Charcoal Dust / Fallen Leaves

overall
impression

C: very nicely prepared
CK: I spent a lot of time as a new spinner avoiding superwash wools. Now I love them – they’re easy to spin and easy to beat into submission. It was really lovely to sit and spin this top into a slightly chunky yarn and I loved the result.
R: color and texture are luxurious. A great pleasure to handle and admire
J: deep rich color

C: soft and lovely
CK: angels sat on tiny clouds and played their harps while I spun
J: a diamond in a coal mine
R: a fantastic example of what luxury fibers can do in the right hands

C: low-twist single
CK: It’s slightly chunkier than my normal yarn. I wanted a big, even yarn, slightly underspun for softness.
J: sliding long draw – woolen rules!
R: supported long draw

C: single
CK: 2-ply
J: single
R: 3 ply

C: 12
CK: 9
J: 18
R: 9

C: hot, cold, some agitation to full it – then I realized it was superwash. It didn’t full, but it changed a little, stabilized
CK: rinse and hang
J: soak, snap, hang
R: very hot water

C: exactly as expected
CK: easier than expected
J: easy and smooth
R: no surprises –a ballet of spinning

C: socks, hat, mitts, anything close to the skin
CK: Anything – it is soft enough to wear right next to my skin and spun for the project would make wonderful stuff from socks to shawls.
J: chunky lace
R: scarves, hats, vests – with a female in mind, great for next-to-skin softness. Texture and lace work well with this yarn.

56’s English Wool Superwash

Sid Fishious

$14.00

overall
impression

E: Excellent goodness wool factor. Poofy, yummy WOOL.
J: love the crunchiness of the fiber
K: Fast spin. Makes a lofty yarn.
R: a pleasurable project from beginning to end

J: sunshine on the water
K: Hufflepuff meets Ravenclaw
R: friendl,y forgiving, textural and durable

E: Schacht Matchless, 9:1 whorl, Stripped lengthwise into 4 strips and spun worsted
J: worsted
K: stripped it into finger width lengths and spun away
R: supported long draw – the fiber has a lovely spinning personality

E: 2 ply
J: 3 ply
K: 2-ply
R:  3-ply

E: 11
J: 18
K: 12
R: 7

E: hot, cold, thwack dry
J: soak, snap, hang
K: hot soak and hang
R: very hot water

J: easy to spin, great bite
K: It spun so easy, like a dream
R: fiber had a cool metamorphosis to yarn, colorwise

E: This wool screams to be the poofiest bounciest warmest sweater on the planet.
J: socks
K: warm sweaters
R: a throw

merino/tussah

Loud and Proud

overall
impression

A: beautifully prepared fiber
C: soft and playful
E: Color exploded. When I first saw this merino tussah, I thought dyed eggs, bunnies, and jelly beans.
K: Wonderful to work with, so soft and such great fun.

A: To preserve the bright colorway, I spun a soft, thick single
C: one thick and thin ply, one thin ply – plied with thick bits wrapped in cocoons around the other single.
E: I split the roving in two and then split each half into many thin strips. I randomly spun each strip. Spun worsted, regular way.
K: Stripped into finger-width lengths and spun a fat single

A: single
C: 2 ply
E: 2-ply
K: 2-ply

A: 8
C: 6, between cocoons
E: 12
K: 12

A: soak and hung weighted
C: soak and hung
E: Hot, cold, thwackity thwack
K: Hot soak and hang

A: fiber was soft and fluffy and spun into soft and fluffy yarn
C: easy to draft thick and thin
E: This merino tussah spun up like butta.
K: spun super easy and fast

A: it is wonderfully soft – anything soft and cozy for the cool weather – mittens, scarf, cowl
C: a fabulous hat
E: We are talking a child's hat. The colorway screams kidness.
K: Great for children’s garments

overall
impression

A: very fun batt to spin
CK: I love Emily’s batts. They are gorgeous little works of art in and of themselves. She has the most interesting bits of fluff and locks in each one. They’re all different and I can’t help having a small collection.
J: spectacular combos of fiber and color, so beautiful I didn’t want to spin it.
K: Lots of lanolin but it wasn’t dirty; didn't have hardly any vm

CK: I chose a worsted-weight yarn and pre-washed it. Then I ran it through my wheel to take out some of the twist. I corespun the brico-batt around that. It was still overspun, but much less than my usual corespun yarns. I feel like I’m finally getting the hang of corespinning, but can always use more practice.
J: corepun
K: stripped into 4 pieces lengthwise and spun away

A: single
CK: none
J: single
K: single

A: 6
CK: 8
J: 4
K: 20

A: hot rinse and hung, weighted
CK: rinse in soap, rinse in clear water, whack on the counter
K: hot soak with wool cleaner to get out some of the lanolin then hung to dry

A: My yarn ended up more consistent than I thought despite the mix of fibers in the batt
CK: It was about what I expected – not easy, but not terribly difficult either.
J: it loved to be corespun
K: It blended a lot better in spinning than other batts I’ve spun.

A: fun wooly accessories for cooler weather – hat or cowl
CK: accent pieces – cuff or button band, fingerless mitts
J: a sweater front or back or a deeply squishy shawl
K: great for trimming knitted items or a cute hat, etc

20% wensleydale. 20% baby alpaca, 20% firestar, 20% tussah, 20% tencel

overall
impression

CK: I have a confession – I would happily spin lanitium ex machina fiber for the rest of my spinning life. She makes the best blends of the greatest colors ever. You never know what’s in the blend, but it’s always a lot of fun to spin it. I also have a stash of her fiber that’s waiting for just the right project calling me to use it.
E: Shiny, silky, drapey. Nicely prepared, easy to draft, longwooly.
J: deep, dark, saturated gorgeous

C: shiny and interesting
CK: amazing colors in the most wonderful blend
E: Sonic shiny in the sunshine. Purple haze.
J: dark side of the mind

C: high-twist single
CK: My fallback yarn – heavy sock to dk weight. I wanted easy, peasy and I got it.
E: I sat down and spun her up worsted, 3 bobbins full
J: 2-ply worsted

C: 2-ply
CK: 2-ply
E: 3 ply
J: 2-ply

C: 20
CK: 13
E: 18
J: 14

C: hot soak, whack
CK: Rinse and whack on the counter
E: Soak hot and cold then thwack and dry.
J: soak, snap and hang

C: softer than I expected
CK: Easier than I expected to spin. Really dreamy.
E: I expected the blend to be a horrid spin and that I might have to call in the Long Wool Avenger. I was wrong, the blend was great and not at all intimidating.
J: I was intimidated by the blend, but it was easy and I want more.

C: shawl, scarf, socks
CK: The shine and the drapiness call for something spectacular. I would love a lacey shawl or cowl.
E: Some serious socks, or a shawl, or a flowing light-weight sweater
J: cardigan in moss stitch