WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Is that why two of them are standing upside down on the jerseys? They are smart enough to give wool instead of lamb chops. Maybe they did their own selective breeding:

"Hey, you there with the warm, silky, itch-free coat. If we had babies together, I bet our kids would have even finer, softer wool. And then they wouldn't become lamb chops. And if we can convince more humans to wear our wool and our kid's wool, we'll get to live in the best pastures and have better health care. All we need is good marketing. Let's call our wool MERINO."

"No, that will never sell. Let's call ourselves SMARTSHEEP who give SMARTWOOL."

They'll still wind up as mutton.

That jersey looks as though it's a series of pix of a sheep rolling over.

[Crankin]

Deb, I am jealous. I don't think I'll be out there until our vacation in July (although one never knows, once school is out). I hope that by the end of July, some of the ss tops will be on sale.
My husband's computer never stops "ringing" with all of the specials from SnC. I keep looking for a black full zip Shak, but none of the places have my size. If anyone sees an x small anywhere, tell me!

[Natasha]

Does anyone have an Ibex Qu T? How do you like it? How is the durability and sizing?
Thanks.

[KnottedYet]

I have one, and it's about 2 or 3 years old. Going strong, very durable. Still holding its shape just fine. No wayward threads or pulled seams or anything.

Sizing is just as true for me as all other Ibex stuff. (except the Pingo, which I got one size larger than usual thanks to TrickyTiger. Perfect!)

[Grog]

My Ibex Ultimate Guide sweater has a hole at the elbow.

Is the art of repairing sweaters gone or will I find any alterations person to just patch it at the elbows??

[Blueberry]

My Ibex Ultimate Guide sweater has a hole at the elbow.

Is the art of repairing sweaters gone or will I find any alterations person to just patch it at the elbows??

Find a knitter. Most would love the challenge

CA

[GLC1968]

This morning I wore a cotton button front shirt under a cotton sweater with my khakis. I biked to work (short commute) and was a little bit warm when I got here. 5 minutes later I was freezing and I shivered the rest of the morning. Seriously, my fingernails were blue!

I rode home for lunch. After eating, I put my Ibex ribbies tank on under my shirt (it's not visible). I rode back to work for the afternoon and again was slightly warm when I got here. The difference is that now, 2 hours later, I am 100% comfortable. No more blue fingernails!!

Can I just say that cotton sucks.

[KnottedYet]

I'm so naive....

I've been smugly prancing around in my Ibex, assuming it's made in the USA and keeping manufacturing jobs which we so desperately need here, not wasting petroleum shipping stuff overseas, etc etc.

Got a glimpse of a tag on one piece I was wearing last night: made in Turkey.

Ok, fine, I can deal with that. Maybe. (I don't like that piece much, so my heart wasn't broken)

But then I looked at the tag on the other piece I was wearing at the time: made in China. Grabbed the nearest thing to hand (my helmet liner): no origin tag. (?) My beloved Pingo jacket: also made in China.

Sigh.

[elk]

I'm so naive....

I've been smugly prancing around in my Ibex, assuming it's made in the USA and keeping manufacturing jobs which we so desperately need here, not wasting petroleum shipping stuff overseas, etc etc.

But then I looked at the tag on the other piece I was wearing at the time: made in China. Grabbed the nearest thing to hand (my helmet liner): no origin tag. (?) My beloved Pingo jacket: also made in China.

Sigh.

and and

[Grog]

But then I looked at the tag on the other piece I was wearing at the time: made in China. Grabbed the nearest thing to hand (my helmet liner): no origin tag. (?) My beloved Pingo jacket: also made in China.

You can look at the product details on their web site. Many of their items are in fact made in the USA, such as the Boucle and the Polo (which I got recently). I know the bra isn't. I think the Ultimate Guide Sweater I have was made in Hong Kong.

Such is life...

[elk]

Such is life...

or stinky economic policy....

[Grog]

or stinky economic policy....

People want to buy more stuff, and for a cheaper price. Although I would agree that American economic policy stinks, I would not just blame economic and political leaders, but rather would distribute the blame within the whole population...

What REALLY gets me going though is when a company that used to do stuff locally outsources internationally to cut labour costs and keeps selling its items at the very same price. Arc'teryx jackets among others used to be all made in Canada. I was about to buy a wool jacket for my sweetheart from them last Christmas and had (as usual) a sticker shock when I saw it was around $250. But I was thinking, "mm, yeah, but it's made in the area" because they always used to. BEEEEEEEEEP: WRONG!! "Made in China." I was really mad and, needless to say, did not buy the jacket.

On the other hand, we just bought a big piece of furniture made in Canada. It was a lot more expensive than the similar piece made in China, and we could only afford the bed, instead of bed + nightstands etc. But we decided to go ahead with the made-in-Canada one. I don't always make that decision. But I'm happy I did it this time...

[Blueberry]

What REALLY gets me going though is when a company that used to do stuff locally outsources internationally to cut labour costs and keeps selling its items at the very same price. Arc'teryx jackets among others used to be all made in Canada. I was about to buy a wool jacket for my sweetheart from them last Christmas and had (as usual) a sticker shock when I saw it was around $250. But I was thinking, "mm, yeah, but it's made in the area" because they always used to. BEEEEEEEEEP: WRONG!! "Made in China." I was really mad and, needless to say, did not buy the jacket.

Chaco is in the process of doing this. They're moving manufacturing of their Z/1 and Z/2 sandals to china this summer. Dansko just moved their stapled clogs from Eurpoe to China. And Dansko seems to have *raised* their prices.

CA

[elk]

People want to buy more stuff, and for a cheaper price. Although I would agree that American economic policy stinks, I would not just blame economic and political leaders, but rather would distribute the blame within the whole population...

What REALLY gets me going though is when a company that used to do stuff locally outsources internationally to cut labour costs and keeps selling its items at the very same price. Arc'teryx jackets among others used to be all made in Canada. I was about to buy a wool jacket for my sweetheart from them last Christmas and had (as usual) a sticker shock when I saw it was around $250. But I was thinking, "mm, yeah, but it's made in the area" because they always used to. BEEEEEEEEEP: WRONG!! "Made in China." I was really mad and, needless to say, did not buy the jacket.

On the other hand, we just bought a big piece of furniture made in Canada. It was a lot more expensive than the similar piece made in China, and we could only afford the bed, instead of bed + nightstands etc. But we decided to go ahead with the made-in-Canada one. I don't always make that decision. But I'm happy I did it this time...

I hear ya.... I'm buying less stuff so I can afford more made in (the) america(s) stuff!

[KnottedYet]

Chaco is in the process of doing this. They're moving manufacturing of their Z/1 and Z/2 sandals to china this summer. Dansko just moved their stapled clogs from Eurpoe to China. And Dansko seems to have *raised* their prices.

CA

Yeah, Chaco really sold out. They're using the profits from the cheaper labor to branch off into shoes and belts and clothes.

Prices are still very high regardless.

What melts my brain is that they still use pictures of their happy Paonia CO workforce posed outside the Chaco building in their promo literature.

Those folks have already lost their jobs.

Money and success change everything. I honestly would've felt much better about spending $90 on a pair of sandals if Chaco still made only sandals and made them in Paonia.

(meanwhile I have 3 pair of Chacos made in the USA which I intend to keep for a very long time. My oldest pair is about 10 years old and still going strong, though they do need to be resoled soon. I think that's still done in Paonia CO, but I haven't had the nerve to check.)

I recommend Chacos to a lot of my foot patients. They have always been very well made and well designed and resolable. I'm hoping that won't change now that they are made in China.

ETA: elk, I'm right there with you. Less stuff, more expensive, but better for our economy and environment in the long run.