one on the cement is outdoors in bright sun, bottom one is sunlight in the house thru a window LOL!  Having finished that pair of socks has allowed me to start a new pair for D for Christmas.  And lucky for him, it is "M(an)(N)ovember" in one of the groups on Ravelry.com Movember.  Man sock November.  Whatever you want to call it.   I have started them yesterday.  Only yesterday?!?! Its hard to believe, but yes, only yesterday, I am working on a pair of toe-up two-at-a-time pair for him.  On Saturday I went to CDA Yarn & Fiber with T and visited Andrea and the pugs Chester and Bugsy to choose out the yarn to use on this project.  I tried to get T's input on the yarn, but he was so busy petting Chester and sitting with him he was no help at all.  He did what his father does "Yes" and "That is good" with out really looking at the choices.  Way to be taught early!

But in the end we took home a couple hanks of Cascade Heritage Sock yarn in the color "Moss".

.That is in the early Sunday morning sun.  As of this very moment, I only have 2 more increase rows before I'm done with the toes and moving on to the foot!  And if I finish this in the next week or two, I may have to start a pair for myself!  OR there is an option to make a second pair for D if there is enough yarn left (which there should be if the legs aren't too long).  Once I finish, I will say what pattern they are, but may not post a picture of the finished product, because this is a present.  Granted K's socks are presents too, but she's not online!  Its great having control over stuff like that.


Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween, and brought in lots of candy!  I know we did.  Optimus prime was a hit!  And to wrap up this blog post, I will post some Optimus pictures!

What to do now?

Its been a while.  I have been having the roughest week ever!  Filed for unemployment Monday, started getting the sniffles Tuesday, Wed was the nauseated day (cuz i mixed dayquil with my allergy meds, not a fun experience), was generally lost Thursday and Friday.  Saturday was my Farmers Market day, and with that I went on  a side trip to CDA Yarn and Fiber!  Oh what a fun time that was!


So, battling a headache all day long, I went to see what was at CDA Yarn and Fiber.  It is a small location, on the north side of East Sherman Ave, right beside Burts Music and Sound (another one of my "stay away" shops, or I will come home with a complete stringed instrument collection!).  Its a small cozy shop JAM PACKED with yarn!  OMG, it was yarntastic heaven!  I spent an hour and a half just wandering back and forth feeling yarn, looking at the yarn, playing with the display models she (Andrea the owner) knitted up.  MY GOD!  If i had a million dollars, i'd have a home that looked like her shop.  It was so funny, there were regulars in there the whole time chatting me up about how they love the shop.  That made me love the shop too.  Andrea told me about the knitting circles that happen Wed mornings 11:30-1, and Tuesday evenings 5-7, and was encouraging me to come.  I did say how its hard for me, with T in Kindergarten getting out of school at 11:40 daily and then both kids by my lonesome until 6 that it just wasn't feasible for me to come hang out for 30 min :(  It made me sad.  BUT if anyone should volunteer to come watch the kids Tuesday evenings for an hour... (HINT HINT LOL!)


It was so hard for me to walk out of there without buying anything, so I bought something!  I only bought ONE skein, so its not like i was breaking the bank, but my gosh its pretty, and i think K will enjoy a pair of socks from it greatly!

Isn't she pretty?  Its a brand called "happy" by a company called "Wendy", and she is 75% Bamboo, 25% Nylon sock yarn.  I think K will LOVE the socks, don't you?  It is soooo soft, and decently priced, I couldn't pass her up!  This is the astrology line (don't know why), and this is the Virgo color.  It was either this one, or Pisces, which was a verigated blue color.   I have enough blue at home, i don't  need more.  But i don't have much pink.  This will make a lovely pair of socks someday.


Speaking of K:  Also on the upcoming front:  K wants to learn to knit! ZOMG I am so happy!  My little girl wants to do something!  Makes me super happy that I borrowed a whole bunch of knitting needles from my mother.  Apparently I have a thing for the middle sizes.  I had size 5-8 (but only a single needle of the 5, and a single needle of the 8 and i know the reason.  He's short, blonde and adorable when he play's swords)  So my mom let me borrow some smaller sizes, and the 8-10's.  She has triplicate of the needles anyway.  But its ok, I love her, and she lets me borrow the needles.  I think thats where I got my crafty pack rattiness from.  She did warn me on Saturday that its going to be messy, dropped stitches and random increases everywhere!  Thank goodness for Ravelry.com and its group of knitting teachers (K is for Knit) and their really helpful advice and first project tips.  Maybe we can do a few pot holders, maybe some coffee mug sweaters for Christmas... I have patterns saved up from there for ideas for her and I to make for Christmas.  I am so super excited she wants to share in the crafty experience too!  Reminds me of me!  I like it when she reminds me of me and not her dad... grrrr...   Ok, well then, I have rambled quite thoroughly, it is time for me to ramble off and do other things, like work on my shawl, or work on my socks, etc.  Till next time!