Great White Bale Lot 4
$ 42.00
The fourth and final yarn produced from the Great White Bale narrative yarn adventure, Lot 4 was spun at the S&D Woolen Mill in Millbury, MA. We left one skein au natural, while the rest was dyed at the Saco River Dyehouse in Biddeford, ME.
206 yards / 188m
Weight: Approx. 92g (3.24 oz)
I had no idea this yarn would transform so much in the wash. I knew it was woolen-spun, and that woolen-spun yarns bloom. But I also watched it get scoured at the dyehouse, which I assumed would remove all the spinning oils and give us something pretty close to ”done.” I posed my artsy in-progress shot and figured that’d be the end of it.
Instead, when I bound off my swatch and dropped it in its warm sudsy bath, it immediately released a creamy poof.
Well. Was that in the yarn all along, I wondered? Or was something introduced during scouring that contributed to this? I don’t yet have the answer, I can only share my utter amazement. The above shot was taken after the water had cooled and set for several hours. A visible ring of goo remained around the top of the water–making me think it must’ve been spinning oil.
But when my swatch dried, holy cow.
Bloomtastic. (From top to bottom, fabric knit in US 5, 6, 7, and 8 needles.)
In considering suitable projects, the first thing I thought about was construction. As a well-rounded three-ply yarn, it’ll be much happier in knits, purls, ribs, and cables; not so much in any kind of significant lace project. Instead of pushing away from one-another to produce soaring Gothic arches, the three plies will hug and render lace more as a fuzzy hug. At the same time, this yarn still has a pleasant bit of unpredictable wobble to it that will render stockinette with a refreshing sincerity and earthiness.
My second thought: Color. We have two skeins of purple and one of white. The contrast is strik- ing, and either you’ll like it or you won’t. So I looked for accessories that’ll let you use the two dyed skeins for one project if desired, then the white for another. You can still mix them for a more dramatic effect, or, if you’re really feeling wild, peel off a bit of the white and dye it a contrasting color. Just a little row here and there could be quite lovely.