Madhu Knits and Cooks

Striped Noro Scarf - Using Real Noro Silk Garden!

As spring started to approach this year, I became consumed with the notion that I should finally make a striped Noro Scarf for my own use.  Readers may remember that I made a "Not-So-Noro" striped scarf for a charity knitting auction a year and a half ago.  Even before I had made that scarf though, I loved the look of this classic ribbed scarf and had secretly always wanted to make one even though it's far from the knitting challenges I want to take on more.

And so I ignored the warm weather and went to my local yarn shop, Arygle Yarn Shop, to pick up some Noro Silk Garden.  I had some difficulty picking the appropriate colors - I like the darker yarn blends generally, and didn't want a scarf that had too many pastel colors.  The Silk Garden colors that the yarn shop had seemed to include a mix of lighter and darker colors, so picking the right mix was definitely a challenge.  

As I started knitting the scarf, I immediately started to doubt my choices but decided to keep with it to see what happens.  Thankfully, I kept going and going, and finally started to see some lovely striping partway through the scarf.  And ultimately, I really like the completed project - though I wish I made the scarf one inch wider because it seems a little too sparse to be a functional mid-winter scarf.  So maybe one more Noro scarf is in my future?

Madhu's Noro Striped Scarf

Pattern:  Noro Scarf by Jared Flood.  Modified to use 2 skeins instead of 4, and cast on 33 stitches.

Yarn:  Noro Silk Garden, one skein in #349 and one skein in #311

Needles:  US6

Measurements:  4.25 inches wide by 55.5 inches long

Rhinebeck 2009! The Annual New York Sheep and Wool Festival

I have to admit that I actually thought about not blogging about the 2009 New York Sheep and Wool Festival this year -- an event I haven't been to since 2006 because of my 2007/2008 return to the Midwest (well, its actually mostly because of work why I couldn't make it those years -- I otherwise wouldn't let a little thing like 700 miles get between me and lots of unique yarn!).  The reasons I struggled with blogging about it include that it's been a few weeks since the Festival, and I really bought such an incredibly small amount of yarn, that it didn't seem worthy of a blog post.  I got over those concerns though my realizing that if I didn't blog about this, I would probably forget later when I actually use the yarn, where and when I got it from.  And for those of you who don't know, that's actually the whole point of my blog -- to basically provide support for my failing memory about my knitting and cooking adventures, so I actually remember what I've done in the past and don't repeat mistakes over and over (yes, that was an unfortunate problem prior to having this blog).  

 

 So anyways, back to this year's Festival.  We got there around 12:30pm, and I have to say that I am glad I packed my winter coat because it was definitely COLD out.  I thought that a day in the 40s wouldn't be so bad (just a vest and sweater), but when you spend all of it outside and moving relatively slowly because of the crowds, it can certainly get chilly.  I warmed up with some warm cider (VERY excited for cider season), and Andy ate a lamb kebob and lamb burger.  I later ate some fried dough for "hearty" substinence.  

I was very, very good about following my yarn diet -- I had thought hard about what to buy, and I decided to limit myself to only a few yarn products for some holiday gifts, and that's it.  I've told myself that going to festivals and yarn shops in the past with limited success, so this year's New York festival was truly a positive first step in my attempts to limit my yarn intake, which far exceeds my knitted good output.  I only bought the following:

• 1 skein of Sagamore silk/cotton/rayon multi-color stranded yarn in the Wood Rose colorway from Autumn House Fiber Works of Rochester Mills, PA for a children's scarf.  The skein is 160 yards.
• 2 small skeins of 2-ply sportweight Cormo wool from the This and That Farm of Danby, VT.  The smaller skein 96 yards and a marigold color (dyed with goldenrod), and the larger is 212 yards and a lovely greyish-blue tone (dyed with sweet fennel and indigo).  Both will be used for another small scarf, with the marigold serving as the contrast color.
• 3 handwoven greeting cards (blank insides) from the Meadowland Farm in Hinesburg, VT -- not yarn!!

I'm crossing my fingers that I actually use even this small purchase by the end of the year.  This site will of course be updated with my progress!

My Favorite Knitting and Food Podcasts

I recently got an IPod and have spent the past several weeks familiarizing myself with podcasts.  Perhaps it's not surprising, but I find myself downloading and listening to knitting podcasts at a greater frequency than other podcasts and music choices.  Because I seem to be listening to knitting podcasts everyday during my work commutes, I thought it would be fun to share my favorite podcasts to date:

• KnitPicks:  The KnitPicks yarn, needles and book online company now has a great knitting podcast.  I've listened to all of the podcasts to date and find them extremely relaxing and interesting.  I especially like the "Knitter who Loved Books"  segment of each podcast because it really makes me consider picking up books that I previously disregarded because of their titles, covers, laziness or other silly reason.

• Cast On:  LOVE this podcast.  Brenda Dayne is really fun, interesting and has great discussions about knitting, Wales and life.  This might be my favorite podcast to date.

• KCRW's Good Food:  One of my former L.A.-based friends who is a total foodie highly recommended this podcast.  I finally downloaded it a few weeks ago, and although it is pretty regionally-focused on Southern California, there are just a lot of great general discussions about food that make this podcast valuable to any lover of good food.  I've already learned that I should stew my own chickpeas to make hummus instead of using canned chickpeas (it's a recipe I hope to try soon) and the evolution of wine drinking in America.

I have checked out a few more podcasts, but these three are definitely my favorites.  I hope you check them out, and I also hope that folks will send me their top podcast recommendations.