I’ve found my new ‘precious’ and it’s the Hiya Hiya Steel Sharp interchangeable needles.

And I might have been a tad impatient, although I did a great job of not showing that. You see… the past few weeks, our mail person has been arriving much later. Perhaps it’s tied into the Christmas holidays, since more packages are being distributed? Last evening, we didn’t receive our mail until 6:00 p.m.

I must say I was impressed by Hiya Hiyas needle case. Of course, the packaging won’t make a crappy product better, but that wasn’t the case here. Having already knit with the Hiya Hiya needles that arrived Saturday, I know these needles are amazing, and so the extra attention that was given to the needles case makes it even better.

 

I really love this case, it’s small, compact, and beautifully stitched.

 

When you open the case you’ll find the needles, and also you’ll see a zippered pouch… it’s the perfect size for  storing knitting notions.

 

When you flip the case over, you’ll see another zippered pouch. This is where the interchangeable cables are stored. Four cables are included with this set; 18″/46cm, 26″/66cm, 34″/86cm, 42″/106cm.

I must say, looking at this bag has given me some ideas for making a more lovely bag for my Knit Picks Options needles. My Knit Picks bag is a long work in progress (WIP) I started embroidering part of the design a few months ago.

Yarn Bazaar, you’ve done an awesome job. I ordered this set later Thursday afternoon, you even noted my case preference (red) and it’s what I received today. You even added a free gift; square knitting needles. Even if you didn’t toss in a freebie, you’ve gained a repeat customer, and that has everything to do with your quick responses to my email.  Good customer service, quality product, and speedy delivery… you can’t beat that.

My daughter likes to tell me she’s a cross between a girly girl and a tomboy. I told her that just made her a person that has a lot of interests, and there’s noting wrong with that.

Along with her crafty side, she loves to play sports, collect race cars and trucks, be outdoors, going on insect hunts with me, and she enjoys building with her building blocks, etc.,

When it comes to clothing… she likes to dress down, and she also adores pretty clothes! My daughter enjoys life. It’s so nice to see her doing what she enjoys, and not trying to fit into an inaccurate mold. I was the same way at her age; in fact I still am like that.

This morning, I scoured Ravelry for about an hour looking for a feminine hat. Check out the super cute pattern below…

 

I think I stumbled upon the perfect candidate, don’t you?

My daughter constantly tells me that I need to start posting more of my elaborate knitting projects. I told her, I’d start doing that. This knitted heart hat is designed by Linda Cyr. Isn’t she talented? I’m thrilled that this hat features intarsia knitting (heart design.) Have I ever told you how much I adore designing and following intarsia and fair islepatterns? I promise I’ll try to take more photos of my work, before they are sent away.

I’m going to modify this pattern just a bit… instead of knitting the heart flaps, I’ve decided to crochet them. After all, I find crocheted hearts much nicer than knitted hearts.

 

My daughter is loving this hat. She thinks she’ll be the hit of her fourth grade class.

I can’t wait to test drive my Hiya Hiya knitting needles

 

In other news…

My first order for the Hiya Hiya needles arrived today. I just ordered this two days ago. How’s that for awesome customer service? I’ll be test driving the Hiya Hiya needles when I make a hat for our angel. I’m tempted to make her the heart hat.

Ok, so I didn’t wait to receive the order for those Hiya Hiyas. A few hours later, I went back and purchased the 5″ Hiya Hiya Sharp steel interchangeable set.

In my defense, Yarn Bazaar’s store owner, Jo Ellen, responded to my email quickly. I included the correspondence below…

Than you so much, I look forward to trying out the Hiya Hiya needle. If I like them, I’ll purchase the set. I still am unsure which one to choose the 4″ or 5″ set.

I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Opal

 

Hello Opal,

 You are very welcome. We make every effort to provide the best customer service at all times. My personal preference is the 5” needle as I have a larger hand. The 4” needle just seems too short for me hold.

 

You might want to check our website as the HiyaHiya interchangeable sets are 10% while supplies last.

We are having our Year End Clearance Sale with some very good bargains!

 

Best regards,

Jo Ellen

 

 

I value customer service, just because I’m a virtual shopper, doesn’t mean I want to be ignored. With my busy schedule, it wouldn’t make sense (nor would it be economical) to purchase everything in person. I simply don’t have the time to be running all over Maryland, and the surrounding states to receive items I use. So for me, virtual shopping is a blessing.

Even though I shop virtually, I still enjoy interacting with the store owners, although in those cases the communication is via email. If I send  you an email please respond, ok? My emails are always nice/polite. Often times, I’ll send an email just to see if I get a response. If I do, I’ll be sure to shop at your online store again, and promote your place to others.

But back to the Hiya Hiya set, since I saw that there were only six left in stock I went ahead and purchased the set. To make me like the store even more, I was thrilled to learn that both orders have shipped today! How’s that for speedy customer service. If I’m ever in that part of New Jersey, I’ll be sure to visit the Yarn Bazaar.

 

I can’t wait to try out my Hiya Hiya sharp steel set. I’m really thrilled to have interchangeable that go all the way down to a needle size of 2!

So much for waiting to try out the first order! I folded like a deck of card, and I’m perfectly fine with that!

This summer I ordered my first set of interchangeable needles; Knit Picks Options nickel plated set. Since purchasing, I’ve used them for most of my knitting projects. Circular or straight, it doesn’t matter. I usually reach for my circular knitting needles.  And while I like them, I’m always interested in having a backup set.

 

A few hours ago I purchased a size 6 Hiya Hiya sharp, steel interchangeable needle. From my research, they seem to be just as sharp as the Knit Picks I now have. If I like them, I’ll purchase my own set of Hiya Hiya Sharp steel interchangeable needles. What I do like about Hiya Hiya interchangeable knitting needles is that the needles go down to a size 2. I use size 2 and 3 a lot. Knit Picks only goes down to a size 4.

I’d heard about Hiya Hiya needles (thanks to Ravelry.) But it was Amanda’s post about Hiya Hiya needle that made me want to eventually check them out. Who knows, perhaps my review will be as glowing as hers. We’ll see, I should have my size 6 knitting needles sometime next week. If I do like the needles, I’ll purchase both  Hiya Hiya sets size 2 -8 and size 9 -15.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been anxiously waiting for Cyber Monday. Here in the USA, Cyber Monday is the first Monday after Thanksgiving. You can usually catch some awesome deals online.

This year, my focus was all on Knit Picks.  In total, I spent about $140. I must say, that was a nice savings since if I purchased the yarn full price it would have easily been over $300. Part of the yarn order is for my daughter, since her interest in crochet has increased I feel it’s time for her to have her own little yarn stash.

Don’t ask me how much yarn I purchased, but the all the yarn is attached to a specific project, and I know that I have enough to last me for quite some time. The good news is, I’m actually making something for myself.

 

 

I love shawls! A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon this lovely knitted shawl. I immediately purchased the pattern. The photos are from Judy Marples site. She’s also the designer of this lovely shawl. Stop by her website, Purl Bumps and check out more of her lovely designs. The above shawl is called, Cedar Grove Shawl.  Isn’t it gorgeous? And now, thanks to part of my Knit Picks yarn purchase, I have yarn for this project.

 

Photo Source: Judy Marples/Purl Bumps