purple holiday gifts

Strangely, all of the last minute holiday gifts (actually finished before the holidays) were purple. Lucky color?


Stanley the Penguin
knit from KnitWhits kit, pattern by KnitSonya
US 8, Louet Riverstone kitted yarns and yardages

I *love* this toy. Not just because my son picked it out himself and asked me to make it, or that it took just a few late nites after he'd gone to bed to finish, but... it's just so cute and round :) Doesn't hurt that he loves it, too.



I like toys a lot, but it's always the finishing that gets me. I really think the make or breakness of a good looking knitted toy is the finishing-- too often mine are weirdly stuffed, unintentionally akimbo, an eye higher than the other... So I was a little nervous when I found out the front (white) belly panel wasn't intarsia, but knit separately and seamed on. Not that I look forward to intarsia or anything, but more than finishing :)

Happily though, the belly panel seaming went okay (at least for me!) and gives the penguin even more of a 3d feel. The only other parts added on were wings and feet (and how cute are those feet!!)


the beanness of the body makes me ridiculously happy

The pattern had a good tip for adding weight to the bottom of the body before seaming closed-- since I had a good amount yarn left over from the kit, I used it for weight and the penguin stands on its own.

Overall the pattern is great! Since there is no intarsia or anything difficult, I don't think anyone would have a problem making their own Stanley (finishing notwithstanding!) :)

My son's also gotten to that age where if he asks for something handknit outright (read: not 'do you want me to make you a new sweater?'), I need to make it because unless its socks or toys, he's not having it. I'm glad he likes mittens (and that I actually had one done from last year when I tested out the then-new Noro Kureyon sock yarn via Article Pract).




Sorenson Kauni cardi-inspired toddler mittens
Noro Kureyon sock and Louet gems pearl

I have a crazy amount of that little ball left-- you can see the purple fading from dark to light, but the other colors were untouched (and still, more purple remains). I think I'll use it again for more wee mittens, stranding it since I think the straight Noro Kureyon sock will be too scratchy for little hands. Paired with the Louet Gems and fulled in hot soapy water, the mittens are nice and soft-- no excuse not to wear them aside from the beautiful weather lately.

And for those who can wear handknit (socks) in any weather...


PGR toe up socks
Ellen's Halfpint Farms sock yarn, US 1's (2.25mm)

I'd forgotten how amused I am seeing my feet look like a camel's when I take these pics :)

Noro Kureyon sock yarn

...or, how Article Pract rocks all yall's socks.


New Noro Kureyon Sock yarn

I went to the monthly Article Pract yarn tasting yesterday against my better mindset... it was sock yarn, can you blame me? In addition to being laden down with lots of sample sized skeins and a 25% off coupon (!!), Christina gave the attendees who were there in person each a mini-sample of the new Noro Kureyon Sock yarn that she had hooked up from her Noro rep. Knowing so many were interested in it and thinking about placing a pre-order, I thought I'd share a few pics and quick observations.

The yarn is a very tightly spun single with no bounce-- it's finer than any sock yarn I had on hand when not under tension. It still had a lot of twist energy in it as a single like this likely will; I'm usually not concerned about knitting (particularly socks) biasing but if you were working a pattern that needed to lay absolutely straight, it may be important to you to swatch and make sure it will. It is not soft like so many mass marketed sock yarns-- the combination of no bounce/squish in the yarn, being tightly spun, and being spun from a coarser wool than most (merino) sock yarns is likely a factor. I didn't get thru much of knitting it, but didn't see any "hay" or VM in what I did knit :) It was very, very slightly thick and thin (more like occasional slubs/thicker parts in the yarn)... very much in line with my worsted Noro experiences, but nothing that would throw your gauge off wildly or would even be noticeable when viewed as a whole knitted piece.

I'd guess that it'd do best (plain stst) on US 0's... I prefer knitting finer sock yarns like Lorna's and Schaefer Anne on US 0's, so it does depend on personal preference. I probably wouldn't go over a US 1 with it though for stockinette socks-- I think the fabric would be too open. I haven't knit it up in plain stst and washed the swatch though; it may plump up and be appropriate for larger needles, but unwashed like this I would reach for my finer sock knitting needles.




Left to right:
Noro Kureyon sock yarn, Lisa Souza Sock! yarn, Schaefer Anne, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, Louet Gems Pearl (fingering), Trekking XXL, Koigu PPM, Socks that Rock lightweight

One gauge to its fineness is the yardage to weight-- the Noro Kureyon sock yarn is 462 yd/100 gm. To compare, Lisa Souza Sock! would be 398 yd/100gm, Schaefer Anne would be 495 yd/100gm, Lorna's Laces would be 430 yd/100gm, Louet Gems fingering would be 370yd/100gm, Trekking XXL is 462yd/100gm, Koigu PPM would be 370yd/100gm, and Socks that Rock lightweight would be 283yd/100gm. Keep in mind that the Noro Kureyon sock yarn is more dense than the other yarns it's pictured with-- it may look thinner than the Trekking where they are the same weight/yardage, but it's much more solid.

When I first heard about the Noro Kureyon Sock-- both seeing the pics of knit up socks and samples and knowing it was a 70/30 wool/nylon blend, I was convinced that it must be a dyed yarn and not one that was semi-handspun in blocks of color. Now, seeing it and knitting with it I don't think it's a yarn dyed into stripes but one prepared/spun like Noro Kureyon (separate colors of wool spun together into a striping yarn)... but I can't be sure. The pics of the knitted up socks show the yarn has definite repeats (like a dyed or printed yarn), where Noro yarns with their semi-handspun qualities are not so consistent with their colors matching up... but from what I knit, it doesn't look dyed and has definite color gradation/transition between color blocks more in line with traditional Noro yarns. Then again, I thought I read someone on Ravelry saying that her Noro rep had only *undyed* Noro Kureyon sock yarn to show off (of course I can't find that now)... so, I guess time will tell! :)

Speaking of knitting, where I don't know if I'll jump at the first chance to knit up socks with the yarn (I'm just really averse to US 0's lately, but I'm sure I will sometime), Christina and I both had the same thought about other potential Noro Kureyon Sock projects...


Toddler mitten* in Noro Kureyon sock and Louet Fingering yarn, inspired by Kauni Cardigan
US 1.5/2.5mm 4" glove needles

We both thought it'd probably be a good stand-in for the super popular Ruth Sorenson Kauni cardigan (pdf!) and other colorwork applications. I think the Noro Kureyon Sock yarn has a shorter color striping than the Kauni, but for someone like me who wants to knit the Sorenson cardi in a toddler size, it'd definitely work. These mittens were knit over 54 sts, and you can see that the purple, while changing slightly from grey to deep purple, is a very long repeat. (I had no idea how much mitten I'd be able to get from this little ball of yarn! I expect to see lots of toddler mitts with it in my future...) The above mitts were knit on US 1.5's since that's the smallest 4" needle I have, and the Louet is heavier than the Noro but it was the only scrap I had enough of to make a set of mittens with... worked okay :)

The Noro Sock would also be easier care than the original Kauni yarn for colorwork cardis, I don't think it'll felt as readily as the 100% wool of Kauni and should be easier to find stateside once it's shipped to retailers... I washed/abused/rubbed/smacked/shocked the above toddler mitten by trying to felt it (the white/green yarn was leftover Louet Gems Pearl) and it didn't felt or bleed. That was all done by hand in very hot tap water and Kookaburra, the real test will be machine washing... but the yarn withstood my immediate felting test well imo. Sue from littleknits has a scan of the label and it says handwash only, so the real test will come with a real sock in a washing machine :)

I know Article Pract has ordered every color (!!) of the Noro Kureyon sock, so you can always call and ask them to hold onto a colorway (or five!) you need to have when it makes its way into the store :) As you can see, Article Pract *rocks* and it's where I'll be shopping for my Noro sock yarn :) (It'll be pretty much the same price everywhere, so support your local LYS!!) I'm definitely going to use some for colorwork knitting in my near (post-holiday knitting) future, either for myself or my son. Can you wrap your mind around how striking Pomatomus would be in this yarn?! :)

Okay, NOW I'm off into the vacation sunset. See yall, miss you already!


* No real pattern for the toddler mitten. Fits my almost 4 year old, mods easy as far as length (continuing/reducing patt repeats) and width (either remove patt repeats or use smaller needles.) Assumes knitting on 5 needles, 4 holding sts & 1 working-- with an even # of sts over n1&n2 and n3&n4.

RH mitten: CO 52 sts, k2p2 for 2". Using chart from Kauni cardigan above, start chart and inc 2 sts evenly across rnd for 54 sts. Follow chart, knitting til 2" of colorwork is completed (or, where thumb separates from toddler's hand). K1, k8 onto waste yarn, replace waste yarn back onto lh needle and continue knitting in pattern. Knit in patt til desired length (tip will add approx 1" in length), break colorwork yarns and k1 rnd in cuff color. K1, ssk, k to last 3 sts on n2, k2tog, k1 across 1st 2 needles (repeat for n3 & n4-- 4 sts dec each rnd.) Work dec rnd until desired length reached (mine was 6-7 sts?) cut yarn, draw thru remaining sts & weave in. Pick out waste yarn for thumb and divide onto needles, picking up 1 st at each "turn" for a total of 18 sts. Knit in stst until 1/4" shy of length desired, k2tog around for 2 rnds. Cut yarn and draw thru rem sts & weave in.

For lh mitten, you can place the waste yarn thumb by knitting to last 9 sts of thumb placement rnd, k8 onto waste yarn and replace sts onto lh needle, k9 in patt and create thumb as above. (This'll keep the rnd change/stripe jog on the inside palm of the hand.)