Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder
Customer service is not dead.
About 2.5 years ago, my husband accidentally broke my $40 plastic ball winder. It had some flaws, the all plastic construction being one of them (there was no way to fix the broken one without causing it to stop turning, which would have rendered it decorative rather than functional). Instead, I decided to upgrade to a Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder because they're handmade from wood and metal and the price was reasonable for the materials and craftsmanship. Also, it winds up to one pound balls!! So I ordered it, and anxiously anticipated the balls I would wind.
When it arrived, it didn't work. Yarn would slip off the center post during winding and create a yarn barfy mess. I chalked it up to user error for awhile but after a year I still couldn't make it work. I emailed Strauch and within twenty-four hours had received support both via email and telephone. The company diagnosed my problem and told me that if I would just ship the winder to them they would repair or replace it and ship it back to me. Fast forward 13 months. I still had not shipped the winder to them, so I sent another email asking if I could still send it off to them. Again, within twenty-four hours they had responded with "Of course! We were wondering what happened to you!"
I packed it and took it to UPS on the evening of January 11th. It arrived in Virginia on January 18th and was repaired and shipped back to me on the 19th. Yes, they fixed it the same day it arrived with them. It arrived back with me yesterday and I am so pleased to report that it works perfectly. I wound a ball and it was a. super fast and b. super easy. No frustrating slippage. I'm so pleased that I chose to spend my money with them, because it's been an investment well worth making. And now, I need to find a 1 pound skein to wind. Giant yarn balls, here I come!
Sewn with Love
I know I posted a link to her shop awhile back, but I just wanted to post another link to my friend RachelM's etsy shop. I have two of these bags from her and I love them to bits. These are perfect for small knitting projects but would also be perfect for organizing any small things, like cosmetics or pens and pencils. I highly recommend them, for knitters and non-knitters alike.
Full disclosure. Rachel is a good friend of mine. I get nothing if you buy something from her, I just really like her products.
The Backside of Your Eye
I went in for an eye exam on Monday and was offered an alternative to dilation. I hate having my eyes dilated (even if I know it is a necessary evil). This is in large part because my focus actually flips when I'm dilated, leaving me very disoriented. So the OptoMap seemed like a good idea, even though it cost a little bit more. The best part? I got to see the photos it took of the back of my eye!
The procedure is slightly awkward because you have to point your eye perpendicular to your face and mush into the machine (there's a nice pad on the machine though!) It takes just a minute or so and the images are ready immediately, no waiting! How does it work?
The instrument uses coherent red-green illumination, enabling it to image pathology throughout the layers of the retina, from the sensory retina and nerve fiber layer, through the RPE and down to the choroid. The ultra-widefield image can be separated to present the distinct retinal sub-structures and the individual red and green laser images can be displayed in grayscale separation for enhanced contrast.
Lasers! Lasers are awesome! And these lasers showed that my retinas and lenses look good, as well as my optic nerves and all so I have no signs of glaucoma or cataracts. I do need stronger vision correction and will be getting new glasses as soon as the lenses come in. I guess I have a very high curve to a prescription that is normally pretty flat and they couldn't cut them in-house. I'm looking forward to having sharper distance vision, that's for sure!
MADE by RachelM
My friend Rachel has started a new venture. She's opened a fabulous etsy shop full of amazing stitch markers and fabulous bags. The markers are beautiful to look at, lightweight and snag free, even when working with laceweight yarns. I highly recommend her, and I would even if she weren't my friend.
Twenty-seven.
Today I turned 27. I slept late, poked around online and knit while hanging out with the cat. I received a package via FedEx, (more on that later) chatted with rachelm and was generally lazy until my husband came home from work just before 3pm. Then, he gave me presents (The BBC versions of the Narnia books from the late 80s/early 90s and a signed copy of Shepard Fairy's book.) After taking phone calls from my entire family D and I headed off to a dinner at Ambrosia. Several crab stuffed mushrooms and wonderful lamb chops later we're home again and I'm gearing down for the night.
Thoughts on being another year older? Not many. I don't mind getting older, although I really miss my family on my birthday. Besides, I've already gotten two AARP cards (I wonder who messed up that paperwork!?) in the mail so hey, discounts galore. You know, in another quarter century or so. I love birthdays and I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a dozen lovely people on Saturday night for cake, hamburgers, a gallon of margaritas (totally worth all the juice squeezing by the way) and some video games. I am noticing that things never get less crazy. 25 was crazy because it was the year just preceding our wedding. We thought 26 would be much calmer but well, it spun away from me just as quickly as 25. I've got big plans for 27, things that will be announced as the year zooms by. All I know is that I need to make sure to take the time to enjoy the ride.