Next…..

June 26th, 2009 by Gwynn | Posted in General News |

First things first, here is a pic of Meredith Out in Public in her new sweater!! She seems to love it. The Rialto Aran could pass any kids itch test. Plus it is washable. Glad I had a little yarn left over: she has grown since I started it and my measuring must have been impaired: the sleeves are only just long enough. I will have to add on to them in the fall. Fresh off the high of finishing 2 UFO’s (Meredith’s sweater and the babushka) and feeling slightly self-congratulatory,  I put something new On the Needles. Really, who can blame me? We got the new colors of Kureyon Sock Yarn in the store and one colorway in particular caught my eye (color number 250). Actually, it grabbed me and didn’t let go until I walked out with it. (Am I the only one that happens to? Please comment.) I will admit to being a vociferous opponent of Kureyon Sock Yarn since it’s first appearance on our store shelves. On its initial arrival, I promptly bought a skein and quickly cast on a ladies sock on my 4 double point needles. I suffered through my over-twisted tangled mess for a little over 2 inches before bringing it back into the shop so I wouldn’t have to see it in my house. I wanted to love it for the colors but couldn’t get past the scratchy feel and its tendency to knot back up on itself. At the time, I felt that life was too short for messy scratchy sock yarn. I built a bridge over my disappointment and moved on. Until…..the new colorways showed up last week. This one in particular was too much for my inner purple lover to withstand. I bought it on the assurance of a co-worker (Denice) who told me I would have a very different experience with the yarn on my 2 circular needles. Not quite believing her, I took it home anyway. First thing I did was re-wind the skein into a center pull ball hoping to minimize the tangling. I cast on and went to town, eagerly anticipating each change of color and I became more and more delighted with each new shade. After all, isn’t the color the most powerful reason we love knitting with Noro? In truth, I was hardly struggling with the wool. The twist IS ferocious and it still wants to double back on itself so I am trying to compensate by pulling less yarn out of the ball at a time. In short, I really haven’t changed my mind about the yarn (still twisty, still scratchy) but find I am able to knit with it because of the 2 circular needle method. Anyone who knows me can see that I must have been having some serious fun: the ribbing on my socks never lasts beyond 2 to 3 inches. The ribbing on THIS sock made it all the way down to the heel!! My two Addi Turbos and this delicious colorway make me hopeful that I can finish a pair of socks with Kureyon Sock Yarn without hating the process…..

I do not have a Shrug update for you…  I picked it up Sunday night to finish it and after an hour of Happy Knitting I didn’t have enough stitches at the end of a row. I decided to pay some attention to my knitting and noticed that EVERY ROW I had accomplished was wrong. Yes, I said WRONG. So I spent the next 45 minutes unhappily frogging back to where I had started. By then I was too tired (and unhappy) to embark on what I was sure would be further mistakes. Hence, no update and no new shrug. Maybe next week…..

Barbara is still going big guns on her Summer Open Cardigan (sorry I have no pics) and Lori has gotten one of  her own ‘On The Needles’. She is using Misti Cotton and this is what she has to say: “Using the Misti Cotton for the Knitting Pure & Simple Summer Open Cardigan is purely a pleasure!  Already I can see that the Misti Cotton will be the perfect weight for a summer sweater.  The cotton/silk blend paired with the larger needle creates a lovely drape.” We will eagerly await her progress. Mine has been hibernating in lieu of other projects. I am having a Lupin-Kureyon sock war: who will win my affections this week? I had quite a few takers on the remaining Harry Potter Sock Yarn. Draco is almost sold out (how can that be?), a few more Ron left the building and I went from 24 skeins down to 16 of Lupin. You all rose to the occasion in support of our favorite werewolf in spite of (or because of?) the yellow and orange. Any more takers??