Thursday, March 26, 2009

spinnin' some phat green yarn--want some?

I took all of the fiber samples from the March Phat Fiber Sampler box and spun up some mixed yarn.


It contains:
  • Suffolk/Hampshire cross wool, organic and gently treated, from Extreme Spinning. This is the downy breed wool that can be washed without superwash treatment. It was a different spinning experience--the fibers are interconnected and pretty grippy, as I expected. The closest thing in my experience is shetland, but it really wasn't like that either. Not like spinning the carded fiber I've gotten, not like spinning the combed fiber I've gotten, really not like anything else. It was pleasant to spin. I'm a person who likes things to behave as I expect; I imagine the more I worked with this wool and got used to it, the more I'd like it. Even for a first try, it was an enjoyable spin.

  • South African Fine Wool from Vines. This is the one that came in a braid of various shades of green. The preparation is a combed top, which is very much what I'm used to working with. This wool was very soft and easy to spin. I clicked with it immediately.

  • Unspecified wool from a small batt from Tracy Rios. This was also very nice wool to work with. It had a bonus hidden inside: although all you could see from the outside is an olive green, inside there were some streaks of maroon, which really provide an intoxicating blast of contrast. What a great surprise!

  • A blend of BFL, mohair, and silk from Liberty Fibers. This one did not make it into my Phat Fiber Sample box posts (here and here if you somehow missed them) because I could not get it to photograph for anything. But it was a tempting little batt in their Tartan colorway: mostly blue, with some green, and little neps of chartreuse silk. This was very fun to spin--I was utterly fixated on the neps. It would be fun to spin a whole yarn of this.

    (The nickel is there for scale.)



    It came to roughly 104 yards--not bad!



    All right, I'm pretty newly back into spinning, so this yarn is decent beginner handspun, but not super consistent. I would use it, but somehow these greens are just not speaking to me, so I have a better idea. In celebration of this being my 199th blog post, if anyone would like it, leave a comment with a happy thought and a way to contact you (ex. email address, ravelry ID) and I will send it to you. If more than one person comments by Saturday (3/28) at 9 am, I'll choose a winner by random number selection.
  • 8 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Oooh, I like that color. I'm always up for yarn, and giveaways are so fun! So...count me in!

    It's easiest to contact me through lj.

    Sue O said...

    Green is my favorite color! That yarn is gorgeous. Green reminds me of spring and that soon the tress and flowers will be back after the long cold winter.

    Jeanne said...

    Very pretty yarn. I'm not yet a spinner, but I appreciate the endeavors of spinners--you make it look so easy! My happy thought:

    IT'S FINALLY SPRING! :-)

    jrberry63 AT woh DOT rr DOT com

    Anonymous said...

    Cara
    I didn't know where to leave a comment about the phat fiber box, we just saw your comment about our biscotti's!!! We are so glad you enjoyed them! We are not knitters yet, (just bakers as of now) my sister is, she gave me my first lesson in crocheting last week!!! So this is all new and fun for us!!!!
    Teri
    www.matildasitaliancookies.com
    Matilda195@aol.com

    jennifer said...

    Love it! And, I always enjoy your posts, too.

    desertgarden

    Unknown said...

    Wow the yarn came out really nicely.

    Morgan said...

    Oh, its like seaweed (in a good way) or a mermaids tail. That would be so fun to create with.

    pinkpenguin763@yahoo.com

    ~ Phyllis ~ said...

    I've not tried the Suffolk/Hampshire wool. Sounds interesting.