Herrschners - CAUTION

Just wanted to put this out there for people who received the "Fall Yarn Sale" email from Herrschners --

Not all the prices are coming up as the sale price offered in the email ... Herrschners WILL straighten it out for you, but you have to catch it first.

I got the email and popped on over - the yarn I wanted (Red Heart Designer Sport) was already part of the weekly sale - but the fall sale was an even better price.  I popped over via the email and started putting yarn in my shopping cart and found the lower price was not showing in my cart.

I immediately wrote customer service and pointed out the issue, and they sent back a note saying that the lower prices would show up in the confirmation. OK - so I placed the order.

it didn't happen like that -- so I immediately wrote back customer service ... but must have written after they had closed.  I had also used my 'free shipping code' ... and because of the issues with the price, I thought I had qualified for the free shipping but it turned out that I was going to end up short ...

what a headache.

I called Herrschners this morning though and got a very nice gal who worked with me to make sure that after all the sale prices were applied that I would in fact be above the $35 minimum purchase to get the free shipping ...

BUT --

here's the way I am getting my sale prices ...
first they charge me the current prices ...
then once it hits the credit card (I suppose they want to make sure the funds are there) they will issue a REFUND to the card ...

on the plus side -- I will get nearly 1/2 off my order ... on the down side, I had to order more yarn than I had originally planned ... AND it hits the card first so there will be those few days of service charges until the refund hits up to 3 days later.

what a pain.

SO CHECK CHECK CHECK your invoices & confirmations

I love Herrschner's .... I order from them almost exclusively ... but their computer system is just driving me NUTS!

caution: Herrschners

Okay - normally I have no issue with Herrschners - in fact I LOVE them ... hubby says I'm "addicted" to them ....

but for the second time I have had to call them to straighten out some over-charges ...

they have "Free Shipping" codes which come via email or on the front of their mailing catalog - I love free shipping ... only hook is you have to order $35 of merchandise ... love that - I can come up with that no problem, getting to 50 can be an issue ....

BUT --

they have a glitch in their system ....

if they are out of stock on items you order and your total falls below the $35 mark, they don't tell you ahead of time so you can bring the total back up .... AND they will charge you for the shipping because the computer doesn't read that you qualify.

This is the second time I have had to call them to explain that the offer says ORDER $35 in merchandise ... not recieve $35 in mercnandise.

I could totally see it IF they contacted me when it was found that the 7 skeins of Bernat Silk yarn was out of stock (even though I had two - 2 - confirmations of it being In Stock) and given me the chance to bring the total back up ....

had they done this and I then declined, then yes I can see them saying "we will charge shipping" ...

but they didn't .... they just shipped it 'as is' and charged ...

I suppose they figure that not many people will double check their invoice -- and I confess that until a few years ago I wouldn't have either ...

If you use those Free Shipping codes -- make sure you check every invoice to make sure you are getting it ... $10/shipment or more will add up quick

CURSES - Foiled again

okay so the blanket that I rushed thru .... my kid is sick .... so she won't be going to the shower - but I still should be able to go if hubby is willing to watch her (oldest girl is still going to want to go) ...

I was doing fairly good on my yarn diet .... I hadn't made a major purchase except for sock yarn at an incredible price ...

but damn Herrschners!!!

You know that Christmas yarn with the sparkle thread that's wrapped around it? It comes in Red, Green, White, varigated, blue (at least those are the colors I've seen)...

Well, that damned Herrschner's took it further and made it in Halloween colors & Easter tones too ... and then they put it all on freaking sale!!!!

UGH!!!! I couldn't resisit -- I binged :-(

Hubby is so going to shoot me ... they had some baby suede stuff onsale too ... and since I don't havething fit for baby projects I had to get some too.

I'm so dead.

damn Herrschners.

Missed the Worm ...

but its really okay ....

Herrschner's (my 'crack' dealer ... that is my yarn enabler) had Red Heart Heart & Sole w/Aloe on sale in lots of colors -- $3.99/skein, just over 200 yds each.

Well I put a bunch in my cart yesterday when it first switched over ... and let it sit there waiting to see if Herrschner's was going to have there annual 'free shipping' valentine's gift for their shoppers ....

stupid move ....

by the time I figured out that it wasn't going to be coming today ... and got back to my shopping cart -- most of the colors had been sold out. All that was left were solids (and what's the point, really) and self-striping in browns *Toasted Almonds).

Don't get me wrong -- browns have their place, but it wasn't my top choice.

So I watched as the grains of sand slipped thru my fingers. Sigh.

I'm hoping that Ground Hog's Day didn't translate into 6 more weeks without yarn for me.

STASH TIME

okay I broke down and ordered from Herrschner's again ... bad girl ... and got the last thing I really needed -- YARN!! oh and a bunch of scrapbook stuff ...

You know its funny - hubby doesn't seem to get upset about the scrapbook stuff quite as much as the yarn .. but I use the yarn more.

Well -- off to my Ravelry page to update my stash counter ... my counter on the site has kind of gotten out of date ... I will have to update it later, but its not as quite as Ravelry.

Updated: Stash List

Hey gang - and I know you are out there - my stash has been updated, at least the iron-on patterns stuff. While looking for missing scrap booking stuff (don't ask me what happened to it - its not where its supposed to be - one of the girls must have been looking at the sparklies) and found a few packets of iron-ons that I forgot I had.

Amazing what you can find when you are looking for something else.

My mother always used to tell me that if you really want to find something - look for something else. It is ssooooo true.

Now if only I could get it to work with my missing iPod from Easter. This house swallows things I swear.
((((0)))) ((((0)))) ((((0)))) ((((0)))) ((((0)))) ((((0)))) ((((0))))
Okay other semi-related matters.

I currently am waiting for a reply from Herrschner's customer service on two matters.

The first concerns the reimbursement for shipping on an item I had to send back to them because the sent it to me busted. I ordered a "Phrase Maker" for scrapbooking - and other things. It is a kind of cool thing ... I haven't gotten into it too much yet, but I suspect it is going to really help with getting the kids names on their homework (I'm serious) ... let's see what is the best way to describe it....

Its like those old store labellers for marking prices on items(maybe not so old depending on where you live and if your store has a scanner or not) ... but instead of numbers (at least on mine) it has letters & spaces - up to 8 per label, I could use a few more places but that's okay.

It comes with plain labels but I also picked up the variety pack with different backgrounds - but the centers of them are lightened up considerably to allow the printing to show up.

Well upon opening I found the ink was EVERYWHERE ... all over the devise, all over my hands, and all over the bedspread where I opened the package when the ink-roller fell out of the box. I'm thinking what happened was someone returned the item (I got it from their weekly sale) and didn't tell them it was busted so they recycled it back thru the system...although it didn't look like it had been used before.

I called them right away and found the way to send it back (it would have been easier if they would give a regular invoice with mailback labels, but they just send a paper printout) ... the rep said that if I requested it, they would reimburse me for return shipping (makes sense since it wasn't my fault the item was busted) ... but I haven't heard spit about it ... yet, still waiting.

The second thing I'm waiting on is the refund of shipping from a recent order I placed but only half the stuff came, and according to the shipping chart it should have dropped the shipping a couple of bucks -- okay not a lot, but you know I shop on sale so $2 goes a long way ... plus lets face it .... I'm more than a tad ticked off from the order before.

It kind of ticked me off too that on the website it said - yes we have this stuff - and then the order came and it said 'backordered until july' - and then I started getting letters saying they couldn't get suppliers to get the stuff .... Xyron? They couldn't find a supplier for Xyron??? What the heck? Xyron is a major scrapbooking supplier - they make the greatest sticky stuff around ... and the unit (1 1/2" sticker maker) hasn't been discontinued that I know of, so the refill rolls shouldn't be that tough to get.

I'm thinking more that they couldn't find a supplier that would sell it to them for the same price as before, so that they wouldn't get the same profit off the item. I'm sorry --- that's not 'can't find a supplier' that's what we call 'the cost of doing business'.

You can bet that if it ever goes on sale again before july or shortly afterwards - they will be getting a very terse letter from me.

And yes I've seen that before too where they say they were out of stock, but a couple of weeks later the same item on sale again. I don't know if they switched management or if they got bought out or what, but over the last couple of years I've really noticed a difference in their customer service stuff...and not for the better.

We will see how things go. I just couldn't believe that 11 items on this order were 'out of stock' when the website said they were in stock. Normally one to three items being out of stock is no huge deal - but 11? what are the chances of that? That's horrid. That is someone not knowing what their inventory is - or else someone in the warehouse made a tragic mistake.
But it certainly explained why it took so long for them to ship it to me. This new order is also taking long .... I'm thinking I'm about to get hit again.

Moral Dilemmas

okay, so the thing about us gargoyles is .... we live between 'worlds' .... on one hand we are the guardian-types always looking to obey the law, on the other hand-we are creatures of the night...where the lines are harder to see.

So what is causing this tug in consciousness?

Herrschners! I love herrschners, but they have thrown me into a moral quagmire - see I ordered scrap booking supplies from them from their clearance items since they had free shipping (see previous post) and I ordered '2' - just 2 - sheets of Mountain Adventure/Camping Stickers ... the nice thick ones, but not quite chipboard types ... and they sent 2 ....

2 packs of 6 sheets each!! So now instead of having just 2 sheets I have 12 .... 12!!!! So I went back and looked at the page and it is rather unclear, although I would think that it is supposed to be just one sheet - it was only $0.97 for the offer....that sounds like a single sheet == although both packs they sent had the exact same amount of sheets in them, which tells me that it was per packet which would have been okay then.

So ... now here is the dilemma: Do I contact Herrschner's and send them back and have to pay for shipping or do I chuck it up to lucky stars, keep them, feeling that the company has been cheated out of $10???

Oh what to do .... I tried putting myself in their shoes. If I had a business I would want to get the merchandise back ... but then if I had the business I would just be some small thing where losing that much would mean so much, and Herrschners is a large company that has been around of generations (well okay three - my mom, me, my daughters) but does that make it okay to keep them?

I suppose I could call and check ... but then what if someone loses their job over this?? I would feel so bad if I got someone in trouble when it would have slid anyways.

But by not contacting the company it would be a lie-of-omission. No actually its kind of worse than that -- it would be akin to thievery....wouldn't it.

I guess I found my own answer didn't I? I guess I really knew it all along.

I will contact them later ... I've got to get supper going right now.

Lessons taught, learned, forgotten

Okay -- so I got this great online coupon from Herrschner's for free shipping ... I practically LIVE for these coupons - no tax, no shipping ... hey I hit their sale pages like nothing you could ever believe (well maybe you can), only two things I had to do to collect (1)use the click in the email and (2)order at least $35 in stuff. If you knew me, and you can probably tell from my stash assortment on the sidebar, I can come up with $35 worth of yarn w/o an issue....

Accept today. I have noticed that whenever this coupon comes out its either I've (a)already placed a big order, (b)when something is coming up and we can't afford me to splerge, or (c)there isn't anything I really like.

Now I can add (d)there isn't $35 worth of stuff I want to get.

They did have Kroy for socks on sale - but I would have to buy a 6 pack of a single color for $30 ... when I buy sock yarn I like to buy for a single pair of socks, not a fleet of them ... although the coal was tempting for making work socks for hubby, I passed it by.

So I got the cart to like $23 (all in scrapbook stuff) and realized - there wasn't a dang thing more that I liked. Oh the inhumanity of it all. I scrounged thru their regular priced stuff and decided that spending $40 on a ball winder (the usage of which I never considered worthwhile until I started buying hanked yarns, now I can see where it and a swift would be a necessary tool)

Anyhow, I filled out the order and got it in ... not a single bit of needlework in it == all scrapbook and stencil.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Well since I learned a lesson I thought perhaps I better get going on some basic re-training of Addy.

We had Addy really well trained, to the point where we thought the kids should take over. New lesson learned - kids can undo whatever you have taught a dog in less than 2 months ... completely.

Well I was going to work on some off lead heeling. and use her new balls we got her as a reward between training. I got the chicken breasts (left over from last night and only lightly spiced so she could easily have some) chopped into small bits that would still be satisfying for her without being so much as to spoil her or make a meal out of it or make her fat.

It took a couple of times to get her to understand that she had to actually work for her treat.

She was doing great at sitting when I stopped ... going when I started ... staying on the proper side. Wonderful! So we took a break to play ball, it was going to be a short break ... maybe 5 minutes so I could try to break her of her biggest bad habit of all -- jumping on my oldest daughter.

My timing was a bit late ... the kids came home during our play session so Addy wasn't in the best state of mind for listening. Sure enough as I thought the dog did just what I thought she would and when she saw my daughter get within the boundries of her electronic collar she ran to jump on her.

Now we told the kids when she does this they need to do two things - turn their back to her, and tell her 'off'. Well daughter did turn, but it was in a very timid way. Arms pulled up, hands clasped under chin, body bent, top turning before the bottom ... everything that would make a dog feel they were superior.

So I gave her a bit of chicken and told her NOT to give it to the dog until I said so. I asked her to take a couple of steps ... that was all it took for Addy to get excited and jump again. Made the dog sit, had daughter praise her and give a peice of chicken. had her do the same thing a few more times and the dog seemed to get the idea.

Well dog wanted to only hang out with the daughter, so I thought it would be a great time to have my daughter try the offlead work too. My mistake. I hadn't been watching her when she worked the dog onlead so I hadn't noticed all the errors she was making ....

Starting off without saying a word to the dog ... halting too quickly ... walking too slow (Addy's a big dog, she needs to move faster) ... and allowing the dog to walk on the wrong side (left side only please).

So in all of two minutes she undid most of the work I had gotten into Addy's head this afternoon ... sigh .... its a good thing Addy is a smart dog. I will work more with her tomorrow and she will soon learn.

20 minutes a day is all she will really need for her basic training.

My kids want me to hurry and get into the 'fetch' stage of things -- see Addy is very much like a husky in that she will run after the toy/ball and get it, but if you want it back she's going to make you work for it.

She's a good dog. And now that she's 16months I would have expected better from her, but then I have to admit that's partially my fault for not making sure she was getting the proper training.

Now if only I can get my daughter to stop wrestling with her -- she'd save so much of her wardrobe if she would. We go thru more sweaters and pants because the dog thinks she's another puppy .

Well Addy had her time so she was rewarded with extra playtime -- with my oldest who also came home during training (and who, with his little brother, was doing a wonderful job at distracting Addy during training by playing with the volley ball).

Actually I'm glad to see him playing with her. He seemed to have a really tough time bonding with her after our husky had to be put down a couple of months before we got her.

I think, while it wasn't too soon for the rest of the family, it may have been for him. They were really good buds.

Stupid enablers

You know the end of the movie "Planet of the Apes" (the good one with Charlton Heston, not the remake that looked like monkeys could have done a better job) where Taylor finds the statue of Liberty's head in the sand and realizes that he as been on Earth the whole time? And he yells "Damn them ... damn them all to hell..."? You know that scene?

That's me and Herrschner's today .... only it isn't the Earth they've ruined, its my Yarn Diet they are trying to ruin.

They are having a stash stuffer sale going on and I just got the email for it this morning -- conveniently after the free shipping offer was over btw -- but that is probably a good thing because then it would have been totally irresistable, and I don't need that.

It is totally tempting ... bling bling is $1.29 skein .... they have Cheerio (nylon based) for 99 cents .... Regia 4Ply in Prints (more of an ombre) for 2.97 ... Sparkle Soft for $1.89.

AHHHHGGGG!! I've already got a bunch sitting in my 'shopping cart' waiting for me to break down completely. I just can't be strong any longer.

At these prices I can get a ton of yarn I know .... or samples of yarn I have never heard of .... without smoking the bank acct too much. But then there is hubby. I love him. I know he wouldn't like me to order anymore yarn. No more.

In our room I have a stack of boxes which I keep by my side of the bed. It is how I combat the temptation to order more yarn. It stands about 4 1/2 foot tall. It could very easily fill each of these boxes with yarn. and still needed more boxes.

Usually when I start feeling weak I can look at those boxes and it will make me rethink my yarn purchase (much to Knit Picks shigrin, I'm sure ... at least at Herrschner's I will still order other stuff like needlework/scrapbooking) but this time .... with these prices it just isn't working.

Its the Regia .... it really is. I love the colors they have offered. It will take about 3 skeins to make a pair of socks -- well I could get away with 2 skeins but I would like a bit of extra for patching heels and toes later (even hand mades wear out).

BUT I have so much yarn waiting to be created into their projects now it just seems unfair to put more in those boxes to sit and wait.

But then I look at the economy. I may not be able to buy yarn for too much longer. My goodness some of the stuff I've seen out there is $20 skein and it isn't even hand-dyed. While $20 is pretty steep for yarn, at least with the hand-dye or hand-spun you can see why it would cost so much (neither is very easy to do in large batches). BUT still...it won't be long until I end up in the same problem my mother had.

High gas prices. High heating costs. High food costs. Limited income.

You have to pick & chose where the money goes. And I hate to say it .... but crafting would be the first thing to get snipped out of the 'budget' (yeah, like I've got one of those...lol...my sides hurt now).

So really its mom's fault. She grew up in the depression so she was denied being able to get stuff when she wanted it, heck chances are she couldn't even get stuff when she needed it. Anyhow so then we went thru Inflation under President Carter and things got tough again (milk actually went up over $1.50/gal!!) and the yarn train got thin again. And just as the train started picking up speed we got a LeeWard's Craft Store within 20 minutes of the house (res. streets too).

Then ma became a totally hoarder of yarn. And it stuck ever since. And really it got passed on to me too. I in turn will pass it on to my daughters ... we have the 'addictiver personaity' gene -- I swear!

so now I'm using my blog as a way to avoid the purchase I know I'm going to be making.

yeah i wll probably break down and get the sock yarn. Its just too yummy to pass up. Kind of like chocolate -- which explains the waistline.

I'm so dead.

Why you can't leave me alone for a second....

Okay so hubby went out of town last week and well, I got bored with out him and I had just about enough of my new socks....so I went online. Bad thing...especially when I get the new email from Herrschner's telling me about a new yarn sale...

I'm a very bad girl. I'm a very, very bad girl!

This is what 25 balls of Plume FX (5 each of "Peacock", "Raven", "Soft Pink", "Cafe Latte", and "Cardinal", it feels just like soft downy feathers).....14 skeins of StyleCraft's Gypsy (2 each of "Mood", "Fantasy", "Paradise", "Mystic", "Horizon", "Jade" and "Sunset"...its sooo soft...think of a fluffy puppy and you've got it!).......6 skeins of Hot Socks (3 each of "Nightskies" and "Earth"...extremely scratchy by the feel of it....maybe a while before I use it).....5 sets of Knit Sticks (the needles with the build-in ruler, sizes 5-9).....two sets of point protectors...and a partridge in a pear tree....looks like. Well, there was some other needlecraft stuff I got as well that isn't in the photo...but then I don't really count that stuff as part of my stash.

I'm so naughty.

Battle Brewing

Okay I couldn't resist any longer yesterday....I had two weeks vacation and hadn't bought a single skein of yarn. I had to order my partner's needles for the exchange anyways so I decided to treat myself for 2 weeks good behavior and ordered some yarn from Jimmy Beans Wool.

{hubby will not be pleased, but I did keep the cost low, doesn't that count for anything?}

I got a set of sock needles for myself as well as for my partner (so she won't know which are really hers), along with yarn from Crystal Palace (Maisy) and SouthWest Trading Co.(Maizing)

Both yarns use corn fiber as their main content. The Maizing is 100% corn, according to the website; while the Maisy is a corn blend with elastic nylon...this tells me that they mean for it to be used for socks....I don't know how they feel or how they will work though.

I have looked on KnitPicks and Herrschners and can not find a review or description of the yarns qualities or suggested uses.

Now I'm a corn farmer....although you would never be able to tell from this years field...so anything that comes from corn pricks my ears. I know the stalk and item fairly well....I'm wondering how they made this stuff!

I can't see them being able to use the corn silk...that would just be tendeous to gather (okay, any spinners out there should give it a try and let me know how it goes)...I'm wondering if they aren't using the stalk and cobs somehow to make a fiberous goo which is then treated to make a polymer which is then drawn into threads and spun.

I will let you know how I like it and give my review of it.

I placed the order yesterday using a credit card which we save for emergencies only...they didn't take the normal card I use and "hide" from hubby...so I will be watching the mail closely for the next month.

I will also let you know what I think of Jimmy Bean Wool...they are a new company to me, and I'm sure many others, and as a shopper I like to read reviews for quite sometime before I order from a company---it took me over 2 years before I finally ordered from KnitPicks even though I only heard one bad thing about them (actually it wasn't about them at all, it was about a defect in a load of interchangeables they got from the manufacturer...oops I digress). I am very careful who I give out credit card info....

Jimmy Bean is the only one of two companies now that have this info so any problems will be easily traced...although I do NOT expect any problems....its just that I jumped in with both feet w/o checking out the "landscape" first. This always makes me uncomfortable--I went thru the same thing the first few times I ordered from Herrschners and I grew up with that company!!
Well got to go....I've got a 7 year old in need of a hug...and a good tickling!!

P.S:
It is Popcorn sales time! Support you local Boy Scout troop and buy Popcorn and Wreaths from them instead of the big box store...yes it may cost a little more, but the extra money goes from a program that has been around for almost 100yrs (since 1910 in the US)...scouting teaches our boys to be self relient, confident, to think about not only themselves but how their actions{or lack thereof} effects others and society. For the extra money you not only will help a scout earn "scout money" for camp, but you also help troops earn money so they can supply uniforms and books for scouts who are in need...no scout will ever be denied because of financial burdens, but the money has to come from someplace.

Still Waiting....

Okay so I am really trying to keep myself busy waiting for a "yea" or "nay" from the sock swap....I've given hair cuts to son and hubby....I've fed the gargoyles....I even worked on my sock yesterday (some concerns here)...but this is really testing my will power not to send off yet ANOTHER plea to be let in.....how UNslytherin of me, if I give in I would suspect the others will really trounse me!

About my sock...

Well I noticed after I put up the photos of it that I was getting some pretty funky pooling of color suddenly. I rechecked my gauge, nope it was still the same....8sts/inch, 9rows/inch....so the color should have been the same. Then it dawned on me that what it could be is the dying sequence had changed....hmmm, why would they do that?

Because that was were/when they expected me to be at the HEEL...instead of the decrease of the calf! So now I had this really nice wide striping going on with a big muck of muddiness...but really that's not my issue with it...it doesn't look the best but I can live with it (so can my daughter for that matter)....by issue is:
what if there isn't enough to finish the foot!!!

I mean think of it....I could be most of the way done with the foot and suddenly run out! That would be disastrous because I only have 2 skeins of this yarn....the last two herrschner's had...and buying a new skein risks mismatching dye lots (even though bernat is usually really good about it, I ain't pushing it). I even thought of using a second yarn for the heel and toe decrease, but then I thought....well if there IS enough yarn I would have a bit left over from each ball and then I have to worry about matching the striping and working in ends on the other sock. yada, yada, yada.

That is the one thing I do NOT like about the Arachne sock calculator....it doesn't give you approximate yardage needed. I don't know why it couldn't....I mean its a simple mathematical equation...

(#of sts needed to complete) X (# of yds needed to make gauge swatch of specific portions)=yds needed

OR

(#of rows) X (yardage in 10 rows)=approximate yardage needed

since the calculator asks you to enter in your gauge anyways, all it would need to know is the international size of the yarn to give the best estimate of yardage (1-5, based on thickness).

I suppose I could figure it out on my own too, but it would be easier if I had one of those cool tools that you just pull the yarn thru and it tell you the yardage you have....that would really be SWEET for something like this.

Just think all I would have to do is make swatches for every size of yarn with all my different needles and then measure it out...viola! Instant yardage chart! But that seems like just too much work for this time of the morning.

Besides, it won't help with the problem I have now....although the number of yardage/sts. would be the best way to handle the decreases and increases....AHHHHGGG! Now that will be stuck in my head and rattling around all day.

But then.....it might be better than obsessing over the Sock Swap!

On My Needles

Not too shabby for two days worth of work and doing all the other stuff that has to be done at the cabin as well, huh? This is the test for the "Arachne Sock Calculator" that takes your measurements and makes a simple sock pattern for you. It can be found at:
http://www.panix.com/~ilaine/socks.html
This pattern is great for self striping yarns like the Bernat Sox that I'm using in Hot Tamale! I also thought I would challenge myself and broke out the size 0's for the ribbing, a single row in size 1 to step up to the size 2 dpns....normally I hate working with anything smaller than a 3 but I like the fabric made with the smaller sizes much better (I even make my washclothes with size 4s instead of the 7 or8 that's recommended).

I purchased the yarn last year when I was planning on making tons of socks for my niece who we dubbed "Dobby" because whenever you asked her what she wanted for Christmas or her Birthday the answer was always the same---SOCKS!!

The Sox yarn is made of 60% acrylic and 40% nylon which gives it a wonderful memory, it doesn't hurt my hands like wool tends to, but I know many sock enthusiasts are just dieing now yelling "NO USE WOOL"...I'm sorry my hands just can't take it, but then I've only used LB Wool-Ease yarn so who knows what other brands will be like.

Actually this is the second attempt at these socks....I was almost finished with the leg last week when I realized that I had been marking my rows wrong and I hadn't put enough rows before the decrease began and then had too many rows between the decreases. So I frogged it all and restarted it last Friday night and churned this much work out on Saturday (sunday was a travel day so nothing got done....I can't knit in the car).

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part5

So finally....I had to add to the embroidery/cross-stitch pile as well. A few years back, before gas prices went thru the roof, my husband decided that he wanted to see all the light houses in the USA...so we started with the nearest one and have yet to see any of the others, but knowing his passion for the sea we will see them all. {have I mentioned that I'm deathly afraid of water?}

So I got this wall-hanging/lap quilt when it was on sale at http://www.herrschners.com/ and decided that in order to give him some incentive I will only do the light houses that we have actually visited...well okay that HE has actually visited.

So right now the only one I can do is Split Rock in Duluth, MN. It is the one in the middle on the top row. We, okay he, had to walk all the way to the end of the pier there. He had our oldest take a photo of the rest of us....under the pier beacon so that I could hold on tight to the supports because I hate water...our son had to back up so far on the pier that I thought for sure he was going to slip off the edge (he had one foot half way off).

Now last I checked the site they had sold out of them, they were on clearence for $5.97 so I can't blame the ladies for grabbing them all up!

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part3

This RH stash is from herrschners.com and share the color "Crayon" but notice the difference? The RH Sport is so much darker than the worsted RH Kids yarn that I'm not sure the hat/mitten/cowl/liner set I had planned for my daughter will work--of course we just got the list required supplies for next year and it specified "Waterproof" mittens which means the really expensive ones that she will lose after a week or so anyways and then we will have to buy more...I've been wondering if felting would make a garment more waterproof. I know I can't do that with the RH because its acrylic, but http://www.knitpicks.com/ has some really nice wool for sale at a decent price...

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part2

Oh these I really like...the RH Soft Yarn is for an afghan I have been coveting in a book I have for about 10 years but I just couldn't find a yarn I thought it would look nice in. Each of the fall colors will be crocheted into filet panels depicting different types of leaves and then joined to make a beautiful Equinox Afghan! The colors are: Dark Leaf, Paprika, Paprika, Toast, Tangerine) the Sweet Pea on top is for my oldest daughter to "play" with...cost? $2.97 at Herrschners (reg. 3.19, so not a huge savings but still...). The other yarn, RH Sport is in Camouflage color to go with the worsted RH I used to make my youngest son's hat, cowl, and gloves (on the needle now) with...I thought a matching set of boot liners would be nice, but now that I have it I think it might be too thin for what I had planned so I may make him some slipper-socks instead.

New Stash Arrivals-2007Jul8-14, part1

Okay, so I was very naughty last week....but then when isn't a Slytherin naughty, right?....and ordered some more yarn (like I really needed more....but hey I got inspired).

Here are photos of what I got and what my plans are for each of them:

This is my Bernat Galaxy Yarn....this yarn has been discontinued so I've been having quite the time finding it at a decent price--I just refuse to pay $6 a skein for yarn! I thought it would be great to crochet an afghan that utilizes all the colors in the order of the solar system. So I bought (left to right) Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, and Neptune from Mary Maxim's @ $0.97 a skein (I pay full price for very little, let me tell you!). I have located several more colors at http://www.joann.com/ and http://www.herrschners.com/ (they have one called Deep Space, that I would love to use for the background color...I figure 10 skeins would cover me, but they still want about $4.50 a skein...I can wait them out)