Out of the Box with Mr. Knits: Journey of the Yummies
We’ve had no blog entries for a while for a good reason: we’ve been unusually busy finding new homes for the yummy yarn!
So Mrs. Knits is our resident knitting, fiber, and color theory genius. Just don’t ask her to ship anything. 😊 That’s where I come in. I may not even know how to cast on, and I am a stereotypical man when it comes to colors, but I got good at the shipping game really quick (don’t take my word for it, our customers comment on our shipping).
People are surprised at how carefully I pack the yarn. To be brutally honest, I am surprised at how carelessly it’s done elsewhere. An old joke from a friend who worked at UPS said Fragile is French for Football. 😃 While I don’t think shippers willfully mishandle packages, the process of a package passing through several hands, machines, and containers can take its toll. That’s why I either use a bubble padded envelope, or wrap the yarn in 2 layers of plastic bag, or plastic bag in a cardboard box. I know, not as environmentally friendly, but it’s also wasteful to throw away yarn damaged in transit.
I’m writing this now because of an unusual occurrence. To make a long story short, a package made a round trip from the Seattle area to the Boston area and back again. Here it is - ouch!
Upon closer inspection, the outer bag was damaged, but the inner bag was not.
So I opened the bag to confirm the contents were still intact. But you don’t just take a sharp instrument to a bag or box full of yummies! 😮 If I send it in a box, I actually have a video excerpt from our first online trunk show for a safe method of opening a box yummies (Mrs Knits offers a few tips, then I do the same). If I send it in a bubble pack or double-bag, just cut an inch or so off the top edge like so:
At this point, most folks will have enough hand strength to tear directly across that slice you started (carefully using scissors flat across the top is a less safe alternative).
And whaddya know - the yummies came back intact - worth the extra effort in packing and in opening!
Those particular yummies have since gone out to their new home and Happy Knitting!
