subscribeNew Skills
The lys that employs me was hosting Lucy Neatby this weekend and my parents bought me a class for my birthday. It was a toss up between Ambidextrous Knitting, which is knitting with both hands, and Double Knitting. Since I had already learned to knit with both hands when I took a fair isle knitting class at Shepherd's Harvest this last spring, I decided to take double-knitting. It was SO MUCH FUN.
I love the concept of knitting two pieces of fabric at once and I love how the fabric feels as it comes off the needles - pudgy and squishy. I feel like I got the concept pretty quickly and had no trouble with the last part of the class, which was learning to create a pocket. I have a bunch of Lucy's patterns picked out to create and I'm anxious to start!
Not to mention that I have now officially mastered English-style knitting, including the purl. Of course this means that I don't have an excuse for not teaching Beginning Knitting at the store anymore. Queue irrational anxiety.
I've also managed to get back on the Year of the Sock wagon after deciding that felted clogs count. I'm 2 inches and a toe away from having my October socks done and then I can end the year on track! I should do a nice post at the end of the year with pictures of my 12 pairs of socks/slippers. Although, two pairs of clogs were gifts, so they'll be like Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film of Monty Python fame.
Victoria, Maggie, and I decided that next year will be the Year of the Hat. Twelve hats in twelve months should be totally do-able. Hats are quick!
I just realized that counting the three shawls/stoles I have on the needles, I will have knit 12 shawls or stoles this year as well. Now I have a good reason to get those three done by December!
I love the concept of knitting two pieces of fabric at once and I love how the fabric feels as it comes off the needles - pudgy and squishy. I feel like I got the concept pretty quickly and had no trouble with the last part of the class, which was learning to create a pocket. I have a bunch of Lucy's patterns picked out to create and I'm anxious to start!
Not to mention that I have now officially mastered English-style knitting, including the purl. Of course this means that I don't have an excuse for not teaching Beginning Knitting at the store anymore. Queue irrational anxiety.
I've also managed to get back on the Year of the Sock wagon after deciding that felted clogs count. I'm 2 inches and a toe away from having my October socks done and then I can end the year on track! I should do a nice post at the end of the year with pictures of my 12 pairs of socks/slippers. Although, two pairs of clogs were gifts, so they'll be like Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Film of Monty Python fame.
Victoria, Maggie, and I decided that next year will be the Year of the Hat. Twelve hats in twelve months should be totally do-able. Hats are quick!
I just realized that counting the three shawls/stoles I have on the needles, I will have knit 12 shawls or stoles this year as well. Now I have a good reason to get those three done by December!
Far Too Long
It's been far too long since I last posted here! I have no real excuse other than simply not making the time. Here are some FO's from the summer!
It's a lot of blue and scarves. I'm in a rut!
I'm currently working on a child's cardigan to serve as a shop model, another shawl (but not blue!), a blue stole, and a couple toys. I've fallen off the sock per month wagon pretty hard. My June socks are still on the needles. In fairness to me, I hate knitting the yarn of my June socks. HATE. I should suck it up and finish the last half of the second sock though. Then I can be on to nicer sock yarn again!
In the next month or so I'm planning on starting another Faorese shawl out of Isager 2. Lucy Neatby will be coming to the lys I work at in November so I want to knit her Faorese shawl pattern by the time she visits. I had better get that on the needles soon to get it finished in time! I'm plotting a pair of felted slippers for an unsuspecting member of my knitting group and there's another baby sweater that needs to be started soon! I have two good friends expecting babies in December and January - one baby cardigan is done already (except for finishing) so I just need to start the other!
I also need to start another sweater for myself and probably finish sewing in the ends of a couple projects that have been done for months now. I really loathe sewing in ends.
An Update
In follow-up to the previous post...
There will be no story.
If anyone knows of a museum job out there, I'm still looking!
There will be no story.
If anyone knows of a museum job out there, I'm still looking!
Let the waiting begin...
Just submitted an application for a job that would be an awesome entry-level job for a museum I love. Due to some crazy connections and my previous background, I think I have a fairly good shot at the job.
I don't want to elaborate too much yet because all I've done is submit an application. If all goes well though, I will regale you with the tale of the Museum, the Yarn Store, and the Parking Ticket. Hopefully the ending will be happy.
I don't want to elaborate too much yet because all I've done is submit an application. If all goes well though, I will regale you with the tale of the Museum, the Yarn Store, and the Parking Ticket. Hopefully the ending will be happy.
How to Noro
This post is inspired by all the negative (read: uneducated) comments on Noro yarns on Ravelry. I will freely admit that I'm biased; Noro is one of my favorite brands of yarn. I've used Silk Garden, Silk Garden Sock, Kureyon, Transitions, Silk Garden Chunky, Aurora, Daria, Blossom, Cash Iroha, and Bonbori so far, with plans to knit with every kind of Noro yarn I can get my hands on. I have Kochoran, Kureyon Sock, Furisode, Chirimen, and Silk Garden Lite in my stash.
Noro is attractive because of the colors, the gorgeous, gorgeous colors. There are very few yarns on the market like it and while some companies try to imitate it - Plymouth, Skacel - their choices in colors cannot touch the inventiveness of Noro itself.
If you are attracted by the colors of Noro, do yourself a favor and read up on the yarn first before purchasing it. It is definitely not for everyone and here's why:
Noro is attractive because of the colors, the gorgeous, gorgeous colors. There are very few yarns on the market like it and while some companies try to imitate it - Plymouth, Skacel - their choices in colors cannot touch the inventiveness of Noro itself.
If you are attracted by the colors of Noro, do yourself a favor and read up on the yarn first before purchasing it. It is definitely not for everyone and here's why:
- Stripes - Noro yarns stripe. There is no way around it. They are also long (or wide) stripes. If you don't like stripes, don't get any Noro yarns (except for the rare solids like Cash Iroha).
- Hand-spun look- It's thick and thin and over-spun in places. These imperfections knit up to make a beautiful, rustic garment. If this look isn't for you, don't buy Noro.
- Coarse - Hey, they use real wool for their yarns. It's coarse and textured. Yes, it might even be scratchy. It will soften up with washing, but it will never be super soft. If you're a yarn princess, stick with Malabrigo and other over-processed merinos.
- Veg - You will find vegetable matter as you knit. It's easy to pick out. That's because it isn't over-processed. Vegetables never hurt anyone.
- Unique pairs - If you want your knitted garments to have matching stripes, be prepared to work a little extra to achieve that with Noro. Also be prepared to accept that it may not match no matter what you do. Knots happen.
- Dig into the skein to look at all the colors and be aware that balls of the same colorway may not look alike. Make sure you're happy with all the colors inside and outside before making your selection.
- Emily's Noro Law: The prettiest ball almost certainly has a knot. That's because your eye was attracted to the ball with the most of your favorite colors, which means that some colors are missing. Check to make sure all the colors are present in a ball and that they gradually fade into one another. This won't guarantee that you'll avoid a knot, but it will reduce your chances.
- If you can, do a little research before hitting the lys. Check out KFI's color chart to see what Noro colorways look like knit-up. Please note that Noro does not name their colorways, they are numbered. Come armed with a colorway number and description to help your friendly neighborhood lys employee find your yarn.
- If you're choosing colors for a project like the Noro Striped Scarf, don't pick colorways that repeat the same colors. Your project will be dull and boring. Think outside the box and pair complementary colorways that don't share any colors!
- Find designs that are knit on the bias or constructed in strange or unique ways to take full advantage of the self-striping.
- Don't limit yourself to stockinette. Noro produces wide stripes, so you can do cables or lace without losing too much in the yarn.
- KNIT FROM THE OUTSIDE OF THE BALL. In general, you should always knit from the outside, but you're asking for trouble if you knit from the inside of a Noro ball without rewinding it into a cake. I can't emphasize this one enough and it really annoys me when I hear complaints about Noro yarns because someone pulled from the inside. Yarn 101: pull from the outside!
- Don't tug. If Noro is breaking on you, it's because you're tugging on it. I'm a tight knitter and I don't have a problem with Noro breaking.
- Be patient. Noro is a Type B yarn, as in personality types. If you're relaxed and just enjoy watching the colors change, your Noro garment will practically knit itself. Don't get worked up about knots or veg or unmatched stripes - just enjoy the process!
Progress Update
Last time I wrote, I had some problematic projects on the needles. As of today, I've completed two of those five projects and finally made some headway on a third. The Harvest Slouch Hat (rav) and my sister's socks (rav) are done! I've also picked up the stitches for the right arm of my sweater jacket and have made significant progress on the sleeve!
I still need to sew the DNA toy together and rip out the I-cord of the Dawn Stole. The DNA toy definitely needs to get done soon, but the stole isn't a rush.
In the meantime, I've finished a scarf (rav) and started on my March socks (rav). I nearly have the first sock done already, so I'm pretty happy with my progress.
And since it's spring, I did a little spring cleaning which included some serious stash organization. I got all my knitting books and patterns organized, as well as all my yarn. I took photographs of just about everything and posted it all to Ravelry, too. It's really nice to have my stash organized! If there's a pattern I see at work, I can just pull up Ravelry and search my stash for appropriate yarn. Very convenient.
I have decided that I need to stop collecting sock yarn though. I have two bins full of sock yarn! No other weight of yarn has a bin to itself except the bulky yarns, but let's face it, it's BULKY yarn. The downside is that I love sock yarn. :(
In conclusion, here's some yarn p0rn for your enjoyment.
I still need to sew the DNA toy together and rip out the I-cord of the Dawn Stole. The DNA toy definitely needs to get done soon, but the stole isn't a rush.
In the meantime, I've finished a scarf (rav) and started on my March socks (rav). I nearly have the first sock done already, so I'm pretty happy with my progress.
And since it's spring, I did a little spring cleaning which included some serious stash organization. I got all my knitting books and patterns organized, as well as all my yarn. I took photographs of just about everything and posted it all to Ravelry, too. It's really nice to have my stash organized! If there's a pattern I see at work, I can just pull up Ravelry and search my stash for appropriate yarn. Very convenient.
I have decided that I need to stop collecting sock yarn though. I have two bins full of sock yarn! No other weight of yarn has a bin to itself except the bulky yarns, but let's face it, it's BULKY yarn. The downside is that I love sock yarn. :(
In conclusion, here's some yarn p0rn for your enjoyment.
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