Many of us have hypothesised that this is because a) Knit Picks don't feel they need the international business or b) their yarn is so cheap they figure the international postage costs would be more than the price of the yarn.
I imagine there's an element of both of these theories in the reasons why this company routinely fails to acknowledge international interest in their yarn. That sort of attitude pisses people off, I think. I know it irks me, as well as several of my knitting friends.
Quite rightly, one approach we can take is to declare that if they don't need us, well we don't need them. It's not like there is no other option for yarn. There's a huge yarn market out there, both locally and internationally and there are plenty of companies we can support in our purchases.
That said, I do like their stuff and while I won't go out of my way to acquire it, I'll happily accept an offer from a friend to bring some home for me if convenient. One such friend is Dianne. We've never met even though she only lives about 90 minutes away in the Southern Highlands. Dianne is American and returns home with astounding regularity. She brought me home some Knit Picks yarns a couple of months ago and I haven't touched them, if by touching them I mean actually knitting with them. I have, however, played with them a lot, dreaming of the things they might be.
It's not high end yarn. It's mid-range quality but the allure for me is in the colour. There are some gorgeous colours and their lace weights are particularly nice. I adore my Adamas Shawl made from Shadow and loved making Sean's birthday socks from their Essential Tweed. It's worn really well so it was only right that I ordered some more for him (see first photo below).
1. Flint Tweed, 2. Knitpicks Gloss Lace Raisin, 3. Knitpicks Palette Cream, 4. Knitpicks Essential Ivy, 5. Knitpicks Palette Lipstick, 6. Knitpicks Palette Black
One of the things that I'm confused about now that I have my order is why on earth I ordered FIVE balls of the Palette in black (see item 6 above). Two balls of it in red and white are for a pair of Endpaper Mitts. That much was very clear to me when it arrived. But five balls in black? I really ought to start writing down, when I place orders, what projects I have in mind. This is probably something obvious to many people and I'm just sorry it took me so long to figure out it's a good plan. I'm sure I'll find something to do with the black Palette - a shawl maybe? - but it's not something I'd have done deliberately. It must have been a typo. I wear so much black that I tend not to knit in it because I like to knit things that accessorise well with black. Sigh.
Nonethless, I am grateful to Dianne, my yarn mule, for bringing a lovely haul home to me, even if Knit Picks is a company who behaves as if the rest of the world doesn't exist. If the reason is that their yarn is so cheap (and it is REALLY cheap) that the international postage would cost more, they should look at companies like Bendigo Woollen Mills. Their yarn is astoundingly cheap and they post internationally. It's kind of arrogant to make that choice for customers, don't you think?
Bells
*Naturally I mean those of us who live outside the US and who also knit or crochet.
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