More-o Noro

Here is my first pair of Noro socks after washing and blocking.

The good news: they are much softer after a washing.

The bad news: they are not as soft as most other commercial sock yarns I've used. They are about tied with a couple of coarser Opals and there is one Fortissima (National USA) that is comparable.

I wore these for a day - I felt the stitches more than I like, but they weren't uncomfortable.

I've given them a second wash - this time soaking in Eucalan for half and hour and spinning out.

Meantime:

Here is a second pair.

For this pair I wound the ball from the INSIDE instead of from the outside. That was an even bigger nightmare than winding from the outside. Snarl after snarl after snarl!

Knitting the socks was comparable to the first pair, with the yarn twisting up on itself at least every other row. However, the pair didn't take as long to knit as I adapted to its quirks. (But still double the time they should take.)

And for my third pair:

This pair isn't washed/blocked yet.

And I tried something different for winding - I used a cone winder instead of a ball winder, and beginning from the outside of the ball.


This is a Royal Cone Winder I got on eBay a few years ago. It came with 2 cones. I'd like to have a few dozen more cones! On this winder the Noro was easy. No tangles, even at the end of the ball. I did wind at a slower, more cautious speed, particularly near the end.

Knitting from the cone was 1000% improved over my first two pairs. I did get a bit of twist up, but maybe once every 15 - 20 rows, which is bearable. And I did have to pay close attention on heels and toes that the yarn didn't jump out of the carrier, but this too only happened a few times vs every time.

So - a much more pleasant experience.

Matt was asking about knots in this yarn. My first ball was knot free. The second two balls had a few knots in each. So, no better or worse than most.
Matt also asked about washing in the skein. I forgot I was going to try that and have run out of Noro to try. Oops.

And Laurie asked if the yarn was single ply. It is a two ply. Thick and thin. The twist in the two plies is extremely variable - and I presume that is intended as the plies are different colours and the variation adds to the effect.

The colours of these three Noro's are, IMHO, quite spectacular. And while slower knitting on a sock machine would be an issue for me (and even more so as this is an expensive yarn), perhaps it would not be for you stick handlers ;o)

But the softness, or lack of it, is a big issue for me as someone who sells socks, and more particularly if the socks are set out with other socks from softer yarns. So, I'll be anxious to see how the socks soften after their foray into Eucalan and after a few washes.

I've seen customers choose colour over softness before, but this is more of an exception than the rule.

Tomorrow the second wash socks will be dry and I'll know if the Eucalan made silk of sows ear. And then I'll know if I will buy more Noro, or scratch it off my list.....

Nightmare on Noro Street

Here is my first venture into the new Noro Kureyon sock yarn.

Winding the yarn on my ball winder was an unpleasant experience. It began ok but about half way though I hit a rat's nest that took forever to untangle. The yarn is coarse and sticks to itself so fast that it almost felts when in a knot.

Not a good beginning!


Knitting the yarn on the sock machine (I used the 72 cylinder on my Verdun 47, making a large pair - I was pretty sure from the onset that this pair would be for me) you can see how the yarn twirled up around itself. It did this constantly.

The result of this twirling up is the yarn wrapping itself around the first feed hole on the yarn mast. This doubles your tension and/or jams the machine almost instantly. This occurred on at least every second round of knitting, and sometimes several times in one round. This is correctable - you stop cranking and unwrap the yarn - but you can imagine this greatly increases knitting time, AND makes one prone to losing count of rows.


Another result of the yarn twirling is that the sudden change in tension can result in the yarn slipping out of the carriage. If you don't catch that as its happening you have dropped stitches ;o(


I don't know if you can make this out - but there is a lot of thick and thin in this yarn, and a huge variation in twist. Sections were like lace weight and other sections were almost sport weight.


The thick and thin may show more clearly in the stitches.

The yarn has a home spun (by a beginner) look to it, and this may be appealing to a hand knitter - I do like the look - but it is quite a chore to knit on a sock machine.


I like the colourway.

The feel of the yarn is horrid - almost like its coated with some slip resistant wax. It's the kind of feel that leads to the Army Blanket reputation wool enthusiasts are always battling to overcome.

I haven't washed the socks yet and perhaps (please please please) I'll be pleasantly surprised.

When I wind my next ball of Noro I'm going to try winding it from the inside of the ball, if I can find it, and see if that makes a difference in all this twirling that was going on.

For that matter, I might be further ahead to skein the ball, wash it, and then wind it so see if I can get it to stop sticking to itself.

I'll keep you posted!

Christmas Reprise

GK3 and GK4 were the first arrivals for our extended family festivities, with the rest of the mob rolling in shortly after.

The Soxophone Player has managed to grab a little rest after cranking his little pre Christmas heart out, and a serious cantor-athon for the many, many services Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

And under the tree for SP?


Maybe I'll have better photos of those yarn colours whose accuracy has alluded me. (Or maybe we'll find out that it had nothing to do with the camera!)

And for DW,


an electronic embroidery machine.

Hmmmm - I wonder what would happen if you crossed an embroidery machine with a sock machine ? (!)

And,

Santa, disguised as the mailman, managed to drop off my little treats from Texas just before Christmas:




These are the samples of Noro Kureyon sock yarn I bought on eBay and they will be near the front of the line to be knit. This is a new line for 2008 and the colourways match Noro's other Kureyon series.

First reaction? I love the colours. The feel isn't as soft as I expected. We'll see how it feels after washing.

And.... you were asking about Jesse.

OK, one more baby picture:


This was Jesse the day I brought him home. He was born Jan 3, 2004, so his 4th birthday is coming soon. (He wants sock yarn.)

Jesse is a Golden Doodle. His father was a purebred Standard Poodle and his mother a purebred Golden Retriever. The F1 hybrid of these two pure breeds maximizes the hypo-allergenic traits of the poodle coat. Crosses of the same two breeds where the parents aren't pure will yield varying results on that trait.

Merry Christmas II

I didn't eat all the presents. I'm just sitting here waiting for Santa.....

Merry Christmas

from the Soxophone Player (taking a few days off) and his girls.....

He Maketh Me Down To Lie

Being a pastoral shepherd often evokes biblical connotations. I'm certainly no biblical expert, theologian, or soothsayer. But in the biblical trivia department:

There is only one passage in the bible that was written from the perspective of a sheep - the 23rd psalm, sometimes called David's Psalm. (The Lord is My Shepherd).

As a sheep farmer I can tell right away that the author knew sheep.

Take the photo above. Sheep are a prey animal. Their very survival depends on fleeing from danger - their only defence is to run. If you approach any prey animal that is at rest, the first defensive movement they will make is to stand up (preparing to flee).

The second thing they do is poop, but that's another story.

As you get closer and infringe on their 'safety range' they will bolt.

And so it is that the highest expression of trust a prey animal can give you is to remain laying down when you enter their safety range.

On the other hand,


When your tractor lies down, it needs to be hauled away!

More Yarn Porn

Pickup Sticks has a few goodies on sale, marked down a respectable 25%. The price point is particularly attractive when you consider orders over $100 ship free. (And we ALL know that shipping sometimes costs as much or more than the yarn!).

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about it right away.

(OK, not RIGHT away, I wanted to grab some first.)


Above is Seacoast Handpainted Yarns, colour Mountain Rainbow. 100% superwash merino; 560 yds; 7-8 stitches/inch. The green in this medley is almost electric and gives a Kaffe-esk punch to the colours.


And this is also Seacoast, with this colourway being Tequila Sunrise. The blues in the photo show stronger than they are.


And this last skein is by Hand Maiden Fine Yarns, series Casbah, colourway Bronze. It is 90% wool, 10% cashmere and 10 % nylon. 350 m/ 115 g

Well, I know that adds up to 110% but I'm simply reporting what's on the label. I guess we will expect a superior pair of socks from this one. (It feels absolutely luscious!)

Blue Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner.

The lanes have been cleared (by another) at the farm and the tractor is waiting for a ride to the repair shop. And waiting...

The sheep have some nice new bales of hay to munch on, and all is well.



Iddy Biddy Thang is always glad to see me, but maybe extra glad with some fresh hay in the feeder.

At the Sock Machine



This pair is the last of my Kaffe Fassett Design Series - Landscape - from Regia. It was a special request for a gift to an artisan yarn guy who has met Fassett and loves his work. Hopefully this will be a pleasant Christmas surprise.

I have a few balls of the Kaffe Mirage left to knit another time.

Of all the Kaffe series, I loved the Landscape colourways the most. The bold stripes really show his colour sense to the max and anyone who has read his books or seen his work would probably spot the yarn as a Kaffe design at a distance.


And here is a grouping from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, colour Sand Ridge. This is a his and hers set comprised of Large Size and Medium Size socks, and a pair of arm warmers.

The Medium pair and the arm warmers came from 2 x 50 g skeins, so I used 4 skeins in total for the project.

See how the colours appear different in the Medium vs Large, even though all skeins are from the same dye lot. This is the interesting thing that happens when you knit the same yarn on the 54 needle cylinder and then on the 72.

On the 54 the greys coincide with each other and present as a darker tones. While on the 72 the pale blues and pinks land together and present a lighter tone.


And this is a pair of Medium, knit from the Koigu KPPPM I picked up on the weekend.

The colours appear more bland in my photo, but they are actually quite lively - my limited skills and crappy camera are unable to pick up the subtle dancing amongst the blues. (Did I mention? There is a camera shop next to the Ginger Press Book Store.)

My knitting in today's blog seems to have focused on Blue, through no deliberate intent. But since it happened, I'll end with this:

Yarn Porn

The blast of winter is, for now, abated and clean-up has begun.

The odds of my tractor hydraulics blowing out on me just when this mega mess needed clearing AND the sheep were out of hay..... fairly high when your middle name is Murphy.

$@U*#^@%^$%

The good news of the storm is that is came on Sunday instead of Saturday. The second Saturday before Christmas is ALWAYS the biggest market of the year at the Owen Sound Farmers' Market.


The market would have been a bust had the storm arrived earlier, but the day was saved and, if anything, busier than expected with people running out to shop 'before the storm'.

After market, I trotted over to Owen Sound's LYS, Riverside Yarns.

A few blogs ago I was telling you about learning to knit Scotch Heel with a Gusset socks, which require two stitch holders, small enough to tuck down inside the cylinder on the sock machine.


I got 4 instead of two. I might lose one. Or I might beat one to death with a hammer. Who knows!

But, the sock yarn gods were feeling pesky on Saturday, and MADE me walk past the LYS' newest offerings from Fleece Artist.

And you KNOW how that story ends!


These are all FA's Merino 2/6; 100% merino (superwash) 325 m/ 115 g. The yarn knits up a lot like Koigu on the sock machine - a little stiff to knit because of the (good) higher twist. Soft as a baby's bum. Beautiful colours. I'll knit wooly nylon into the heels and toes with this yarn - my normal protocol for pure wool socks.

But wait, there's more.



Also from Fleece Artist: Somoko - 65% merino, 20% kid mohair; 10% nylon, 5% silk; 325 m/ 115 g.

If you had ripped the label off, I would have said, Apple Laine in double skein size. I can't wait to get at this.

SO - I left the LYS with a bigger bag than planned, but feeling quite chuffed.

On the way back to my truck I walked past the Ginger Press Book Store.

An instant thought occurred - I can pick up a few locally published books as a Christmas present for SIL, who is an avid reader.

Alas, the bookstore also has yarn.



Both the above are Koigu KPPPM 100% merino, 160m/50g. I've photographed them with the wooly nylon I will use in the heels and toes.

I did manage to grab a few books too!

One more market week before Christmas.... so back to cranking!

Winterlude eh...

Cold and Windy on the Farm

These are some of the ewe lambs that I selected as Replacement Lambs, meaning they will join the breeding flock (after weaning next fall) and will replace, over time, older ewes who are culled out.

These young gals are coming up 7 months of age. They are a good size (2/3 of their adult weight) so they will be put to the tup later this month. If they were not as well grown I wouldn't breed them until their second year.

The ram used with these young ones will be Border Cheviot, a small breed, whose offspring will also be small, and therefore of easier birth to first time moms who themselves are not yet fully grown.

The Replacements are always managed separately on this farm, and fed a higher protein and energy ration than the mature ewes. These girls will be growing their own babies plus still growing themselves (and hopefully a nice fleece) so they get preferential husbanding.

Normally these (and all sheep on the farm) would be out in the winter pastures with their round bales of hay, but the coyote predation has been steep this year, so they will spend the winter in the yard.

Behind the fence you see a few of the older ewes who come in for their morning and afternoon grain ration, and otherwise are in the adjacent yard.


I had quite a cranking day yesterday. This is a pile of 14 adult socks, 8 of which are sized Large (72 needles) and the rest are sized Medium. These are all yarns I've shown you before and are for topping up inventory for tomorrow (typically the busiest weekend of the year at the farmer's market).

I took that picture when I quit for supper last night. After supper I closed all the toes, and washed and blocked the lot so they would be dry today. I will tag them and pack them when I do my usual market-pack this (Friday) afternoon.

Windy times
The wind has really been howling. It roared all night and is still really ripping. I hear there is a 'storm of the year' en route and I hope it waits until after market tomorrow!

The wind of course makes the temperatures feel even colder than they are. What's a fellow to do to keep warm!

What's New

NEWS FLASH

Noro has come out with a Kureon Sock Yarn. I saw this in knitmd's Ravelry stash.

Well, I dropped everything and drove through a blizzard to my LYS to see if she had it. She didn't and hadn't heard of it. It's so new is wasn't even in her Noro retailer's book.

So, back home, through another blizzard, and onto eBay. I found some in Texas and bought a few balls to try. Here's One. And it coordinates with their other Kureon yarns.

Noro Kureon Sock yarn is 75/25 wool nylon, 420 m/ 100 g; made in Japan. It's not cheap. (If I wanted cheap.....)

And Also New
I received a sock machine pattern to make socks with a Scotch Heel AND a Gusset. How cool is that! It involves removing stitches from the machine onto stitch holders (which I looked for and didn't find at LYS - have to look ??). And it also involves moving needles, with the stitch still on, to other slots in the cylinder! And I think it also involves standing on my head.

It's basically (understatement) how to slip stitch and knit two together on the sock machine. Could anything be cooler than that.

I expect there will be a steep learning curve, for me at least, on this, but the Scotch Heel with Gusset has moved to the top of my post-Christmas To Do list.

And where did I get the pattern?

I subscribe to a Sock Machine Knitting newsletter. It's a little 4 page publication that comes out quarterly, and is put together by Bonnie Smola from Iowa. Its a bargain at $8/yr for 'mericans and US$10 for Canuckistanians.

Bonnie also has some great CSM tutorials on her web site, and if you are interested you can sign up for the newsletter there too.

And new (or will be) to me:



I've fallen behind in my yarn painting of late. Partly, because I've enjoyed some great fall shows and am madly cranking out socks to keep my inventory at an interesting level through Christmas.

And partly, it takes me a long time to wind the skeins of the cone with my little plastic and metal swift, counting each turn out loud. And having to remeasure the swift setting with each new skein after collapsing it to remove the preceding skein.

I did a lot of googling and found all kinds of large scale skeiners that would wind 10 - 50 skeins at a time. But I'm just a humble sheep farmer with no plans to change my name to Opal any time soon.

So I was very happy to find the Fricke winder and track down a retail source at Spunky Eclectic in Maine . The electric winder has a built in counter, and optional foot pedal.

Out With the New

The market lambs have gone and their yard sits empty. It's always a little melancholy, but truth be told, it was time.

The young males had matured and they were spending all their time chasing the girls instead of eating. And the girls were spending all their time running away, instead of eating. (Meaning they start to lose weight instead of gain. Not the point of farming!)

Norman and the girls, in the meantime


have pretty much cleaned up the hay in their paddock and and ready to come into the yard for flushing.

In With the Old


This is quite a treat for the girls as they are now switching to the best hay and also start to receive a high protein grain supplement. The flushing process tells the body that times are good and food is plentiful. The body responds with higher ovulation rates. Its all part of the nature game.

And a different kind of flushing: parasites are part of the sheep world. They can't be eliminated, but only controlled. Periodically during the year they are drenched (given a liquid medication orally) to purge the pesky little parasites from their system. But once the cold weather sets in and the pastures are done, they need a different treatment. This one is to get rid of the L4 Larvae - that 'hibernate' over the winter inside the sheep, and that are not susceptible to the regular (cheaper) medication.

So that's another big job out of the way.

Back in the Shack


To block the Men's sized 16 socks I used the men's large blockers, backwards, as planned. And in addition I put in the foamcore legging blockers I made for earlier projects. The two combined seem to have done the trick.

I forget to mention the other day - here's a chart I found online that helped me figure out my pattern for the Men's Size 16:

Foot Sizing

I had to do a little extrapolation to convert the diagram into pattern - I know that the heel and toe in a sock take up x inches, and that for my typical Large sock that leaves y inches which I mulitply by tension of 10 - 11 rows per inch. So in this case, the foot (not counting the heel and toe) worked out to be 100 rows instead of 75. And for the leg - I generally, and arbitrarily, make the leg a little longer than the foot, plus the hem top.

I know a few people who make the leg and the foot exactly the same length, which makes the socks fold in half easily for storage.

Besides my big socks you will also see on the racks some sock scarves that I've done up. I still have another batch to get done before the weekend. And, of course, a bunch of socks to get done too!