Got the Red Yarn Blues

I have a very dear friend, LB. She has a very sweet teenage daughter, EB, who was our babysitter until she went off to college this year. Knowing how cold the floors of a dorm room can be, I knitted up some very lovely chunky socks in her school colors, black and red (TX Tech). LB saw them and fell in love with them and tried to sneak them out of her daughter's dorm room before they returned home. EB caught her and rescued her socks.

EB came home over Thanksgiving and LB commandeered the socks. EB had been washing the socks in Woolite despite the fact they are made from acrylic yarn. LB decided to throw them in the washing machine, which under normal circumstances, would be fine. But, LB threw in several pairs of blue jeans, including a brand new pair that bled all over the socks. EB was mad and rightfully so. I was miffed at LB for about a day, because I knew I could whip out another pair without any problems- chunky socks, sz. 9 needles, ankle length, 32 stitches total. Easy Peasy, right???

Nope, not as easy as I thought it would be. I placed an order for the yarn right after Thanksgiving thinking I would get in the first week of December or so, enough time to make the socks for Christmas. I had ordered other colors of the yarn, too, so when I got the box, I was disappointed to learn that the red yarn was back ordered until 12/15. No problem, even if I got it a day or two before Christmas, there was still time to make the socks before EB's return to Lubbock. So, I waited... and waited... and waited...

Until Dec. 26th, and still no red yarn. So, I wrote a very nice note to the company explaining that I had already paid for the yarn and would like either the yarn or a refund, preferably the yarn. While I was on their site, I hopped over and checked the status of the red yarn- was it in stock??? NO!!!! It is back ordered until 1/24/09!! Oh the horror, the agony, EB's cold tootsies...

So what do I do? I look around the net to find another source of the red yarn and order 2 skeins form 2 different companies- hedging my bets, so to speak. So what happens the next day??? I am informed by Company A that my order of 2 skeins of red yarn, that was supposed to be back ordered until late January '09, had been shipped. Now for the kicker- has any of this yarn arrived?? No, but it's been less than a week since I've ordered any of the yarn, so I come home from the mailbox just a little disappointed every day. What was that saying about a "watched pot" again??