Noromania

There's a little bit of Noromania running its course through the Close Knit staff these days, and this blanket is to blame.

It all started with Adrienne and her (ahem) sizable stash of Kureyon.  She wasn't entirely sure how to clean all of these mismatched balls out of her stash, but a blanket seemed like the most obvious choice.  There are plenty of patterns out there for Noro blankets, but Adrienne prefers to knit gloriously mindless projects, so she improvised a basic garter stitch design.  The knitting is simple, but the results speak for themselves, don't you think?

I know several of you have already been bitten by the Noro bug, so you might be interested to know that we just received a nice fresh batch of Kureyon.

The beauty of this design is that you can mix and match different colorways and dye lots without too much concern.  I assumed that all of the blankets would look pretty much the same, but I was incorrect.  Sally's has a deep green theme, and it reminds me of a field of wildflowers. 

Ann is using more of the bright colors, so hers has a more neon look.  They are both beautiful.  Since you alternate colors as you work, this is a great time to mix and match vibrant colors and calmer colors with a really nice blended result.

The pattern is below, although we aren't positive about the total yardage.  Our estimates might be a bit off, so feel free to let us know how many balls you have used for yours.

We have also started carrying Cyochin, a pretty wool/mohair/silk blend.  This classy cowl/headband set called Crushers uses just two skeins.  What a nice gift idea, right?

Between the newest Noro publications on the shelves and Adrienne's blanket, there are lots of reasons to love Noro these days.  Come by and see for yourselves!

Noromania Blanket

by Adrienne Torrey

Yarn: Lots of Noro Kureyon (20-25 for a twin/full size)
Needles: US8 40" or larger (Ann suggests metal needles)
Finished Size: 55" x however long you want to knit

Cast on 260 stitches onto the US8 40" needle.
Choose two colors of Kureyon.
Knit two rows with color 1.
Knit two rows with color 2.
Make sure you are consistently wrapping the colors up the side to avoid any long bits hanging off the edges.  When you run out of a color, try spit splicing the new one together.  The Kureyon works really well for this.

Continue on this way until your blanket is as large as you like it.