My first Noro project turned me off to Noro - I used Kureyon and it was pathetic - the yarn was pulling apart like cotton candy. I eeked out a sweater, which turned out great - got lots of compliments, but I swore I’d never use Noro again.

But, you know how it goes…those COLORS! I reasoned I got a bad lot of Kureyon and tried Silk Garden for this scarf. When I got the yarn I thought, here we go again - it has so much textural “stuff”, threads of silk stuff, the little twigs… but ah, the COLOR! So I held my nose and knitted.

I used two colors, alternating every two rows. This pattern has the most beautiful edging. The only thing I did different from the pattern was to slip the first stitch of each row. Slip as if to knit on the “right” side - Slip as if to purl on the “wrong” side. If you do this, the color changes are totally invisible on both sides. BTW - both sides look good.

I’m beginning to be pulled over to the Noro circle of admirers. The finished product would not have the same impact with smooth worsted wool. This scarf makes you stop and look. It’s stunning and I’m glad I didn’t give in to my urges to pair certain colors together (by breaking the yarn and skipping to a different color) - I just knit the skeins as they came off the ball. There were sections I thought…hmmm - too similar… But in the end, the color progressions are gorgeous, sometimes starkly different, sometimes slowly and elegantly blending to the next change. Missoni scarves are very expensive and don’t have the character and depth you’ll get with Noro Silk Garden. I made a long scarf - used four skeins - which is approaching $50 with shipping. Worth every penny.

I would have liked to give the yarn a 5 star rating - but those darn little bits of twig…

I did not block the scarf because I don’t know what to expect - will the yarn get gooshy and stretch. If you’ve worked with Noro Silk Garden - let me know what you think - block or not?