The Splendor of Noro

September 22nd, 2009 by Gwynn | Posted in General News, On The Needles |

Well, I have been in a funk now for two weeks. It isn’t showing any signs of lifting either…  Meredith and I are experiencing transitional dismay and the first of what I am sure will be many power struggles. She is in the height of new found independence and confidence. Which is such a mixed bag. In fact, all of mothering is a mixed bag. Every moment and every decision is fraught with all the emotions on the spectrum; add the exhaustion of a transition to kindergarten and the mix quickly becomes volatile. Or at the very least, weepy. We did some crying last night then had a good dinner and all was well. (For a minute or two at least.)

An all around life funk is one thing and I have seen my fair share of so-called funks, so I know they lift and dissipate as circumstances fluctuate. But this particular funk has affected my knitting. Now, knitting is what I use to alleviate my funks. When knitting isn’t working, I am up the proverbial creek. In my panic immediately before kindergarten started (the night before @ 9:00), I was desperate to start a new project. Something in a bulky gauge, with a luxurious yarn, quick, simple. I had so many amazing choices at my fingertips. Literally at my fingertips. (I work at Halcyon Yarn for goodness sake.) And I couldn’t cast on a single thing. Not a single thing.

And this comes from someone who generally suffers from cast-on-itis. Ask anyone I work with. It has not been an average week if I haven’t cast on 3 or 4 new projects. And planned a few more. There is something REALLY wrong when I can’t ‘Just Cast On”. Right before this funk, I was looking through an old Interweave Knits (Summer 2009) for a pattern for Deb (the Whisper Cardigan) and found an article by Vicki Square called ‘Start As Many New Projects As You Can’. (Dig it up and read it. It is about inspiration and knitting any and everything that inspires and excites you.) I felt so validated by this article and then found myself in a Cast On Freeze Out. New Project Stand Still. I’ve never been there before and I don’t want to go back again. As of this post,  I have finally found my way out.

And of course it was Noro that broke the stalemate. Wondrous, eye-popping, wake up your senses Noro. We added Iro back to our Noro line up this summer. (The fiber combination is 75% wool, 25% silk and has 132 yards per hank. Gauge is 3 stitches per inch on size 11 needles.) I have knit with lots of different Noro yarns but this is my first time with Iro. I will admit that I am partial to the blends containing silk so this isn’t a huge departure for me. It has been lingering in the back of my mind since we ordered it this summer and I have had a very specific project on tap. (You know how you put projects in your mental queue?) Well, this week my light bulb went on when I saw bags of this colorway out on Lori’s receiving pile. I snapped some up on Monday and promptly cast on that evening. Here is my progress so far on my very own Einstein Coat. I have wanted to make and wear an Einstein Coat for a long time but could never get excited about yarn choices. It is a heck of a lot of knitting, to put it mildly, and I wanted something exciting. I found it!! This pattern is in our favorite Sally Melville book The Knit Stitch and I am finally going to be wearing one this winter! You will all be able to spot me coming too – everyone here has dubbed it ‘The Coat of Many Colors’. There will more on this project and the yarn next week – must go knit…