Noro Days

(Can't you just hear Bruce singing Noro Days?!? Now it will be in your head, with modified words, all day!!!) More than a decade ago, probably closer to a decade and a half ago, I was on a sock yarn kick. I bought every clearance skein I could find. I knitted or crocheted socks for all my female friends for Christmas. I still to this day have bins of luscious yarn, sometimes in color combinations that don't really tickle my toes anymore. At one time, though, those hanks of crazy sock colors were like buried treasure every time I found a new sale.

Noro definitely was my favorite. I bought quite a bit (not sock yarn) in one colorway fully intending to knit a sweater that winter. I also have a bunch of gorgeous purple silk sock yarn which also was supposed to be a sweater. They go together so well, perhaps I can craft something using both stashes one day...

During sleepless nights, I sometimes dig through my sock yarn bins and work up little Etsy projects with that exquisite sock yarn – in sometimes unusual colors. I was kind of looking for a project I remembered starting but never finishing a long, long time ago. I can still remember how that yarn used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, I could make my crochet hook dance. And maybe I'd be happy for a while... (And now you'll have THAT song in your head, with modified words, all day long!)

I remembered designing this purse back in 2010 or so, and I would hunt for it whenever I had a few minutes of nothing else to do. I finally found it a few weeks ago, but not in the sock yarn stash. It was buried beneath a pile of beautiful black, satin-like vest lining leftovers. Along with a second purse I didn't even remember making!!!

Both were crafted with Noro highlights left over from projects I made back in my Noro days. Both needed to be lined, and both were stashed safely away for the day I could get around to hand-stitching a lining. That day has come. I cut linings for both this week, pinned the linings in place, then packed the unfinished bags in my neat little quilted crochet bag (formerly carried weekdays aboard the commuter train) so I can hand stitch the linings into place whenever I get a chance. I'm really hoping I'll be able to list them in my Etsy shop soon! Because they are so totally unique!

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What Shawl I Do?

I don't have as much time to craft these days, and I'm so far behind, I don't need new patterns. Or new fabric. Or new yarn. So what did I do last December but buy a large crochet octopus pattern that will use up at least 246 of my 2,000+ pony beads? I HAVE to have a crocheted octopus in my garden, right???

I already have more WIPs than I can finish in one lifetime. Why on earth did I buy a new pattern??? Because it was so friggin' adorable!!!

So I HAD to buy (online) some beautiful gradient worsted yarn to make the octopus. Turns out, though, the yarn is not worsted. It’s thinner (and way splittier) than sock yarn. (I actually plan to try making an octopus with thread, but I'll wait until I've finished a few more WIPs.) (Maybe.) I could easily make this pattern work with sock yarn, but this new yarn is just too splitty to work tightly. Yes, I tried. And I truly gave it my best shot. I literally wanted to throw my embryo octopus out the window before starting the second tentacle.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t wait to use the gorgeous new (splitty) yarn because the colors are so pretty. Yes, you guessed it. I started yet another new project. Because I really like the pattern. Actually, I LOVE the pattern. It's one of my own. And I can crochet loosely, which makes the yarn a little tiny bit easier to use. If I work on the new shawl a bit (almost) every night before bed and don't skip too many nights, it's not really a WIP, right???

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