Insubordiknit

The Best Mail day ever!

I had the best mail day ever! Really. The best! You remember my last post (which is still going strong, btw, I'll probably take comments until Saturday night and name the winner on Sunday) all about genorosity? Well when my man in brown showed up with an unexpected box the other day, I was schooled in the ways of the generous. Yes. A wonderful customer turned lovely internet friend saw my previous post about how I'd never knit with Noro and what did she do? She packed up 10 skeins and sent them to me!

Seriously, I was floored. It may the the sweetest gift for me that I've ever received from a non-family member. I must have told everyone I saw that day all about it, and none of them were fiber people, poor souls. So I've had this bounty, this glory, for 2 days and you know what? I've already knitted a sleeve and a half!

Not only did Ms. Diane's gift give me enough Noro for a stunning sweater, it also had the effect of giving me back the handspun I thought was going to be noro-esque but failed terribly. Oh, I didn't tell you? Yes, many things were wrong with this handspun, at least if I wanted it to be vaguely noro-esque.

1. the stripes were too long.
2. the color changes were too short. They were 12 stitches instead of being 12 rows.
3. the yarn was too springy.
4. the yarn was too dense (it's the same thickness of noro but I had to go up from an 9 to a 11 to get an kind of good drape).

I knit it up and hated it. Really really really hated it. However, upon getting my real noro, I realized that I didn't hate the yarn, I just hated my failed expectations of the yarn. The yarn itself is pretty okay. I spun it a bit thick and thin because that's how kuyreon is, so I like the homespunedness of it, the colors are medium okay, the softness is lush, so now that it doesn't have to be noro, I like it, well, I medium like it. Perhaps, if I find a good pattern for it I could love it. For now I'll be happy with medium liking it and LOVING the noro Poppy I'm knitting!

Thanks Diane, because really, you gave me 2 sweaters worth of yarn!

However, I think I'll try again with the spinning of this yarn, I've got an idea.

Posted by jacey at December 14, 2007 03:44 PM