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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.

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Instead, when I bound off my swatch and dropped it in its warm sudsy bath, it immediately released a creamy poof.

 

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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.

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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.