This Is Getting Old

First: KnitPicks.
Again, no local yarn store has the monopoly on yarn. In fact, each yarn store chooses what they want to sell and typically does not have room to stock every kind of yarn available, in every weight available, in every color available. I have been to quite a few yarn shops in the area, and I buy different kinds of yarn at each one. *GASP!!!* That's right, I don't spend my entire yarn allowance at the yarn store I work for. Some companies make their own kinds of yarn. That means that you cannot buy that type of yarn anywhere else. Such is the case of KnitPicks. If I want a kind of yarn that is only made by KnitPicks, then I have to buy it through KnitPicks. The good thing about KnitPicks (and some other online yarn shops) is that the quality of the yarn is, in my experience, very high. Calling KnitPicks the "WalMart of the yarn world" is simply ignorant. Yes, they have nice prices. No, I would not want to use every kind of yarn they offer. But isn't that the case for any yarn store, local or online? If I want Rowan Wool Cotton, I go to O'Bryonville. If I want Manos or some ArtYarns, I go to Hamilton. If I want Cherry Tree Hill, I go to West Chester. If I want a new selection of stuff to choose from, I find a new yarn store. That's the beauty of it. There are options. There are choices. I can support multiple yarn places, thereby increasing the demand across the board, which eventually increases the supply and increases the options. Where's the downside? All the customers of my LYS are not going to run out and ONLY buy yarn from KnitPicks just because I mention on my blog that I have bought yarn from them in the past and plan to buy more in the future, because that is the case for EVERY YARN STORE FROM WHICH I HAVE PURCHASED YARN. I love yarn. I have stash issues. I want more yarn. My options are not limited. No one is going to go out of business. Oh, and I also buy yarn on eBay. Clearly I'm only hurting myself.

Second: My now-frogged, previously ill-fitting sock.
Yes, it was a mistake. Yes, I "broadcasted" said mistake to all of my faithful blog readers. Yes, the students in my sock class were aware that I messed up, and yes, I am a horrible person because of it. However, I fail to see how all my "credibility" is based on that one sock. The first night of the sock class I took in at least six pairs of previously completed, perfectly fitting socks to share with my students. Hmm, perhaps there's some credibility in that. Let's look at the other 20 some posts I've made in the young life of this blog. There are over a dozen different projects talked about, most of them completed, and all of them well-made and fitting for whichever recipient they were intended. I think that might establish some credibility, so that when I mention a project that isn't going perfectly, one might not think that because of that one project, I'm a complete failure at this hobby. Oh, what? It's a hobby? It's not life or death? Interesting.
The other thing about this sock, which, if you'd been reading all the posts about this particular yarn and pattern, you'd know already, is that while I was working on the sock, I was fascinated with both the yarn and the pattern. (How's that for a run-on sentence? Can you start ripping on my grammar now, please?) I'm clearly a process-knitter. Yes, it's nice to have a finished project once in a while, but the reason why I keep casting on for so many new projects is because I am in love with the process. I love learning new stitch patterns, using new yarns, seeing how variegated and self-striping/patterning colorways work out. So it's not really all that surprising that I waited until after I turned the heel to try it on. I love turning the heel. It's usually my favorite part about making socks. So again, not surprising. Process knitter. Remember that.

Next (third, for those of you keeping track): The Alien Scarf.
I know it's a darn cool scarf. It's a darn cool pattern, and OOPS! I didn't have the pattern with me when I bought the yarn. My brain, unfortunately, is not an encyclopedia of yarn yardage and pattern details. I really wish it was. I did not blame the yarn store I went to (not a local one this time, but thanks for trying) for telling me that the Lamb's Pride would be fine, because frankly, the yarn worked perfect for the project. There just wasn't enough yardage. Yes, my mistake. But I fixed it: I bought more yarn, and finished the scarf. When I told the story in my blog, I wasn't blaming anyone, I was telling the story of the scarf. I was explaining about the yarn, the process, the finished product, the handsome scarf model... all of that. I'm pretty sure that even in this public forum, I am permitted to tell my stories the way that I'd like to tell them. In fact, I think that's what blogging is all about.

Fourth, and last: This Knitsie Character.
Did someone pee in your Cheerios? Was it me? Do you wake up in the morning wondering how horribly I've messed everything up this time? If so, stop wasting everybody's time. I'm not perfect, I never claimed to be, and this blog is for me. You don't like what you see? Then stop reading. I'm not hiding behind some made up name throwing out insults and holier-than-thou comments on random blogs. I'm going to tell it like it is, good or bad. I'm not going to share only the perfect projects; I'm not going to share only the mistake projects. I'm going to share it all, because again, this is my blog, and that's why I started it. I have some really good friends who read this blog and enjoy what I do, and the same goes for why I read their stuff and can appreciate them. We support each other, we encourage each other, we laugh with (and sometimes at) each other, but we're always real and up front about it. It's never with a spirit of piousness or that we feel we're better than someone else, but always with a desire to learn more about something that has become a favorite pasttime.
I don't need to take a beginning knitting class, and many people will back me up when I say that I define myself as a qualified knitting instructor. I understand gauge, I understand yardage, I understand the process, but I will never say that I have nothing left to learn. I will never say that I am perfect, and I will never hide behind some internet facade to rip on someone else's hard work.
Either come out from behind the nickname and tell me what your real issue with me is, or leave me alone. This blog doesn't need readers like you.