We’ve just listed some new hand-painted yarns, dyed in-house (well, actually, just out of the house!).
These are strictly limited editions of five skeins per batch! The current series were inspired by the hot dry summer we are having, and with a bit of ‘celebrity’ culture.
Here are the yarns!
Hot Enough For Ya?
Hot Enough For Ya? emerged from a high of 38.1C. The landscape is dry, with just glimmers of green here and there, and always the threat of fire.
Conserve Water
Conserve Water was the reminder given when our well started to run dry. Inspired by clean fresh water, with a few extra colour blings to take our minds off the worries.
Kanye West? Never Heard of Her
Kanye West? Never Heard of Her was inspired by some recent controversy (there seems to have been a lot over the years) and one of my favourite Dave Grohl memes, as can be seen on t-shirts from a variety of sources. I don’t think Dave ever said such a thing, but it makes me smile.
Dee Gees
Dee Gees pays tribute to the fun of the Foo Fighter’s spin-off band honoring the Bee Gees. Great times for all. And coincidently, the colours are not unlike in a video of one of the songs included on that album, Hail Satin… You Should Be Dancing. This yarn was dyed with this playing in my head, so of course, it had to be named this! All Hail Dave Grohl – he’s My Hero!
Composition
75% wool, 25% nylon 4 ply Superwash Needle Size: 2.75 – 3.25 mm Tension: 26-28 sts x 36 rows per 10 cm/4 inches Length: 400 m per 100 gm Gentle Machine Wash
Right in the middle of our winter a wonderful, colourful new shipment of Noro has arrived! It is full of inspiration.
There are eight new shades of the old favourite 100% wool yarn Kureyon, and two new shades of the classic Silk Garden (45% silk, 45% mohair, and 10% wool). The colours of the Kureyon are so vibrant and I particularly love the dark shades amongst them.
Colour 90 is just my cup of tea, and colour 457 with it’s stunning yellow/mustard shades would be a great contrast for something with dark vibes.
Kureyon 90Kureyon 457
Along with these the new Noro Magazine Issue 22 has arrived! As always, it’s crammed with some wonderful patterns to show case the amazing yarns in the Noro range. You’ll also find some great articles and interviews.
At the time of writing the new magazine is not featured on the official website yet but when it is you will find the patterns (and any errata!) here.
Noro Magazine 22
I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but it’s drizzly and cool here. Perfect for picking up some delicious yarn, a colourful magazine, and planning a new project!
Zealana yarns are some of the finest I’ve ever come across. Milled by Woolyarns in the Wellington region of New Zealand they predominantly feature natural fibres, and luxury ones at that.
NZ fine merino, NZ brushtail possum fibre, NZ cashmere, and silk.
These are all luxurious fibres.
One of the things I appreciate most about these yarns is the quality of their engineering. Possum fibre is notoriously difficult to spin – it is a short fibre and prone to shedding or pilling. I’ve found that even after several years of wear, garments made with Zealana yarns maintain their ‘fresh’ clean, new, look. I have made garments with similar compositions of fibres as Zealana’s merino/possum yarns, but produced by another mill. However, I’ve been rather disappointed in how quickly they’ve pilled and ended up looking shabby.
Including silk in some of their yarns also gives a beautiful sheen to the fibres. This is enhanced as it’s worked up into a garment. All of the fibres used in Zealana yarns are very soft and non-scratchy, which makes the final products very comfortable to wear.
Zealana also have a commitment to environmental considerations:
“At Woolyarns, we take our environmental responsibilities seriously. As part of our commitment to sustainability, we have implemented an Environmental Management System (EMS) that is designed to minimise our environmental impact and promote sustainable practices throughout our operations. Our EMS is based on the internationally recognized ISO 14001 standard and is aligned with the principles of sustainability, including reducing waste, conserving resources, and promoting environmental stewardship.”
You can read more about Woolyarns and their sustainability here.
Zealana Kauri Worsted Merino/Possum/Silk yarn after 8 years of wear (approx once a month) – no pilling!Merino/Possum yarn milled by another mill. Within a few wears it was showing signs of pilling.
Mynx String Therapy is a proud supporter of The Campaign for Wool.
Why Wool? It’s simple.
Natural and renewable – wool is grown not made; every year sheep grow a new fleece. Wool products also use less energy than man-made fibres during manufacture.
Sunsafe – wool has naturally high UV protection.
Flame retardant – wool fibre has a higher ignition threshold than many other fibres and is flame retardant up to 600°C. It also produces less toxic fumes in a fire.
Biodegradable – when disposed of, natural wool fibre takes only a few years to decompose, and with a high nitrogen content, wool can even act as a fertilizer.
Breathable – wool’s natural structure allows it to absorb and release water vapour into the atmosphere, keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer.
Non allergenic – wool is not known to cause allergy and does not promote the growth of bacteria. With microscopic scales, wool fibres can trap dust in the top layers until vacuumed away.
Durable and elastic – wool fibre can be bent 20,000 times without breaking and still have the power to recover and return to its natural shape. Quality wool garments look good for longer.
Easy care – modern wool can be machine-washed; retaining a small amount of natural oil, wool fibre resists dirt and grease.
Multi-Climatic – wool acclimatizes to its surroundings.
Naturally insulating – wool can insulate the home providing and retaining warmth, and reducing energy costs.
An IntroductionFrom Manufacturing of NORO Yarn -From Farm to Product
Kimono style cardigan knitted in Noro Silk Garden colour 279. Pattern from Knit Noro or available on Ravelry.com
“We make our yarns with emphasis on hand made quality. We believe that handmade items should be made with a sincere heart and are more beautiful when handmade quality materials are used. For that purpose the first important step is the selection of materials. We take the specially selected materials from all over the world in our hands, and check the texture with our eyes closed in order to know them as much as possible. The second important step is to blend the materials. We have to know the special characteristics of each material and its ultimate use to then understand how to blend them. For example we make yarn soft, lustrous or light using technology to blend the materials in good balance. After blending the materials the next step is coloring (dyeing). It is hard to reproduce what we think of in creating the wonderful colors in our collection. We try to remember the ideas that come to us in our daily life and express them soon, while still fresh on our minds. Although it is difficult to reproduce our thoughts into color we are happy with the results. Next we spin the blended and colored materials being careful that they not loose their natural textures. Nowadays, almost all spinning process is done by machine, but at NORO Yarn, machines are used only when the process cannot be done by hand. First of all, we spin wool by hand and then knit them by hand and check its knitted texture. Our firm is supported by technology and an abundant work force in the fiber producing center of Aichi. For more than thirty years we have been only using natural fibers seeking ‘color’ with the feeling of the vitality of nature. We try to produce our yarns by hand as much as possible. We have been proudly making ‘one-of-a kind, unique, enjoyable and beautiful yarns’ for our customers. We hope that the yarns we produce with our sincere hearts will amaze and impress people who love hand knitting and crochet not only in Japan, but all over the world. We will continue to produce our yarns with our attitude of love and great care. Eisaku Noro はじめに”
Noro yarns are specialized and unique! Once you’ve worked with them you may well find yourself wanting more and more. They have a unique texture and vibrancy of colour. As a result of the special dyeing process slow colour changes are created which allow spectacular effects to occur when an item is created. Noro pay special attention to the characteristics of the fibres, the environmental impact of the yarns production and do as much by hand as possible. This results in wonderful yarns with beautiful colours and a unique texture. For more details on their amazing processes and philosophies you can read their document. Manufacturing of NORO Yarn -From Farm to Product – PDF document 13M
Garment knitted in Noro SIlk Garden colour 8. Pattern from Noro Magazine volume 1 or available on Ravelry.com
Tips on Noro yarn The yarn often contains joins – this is related to the way it’s spun, as big long continuous runs are not possible. It can be a bit frustrating but it’s a small price to pay for the creation of such a beautiful yarn. Working around these can also lead to some creative solutions!
Skeins of Noro yarn are notoriously inconsistent and often don’t weigh exactly 50 or 100g. I suspect this is because they’re wound according to length so give the great variation in thickness you can have with many Noro yarns this may result in a heavier or lighter skein.
Noro mixes well with other yarns. I particularly like mixing it with plain colours for trims etc. Zealana’s Kauri Worsted weight yarn is a good mix with Silk Garden and Kureyon and I often use Ashford’s Mackenzie 4 ply yarn with the sock weight yarns.
The fibres in Noro yarns are sorted by hand and often little bits of grass etc can be found. Keep a pair of tweezers handy to pull these out!
I find the best way to join the yarn is to ‘spit splice’. This involves splitting the yarn a little at each end to be joined, overlapping them then moistening the join (with spit or water!) and rubbing it vigourously between the palms of you hands. This ‘felts’ the join together and you can continue knitting (delicately) across the join.
If you need to run two skeins together you can often figure out what colour will come at the end of the current skein by having a dig around in the middle. There is often a ‘tail’ of the end of the yarn sticking out (or just tucked in). It will show you what colour the skein ends with so you can match it up with the beginning of the next skein. It’s a great idea to rewind each skein before you use it to check for knots and to help you plan continuous changes of colour, especially if you’re making a larger garment.
Depending on the effect you want you can work from two skeins a the same time to get longer colour runs.
Some of the cotton containing yarns can be ‘sticky’ to work with and plastic or smooth wooden hooks and needles can be easier to work with than metal ones.
Many Noro yarns can be a bit fragile if you pull on them hard (except those containing nylon for example). So if you get a tangle or are sewing up with it be careful not to tug on it too hard!
