Thursday, April 8, 2010

Remember the Green Shoes?

Remember those green Birkenstocks I was moved to buy because of the green (actually yellow-green) stripe in the Volt shawl that has consumed my life?

They are from a previous year, discontinued and almost impossible to find unless you have short feet. Mine are long. When I couldn't find them at the usual online sites, I Googled them. I usually find what I want on Google on the first, maybe second page. For the green Isis sandals I went all the way to page five before I found them listed in my long, narrow size. I ordered immediately, thanked my lucky stars that they were discounted to less than half price, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Much to my dismay and after the confirmation email, I received an email of regret. The shoes were no longer in stock after all. Boo-hoo! How disappointing. Was nothing related to this shawl going to come out right without a big hassle? Was it a sign? I already knew that the green of the shawl was more yellow than the green of the shoes, but that was okay. No need to be too matchy-matchy, right?

The shawl is finally on the right track and on its way to the fast track. I needed the shoes to keep up my good luck. I turned to my never-failing source for everything--eBay! The few available were not my long, narrow size. I put in a request to be notified if a pair were listed and within a day I was notified of a new listing. The size in the listing was my length but "medium" width. The description led me to believe the shoes were actually narrow width. Every Birkenstock connoisseur/collector knows the filled in footprint in the footbed means "schmal" or "narrow." (An outlined footprint means "normal" or "regular.") A little emailing with the seller, a bid high enough to win and I am now the proud owner of the green shoes at one third (including shipping!) the retail price.

Volt is moving along. I have the rhythm of it now. Following my knitting guru's lead, I switched to Addi lace needles. They are wonderful! Fast, pointy, slick tips with a little drag on the shaft and non-glare when under lights. Perfect!


I bought green nail polish when I knew the shoes were on the way. In the late summer if you see a stylish, older woman on Cape Cod or in Philadelphia wearing black cropped trousers, a white shirt with the Volt shawl thrown over her shoulders, green ankle strap Birkenstocks showing a green pedicure, it will be me.





Bona Fide Knitter

4 comments:

Melissa Plank said...

Yippee! I'm so glad you found your shoes in the right size! Happy knitting/strolling!

Sylvia said...

You are the most focused shopper-knitter I know! I did not know that Birkenstocks came in narrow sizes, which may explain why I've never found a pair that fit me. And I'm delighted to hear that the Volt shawl is charging along. Can't wait to see it.

Anonymous said...

Good luck on the Volt. Once you get in the groove it knits quickly. AND---I saw that you have yarn for Dusk also! I made the large version right after finishing Volt. That took quite awhile. Wore my Volt to the knitting guild last night to lots of rave reviews. Enjoy!

Bona Fide Knitter said...

Ooops! Did I say I have the yarn for Dusk? I meant Dawn. I have the yarn for DAWN. I think I'll tackle Shale before the the knittinng marathon that is Dusk.

Marilyn
Bona Fide Knitter