Last summer I purchased Noro's first magazine, and pretty much wanted to knit everything right away. But summer, then autumn, then the holidays, and still nothing from that book. We went to Stitches West last Friday, and were immediately ready to dive in and knit something completely new. So I decided to tackle this gorgeous Noro dress.
Off I went to Green Planet Yarns in Willow Glen with a mind to buying exactly the yarns recommended for the project. This was my first visit to Green Planet's new location, the store is wonderfully bright, but I had to learn where everything now lives. The staff is of course amazing. I was looking perplexedly for the Noro Kuyreon yarns, and the owner told me that they don't stock it because it is too scratchy. I had thought this when I first felt it years ago. Instead she guided me to Noro Silk Garden, and a comparable sport weight that she thought might create the right gauge for the project. They have all of their Noro colorways knit into large afghans showing how each color way knits up, which gives you a real sense of how the yarn looks knitted. Its brilliant. I found my red right away, Blue Sky Alpaca's baby alpaca Sport Weight, then the real fun was holding that red up to the Noro colorways and choosing... Then the owner had an even more brilliant idea, find a couple colorways that I liked, and really knit a big swatch to see how it played out. Ugh, I groaned to myself, swatching is the BANE of my knitting existence (and probably why things are hit of miss as to how they fit me!!!). But I did....
After I finish the two swatches I will have a great book bag!
I'll post the other swatch as soon as I get a chunk knit.
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