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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.
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.
The Midnight Knitter
I want a cool nickname like that. It's very superhero-esque. I'm imagining a hand-knit, skin-hugging wool costume with a big MK emblazoned on the chest. With a cape knit from mohair.
Here's the link to a news story about the real Midnight Knitter.
In other news... the manager at the yarn store I work at is apparently in labor. She's having a boy and they haven't decided on a name yet. When I know more details, I'll post them.
I've started my first fair isle project (Ravelry link). Arnhild Hillesland is dropping by the store tonight for a free clinic on fair isle mittens. Since I'm working anyway, I figured now would be a good time to conquer my fear of color work.
I am also going to be teaching a beginning knitting class at Llama Magic this year. Details have not been established, but plans are being made.
Here's the link to a news story about the real Midnight Knitter.
In other news... the manager at the yarn store I work at is apparently in labor. She's having a boy and they haven't decided on a name yet. When I know more details, I'll post them.
I've started my first fair isle project (Ravelry link). Arnhild Hillesland is dropping by the store tonight for a free clinic on fair isle mittens. Since I'm working anyway, I figured now would be a good time to conquer my fear of color work.
I am also going to be teaching a beginning knitting class at Llama Magic this year. Details have not been established, but plans are being made.
A Bad Place
All my projects are in a bad place. Well, all save the socks and one can only take so much sock knitting at a time.
Box Jacket (Rav link) - I need to pick up the stitches for the sleeves. I am scared because I've had problems with picking up stitches in the past. I don't want to screw this up, first sweater or not. The body looks so good; I don't want bad sleeve seams to ruin it for me. I also want to wear this before it gets too warm, which gives me about six weeks. I should get over my fear pretty soon if I want to finish this and still wear it.
Dawn Stole (Rav link) - The I-cord edging needs to be ripped out and redone. I finished the whole thing, only to discover that one edge of the I-cord was way too tight. Blocking wouldn't have helped. Thus, the entire thing must be ripped out and knit on larger needles (Emily Gauge strikes again). Bah.
Harvest Slouch Hat (Rav link) - Despite doing a gauge swatch, testing the band, and going down a needle size after meeting gauge and deciding that it was too big, it's still too big. I was doing the decreases when I realized that it was too big and needed to be frogged.
Felted Slippers (Rav link) - I screwed up the bind-off on the first slipper about two months ago and haven't had the heart to redo it, let alone knit the second one. Honestly, this would take me about a day to finish knitting the pair, even after fixing the bind-off. Have I done it? No. Is it now March and too warm to wear felted slippers? Yes.
DNA Model (Rav link) - I need to purchase two bobbins of black nylon thread from a fabric store and sew the thing together. Not hard. Apparently it's really difficult to drive myself to a fabric store though.
In summary, my current projects are all in a bad place because of 1) procrastination, 2) fear, or 3) anger. None of these are good excuses as far as I'm concerned, so I've put a moratorium on starting new projects until I finish at least one of these. Let me be the first to admit that this rule is really irritating me. I actually spent most of last night not knitting instead of working on those projects.
Maybe I will try and tackle the Felted Slippers first. They won't take me long once I get going. Then I will have the strength to frog the hat and re-knit it. Somewhere in there I can get to a fabric store so I can sew the DNA Model together (it's really cute). And after those hurdles are out of the way I can concentrate on the one that's really been weighing on my mind, the Box Jacket.
While I procrastinate some more before picking up the felted slippers, here are some recent fo's:
Box Jacket (Rav link) - I need to pick up the stitches for the sleeves. I am scared because I've had problems with picking up stitches in the past. I don't want to screw this up, first sweater or not. The body looks so good; I don't want bad sleeve seams to ruin it for me. I also want to wear this before it gets too warm, which gives me about six weeks. I should get over my fear pretty soon if I want to finish this and still wear it.
Dawn Stole (Rav link) - The I-cord edging needs to be ripped out and redone. I finished the whole thing, only to discover that one edge of the I-cord was way too tight. Blocking wouldn't have helped. Thus, the entire thing must be ripped out and knit on larger needles (Emily Gauge strikes again). Bah.
Harvest Slouch Hat (Rav link) - Despite doing a gauge swatch, testing the band, and going down a needle size after meeting gauge and deciding that it was too big, it's still too big. I was doing the decreases when I realized that it was too big and needed to be frogged.
Felted Slippers (Rav link) - I screwed up the bind-off on the first slipper about two months ago and haven't had the heart to redo it, let alone knit the second one. Honestly, this would take me about a day to finish knitting the pair, even after fixing the bind-off. Have I done it? No. Is it now March and too warm to wear felted slippers? Yes.
DNA Model (Rav link) - I need to purchase two bobbins of black nylon thread from a fabric store and sew the thing together. Not hard. Apparently it's really difficult to drive myself to a fabric store though.
In summary, my current projects are all in a bad place because of 1) procrastination, 2) fear, or 3) anger. None of these are good excuses as far as I'm concerned, so I've put a moratorium on starting new projects until I finish at least one of these. Let me be the first to admit that this rule is really irritating me. I actually spent most of last night not knitting instead of working on those projects.
Maybe I will try and tackle the Felted Slippers first. They won't take me long once I get going. Then I will have the strength to frog the hat and re-knit it. Somewhere in there I can get to a fabric store so I can sew the DNA Model together (it's really cute). And after those hurdles are out of the way I can concentrate on the one that's really been weighing on my mind, the Box Jacket.
While I procrastinate some more before picking up the felted slippers, here are some recent fo's:
Kureyon Moebius (Rav link)
Bob's Slotted Scarf (Rav link)
Lynda's Wristwarmers (Rav link)
Painted Shawl (Rav link)
Woodsy Reverie (Rav link)
A Month of New Things
February has been a busy month! Shortly after my last post, I spent the weekend in Meadowlands, Minnesota. 
The town is in the middle of the Sax-Zim Bog in northeastern Minnesota, about 40 minutes west of Duluth. The region is quite unique in both geology and ecology, both factors that contribute to a distinct community of birds, which in turn brings in birders to the frozen tundra of northern Minnesota every February for the annual Sax-Zim Bog Birding Festival.
It was a crazy weekend of waking up at 5:00 am to board a school bus and ride around looking for elusive birds until 7:00 pm. This might sound like a masochistic experience, given that the low temperatures are around -15º F and highs around 20º F (which is really warm for the area!), but the draw of these unique bird communities brings over 100 people every year to the festival alone. I added about 15 new species of birds to my life list, which sounds like a shockingly high number unless one takes into account that I've only been keeping track since August, 2009. I can only identify the common backyard birds reliably. Oh, we did not see a Great Grey Owl, for those interested.
On the way back from Meadowlands, I made two stops that are worth noting. The first was in Two Harbors, Minnesota, which is just north of Duluth along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Along highway 61 in the middle of town is a little building containing one of the best rock shops I've ever been in, the Agate City Rock Shop. Rockhounds know that the North Shore of Lake Superior is the place to go for Lake Superior agates and this shop specializes in them. The owners are lovely people and know their stuff. I picked up a lovely piece of potassium feldspar as a teaching specimen and will definitely return the next time I'm in that area.
I also stopped at a tiny but very well-stocked yarn store in Knife River, which is right in between Duluth and Two Harbors. Playing with Yarn has tons of yarns crammed into a two-car garage turned store. I picked up a couple skeins of Noro Daria (it's discontinued - gotta grab it when you can!) and two beautiful skeins from Mountain Colors, a company that my lys doesn't carry.
Since returning from my trip, I've been knitting like a fiend! I don't have pictures yet, but I'll talk about the projects anyway.
Bob's Slotted Scarf (Ravelry link) - A small slotted scarf knit from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in the Beverly colorway. Bob is a dear family friend who was our next door neighbor when we lived in Winona, Minnesota. My mother suggested that Bob might enjoy a hand-knit scarf to wear, since his house uses a wood-fired stove that heats only two rooms. I spent a long time hunting for the proper yarn, a worsted weight, variegated, washable wool, and when I stumbled across Shepherd Worsted and saw the name of the colorway, the search ended. Beverly was the name of his late wife.
Lynda's Wristwarmers (Ravelry link) - A very simple pattern of worsted weight, washable, green and purple Araucania Toconao yarn. This is a thank-you gift for the spinning wheel my aunt Lynda gave me!
Kureyon Moebius (Ravelry link) - I am absolutely in love with Cat Bordhi's moebius patterns and this one turned out really well. I will definitely post some pictures of this when I take them because the colorway is unusual and the moebius didn't turn out quite like other Noro moebii.
Bonbori Moebius (Ravelry link) - I mentioned my love affair with the moebius... My lys and place of employment has a ton of Noro Bonbori and it has been a bit of slow seller. Since I had a couple skeins begging to be knit at home, I decided to whip up a quick shop model so customers could see how lovely Bonbori is when knit up. It has a tweedy look when knit into a fabric, which is not what one would expect looking at the ball. The next time you're in Borealis, look for the green moebius by the Noro and you'll see my first shop model!
I have two nearly finished objects, too. Well, one nearly finished object and one that was done but needs to be ripped back and redone.
DNA Toy (Ravelry link) - Using Ella Rae Superwash Classic, I whipped up Baby's First DNA by Kimberly Chapman for my boss, the manager at Borealis. All I have left is sewing the base pairs to the backbone and then a quick trip through the washing machine! It took less than a day to knit, so it's a very quick and very easy project. I think the design is great for small children because it has so many places to grab.
Purple Dawn Shawl (Ravelry link) - The Dawn Stole by Grace Anne Farrow, currently on time-out for bad behavior. I finished knitting this in about two weeks, but the applied I-cord took several more weeks because it's annoying and tedious. I finally finished the I-cord yesterday, only to realize that it is SUPER tight. I've mentioned Emily Gauge before, but this is something else entirely. This was a cold shower to a... well, use your imagination. Suffice to say, if I left the I-cord the way it is, the stole would only block to 3/4th the pre-blocked, pre-I-corded knitting fabric. When this thing gets parole, I will be ripping out the entire I-cord, redoing it on larger needles, and will be picking up fewer stitches.
Other wips:
Painted Shawl (Ravelry link) - I started this on a lark the other day and adore it. Schaefer Yarn has the most gorgeous colorways. Knitting with this skein of Nancy makes me feel as though I'm painting with the yarn. I will hopefully finish it up tomorrow; it's a very fast knit.
February Socks (Ravelry link) - aka Annie's Blue Socks. I've got the first sock done and it fits! Shockingly, I have exactly 51 grams of yarn left, so I can just barely manage a second sock of the skein of Opal. This pair won't be done in February, but I still think I can hold to my resolution of twelve pairs of socks in a year (1.5 done, 10.5 to go!).
The town is in the middle of the Sax-Zim Bog in northeastern Minnesota, about 40 minutes west of Duluth. The region is quite unique in both geology and ecology, both factors that contribute to a distinct community of birds, which in turn brings in birders to the frozen tundra of northern Minnesota every February for the annual Sax-Zim Bog Birding Festival.It was a crazy weekend of waking up at 5:00 am to board a school bus and ride around looking for elusive birds until 7:00 pm. This might sound like a masochistic experience, given that the low temperatures are around -15º F and highs around 20º F (which is really warm for the area!), but the draw of these unique bird communities brings over 100 people every year to the festival alone. I added about 15 new species of birds to my life list, which sounds like a shockingly high number unless one takes into account that I've only been keeping track since August, 2009. I can only identify the common backyard birds reliably. Oh, we did not see a Great Grey Owl, for those interested.
I also stopped at a tiny but very well-stocked yarn store in Knife River, which is right in between Duluth and Two Harbors. Playing with Yarn has tons of yarns crammed into a two-car garage turned store. I picked up a couple skeins of Noro Daria (it's discontinued - gotta grab it when you can!) and two beautiful skeins from Mountain Colors, a company that my lys doesn't carry.
Since returning from my trip, I've been knitting like a fiend! I don't have pictures yet, but I'll talk about the projects anyway.
Bob's Slotted Scarf (Ravelry link) - A small slotted scarf knit from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in the Beverly colorway. Bob is a dear family friend who was our next door neighbor when we lived in Winona, Minnesota. My mother suggested that Bob might enjoy a hand-knit scarf to wear, since his house uses a wood-fired stove that heats only two rooms. I spent a long time hunting for the proper yarn, a worsted weight, variegated, washable wool, and when I stumbled across Shepherd Worsted and saw the name of the colorway, the search ended. Beverly was the name of his late wife.
Lynda's Wristwarmers (Ravelry link) - A very simple pattern of worsted weight, washable, green and purple Araucania Toconao yarn. This is a thank-you gift for the spinning wheel my aunt Lynda gave me!
Kureyon Moebius (Ravelry link) - I am absolutely in love with Cat Bordhi's moebius patterns and this one turned out really well. I will definitely post some pictures of this when I take them because the colorway is unusual and the moebius didn't turn out quite like other Noro moebii.
Bonbori Moebius (Ravelry link) - I mentioned my love affair with the moebius... My lys and place of employment has a ton of Noro Bonbori and it has been a bit of slow seller. Since I had a couple skeins begging to be knit at home, I decided to whip up a quick shop model so customers could see how lovely Bonbori is when knit up. It has a tweedy look when knit into a fabric, which is not what one would expect looking at the ball. The next time you're in Borealis, look for the green moebius by the Noro and you'll see my first shop model!
I have two nearly finished objects, too. Well, one nearly finished object and one that was done but needs to be ripped back and redone.
DNA Toy (Ravelry link) - Using Ella Rae Superwash Classic, I whipped up Baby's First DNA by Kimberly Chapman for my boss, the manager at Borealis. All I have left is sewing the base pairs to the backbone and then a quick trip through the washing machine! It took less than a day to knit, so it's a very quick and very easy project. I think the design is great for small children because it has so many places to grab.
Purple Dawn Shawl (Ravelry link) - The Dawn Stole by Grace Anne Farrow, currently on time-out for bad behavior. I finished knitting this in about two weeks, but the applied I-cord took several more weeks because it's annoying and tedious. I finally finished the I-cord yesterday, only to realize that it is SUPER tight. I've mentioned Emily Gauge before, but this is something else entirely. This was a cold shower to a... well, use your imagination. Suffice to say, if I left the I-cord the way it is, the stole would only block to 3/4th the pre-blocked, pre-I-corded knitting fabric. When this thing gets parole, I will be ripping out the entire I-cord, redoing it on larger needles, and will be picking up fewer stitches.
Other wips:
Painted Shawl (Ravelry link) - I started this on a lark the other day and adore it. Schaefer Yarn has the most gorgeous colorways. Knitting with this skein of Nancy makes me feel as though I'm painting with the yarn. I will hopefully finish it up tomorrow; it's a very fast knit.
February Socks (Ravelry link) - aka Annie's Blue Socks. I've got the first sock done and it fits! Shockingly, I have exactly 51 grams of yarn left, so I can just barely manage a second sock of the skein of Opal. This pair won't be done in February, but I still think I can hold to my resolution of twelve pairs of socks in a year (1.5 done, 10.5 to go!).
Danger: Yarngasms
The local yarn store that provides my paychecks (or what's left of them) just got in my favorite hand-dyed yarns yesterday! I was unbelievably excited and judging by the reactions of the customers that came in, I wasn't the only one. Seriously, I have rarely heard such ecstasy from our customers in response to a new yarn shipment. We should post a warning sign on the door - Danger: Yarngasms Ahead.
What was it that inspired such elation? Dream In Color and Pagewood Farm. The best yarns on the face of the planet, I'm pretty sure. Specifically, we got Starry and Knitosophy (2 of the 5 skeins were left when we closed last night) from Dream In Color, and Alyeska and Willow Creek from Pagewood Farm. We actually sold out of a colorway of Willow Creek before we closed.
Alyeska is my object of adoration and man did we get some gorgeous colorways! A skein of the Harvest colorway made it home with me, the Woodsy colorway may yet join my stash, and if we get more of the Maple Leaf colorway of Willow Creek, I will definitely adopt it (Maple Leaf was the colorway we sold out of already).
Now I just have to figure out what to make out of my Alyeska. The yarn feels too soft and luscious to make socks out of it, but I'm not ruling socks out. I am tempted to make a hat, a little shawlette, or a lacy scarf. Something that gets that gorgeousness off my feet and up near my face! Now soliciting suggestions!
What was it that inspired such elation? Dream In Color and Pagewood Farm. The best yarns on the face of the planet, I'm pretty sure. Specifically, we got Starry and Knitosophy (2 of the 5 skeins were left when we closed last night) from Dream In Color, and Alyeska and Willow Creek from Pagewood Farm. We actually sold out of a colorway of Willow Creek before we closed.
Alyeska is my object of adoration and man did we get some gorgeous colorways! A skein of the Harvest colorway made it home with me, the Woodsy colorway may yet join my stash, and if we get more of the Maple Leaf colorway of Willow Creek, I will definitely adopt it (Maple Leaf was the colorway we sold out of already).
Now I just have to figure out what to make out of my Alyeska. The yarn feels too soft and luscious to make socks out of it, but I'm not ruling socks out. I am tempted to make a hat, a little shawlette, or a lacy scarf. Something that gets that gorgeousness off my feet and up near my face! Now soliciting suggestions!
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