Hurricane, Safari and Morocco

overall
impression

C: I love Three Waters Farm! I would have been happy if I had to choose blindfolded – all the colors are gorgeous and they all spin beautifully (plus I get to order soap when I order fiber – how can I lose?).
J: The new colorways are deep and wonderfully cozy. The reds especially are entrancing.
K : It’s BFL love with beautiful color
L: Lovely subtle colors and excellent preparation. I want to buy some now!

C: Split it in half in preparation for a 2-ply yarn. Spinning was a breeze and I was finished before I even knew I had started.

J: Sliding long draw then fulled

K: Divided in half width-wise then stripped each half into finger-width strips. Held 2 finger-width strips together with the colors reversed for a marled effect. Then plyed for a double marl.

L: Split it down the middle, broke off chunks & spun long-draw from the fold

R: I spin in a worsted style so far as I learned that method from the woman who taught me and haven’t spent the time to acquaint myself with other methods. I look forward to doing so. 

C: 2-ply

J: Single

L: 2 ply with more twist in the plying than in the singles

R: 2 ply —with balanced tension in mind.

C: 10
J: 9
K: 10
L: 8
R: 10

C: Rinse and hang
J: Alternate hot and cold with brief agitation to full
K: Hot soak and hang
L: Quick dunk and a few whacks
R: Soak in very hot water

C: I knew exactly what I was getting – love her fiber prep – no surprises.

J: This batch of Three Waters Farm BFL seemed extra silky to me the spinning was a dream.

K: It looked like it would be lovely and it was.

L: No surprises. It was soft and lovely like I dream all BFL should be.

R: I found the twist ran into the fibers very fast so had to spin with less tension and a bit more on my toes. I was surprised by the color of the finished yarn, the reds dominated the field.  I expected to see a strongly variegated look and it was much less so.  The finished yarn color is very saturated and candy bright.

C: This would make a really lovely, thick, warm shawl. The kind I want when I’m reading in bed on a cold, winter weekend.
J: Cozy, cozy mittens
K: Anything that you’d wear next to the skin
L: Baby sweaters, socks, hats, mittens, scarves
R: So many things -- bed socks or a hat that’s got room for big hair.

optim

yellow/orange, purples, blues/greens

$19.99

overall
impression

A: Great colors, yarn silky smooth
E: Sticky wicket
J : Super soft smooth and fluffy
K: It makes a smooth yarn that feels like cotton to me

A: I spun for a double marl effect and I really like how it turned out.

E: I spun this short draw worsted

K: I cabled this yarn – spun two 2-plys then plied together. I wish I had reversed the two halves for better color distribution. I think my plies were too tight, since the yarn doesn’t have a very soft hand.

A: 2-ply
E : 2 ply with intermittent, squirrel plying.
J : 2-ply barely
K: cable

A: 10
E: 12
J: 6
K: 15

A: Rinse and hang
E: Gentle wash
J: Soak and hang
K: Hot soak, whack and hang

A: The roving was soft and beautiful and the knitted fabric ended up being more smooth and beautiful than I expected.

A: Silky smooth for cowl or a shawl
E : It will knit up into a lovely baby sweater. The colors are gorgeous.
J: Chunky cowl
K: Anything that you’d make with cotton yarn

Polwarth

Sangria

overall
impression

A: Beautiful colorway
C: It’s my color – so I loved it before I ever laid hands on it.
CK: Subtle colors. Nicely prepared fiber made for easy drafting even for low twist singles. Squishy!
E: Gracious Polworth goodness. Thick, puffy, nice colors soft colorway

A: Spun end to end worsted
C: Stripped the top into about 4 pieces and spun it as it came
CK: Low-twist single. Slow whorl, fast short-forward draw, fairly consistent thickness.
E: Worsted, long supported draw. It was a breeze to spin, the tinges of sun rise purple made it a pleasure to spin.

A: Navajo ply
C: 2-ply
CK: Single
E: Nice tight 2-ply

C: 9
E: 7
A: 8
CK: 8.5

A: Rinse and whack
C: Rinse and hang
CK: Hot, cold, hot ,cold with some plunging and a good whack to full a bit.
E: Finish hot cold wash with a nice thwack to finish it off.    

A: It did what I expected – it was a nice soft roving that created a nice soft yarn. I really liked the subtle color variation so I wanted to Navajo ply to preserve this.
C: It was easier to spin than I expected and I really like the resulting yarn.
CK: I didn’t like how the colors played when plied so I decided ot make singles, which kept the colors truer and less muddy.
E: This fiber spun up like a dream. Sturdy, fluffy, perfect.

A: Something cozy for winter – chunky cowl, mitts, hat. It also would make a nice sweater.

C: I am a fan of the workhorse sweater. You know the kind where when it’s a little chilly and you have something to do outside, that’s the sweater you grab. This would be awesome! With the subtle color variations I got, I love just the idea of this sweater.

CK: Hat, scarf, shawl anything yummy and warm

E: Mittens for certain

Silk

overall
impression

AS: very magenta but very not, in a very good way
C: I wanted to fill a bathtub with this fiber and sink into it slowly.
E: Copper dessert goodness
K: Absolutely love the color depth

AS: stripped it into thin strips, working across the brick. As worsted as I could get it.
C: I wanted it really, really thin in anticipation of a 3-ply yarn. I tried to remove all clumps and spun it worsted and as small as I could get it.
E: I spun this fiber with the intent of getting some fluffiness out of it. Worsted, but long.
K: Divided in half lengthwise – one half spun end to end and the other half divided lengthwise into finger widths and spun each end to end.

AS: 2-ply
C: 3-ply
E: 2-ply
K : 2 ply

AS: 13
C : 14
E: 8
K:19

AS: Hot soak in SOAK, much rinsing and then heavy-duty thwacking; hang to dry
C: Rinse and whack. It was stiff when dry, so I whacked it again to soften it up a bit.
E: Gentle wash
K: Hot soak and hang

AS: I expected it to need more drafting than it did. Once split down into strips, it behaved like roving and needed nearly no predrafting whatsoever. Surprised me. Wish the green hadn't disappeared in the final yarn.

C: Sometimes you have to fight with silk to get it to do what you want. It’s the nature of the beast, I expected it and was ready for it. it’s silk. You have to expect some clumping and some “wow! That got really thin, really quick."

K: silk can sometimes be difficult, but this spun like butter, very easy to get a lace weight yarn

E: This silk fought me like silk likes to fight me but I won in the end.

AS: Silk always means lace to me. So lace.
C: Something decadent – a tank top to wear under a suit jacket, gloves that go all the way up to my elbows, a thick, cushy neck warmer
E: Bed jacket or vest
K: A lacey shawl

Gotland

overall
impression

A: Great subtle variegation
CK : Like a shorter long wool, it’s easier to draft because of the short fiber, but the resulting yarn feels similar and makes a nice halo.
L: Earthy, strong, too easy to spin

A: Worsted, end to end
CK: Stripped the top into the pencil sized strips. Not because the fiber wasn’t well prepared, but it gave me more control in drafting. Short forward draw with a fair amount of twist.
L: Worsted, short forward draw

A: 2-ply
CK: 2-ply not too tightly
L: 2-ply balanced

A: 9
CK: 20
L: 16

A: Rinse and whack
CK: Bath and a whack
L: Warm dunk and a few whacks

A: I was surprised that the yarn was softer than I expected

CK: My first experience with Gotland top. Seemed similar to Lincoln but without the long fiber. It actually made it easier to spin.

L: I enjoyed spinning it and knitting it more than I expected. It was easy to spin a fine, even yarn, and the finished yarn has a nice drape.

A:Outerwear – wooly for winter, mitten, hat

CK: Lace for a shawl. I’d also like to try making boucle with it.

L: A magic elfin cloak, or anything that needs a strong fine yarn that would not be worn next to the skin. Lace that would last forever. It would also make an excellent rug or tapestry warp.