I love Berroco yarns. And their patterns. And they employ my favorite designer ever, Norah Gaughan (Benissimo's designers are a *very* close second).
But this, well, I found it kind of offensive. And now they're on part 3 of a series on "recession fashion"!
In a recession, I realize they have to take a look at saving money. But are people really cutting back to where $50 is a deal>
Not in my world! My most expensive projects are in the $50-70 range. I like to buy expensive yarns and make smaller projects with them in a time of recession, not spend as much as my most expensive projects!
Here's a clue, Berroco - try listing smaller projects, not full sweaters, or giving a discount on your yarns (as in, buy a book or pattern booklet get 15% off or something) and don't try to kid that you're into the whole cutting the budget thing.
For those of us who have to cut our budget down, here are some better ideas:
1. Learn to unravel old sweaters from the thrift store. I can get all the cashmere/angora I want for $10 a sweater!
2. Learn to use expensive yarns next to the skin or places where the design impact will matter. Its not necessary to use the most expensive wool for a standard stockinette cardi, but it is necessary to use softer product for a pullover or for a cardi that will be worn on your skin, like with a tank top.
3. Buy some $10 gift cards from the store each month instead of buying yarn. Save them up to make a big purchase and it won't feel so bad in this economy (its already paid for!). If your yarn is "no dye lot", than buy one skein at a time.
4. Use your stash. Nothing costs more than yarn you aren't using. And if you just can't bring yourself to use something, donate it. Get it to someone who will be overjoyed at the thought of using your neon green fun fur (hello new crocheted Oscar!).
5. Learn to block acrylic. Its a different technique than learning to block wool, but once you try it, you'll never go back. I'm still learning it myself, but there are several projects that I need to photograph that show the results of learning to lightly block it.
6. Learn about knockoff brands. Like Noro Kureyon? Try Patons SWS. Like fancy sock yarn? Try Knitpicks. Like Malabrigo? Try some of the hand-dyed yarn on etsy. Hobby Lobby is especially famous for knocking brands off. I particularly like I Love This Yarn's selections!
7. Hankering for something new to learn? Purchase a set of knitting looms and learn how to knit differently. You'll be amazed at the way it will blow your mind at just how many ways you can enjoy knitting!
All of those will help squeeze some yarn time out of your budget without insulting you, making it seem like its a token gesture, or making it "fashionable" to be under budget.
Berroco, I'll still buy your yarns and avidly read Norah's blog, but like the parent of a five year old, all I can say is that I'm very, very disappointed in the company.
Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yarn. Show all posts
Friday, December 5, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
New Job, New Crafting
Hello all!
As I mentioned before I started a new job in September. I think I grossly underestimated the differences in timing required to do proposals on this side of the business.
In a perfect world, on the architecture side, I would spend about three days putting together everything that everyone wrote for a proposal. Sometimes I got it down to one and half by working an insane amount of overtime and really rushing it. And that's with a team of three working on it. And then I'd send it off to print and be on my merry way.
On the other side, there's not only the time spent writing, there's also the time spent writing for subconsulting, and time for printing (since my new job isn't stupid enough to spend $4K/month on outsourcing). I'm looking like more at a week. And that's with overtime, a lot of the time. I was disgusted to find I had spent an entire day on subproposals this past week!
Anyway, that's enough ranting - onto the crafting!
I started Jeni's scarf on the train out of Paton's SWS in plum. I've been really pleased at so far how its worked out - the color changes are nice, and the initial scratch factor of the yarn has pleasantly worked itself out as it tumbles around my bag. For those of you who are interested, it is the "One Skein Tapestry Scarf" on Ravelry. I think I entered the project...
I had heard many bad things on Ravelry about SWS, but I got the yarn for free, so I said what the heck. Jeni has been a very good friend and dance teacher and I wanted to make something nicer than usual. Of course, now I have to figure out what to make Jason, but that's doable, right? ;-)
C.
As I mentioned before I started a new job in September. I think I grossly underestimated the differences in timing required to do proposals on this side of the business.
In a perfect world, on the architecture side, I would spend about three days putting together everything that everyone wrote for a proposal. Sometimes I got it down to one and half by working an insane amount of overtime and really rushing it. And that's with a team of three working on it. And then I'd send it off to print and be on my merry way.
On the other side, there's not only the time spent writing, there's also the time spent writing for subconsulting, and time for printing (since my new job isn't stupid enough to spend $4K/month on outsourcing). I'm looking like more at a week. And that's with overtime, a lot of the time. I was disgusted to find I had spent an entire day on subproposals this past week!
Anyway, that's enough ranting - onto the crafting!
I started Jeni's scarf on the train out of Paton's SWS in plum. I've been really pleased at so far how its worked out - the color changes are nice, and the initial scratch factor of the yarn has pleasantly worked itself out as it tumbles around my bag. For those of you who are interested, it is the "One Skein Tapestry Scarf" on Ravelry. I think I entered the project...
I had heard many bad things on Ravelry about SWS, but I got the yarn for free, so I said what the heck. Jeni has been a very good friend and dance teacher and I wanted to make something nicer than usual. Of course, now I have to figure out what to make Jason, but that's doable, right? ;-)
C.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Argh!
Okay, so this is more about righteous indignation, or something like that.
I love Ravelry. Its no secret. But sometimes the forums drive me nuts. I'm not going to name any names, but there was a post on corn fiber yarn and a person from another country used it to try and snub the US for providing GM foods. I played it off, but after thinking about it, well, it's frying my eggs.
Now, do I like the idea of genetically modified anything? No. I don't want my kid to be allergic to shellfish someday and not be able to eat tomatoes becaus they have fish genes in them to tolerate cold better. Nor do I think we need a corn that has double the amount of sugar in it. Americans are fat enough without having to worry about the carbs we eat doubling due to genetic modification (myself included).
But, I don't like the idea that people from other countries just try to jab that remark in whenever someone talks about an alternative fiber yarn - like corn, soy, hemp, milk, rice, whatever.
There are lots of other countries providing GM foods to the world. Brazil is a huge producer of GM soy and GM corn. India is a huge producer of GM cotton. China produces GM corn and is working on GM rice. Its not just the US at fault here. GM's even shown up in Mexico as blow-over from the US and as corn prices rise there.
Recently I read that Monsanto and other companies were promising that they could "double" the yield of corn and soy crops and more countries were falling prey to the GM promise. Let's think about this. Did they "double" yields in the last twelve years? Did the products live up to their promise? Further, did these companies cause some of the price rate jackings because they patented corns and soybeans and made them more expensive to acquire?
The last article I read about the topic explained that the GM contingent was moving into China to give them GM corn so they could boost their yields. Have anyone ever stopped to think that maybe that it was a good idea they weren't using GM product? That we are supporting a world population that is nearing unbearable?
More important are the people who insist that using wool is sustainable and GM free. How can that possibly be? Are they monitoring the diets of the sheep they get their wool from? Are they only buying from farms that have food logs to make sure no GM foods get into the sheep diet?
Further, does wearing a fiber made from a GM food give you side effects? Does the turning of corn from non-resistance to resistance of BT mean you're going to turn green? Does anyone know the safety of this?
Ugh. This whole topic just fries my eggs. There's just not enough known about it to be spouting off on Internet forums. Personally, I'll take what I can get, recycle my yarns from the thrift store, drink my soy milk in the morning, stay away from corn (it upsets my stomach anyway) and try to live in the world the best I can.
I'm more concerned with what the product is made from. If its removing food from the system, I'm not interested. Something made with unusable byproducts is much more sustainable in my mind - using product that would normally get thrown away. Now that's ingenuity! And not using as many chemicals to do it - another ingenious idea! Or not using as much energy to make, releasing as much greenhouse gas, etc.
And bringing it back to what I was originally writing about, this isn't just about the US anymore. This is about the whole world. No one should be tossing in remarks when their country could just as easily be part of the problem.
I love Ravelry. Its no secret. But sometimes the forums drive me nuts. I'm not going to name any names, but there was a post on corn fiber yarn and a person from another country used it to try and snub the US for providing GM foods. I played it off, but after thinking about it, well, it's frying my eggs.
Now, do I like the idea of genetically modified anything? No. I don't want my kid to be allergic to shellfish someday and not be able to eat tomatoes becaus they have fish genes in them to tolerate cold better. Nor do I think we need a corn that has double the amount of sugar in it. Americans are fat enough without having to worry about the carbs we eat doubling due to genetic modification (myself included).
But, I don't like the idea that people from other countries just try to jab that remark in whenever someone talks about an alternative fiber yarn - like corn, soy, hemp, milk, rice, whatever.
There are lots of other countries providing GM foods to the world. Brazil is a huge producer of GM soy and GM corn. India is a huge producer of GM cotton. China produces GM corn and is working on GM rice. Its not just the US at fault here. GM's even shown up in Mexico as blow-over from the US and as corn prices rise there.
Recently I read that Monsanto and other companies were promising that they could "double" the yield of corn and soy crops and more countries were falling prey to the GM promise. Let's think about this. Did they "double" yields in the last twelve years? Did the products live up to their promise? Further, did these companies cause some of the price rate jackings because they patented corns and soybeans and made them more expensive to acquire?
The last article I read about the topic explained that the GM contingent was moving into China to give them GM corn so they could boost their yields. Have anyone ever stopped to think that maybe that it was a good idea they weren't using GM product? That we are supporting a world population that is nearing unbearable?
More important are the people who insist that using wool is sustainable and GM free. How can that possibly be? Are they monitoring the diets of the sheep they get their wool from? Are they only buying from farms that have food logs to make sure no GM foods get into the sheep diet?
Further, does wearing a fiber made from a GM food give you side effects? Does the turning of corn from non-resistance to resistance of BT mean you're going to turn green? Does anyone know the safety of this?
Ugh. This whole topic just fries my eggs. There's just not enough known about it to be spouting off on Internet forums. Personally, I'll take what I can get, recycle my yarns from the thrift store, drink my soy milk in the morning, stay away from corn (it upsets my stomach anyway) and try to live in the world the best I can.
I'm more concerned with what the product is made from. If its removing food from the system, I'm not interested. Something made with unusable byproducts is much more sustainable in my mind - using product that would normally get thrown away. Now that's ingenuity! And not using as many chemicals to do it - another ingenious idea! Or not using as much energy to make, releasing as much greenhouse gas, etc.
And bringing it back to what I was originally writing about, this isn't just about the US anymore. This is about the whole world. No one should be tossing in remarks when their country could just as easily be part of the problem.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sketching, and searching!
I found it...here's one of the reject patterns, since I know my partner might see it.
I love it when you go through book after book after book, only to find that the real pattern that you are looking for will just "pop" out at you as this sudden realization like you've been searching for it your entire life! I love that feeling!
So now its off to yarn choice. I got one at the store today, but the gauge is wrong. Have to try again tomorrow at IDEA Studio or at the HL. I'm thinking I have the right color for one but not the other. And its a bugger to find - I've been searching all over the Interwebs to find it. I may have to ask my dear friend to work some muggle magic over the local YS owners to track something down in the right color.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
