A Beautiful Disaster!

A few months ago I got a call from a lady I've known for most of my life. Her daughter is a few years older than me and has 3 little ones, 2 girls and a boy. In fact, when her daughter was pregnant with her first, I was pregnant with Pyper, we were due the same week!

Grandma was ordering two hats to accessorize the two black faux fur coats she made for the girls. She had ideas for style and a specific color in mind. Grandma came over and we looked at a few patterns that I'd pre-selected based on our discussion, and sure enough there was one there that she loved. The color palate was white with a black band and soft pink flowers with black leaves, simple but striking. Here's where the distaster begins!!!!!

The brand of cotton I usually use doesn't have a soft pink... seriously, hot pink, dusty rose, peachy pink....no soft pink. I whipped out the laptop and we looked at the color options from the brands that I could order in. We decided on a tone and I placed the order as soon as she left, and then I waited....

And waited...

And waited...

I received an email from the supplier indicting that they were undergoing a change in their postal delivery service and that although it would speed things in the future it would cause a delay on this order. I phoned Grandma and let her know.

And waited...

And waited...

And waited...

I sent the supplier an email... a rather unhappy email indicating that they usually have a slower than average in the delivery time and that I understood that they were undergoing a change but this was CRAZY!!! I am running a business and their wait time is reflecting badly on me and my business ....where's my stuff?? I soon found out that they sent the package to my old address...despite the fact that I've ordered since the move. Of course the new owner rejected the parcel and it was sent back to the supplier. It was that close...about 6 blocks away from home! They said once the package was received back they'd re-ship to the correct address... ugh......

I phoned Grandma and let her know where things were at...and waited...

And waited...

And waited...

It took aproximately 2 months for the yarn to show up...... holy poopers... I was soooooooo irritated... I finished the embellishments for the hats that night... and delivered ASAP. Despite my many phonecalls throughout updating Grandma, she though these hats just were not going to happen. I take pride in beating the deadlines I give people... so needless to say I was mortified... and of course did my best to "make it right".

I had Pyper model one of the hats...so here you go, you can see my beautiful disaster!

What have I learned?? ....uh....find a new supplier... triple check to make sure the shipping address is correct... stock more colors so I don't have to order to fill an order!!!

I heart... returning customers & custom orders

I had to share this cute little hat with you!

I got an email a couple weeks back from a local photographer (so local she's actually on my way to work!!!), she's got one of my hats already. So this time she was looking for another hat, and a diaper cover. She sent a picture of a had she'd seen and was hoping for something similar, but with a flower in a soft tone.

Once I poured over the picture for a while I figured it was made using 2 yarns held together. Something for a base, maybe with a little texture and a novelty yarn for some fuzz. I'll have to be honest, I usually stear very clear of the novelty yarn, it's just not my genre, however, on this one I'm glad I picked it up. I think the result came out really cute!

It was funny thought, i crocheted the whole thing and realized that the inside was VERY furry.... I uh........... had to give it a haircut :)

Hope you like! :)

New-ool-o-pho'bi-a

Newoolophobia (new-ool-o-pho'bi-a) [G. newwool - new type of wool + phobia - fear]

1. The illogical fear of a new, never before used type of wool, yarn or fibre.
   
2. Characteristics include fixation, gentle caressing and obsessive contemplation over the fibre's possible uses. It is typically stored in a prominent area, carefully protected in plastic, yet clearly visible, mocking you with its presence.


3. Newoolophobia can only be overcome by taking a few deep cleansing breaths and jumping in with both feet, needles or hook in hand.
   
4. Overcoming newoolophobia is undeniably rewarding, resulting in new, wonderful creations and a corresponding boost to self esteem.

I was recently afflicted with a serious case of newoolophobia. I had a request from a client, Gloria for some custom work, a beautiful wrap and hat set that appeared soft and light as a fluffy cloud. I unsuccessfully tried to source out some yarn around home.

I'm hesitant to buy yarn over the Internet...because, unless I've worked with it before I don't know how its going to feel. It could look stunning in a picture, but it could feel crunchy, scratchy or synthetic in my hands. Well...I took the plunge and found this gorgeous hand-spun merino wool from The Fiber Denn on Etsy. I was thrilled when it arrived, it's wonderful...it's soft...it varies drastically in thickness...so great texture...and its a beautiful natural ivory tone... LOVE IT!!!

Then came the newoolophobia...oh, boy... what if I mess this up??? The creation of this yarn was someone else's time, effort and art... it was costly... what if it doesn't turn out how Gloria was expecting... oh the stresses I can impose on myself...

Well, after a few weeks of mulling it over... with the yarn... in it's prominent position... mocking me..... I took the deep breath... and I'm so glad I did... I love how it came out... check it out! :)