Last year I got the opportunity to work with some new to me yarn, Powder River Yarn, hand dyed by Red Barn Yarn.
This yarn has quite the story in that it is spun by Mountain Meadow Wools and is a blend of 63% Mountain Merino, 25% American alpaca, and 12% Rambouillet. This wooly blend creates a marled look when left in its natural state and takes color in a very interesting way when dyed.
After using Mountain Meadow yarn last winter for a hat for D, I started reading more about the company and their efforts to create an American wool that focuses on sustainability.
Despite my eagerness to use this yarn, school started and at that point my schedule has a mind of its own. So finally a few weeks ago I took the time to wind up this yarn. I was initially a little annoyed as I found 2 breaks in the yarn while winding (they weren't knotted however). After I was done winding all the yarn I weighed the skeins. I've had a couple bad experiences with getting skeins from various companies that have breaks and then end up weighing less than listed on the ball band! Annoying. Despite the breaks in the yarn, this skein weighed 20 grams more than listed on the ball band. Major points! Also, the largest skein weighed over the 100 grams listed on the ball band so even though there were a couple of breaks, I still got a full skein.
After finding a hat pattern that I thought would work well for the yarn, I took the time to swatch (and for a hat! I know!). On size 6 needles I got a gauge of about 5 sts per inch. Also, because I'm annoying like that, I washed my swatch. I am pleased to say that this yarn did not bleed at all! Not even a tint in the water!
I'm getting close to finishing this little gem and can't wait to share with you the final results. In the meantime, I would suggest checking out Red Barn Yarns. Beside the Powder River Yarn, they have a large selection of yarn bases and weights to choose from and you can order directly from their site. You can also sign up for their newsletter here or check out Mountain Meadow Wools here.
Breaks can be annoying and I find it a bit lazy that these breaks weren't knitted together. However, the combination sounds lovely and it's great that it doesn't bleed.
ReplyDeleteBreaks in yarn definitely annoy me. So I agree that it seems lazy that they weren't worked back together. For me, the non bleeding color and the extra weight made up for it. Especially since I've used some big name yarns with breaks, then you weigh the skein to find it's 10+ grams short.
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