Monday, February 25, 2013

Sometimes, it's gotta be Noro

It's hard to be near a knitting store that sells Noro yarns and not buy any, especially if you have some air travel coming up.


Noro comes in a lot of different weights and fiber combinations but all those variations have one thing in common: they shift from one unexpected colour to another in ways that are drop dead gorgeous.  And really, who doesn't need that on a long flight?  Either you're bored and the colour changes keep your day interesting, or you're terrified and the colour changes keep you happy.


Also there are lots of different colour possibilities.  I liked these two.  (so much, obviously, that I had to cast something on straightaway.)  It's Noro Silk Garden, about 100m in 50g of silk, mohair, and wool.  I find it a little more next-to-skin friendly than the 100% wool options.

This is another cowl project but it's based on a different approach than my Triple Lane Travel Cowl.  That one takes a few hours to knit and uses grabby yarn so you can get it safely off the needles if you're changing planes and you think the next lot of security people will find said needles uncomfortable and take them away.  This one takes less hours so you can easily finish it in the time it takes to cross the Atlantic and have it off the needles by the time you reach the other end.

I'm not sure I love the way my stitches are working together, but I have an idea for a second try and in the meantime I am enjoying the chance to use one of my favourite stitch markers again.


Isn't it cute?  It was made for me by a friend from Knitting and Tea and Cookies a while back, when we did a Swap - how she pulled this off I do not know, but it's a perfect ring of beads with no bits of thread sticking out.  Ideal for big needles like the 6mm babies I am using to get a whole cowl out of just one ball of yarn for more compact packing.

Of course, after I decided on 6mm, I realized I bought bamboo circulars up to 4.5mm and no bigger, so I went back to the Addi Needle Shop and bought another one to be all set for travel knitting.  That shop really is a great resource and it's free shipping everywhere all the time, with no minimum purchase.  I call that awesome.

Okay, off I go for another exciting day of adventures.  Hope yours is good and I'll see you tomorrow!

3 comments:

Erika said...

YES I love this Noro yarn, I have bought several skeins already but not sure what to make with them ?! What do you suggest, I just finishing up my first pair of gloves, so nothing too hard & I have not used circulars yet.. Every time I'm in a yarn store I try no to buy this stuff, well it is not cheap so that helps. But I've bought 2 Noro pattern books :) ~Erika

Mary Keenan said...

I have the same problem - what to make with one ball? Cowls and hats are good: my winter garden hat pattern takes one ball. I keep thinking a long fingerless glove would be luscious though, with two balls, if you don't mind a bit of non-matchy ;^)

Erika said...

Earlier this week I bought 2 skeins of the Noro Silk Garden (I think) for $7 ea then I got them home & realized they were only 50g no wonder so reasonably priced!! ugh still learning about yarn too :( Fingerless gloves would be neat I am working on my first pair now with this god awful Caron Simply Soft yarn that I HATE! It splits & shreds so bad, I will never use this stuff again for a project. so I am just using it to practice lace making etc with it..
~e