Howdy, friends and neighbors. It would appear from recent posts that I haven't gotten much knitting done. Well, that would be sort of accurate, but the truth is... I had to rip.

Ok, I did a stupid thing. I didn't have the needle that I needed to start the Rambling Rows afghan when I wanted to start it, so I grabbed whatever was available. Several days later, I was at a knitting function and someone asked me to show them Wendy's short-row toe technique, and I didn't have a spare needle, so I ripped the needle out of the few stitches that I had on the afghan at the time (it's worked in blocks, so I doubt there were more than twenty stitches), put them on waste yarn, and used the needle on worsted to show the technique.

A few evenings later, I was in front of the tube admiring Bill Hemmer (and wondering if I was drinking too much during the Gulf War when I'd done the same with Wolf Blitzer) when I absent-mindedly started putting the afghan back on the needles, reached into my bag, and retrieved the accurate needle for the project. I think I may have gone from a US10 to a US8. The results were so unbelievably unpretty. I went back to square one both figuratively and literally, and I've been avoiding CNN eye-candy all week.

Also in-amongst all that non-knitting time, I've added some stuff to Crowing Ram. Check links in my WIP list to see the most recent pics of current projects along with a little background info on them. Also, I've added some buttons. Not much of a big deal? No, I guess not, but I needed a little spring cleaning.

Otherwise, I've actually been getting a lot accomplished with ThreadBear. If anyone's interested, we've been getting in a lot of Jamieson DK stock, and I've been playing with the colors. I've had several people ask for help putting together colors for different projects, and my enthusiasm for the activity has driven me a little more batty than usual.

I'd been focusing a HUGE amount of attention on web development since I left my day job, and frankly, I'd neglected that part of me that just goes nuts when I start playing with yarn and color. I really have to thank Joe of QueerJoe's Knitting Blog for letting me kind of go off on a wild tangent with his color block sweater. It was like a floodgate opened, and poor Joe was the kid in an inner-tube that got carried along for the ride. Sorry, kiddo. Being a muse may be gratifying, but it can be messy. Thanks for letting me vent.

On a somewhat more business-related note, there's something that I'd like to take this opportunity to clarify about ThreadBear. In thanking me for the help (read kibitzing) that I offered (foisted) regarding his color block sweater, Joe made the comment that ThreadBear "sells some fine yarns... at internet discounted prices." Thanks, Joe. I always appreciate free publicity, but I need to make sure that everone understands something.

We offer what we think is a fair price for what we sell. We don't have preferred customer discounts, punch cards, or stamps for discounts or free merchandise after a specific amount of purchases have been made like several of the shops that we frequented prior to opening ThreadBear. Because an Internet clientele has always been part of our business plan and because we thought it would just be inconvenient to keep track of who gets what discount on what items for how long, we just take 10% off everything all the time for all of our clients whether they walk into the house or e-mail us from France.

Having good or even great prices for high-quality product makes me feel good. Being an Internet discounter isn't in our business plan. Our prices are the same locally as they are online, and despite not having a free-standing storefront, we spend massive amounts of time and money to bring knitters to us and to take yarn, patterns, and supplies to them in person and via the Internet. It's beginning to feel like we're the local yarn shop for every locality, and man, I've got to tell you that feels awfully nice.

Be well, everyone. And happy knitting!