Spiral Pouch from A Knitted Peace - Day 3

Hey, look at that body...

Well, I survived the construction of the body.  I’m still stumped as to how these two large “stripes” of waste yarn figure in, but I’ve been assured it will all work out.  There comes a time in every knitter’s life where you have to decide if you trust the designer or not.  I’m choosing optimism here, and trusting the designer. I’ve no intention of carrying around a darling purple bag mutilated by turquoise stripes, and I see no evidence of such mutilation on my sample.  As to just how we get there from here?  Well, you’ll just have to stick around and see.

Like socks, this is a quick and portable pattern.  They include instructions for sizing it up, but this small size seems to be perfect for a gift card or other such present in need of a little panache.  It fits snugly into my handbag for knitting on the go.  I have an adorable short little set of plastic #8 needles--I think they were originally made for children--that are the perfect size for this project and don’t take up much room.  Here’s a shot of them next to a quarter, so you get a sense of their size.  The old trick of using double-points with a rubber band wrapped around one end would work just as nicely, too.

I’ve opted to swap them out for my long, trusty Signature needles for the finishing steps however, which I’ve chosen to do flat rather than in-the-round.  A decision influenced primarily by the practicalities of not owning a set of #8 double-pointed needles at the moment.  

Good thing Christmas is coming.  I think I’ll make a list of all the dpn’s I’m currently lacking and tell Santa.  What’s on your holiday knitting wish list this year?

AUTUMN SCARF - Day 4

Happy endings in the middle...

So far, I have not seen drastic consequences for my earlier mistake.  So far.  My narrow end of my scarf does have a funny sort of curve to it, but I’m hoping that disappears in the three-dimensional world of it draped around my neck and shoulders rather than the two-dimensional world of laying it out on my dining room table.

Today, though, I want to tell you about a mishap of another kind.  The kind with an unexpectedly pleasant outcome.

Last week I had the chance for some train traveling, and was delighted at the opportunity to get some serious knitting done.  I boarded my train and happily settled into knitting time, only to discover that one of my Harmony circ needles had begun to split.  The crack was in such a way that it snagged the yarn repeatedly.  You know my panic--I had only brought one knitting project, and now all that traveling time was in jeopardy.  Travel?  A lot without knitting?  The horror!

I did what any knitting addict would do.  I kept going.  I ducked into a pharmacy and bought a nail file and some clear nail polish, hoping to “MacGyver” a temporary repair.  I love these circs; they are my go-to needles.  I nudged and twisted and tugged and wrangled my way through the day, tormented by the thought of how much I hated the only other pair of #8 circs in my possession.

While I sat enjoying gorgeous weather on a park bench at the end of the day, I pulled out my iPhone, found the customer service number for KnitPicks, and inquired about a solution.

“You most definitely can return the needles to the store where you bought them,” the representative said.  I loved that she understood the panic in my voice.

“Actually, I bought them at a STITCHES market where there are a gazillion stores.  A year ago.  I couldn’t begin to tell you which store I bought them from.”  I was willing to purchase a replacement, because I really do love these needles.

After checking my account, she put me on hold for a second, then came back to the line.  “We’ll replace them for you at no charge.  Just let me confirm your address.”

When’s the last time you had a company stand by their product like that?  I hope KnitPicks knows they’ve earned a life-long customer with that act of knitting mercy.  

It was just one set of needles.  Only it wasn’t.  It was integrity, and integrity is rare enough these days that I stick with companies that show it.