Houston, we have a problem

You all know how much I've loved working on the Dublin Bay socks. I think the pattern is perfect for hand dyed yarns that would get lost in most patterns and I love the sproingy Cherry Tree Hill yarn. Sadly, the second sock has not been going as well as the first. I ran into two knots in the yarn while knitting the ribbing and then ran into a third knot right before the heel. I decided to contact the folks at Cherry Tree Hill to see if this is normal for their yarn to have this many knots or if this was simply a case of poor quality control.

I spoke to Cheryl at Cherry Tree Hill and she assured me that this is not normal for her yarn and suggested I contact the store where I bought the yarn for a credit. I bought this yarn back in September from Ewe'll Love It and raved about the store. The owner, Beverly, is very nice and has proved to be very accomodating as well. I explained to Beverly that I really wanted to finish the sock with the yarn I had but that I was frustrated and wasn't sure that I'd buy Cherry Tree Hill yarn again. Beverly also assured me that this was not typical for Cherry Tree Hill and said she'd send me a new hank in a different colorway.

Last night I returned to the sock only to find knot number 4 as I started the gusset! Sheesh! Enough's enough. I finally decided to rewind the yarn to see if there were any more knots and found a 5th knot a few yards from the end. I spoke to Beverly again and this time we agreed that I'd give her my second "damaged" sock and, in addition to the yarn she had already sent, she'd give me another hank of Tropical Storm so I can make my second Dublin Bay sock.

My first hank arrived today - about 24 hours since I first spoke with Beverly. Beverly had picked it out for me. It is one of the potluck colors and is mostly green with some blue hints. I never, ever buy green yarn but this is beautiful and I just need to find a pattern for it. The color is almost solid so it would work well with any sock pattern.

I feel like I've lost my knitting mojo a little. I was SO looking forward to wearing those Dublin Bays and I felt like I was SO close to a pair. I'm very grateful for people like Beverly and Cheryl (from Cherry Tree Hill) who care about their products and customers. I will definitely do more business with Beverly and if you're ever in the area you MUST stop by her shop. It is the nicest yarn shop I've ever been in. As for Cherry Tree Hill ... I'm anxious to give it another shot. I really hope that I have better luck because I really, really like this yarn.

For now, I'm forcing myself to work on my second First Toe Up Trekking sock. I should also force myself to finish my Irish Hiking Scarf before casting on for any new projects. I only have about 5 inches left on the scarf and could finish that very quickly.

This weekend I need to make a large batch of Sugared Almonds and Chocolate Walnut Fudge to send to my inlaws for Christmas. They are not going to be able to make it for Christmas this year and I want to get their package finished by Monday.

I can not believe that Christmas is 10 days away.