Spring Surf Scarf

I have a love-hate relationship with Noro yarns. Love: the colors!! The long repeats of beautifully intense shades are to die for. Hate: the knots! I have been disappointed several times with knots tied in the middle of the skein connecting non-sequential colors. Boo!

This time, however, I was delighted to get a whole skein with ZERO knots!! Yipppeee! It's Silk Garden Sock Yarn in colorway #S87. It reminds me of a spring flower garden.

The Morning Surf Scarf design was simple to knit and shows off the yarn perfectly. I used a 36-stitch cast-on, and repeated the 12-row pattern until I ran out of yarn. After rinsing and blocking, the resulting scarf is approximately 8"X60". Total love!

Feet of Firsts

New techniques and a bit of a review of Noro yarns.

During a recent trip to my LYS, I picked up a couple of skeins of Noro Silk Garden. I had heard many folks marvel over this yarn and decided to give it a try. My first impressions were mixed. The colors are amazing. The hand is rather rough and it seems to be full of vegetation. Oh, well. I was up for something new. I chose colorway #252; blues, greens, black and gray.

When it comes to knitting socks, I'm more of a traditional kind of girl. But, since I was in the frame of mind to try new things, I also decided to use some new-to-me techniques. Looking through many of the toe-up methods, I chose to use Judy Becker's Magic Cast-on...I love it!!! (Check out Cat Bordhi's video.)

Another technique I hadn't yet used is the short-row heel. I followed instructions by Kim Salazar. It went well, but I definitely need to practice this one.

I finished my first sock and was feeling pretty good about it. I started to rewind the second skein so I could begin with the same color at the toe. Arrrrrrggghhhh! A huge knot hidden in the center of the ball totally ruined the flow of colors.

Since this happened, I have notice a real dichotomy among knitters where this yarn is concerned. One camp will defend it no matter what stating the knots are part of its charm. The other (which I think I lean toward) maintains that there is a better way to connect breaks during spinning. I am sure there are many factors involved at the factory of which I am not aware. However, as a spinner, connecting breaks and blending colors were some of the first techniques I learned.

In any case, I "cut and pasted" my skeins together so that my socks were almost matching. I'm pleased with the end result. Now let's see how they wear!

Here's a simple recipe for my socks: Use size 5US double-point needles.

Katarina

Here it is! My first real FO for 2008 (I made socks earlier, but had to frog them). I absolutely love this sweater!

The Katarina design is great. The slightly belled sleeves are flattering and comfortable. The lines of the garter neck and fronts make it cozy without being overwhelming. And I had forgotten how the simple beauty of garter stitch can enhance garments.

The yarn worked out great, too. The natural brown wool with the little silk nubs give the sweater a hand-spun look and feel. No one could ever guess this yarn was recycled!

I probably will make another of this design in the future. Possible variations would include: lengthening the body another inch and adding another half-inch to each front (prior to the ribbing). I'm thinking it would also work well in a linen yarn.

New Year, New Project

Like I really need a new project! But it's been a couple of years since I made myself a sweater. So, in the spirit of the new year, and goal setting, I cast on for a new sweater.

I've had this yarn for a while waiting for the right design. It's formerly an Eddie Bauer sweater of 76% wool/24% silk in a natural brown. At about DK weight, it should make a nice indoor garment.

Katarina is by CocoKnits. I love the simplicity of the shaping. It looks like it will be pretty flattering for a variety of body shapes. I'm casting on for size large.

V-Stitch Shawl update

The main body of the shawl is now complete and being blocked. I am still consider multiple options for finishing...fringe, beads, edging... I decided to wait and see how it drapes after it's blocked and dry... to be continued.

Oh, and the little colors peeking through are happy flowers on my sheets! I love them!

Yay! A new toy!

Don't you love new toys? I do! Today I received my new swift. I was so excited when I arrived home and it was waiting for me. As soon as I set it up, we both got to work. Now, I have mixed reviews.

While it really is just fine... turns well, no rough edges, is the right size, etc..., I'm now realizing I should have ordered a different style.

My old swift had a hand crank, my new one does not. The handle breaking off my old swift is what prompted the ordering of a new swift. Now it seems that finding one with a handle would have been my top priority. But dork that I am sometimes, I didn't even look for that. So, I am just going to have to build up my arm/shoulder muscles and spin it myself!

The light blue yarn on the swift is being recovered from a wool/silk thrifted sweater. More about that later.

More Recycling...

I recently thrifted this sweater. It's a soft denim blue 50% wool / 50% silk long-sleeved tunic. While I liked the sweater and all its cables, it's just too long and ill-fitting.

Here, you see the left sleeve has already been frogged into a nice sized ball. The yarn is a great three - ply that measures 12 wraps per inch.

As I played with the recovered yarn, it "told" me it wants to be a cozy shawl in its next life. So I've been experimenting with different stitches. As of right now, it looks like a "V-stitch" is working out really well. Next will be the search for the right edging.

More new goodies...I just added these to my library. I easily drool over any of Nicky Epstein's books, and I've been coveting the Mason Dixon book for a long time. They just had to come home with me. Yippee!

any excuse....

Those who know me, also know that it doesn't take much of an excuse for me to go yarn shopping. So, yesterday, when a real excuse came up, who was I to argue?!

My little dog, Latte was overdue for a "do." Because it would be about three hours until pick-up time at the groomer's, and I hate wasted trips, I decided I would check out a few of the LYSs in Portland. Several new ones have sprung up since I lived in Portland, so I narrowed it down to three that I had not yet visited. I had a few different projects in mind. So, in order to keep my budget under control, I vowed I would only buy for those projects on this trip.

My first stop was The Naked Sheep. The shop was comfortable, well-lit, clean and full of a great selection of colors and types of yarns. Cheri was friendly and knowledgeable. She didn't carry the exact yarn I was looking for today, but I will definitely be back.

Next on the itinerary was Close Knit. As I walked in, I spied Leigh Radford teaching a class. I wished I had brought my One Skein book to get autographed! This shop has goodies stashed in every nook and cranny. In fact, it was so full, it was hard to navigate without running into someone or something. I found myself becoming overwhelmed with all the input. I did find the silk I was hunting for project number one! Yippee. And, yes, I will be back here, too!

Last stop was Mabel's Cafe. This shop offers a wide array of coffee, tea, edibles and yarn. There was a sprinkling of individuals and small groups at the tables near the front who were visiting, noshing and knitting. There was also a raucous class going on. They were having great fun, but they were so loud, that the other folks in the shop were having to shout over them. Since I was already on sensory overload, I had to make this visit fairly short. I found two skeins that will work for projects two and three, and then skedaddled out. I will be back to Mable's when I have time to sit and knit and no headache to start.

So, arriving back home with yarn, photos and a "poodly" poodle, I determined my afternoon was well spent...and no excuses necessary.