Now, you may not be able to tell, but this is BRIGHT pink, tied to green. The green, in fact, that I rather thought would nicely wind up being at the end of the ball, thus matching the green from the beginning of the ball. Having the green here didn't work at all. So, being me, I untied it, and rewound what was left of the ball. The scarf went from BRIGHT pink to kinda muddy turquoise.
So, Saturday night, I actually managed to finish my Noro Mobius Scarf. I used ALL the yarn in both balls - and about 6" of it-matches-well-enough yarn at the very, very end of the cast-off. Here it is, all knitted up:
Then, there was the "softens after washing" that the Stephanie, the Yarn Harlot mentioned. How does one wash Noro? I'd heard that wool "blooms" if it's soaked, very carefully, after knitting, and softens up. And something about "very gentle soap, if any". So, I found the big stainless-steel bowl. And two other bowls. And ran them through the dishwasher, because... well, sometimes things fall into bowls. And, quite frankly, if I can't identify their origin, the bowls get washed before use. (Will now store bowls upside-down.) So, took big bowl, and put a Wee Drop of Ivory Liquid in the bottom, then filled it with warm (not hot) water.
The little scarflet did not want to drown, and held a HECK of a lot of air, so I had to weight it down with the silverware holder from the dishwasher (which was also just cleaned). Eventually, the whole thing stayed under:
Nothing bad seemed to be happening to the colors (yay!), and the yarn did seem to be getting somewhat thicker. This may have been an illusion, but I don't think so. Then it was time to figure out how to dry a Mobius-something. It sat, more or less in shape, on the metal bowl over the sink and dripped dry for about an hour - that seemed to get the bulk of the water that was going to leave quickly out. Then it moved on to the fluffiest, cleanest white towel and sat in front of what passes for a fan in our house: the clean heater vent.
By morning, the towel was soaked (I guess wool holds a lot of water... or fluffy cotton towels don't dry very fast when there's wool sitting atop them), and the Noro Mobius Scarf was almost dry. Since the remaining moisture wasn't weighting it down very much, it has been carefully suspended on a special hanger in front of the heater vent for the day.
Hopefully, I'll be able to wear it tomorrow - because it has gotten COLD down here!!
Oh, really quick: Daily Rabbit Count 27 Rabbit Squares Knitted, Two Rabbits Assembled.
The queen of animal fibers here, to offer suggestions for washing your wool products:
ReplyDelete1) Use hot water. Do not agitate. The water should be hot enough that your hands can go in it, but just barely. This allows the wool to bloom, and helps to relax the twisty yarn.
2) You can use more than a wee drop of soap. When I wash wool I use a generous squirt into a sink full of hot water. Try not to make bubbles with the soap, but you have to have enough to actually WASH the garment.
3) Rinse well by soaking at least twice, if not three times in water the same temperature as the original hot water.
Note: Do not agitate the garment at any point. Do not use cold water at any point. Either and both of these will cause fulling.
Beautiful scarf! WOW!! Lauren is one smart cookie.
ReplyDeleteOkay, you got me to laughing with "the scarf did not want to drown". :)
ReplyDeleteI bet it's going to be so very soft and nice.