Fairly Often I find things I REALLY wish I wrote.

So here is just one of many really good articles Wheat Wishes She Wrote

Charley at Lines & Colors is one blog where we can all learn.

Why do retailers with YARNandTHREAD web sites link to YARNandTHREAD supplier sites so their customers are “exposed” to the Find a Retailer that is not them, instead of keeping their customer shopping on their own website.

Wheat

One of the reasons I started Wheat Wrote What was to express controversial concerns without it being “personal” and putting List owners in awkward positions.

Many “new to the business” designers cannot understand why Retailers are not buying their products.

It is my rather strong opinion that one recent “biz group” discussion clearly shows what is lacking in far too many of the “independent” instructional offerings currently on the market.

Apparently this niche manufacturer plans to produce a speciality product, and include it in some sort of kit.

Sounds great, EXCEPT,

This kit is for a technique in which she may not currently have the knowledge and expertise to properly choose the OEM (other equipment maker) products to be included or prepare the instructions and/or “you will also need” recommendations and listings.

She is frustrated that a Distributor cannot say what to use. I wish it were more surprising to read this unrealistic expectation.

Instead, it is frustrating that she is not accepting responsibility for the product and doing her own research or arranging for expert technical help to properly present HER product.

Technical information should either be as a result of her personal experience, or from technical editorial review or best, from a knowledgeable retailer or even from a technique group on their Internet.

In today’s economy it is completely unrealistic to think that a major distributor’s customer service folks whose primary responsibility is to facilitate order processing and delivery would be knowledgeable about the literally thousands if not tens of thousands of product in their lines.

You, are the producer of the product, kits, whatever should be doing that and then deciding which OEM elements belong in your kit

FWIW, it is not a distributor who should be advising you on product, but rather the Importer or Manufacturer should be your primary resource for product information.

And the smart Importers/Manufacturers KNOW that they need to get technical technique support from people who know how to use their materials & tools.

Distributors are not and should not be Technical Editors or Advisers. That is the responsibility of the Kit maker.

Time, I think to go find the “What Is A Distributor” monologue and share it with you. Right after I finish cleaning up the “results” of a clogged line out to the septic.

Meanwhile, speaking of unrealistic expectations, like this is not personal.

Well another of my friends is fond of saying, if it hurts to hear it, there is good chance that it is someone you really needed to be told.

I wish her great success with her new product. However, I will not be advising my Retailer Clients to stock her kits – only the supply material.

Coffee Break Over,
Back to the Great Cleanup – as always, your public and private comments are welcomed

Wheat

– as always, your public and private comments are welcomed

The Duct Tape Scholarship for high school seniors is often an eye-popping adventure into the creative minds of today’s teens. I can’t help thinking what a great Quilt Art Challenge could come out of this, …

My 2007 vote is going to: Adrienne Beiler of Salisbury, and her date, Zach Cupler You can read a bit more about them (edited to fix link 7/2025) Stuck At The Prom Winners and history

I often comment that you can build a house with not much more than just Duct Tape

But I really love what the Teens keep doing with this stuff – and the idea that they are using Duct tape to help build their own futures thru the scholarship competition, well that is just frosting on the cake.

Enjoy

Wheat

P.S. You can see both the current and past winners at: 

It’s Mother’s Day – I’ll be fixing all her favorite things for mine

But there are always other women who influence our lives, so I thought I tell you about one who just might be responsible for my addiction to string

Crochet is probably the very first fiber art I learned as a child. With two working parents it was a wonderful gift from a neighbor that “got me started” So here is a thank you to the late Shirley Eustis for taking the time to share a craft she loved with the little girl next door. I think she enjoyed teaching me, since she had only boys and in the early 50’s fiber art was not done often by boys. Still, the “cookie lady” had plenty of fans among all the boys & girls in the neighborhood (and many of on into adulthood coveted her baking talents.) When the Eustis family moved to West Nyack, although our families still visited often, so cookie cravings could be assuaged, there was a definite void in my world of string.

Until, what really got me “hooked” on yarn like string, was the generosities of a “Real” yarn shop owner Mrs Phyllis Goldman Even the NY Times thought it newsworthy when Goldman Yarns closed in 2006

This time last year I had the great pleasure to speak with the then about to retire owners of Goldman’s Yarn. They were retiring after SEVENTY YEARS “in the business”

These shop owners NEVER made that child feel that her choices in techniques were inferior.

Mrs Goldman also never made me feel bad when I chose “practical” yarns.

What she did was to instill in me a respect for the craft and a belief that I should always use the best materials I could afford and do the work to the highest standard I was capable of.

She knew, that in order to spend time (cause the Lord knows I did not have very much money) in her store I was giving up another special treat. Twice a month, if there was a show we could agree on, my brother and I were allowed to take the bus to the theater and see a movie – about a block from her store.

My brothers ‘covered’ for me. They went to the movies after escorting me to the store, and came back for me after the show. We never lied, but eventually we did get “caught”. Once we could sit down again, and after my Dad visited the shop, I had permission to continue.

Mrs Goldman took the time on more than one occasion to show me more advanced stitches, the basics of Knitting, how to read BOTH Knit & Crochet symbol based patterns –

If you are finding my reference charts useful, you can thank Mrs G – she also was quite the believer in swatching

Mrs G is the person most responsible for my determination to be an excellent craftsman in whatever needlearts I choose to pursue – she made it important to know the tools and techniques – to practice them until I got it right -without making it a chore – She taught the joy of accomplishment.

Did I mention my love of Needlepoint started in Goldman’s? (I still have that piece, a bargello done in shades of blues – I remember she was not completely happy with me substituting something for white but she could see it was what I wanted – to this day you will rarely find white in my concoctions other than whip cream.

I could recite a long list of small kindnesses this lady and her staff provided but you get the idea – like helping me find the exact yarn in the sale bin – looking back I even wonder if it really belonged there or was just another example of how a wonderful lady made me her customer for life or at least a hefty portion of the life of her business. I don’t think I have ever purchased a Needlepoint Canvas from anyone else

After 9/11 everyone talked about how they did not know there were nice and caring New Yorkers. But for those of us who lived there, we know that Real NEW YORK Attitude can be found every day in the Millions like Mrs G.

Somehow TNNA will be the poorer without a chance to greet this wonderful couple.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women who influence our lives

Wheat