Meet our new model at F & P:
That's Bumper. I won him at Coney Island yesterday. I've never won anything at an amusement park before! (I don't count any cheapo eraser or hi-bounce ball obtained with those tickets you win at skee ball). Bumper is keeping me company while Chris is in Somewhere in the Nordic Woods, Sweden, for a conference. He's modeling a spur-of-the-moment, time-filler project whilst I await the Felted Tweed I purchased ages ago from The Knitting Garden. Gotta admit, they've taken so long (we're past the two week mark), and have been unresponsive - I am not certain I will order from there again. Anyway, this project is a pure product of Ravelry magic. A few skeins of Sierra have been clogging up my stash-overflow shelf for about a year, so I searched for hat patterns that could be made with Sierra and found Center Square, [here on Ravelry] a perfectly nice pattern on Knitty that I'd overlooked in my dark period of Knitty disappointment (the current issue has redeemed Knitty just a little).
Bumper doesn't get to keep this hat, though. If it turns out at all presentable once blocked, my friend Sara has claimed it to complement her new sneakys. But I think Bumper will weather the winter just fine without a hat - given that he is a penguin, that scarf should keep him plenty toasty.
Posted by jess at September 17, 2007 11:44 PM | TrackBackHmm, shame about the Knitting Garden's customer service. I've never ordered from there, but they do have useful pictures of the Rowan projects, so they're my pattern lust resource. Too bad Bumper isn't more sinister looking/possessed, you could use him to frighten them. Hey, it's worth it for Rowan.
Posted by: Protagiton at September 18, 2007 12:07 AMAdorable!
Posted by: la chica alta at September 18, 2007 12:55 AMYay for Ravelry magic projects!
It is so fun to hear about people using the site for real now. :)
Posted by: frecklegirl jess at September 18, 2007 2:08 AMWhat a cute penguin! Congrats on winning - I've never won anything at a midway either.
Posted by: Jo at September 18, 2007 8:13 AMInterestingly, I'm having the same slow response time issue with Knitting Garden. I've ordered from them before and it was problem-free.
Posted by: Karen B. at September 18, 2007 9:03 AMI've been waiting over a month for my Rowan Felted Tweed from Angel Yarns! When I contacted them they said they were out of stock. Wouldn't that be something worth mentioning?
Posted by: Amy at September 18, 2007 9:56 AMI love the center square pattern - it's definitely a great filler project.
Posted by: Kim Unertl at September 18, 2007 10:04 AMI would say that you win although I suspect neither of us wins in the end.
Posted by: Amy at September 18, 2007 10:20 AMI've had the same problem with the Knitting Garden! When they deigned to respond to my emails, they told me the yarn I paid for was backordered for a few weeks.... I cancelled my order.
Posted by: Veronique at September 18, 2007 10:40 AMGosh but he's cute! I love him! And the hat! Eee! But sorry about the bum service of the Knitting Garden order, sounds like they're not reliable. :/ Bummer!
Posted by: Kit at September 18, 2007 11:16 AMI had the same problem with them when I ordered a Rebecca magazine from them. Their customer service is awful.
Posted by: Jenn at September 18, 2007 11:27 AMWow. I can't believe so many people have had the same bad experience I had with the Knitting Garden. They kept me hanging for over three months until I finally canceled my order. I will never order from them ever again.
On a lighter note, I love the hat!
Posted by: Kellie at September 18, 2007 12:07 PMLove the colors. Looks like a very nice squishy warm hat :) Perfect for the weather we all know is approaching
Posted by: preita at September 18, 2007 12:59 PMWow, interesting to hear that my own bad experience with The Knitting Garden has been shared by so many others. I ordered a sweater's worth of sale yarn from them that *never came*, and they stopped returning my emails and inquiries about it. Poo upon them.
But Bumper is awfully cute in his new hat! I do like that pattern. And the yarn looks kind of bulky - maybe it's just the thing to whip up for the school fundraiser. My original dream of Syncopated Caps is too ambitious, methinks.
Posted by: Sarah at September 18, 2007 1:08 PMwaiting for yarn is unbearable. remind me never to order from there, judging from the comments, yours isn't an unusual experience.
i love the colors that you're using for center square. lucky friend!
Posted by: melissa at September 18, 2007 1:38 PMvery cute hat... and penguin!
Posted by: gleek at September 20, 2007 8:39 AMSo freaking cute! Both Bumper and his hat! Isn't that the truth about Ravelry and discovering new "old" project ideas? It's so great. I'd actually forgotten about that hat, too. Hmm... ;)
Posted by: Nonnahs at September 20, 2007 2:46 PMi had the same problem with KG. only the yarn i ordered took six months and at the end of the day they sent me one ball less than i ordered. many many emails later, no fix from them. it was at a great sale price, but was it worth it given the attendant headache? not so much. i hate to talk smack in public if it seems like a one-off problem, but it sounds like with KG it's pretty pervasive.
Posted by: heather at September 20, 2007 6:08 PMThats so cute, I love the hat and it suits bumper very well
Posted by: knit, crochet, stitch, stick at September 28, 2007 9:36 AMBumper is so cute! He is a much nicer prize than you can get at our version of Coney Island. They usually have cheap knock off's of cartoon characters.
The hat is looking good - much better than I remember it looking over at Knitty...
Posted by: Miss Scarlett at October 7, 2007 2:15 AM