Signature Needle Arts

 I bet many of you remember the Burger King ad campaign touting the idea that they would “do it your way”.  Here at Signature we get requests fairly often for unusual things and try to help when we can—even if it is only to let a prospective customer know that yes we can do something, but the cost will be prohibitive.

But, many times we CAN do something unusual. For example, our circulars can be made to any unusual length.  In the past few weeks we had 2 unusual requests that really jumped out at us.

A customer who has been very supportive and purchased many things asked us if we could do a special circ for her. She wanted one side to be a size 5 and 1 side to be a size 7. When I emailed to ask why here is what she said:

 Since it is the right needle that controls gauge, it is helpful with certain types of knitting if the left needle is smaller — since you are always going in the same direction with circs, the left is always the left!  A smaller needle on the left lets the yarn glide by more easily.  This is especially helpful when the knitting involves stitches like k1,p1,k1 in same stitch, or kf&b — or any other kind of knitting where things can get a bit tight.  Stiletto points are great for this kind of thing (as mentioned by many people who love their Sigs), so I thought it’d be even more perfect if the left needle is smaller!  This is a great benefit of exchangeable needles because you can attach different size needles to each end. Other than the ability to do this, I don’t really like exchangeables but this is a big benefit! I really like my Signatures so since you offer some customization, I was hoping you’d be able to do this!  

I think you’ll find many knitters interested in this; as I said this is not my bright idea, I’ve seen it talked about in many blogs by many knitters and Ravelers.  Cat Bordhi mentions this technique in her moebius cast on video – 

Just to be absolutely clear, this only works when you’re actually knitting in the round, not using circs to knit flat. 

And then I asked our Canadian Cousin and designer/teacher extraordinaire Kate Atherley (www.wisehildaknits.com) and here is what she said:

And on to the question.  Yes!  There are actually two scenarios – some people do naturally have different gauge on knits vs. purls.  You can see this on the back of stocking stitch – two of the purl bumps are close together, two of them are spaced apart.  It’s called “rowing out”.  People do compensate by using two different size needles, although two sizes does seem an extreme difference. 

  - the left needle – is a bit smaller than the needle you’re working them with – the right. 

 Some of you very observant readers noticed these on the blog from the 4th of July.

 A second email came with a heartrending scenario.  Can we, will we, replace a set of circulars which has been chewed by a cat? The answer is yes and before you read further you will all be glad to know that Little Ted still is among us.

 This sad email arrived:

         I am devastated!  My adorable four-month old kitten called     ‘Little Ted’ managed to get hold of my circular needles and has chewed the cord (in two places the cord is virtually severed).  Is there any way that I could return the needles to you to have a new cord put on please.  It’s a good job that I love him so much, nobody else would have got away with doing that to my beloved Signature needles.

 Our answer was YES that we could do the repair at a reasonable price and she replied:

            Oh, you don’t know how relieved I am to read that you might be able to repair       them.  No, fortunately, he hasn’t damaged the metal needle stalks.  If you would like ‘Little Ted’ to do any ‘destruction testing’ on your products, please just let me  know.

Of course I emailed to ask if her story could be part of this blog and she answered:

            I have no problem with you using the story, hopefully it will be a warning to other Signature circular needle users who have cats and I am sure it will bring a smile to      readers’ faces – even when the trauma brought tears to mine.  Little Ted is blissfullyunaware of all the problems he has caused and I am sure he would be excited if he    knew that he was about to go “global”. 

 Here is “Little Ted”—who may not love Burger King sandwiches, but does love Signatures.

 We didn’t get a picture in time of Little Ted but we found this one:

It was wonderful to get Happy Birthday wishes from so many Signature friends and so many votes on whether we should go bigger or smaller after then next batch of circ sizes (the US 3 and US 4). If you thought politics was partisan it is nothing compared to the passion from the two groups!

Our friends Jeff and Mary recently had a special birthday in their family of baby Abigail. I wanted to do something special for her and found a pattern I had been saving for a sweater with a “smocked” top. I really like the way it looks and will most likely become one of my repeat little girl patterns.

As you know my straights and dpns are my favorite needles but I did use some of the Signature circs on this so I can try and expand my horizons. Of course those Stiletto points were terrific for the smocking section which was, in actuality, a lot like cabling without a cable needle.

A birthday present TO Signature arrived a few days ago and the joy that seeing this was obvious as people came into my office to find out what was in the box.

Of course how could it be anything but good when the package front says
“SENT WITH OUR LOVE AND PRAYERS”.

As you can see the box was filled with the most wonderful candles. The natural smell of the honey and the beautiful color is just astonishing… as is the source of the gift… the fabulous Mother Seraphima and the nuns at her convent.

When I see something that strikes me on an order I often email. People who are in the military, or who live in far away places, or the order is very unusual get an email. The first order from Mother Seraphima was one of those and started a long distance thread between her convent and Signature.

She is a worthy woman who manages her convent and makes money to support their efforts by selling candles which the sisters make. The quality is unbelievable—no smoking or dripping and all natural. Of course I was impressed by the fact they have a website to help sell their products.

But that is just the beginning of the story.  Mother Seraphima also has her sisters knitting for charity. She has told me that this is good for them as a stress reliever and the products of their knitting go to a good cause.

Most of you know that our standards for quality here at Signature are very high which means that from time to time we have needles where the coloring might be a bit off, or a cap on a straight is dinged. Nothing that would affect knitting in any way but that we would never sell or have out in the world.

Mother Seraphima and sisters recent told us “Along with the great blessing of our new addition, we were able to establish a permanent craft room at the convent. Our craft room houses  a lot of yarn, our knitting needles, spinning wheels and several looms 
of various sizes. Of course, our needles of choice and our pride and  joy are our Signature needles. We started with a few knitters and our  numbers grew to over half of the sisters. I’m so happy that they have  this craft as an outlet for their creativity, a little relaxation from  our busy schedule, and a source of making gifts for those who show us  kindnesses, the sick and others. They enjoy making hats, scarves, triangle shawls, mittens, gloves and sweaters – one sister has even branched out into little knitted, stuffed animals. The recipients treasure these handmade gifts from the sisters and so both sides are happy. We first ordered signature needles because of their beautiful colors, the fact that they could be individualized, the stiletto tips were recommended by the Arthritis Association … and because one 
sister was knitting so tightly that she was breaking the wooden needles!”

The perfect solution is for us to be able to provide the sisters with needles so they can continue their work. This is a blessing for all of us and we feel like we can say we are the “official knitting needle of the Holy Nativity Convent”.  And packages coming with prayers and love—what could be better.

And of course every single one of us should be saying a sincere “Happy Birthday” to our country. We need to remind ourselves what needed to happen –the sacrifice, the joy, the pain so that we could have our 4^th of July celebrations.

See, we even have some red, and blue needles here—watch next week for the explanation. I have to go home early and get ready for the birthday party!

 

Today is Signature’s 3^rd birthday. We use June 18, 2007 as our “birth” day  because this is the date that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel printed an article about us even though our website wasn’t ready, and so many other things were undone. And then the orders started and we have been blessed to have them continue as we made more and more different products.

 Everyone has heard of the Terrible Twos and since our 2^nd birthday that has been true—our struggles getting the circs to be as lovable as our single point straights and double points have been well known to you and about killed folks here. For the first time I had times when I wanted to throw in the towel, and I know there were others here who wanted to strangle me with that same towel if I said the words “Not good enough” one more time.

Now we move forward to getting all the sizes to you. We are working on the next batch which will be the US 3 and US 4 circulars.  Then comes the big fight—and we will be asking you to weigh in:  do we go to the US 1 and 2 OR to the US 8, 9, 10 in circs? In my mind I see a big jello pit with combatants from each camp wrestling for their choice. OK, maybe instead we will just ask you all to vote.

Many of you are parents but even if you aren’t you know the joy of having an “outsider” say your child is cute or smart. In this past month we have had two stars in the world of knitting say great things about the circs.

First, Clara Parkes from Knitter’s Review said  “If Montblanc were to stop manufacturing fountain pens and turn its attention to knitting needles, I imagine the results would be similar to a set of Signature needles.”    in her most recent review of the new circs.  If you ever get a chance to meet Clara you will find that she is the most humble and kind person, but if you know her work you know she is an expert in all things knitting. Her books are part of my own reference collection and even if she had never reviewed our needles I would take her recommendations without reservation.

Then, to top off a really great month Wendy Johnson from Wendy Knits and all her terrific sock books also tried and reviewed the circs. Turns out Wendy and our family have only 2 degrees of separation—she and Laura’s sister-in-law have mutual friends who helped us get in touch with her.   We were honored she reviewed our needles in her blog  Seriously Simple Shawl and Seriously Fabulous Needles.

I know most companies say “blah blah blah we love our customers”. Of course we do—without customers we wouldn’t have a business. BUT I have learned that Signature customers and the bonds we have go beyond the buying and selling. There are those of you who offered us a kind word during our troubles and you will never know what that has meant. We had people saying they would pray for us from their convent, people volunteering to help and give up huge amounts of time to test, and just plain kind people.

There are more than one of us who has done some personal growth in realizing that companies are made up of people who want to do the best they can and don’t want to make customers mad. We have learned the value of a quick, supportive email after a day of troubles.

 So with friends like Clara and Wendy , and more importantly, customers like you how can we not have a great birthday?

And a small present for all of you: we will have Free Standard Shipping on all orders over $50 through Monday June 21, 2010 CST with the free  shipping code HBDAY3.   Click Here for the full details of this promotion.

The online reference Thesaurus.com says that synonyms for “bamboozled” are: baffled, befuddled, confused, and hoodwinked. You may be thinking, “What does this have to do with anything Signature?” I am about to share one of the most fabulous, funny and astonishing things that has ever happened here.

As many of you know, we try and monitor the emails to customer service even at night and on weekends in case someone is having trouble finding something on the site, or has an easily answered question about what they should choose. We can’t guarantee 24 hour service but enough of you may have heard from us in off hours to know we do the best we can.

So…2 Saturdays ago in the evening I saw an email that was the kind I NEVER want to see whether it is day or night— an angry email, but one that was totally mystifying from a customer who had placed her first order a few days before for 2 pairs of single point needles:

There are a few of us at Signature who monitor emails even after hours and yours certainly got my attention. I am completely amazed at what you describe. We make all our needles and every single one is metal. We have NO bamboo, or wood, or anything not metal in our building.
Do you have access to a digital camera and could you send a picture? Did the package look like it had been tampered with? Honestly, I need to discuss this with others on Monday but please understand that there is NO way that bamboo needles left our shipping department. Simply impossible.  Please forward any other information or observations if you would please.  Once we hear from you we will be able to try and solve this mystery. 

 I slept very uneasily with this problem on my mind. What?? Who? How? Bamboo??? The next morning (Sunday) I saw another email from her. When I read it out loud to my husband Kent he started to laugh so hard he really was red faced and wheezing:

Thank you for your quick response.  I was out of town yesterday and did not have access to a computer.  On Saturday when my husband discovered that I had e-mailed your company with my complaint, he advised me that HE AND MY DAUGHTER had replaced the Signature needles with bamboo needles!!  They knew I was VERY ANXIOUS to receive my first pair of Signature needles so when your package came, they carefully opened the package and replaced your needles with bamboo needles as a prank on me. 

Unfortunately, they were not home at the time I opened the package and did not realize that I would react immediately and in the manner in which I did – they thought I would wait until Monday to call customer service and by then they were going to make sure I knew about this supposedly joke. I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR THIS CONFUSION AND INCONVENIENCE!

 

I really felt bad for her having been on the wrong end of family practical jokes myself and so I emailed her:

Good morning ,
 First, thank you for solving the mystery. Several of us last night were trying to figure out what had happened. First consensus was that “going postal” had a new meaning and that some rogue post office knitter saw the package and made the switch. I really appreciate you letting us know. I shared the email with my husband who got to laughing so much he was wheezing. As the recipient of some practical jokes from my family I can really appreciate your reaction.  My conclusion about my own family is that the creativity/imagination shown means that they must be quite intelligent. You can take some consolation that yours is smart too!So…enjoy your Signature needles and enjoy being part of such a creative family. 
PS I wonder if my wheezing/laughing spouse would feel if I replaced his Snap-On screwdrivers with some from the Dollar Store? HMMMM.

I thought this was the end of the story, but unbelievably it was not. A final email came with “the rest of the story”:

I am soooo glad someone got a good laugh out of it.  Since your husband sees the humor in it, I can come clean and say that your Signature needles were actually replaced with CHOP STICKS!!!  I was so upset at first that when I saw the wood, I automatically assumed they were bamboo.  I then immediately went to the computer and did not realize that they were chop sticks until after I calmed down and took a closer look.
 
I don’t know how smart it was of my husband playing a joke on his wife!  Believe it or not my daughter is very smart and is doing an internship as a Physician’s Assistant.  She takes her boards next year.  I guess in the end they got me good!
 
Again, thanks for all your understanding and compassion. 

I don’t really have any moral to this story except that when we want our Signature needles, we want our Signature needles!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend. Remember those who have done so much for us and our country. I think I am going to turn off my Blackberry.

And….. this blog is being put together on Thursday the 27th of May which , by chance, is my birthday. It started out quite spectacularly when I looked at my Blackberry only to find this fabulous review from the equally fabulous Clara Parkes at Knitter’s Review

Every show we go to has at least one memorable customer and the Maryland Sheep and Wool was no exception. We saw several young women with shirts that said “I’m With Hot Pants”. Of course we had to ask and found out they were with a charming young guy who had actually knit, and was wearing, orange hot pants complete with cabled embellishment along the sides! Definitely worthy of having special shirts. I only wish we had a picture to share.

Laura and I flew in and Daniella and her wonderful fire fighter husband, Mark drove the van with all the needles and booth stuff and set up. We just had to waltz in and wait for the customers to arrive. Mark took over the duties my husband Kent did in the past—getting us cool drinks, food, and whatever else we needed, hauling and carrying without complaint. I was glad he could see in person how huge this festival is and why we are so tired when we get home.

The festival was jam packed with wonderful customers and just plain packed with long lines for anything cool. The heat was a real shock for us who are used to Wisconsin Mays which may include snow flurries.

Every aisle was filled and we were so glad to see many old friends and get to meet  so many new folks. Early on Saturday Clara Parkes from Knitter’s Review stopped by. Now you should know that this is like having a rock star come by. She is the most unassuming and kind person. Actually she took some great pictures.

We had the new circulars with us and it was amazing seeing how people reacted to finding they could find a needle “stalk” that fits their hand or style of knitting. At first when someone came up I would try and size them up—look at their hands to see if they had very large or small hands but I soon realized that after trying the different length of needle “stalks” that what the knitter found perfect might not just be what seemed obvious.

The first thing that folks said was that they had never thought about it. I replied that this was because with other companies “you get what you get”—no choice allowed. However, once they tried the 3 lengths it was obvious that one was much better than the others.

After a while I was able to say with complete certainty that they would never pick up any circular needle without the thought of “do I like the stalk length or not?” coming into their head. After gleaning the many comments here are some thoughts of why you would like one over the other.

4”— People with small hands OR really large hands who want to “cup” the needle completely within their palm. The majority thought this was too short but if a very short (i.e.20” ) overall length is needed it had to be the choice even if it is not the most comfortable.

5”—The most popular length by far. Most felt this would work and be comfortable.

6”—Knitters with large hands, or those with arthritis on the sides of their hand where a short stalk just hurts but some surprises: There was a woman in a wheel chair who said she had tendonitis. She couldn’t believe the diminished stress on her hand/wrist/elbow with this length.

A Faire Isle knitter came up early on and said that this longer length would be perfect for that sort of work because more stitches stay on the stalk for easy visibility in case their might be an error. After that I mentioned this to others and every one who did Faire Isle work agreed. Actually one told me that when we have the size 3 needles ready they would be very popular for them.

Since I am not a great knitter and even though I have very small hands, I love the 6” stalk because I can see what I just did. If I have an errant stitch that is wildly large I can just fix it before it drops off onto the cable.

It seemed to me that lace patterns would also be visible for enough stitches to be able to see if there are any mistakes. I mentioned this to Clara Parkes and she agreed. OK, for me to have someone like her agree is like having Itzak Perleman agree with an observation by a 5th grade violinist!

By the way if you go to the Spring-Summer issue of Knitty.com you will see a pattern called Gams which may be just what our Hot Pants used.