May 10 2008
Shinano Shenanigans
Before the big purchases of last weekend, I was making some headway on stashbusting. Two steps forward – twelve steps back. Or something like that. I figured I best start up that little project again, especially to make room for some of the yarn that won’t even fit on the shelf… two less skeins now, thanks to this quickie stashbuster.
Knit with 2 skeins of Noro Shinano is colorway 08. I used a size US11 circular needle (16″). I did a light ruffling effect on either end, and chose to make the reverse stockinette the “right” side because of the color and stitch combination. The cowl is 16 inches (about 40cm) long from end-to-end. I wanted it to be longer to wear bunched up around my neck, and also to have the option to wear it as a headcover. This piece is wonderfully warm. The silk and wool blend is soft to touch, and feels very comfortable around the neck. I think it will definitely be useful for travel, camping out, and daily wear.
This yarn was a Norovember knitalong prize in 2006. Kathy at Minx Knits gave me the choice of this and another Noro yarn, and I immediately chose this one. Noro seemed to cast a spell on me from the first project I knit with it… my Klaralund back in 2005. (I have subsequently made a few projects with the Noro, and the love is still there!) And since all good things must come to an end (at some point), Shinano was discontinued by Noro last year. Of course, it was before I had tasted “the goods”, so now I am wishing that I had known about it sooner. Seeing Erqsome Emmms amazing cardigan in Shinano doesn’t help either. I know that there are still some sellers out there that carry it… I just have no room in the stash! Maybe when I free up some space there will still be some lots available? (I am probably not helping that prospect by blogging about it and letting YOU know how good it is!) 
Noro is just such an earthy yarn – you can find flora inside – so I don’t think there is a better match for Project Spectrum Elements. The underlying color of the cowl is a grayish brown, with all of the lovely silky slubs of colors throughout. The cowl was also knit for the Lord Stanley Stashbusting knitalong, during the first two games of the NHL Conference playoffs.
Many thanks for all of your suggestions in the last post! I have some really amazing things on my list for Nova Scotia!
loving all the neckwarmer things you’ve been doing! I kinda thought Noro might be too scratchy to wear that close to your neck but perhaps it washes up well.
Beautiful! I love it worn as a hood.
Btw: Your hair looks great in that first shot!
That cowl is lovely, as is the yarn! I adore Noro. One of the first projects that inspired me to really get into knitting was Lizard Ridge (swoon). I bought up a bunch of single skeins of kureyon, and they’ve since turned into several beanies, hats, scarves, and wrist warmers. I want to do a cardigan, and try some other Noro yarns too. Lovely!
ah, I always wondered where the ’12 step’ in 12 step programmes came from
I have been loving the cowls. Florida doesn’t ever have cowl weather, but I think some folks might be getting some for Christmas presents this year!
Ah Noro – I’m definitely a fan too
I bought a bunch of cowl yarns at MDSW, but Noro is a great choice. And um, go Flyers!
Very pretty! Noro has an irresistible lure. I long ago gave up trying to ignore it. I always seem to have a noro project on the needles.
Gorgeous cowl! That colourway is beautiful, and the texture of the fabric looks nice, too.
That’s really pretty, Lolly! You’re inspiring me to join the cowl bandwagon!
Pretty! Thanks for the great links too.
This cowl looks so beautiful, Lolly! The colors look really lovely! This is definitely one of the nicest cowls I’ve seen this winter!
It’s so pretty, love the flecks of happy colours.
I knew right away that was Shinano when I saw this pull up in my reader!!
D
I made my 1st pair of gloves out of this last winter in the exact same color and LUV it! So glad I grabbed it from someone’s stash off of Ravelry!
I still have 2 more balls in #8, and now have 4 more balls in #1
You just now showed me what I could do with my 2 balls of #8 leftover! YAH!
The cowl will be a perfect twin to my gloves! Yours looks great and I plan to “fav” it over on Ravelry
D
I love the cowl and the Noro is great. Hmmm … Noro.
The cowl is beautiful, the yarn such a lovely blend of colours!
Hi there, I love the cowl – it is too bad that Noro discontinued this yarn, the subtleness of the colors is really beautiful and looks great on you.
By the way, thanks for turning me on to Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food – I’ve been listing to the audiobook while I knit lately. I’ve been a longtime advocate of the food philosophy that if you can’t explain how a food is made to a child; or recreate it yourself in your own kitchen – you should probably think twice about eating it. Pollan fits right in with this and the history he describes is fascinating.
Have you stumbled on to any of Lorna Sass’ cookbooks yet? She is my culinary soul mate and her Whole Grains Every Day Every Way is a gem – everything I’ve made from it has been phenomenal.
Happy eats!
Amanda
Good ol’ Noro. So, so pretty. Great colour for you by the way.
damn. i have to knit me a cowl. i love your version.
it was great to meet you at MdS&W!! (which now seems like FORever ago. Sigh).
gosh, that’s the prettiest yarn I have seen in a long time. What a great stash you must have!
so pretty!!!!
oh..thats a really nice color!!! and I love Noro, I can’t get enough of it..:)
That is beautiful! What a great stash busting project. I got a sneak peak at the silk garden sock yarn this weekend. The colors and feel of the yarn are wonderful.
Go, go stashbusting! Make some room for some lovely fleece artist yarns that you’ll surely find in Canada
Yay for stashbusting! It looks very comfy and you can wear it with a lot of different colors.
That is some beautiful yarn! It makes a lovely cowl!
PRETTY! I’d never seen that type of Noro yarn before–shame it’s been discontinued! Anyway, the cowl looks lovely on you!
ooh! so very lovely! I have one skein of #1 (lot E I think) I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with. Hmm…
Pretty! I just discovered your blog and I’m in love! I look foward to reading it!
Hallo! Thanks for mentioning me, I’m so glad you liked the way my cardie turned out! Your cowl is just gorgeous. The colours are so involved and it looks super snuggly. It hurts me everytime I think Noro discontinued Shinano — it’s just so wrong! I’ve got one and a half balls left of mine and I’m struggling to find That Perfect Pattern to do it justice, but that cowl might be it!
Hope you’re well xx
Found your blog through ravelry and just started reading it, too. I LOVE Noro, so I’m glad this yarn in no longer available…I’d be hoarding it!
[...] time I work with Noro, I fall a *little* more in love with it. (Sad side story: Remember my Shinano cowl? Totally loved that thing. Well, I seem to have lost it somewhere en route to Nova Scotia. I [...]
[...] time I work with Noro, I fall a *little* more in love with it. (Sad side story: Remember my Shinano cowl? Totally loved that thing. Well, I seem to have lost it somewhere en route to Nova Scotia. I [...]
[...] past May, Lolly knitted a beautiful beautiful cowl and her photos haunted me, I wanted to have a Shinano Cowl all my own. But I hesitated. I only had [...]