We have had a look at the stock of our Falkland British Merino yarns, and feel that there is about a six-month supply if our customers continue to pick it up at the same rate. In the late spring, our U.K. supplier made nine lovely new yarns available to Wool2Dye4, all from a unique area of the world, the Falkland Islands. The wool from animals who live their lives in one of the most extreme climates on the globe reflects a ruggedness that is unique to this particular yarn. These sheep have to work really hard to manufacture that fiber, so when we source it and bring it to our customers, we know that the yarn is something special and all the more valuable for the limited supply of sheep in the British Falkland Islands.
Here are our nine yarns, exclusive in the States to Wool2Dye4, straight from the sheep on the British Falkland Islands.
Falkland 100% 4-Socking
Falkland 100% DK-SW
Falkland Bamboo Sock
Falkland Platinum Sock
Falkland / Silk Sock
Falkland / Silk DK
Falkland / Tencel Sock
Falkland / Tencel Select laceweight
Falkland/ Bamboo Select laceweight
If you have already knit with the Falkland yarns, then you know that they have a lovely hand, the twist is beautiful, and that they are all nine beautiful yarns. Too, the white is startlingly white! They don't have to be dyed, unlike most other fibers which may have a creamy or beige tone. The Falkland British Merino yarns are beautiful in their natural state.
Would you like a sample? In your next order, be sure to make a notation in the comments section requesting a set of samples of the lovely Falkland British Merino yarn line.
Without much fanfare, we are doing a soft introduction of two yarns, a higher yardage sock/fingering yarn and a non-superwash in 100% merino. I'll tell you about the yarns and then about the possible future of each.
The Basics about the Yarns
Euro 500
100% superwash merino
6-ply fingering weight, 500 yards / 100 grams.
Presented an 150 gram skein of 750 yards
Sold by the skein for a short time
Priced as Crazy Eight.
W2D4 Merino non-superwash, fingering
100% merino, 2-ply yarn, 438 yards / 100 gram
looser twist than sock yarns
Presented on typical 100 gram skein
weight and pricing to be determined
Looking forward with these two yarns ...
Euro 500 is one of those yarns which fell into my lap, a happy surprise. The yardage of 500 yards/100 grams makes it a very lightweight sock yarn, or, for lace and garment knitters, a heavy fingering yarn. It depends on what kind of knitter you/your customers are, and the sort of fabric which will be created from it.
Six plies. That is sort of a European thing over the years, a thin yarn of many plies, and it makes for a strong yarn. The fibers used, of course, determine whether it is soft on the skin and easy to wear. I mean, we hate to wear scratchy yarns next to our skin, so shy away from knitting cowls, scarves, hats, turtleneck sweaters with scratch yarns. This is not a scratchy yarn, but is made from our usual springy superwash merino. It's the same yarn that goes into Sheila's Sock and Merino DK-SW, for instance, but it will feel different because there are so many plies. So, it is an aquired taste. I dyed my first skein last night and it rested overnight in the dyepot. Today I will wash it and give it a bath in some wool wash. I did two baths of purple, one I mixed and one straight from the dye manufacturer, and I think I am in love with this purple. Hope I can do it again.
I can see machine knitters coning this one up and using it.
I can see knitted sock blanks from flatbed machines.
I can see antique circular sock machine (CSM) owners loving this one.
I can see fine gauge sweater knitters going nuts over it.
I can see complete vests knit from one skein of 750 yards/150 grams.
I can see some great possibilities for this one.
Non-Superwash Merino
Now, this time I am doing something entirely different. I am sampling a yarn that I am not sure will be the final yarn we'll spin. That's because the weight hasn't been decided yet. So, I will invite everyone who samples the fingering skeins we'll have available to give feedback. What I need to know is this:
Do we need to add a non-superwash to our line?
Do we want it to be another sock weight? (Current sample will be 438 yds/100 gr)
Do we want or need a sport weight in the non-sw? (I tried this a few years ago, and it languished on the shelves in a noticeable manner. Picture yarn languishing; now, picture it calling attention to itself? Hmmm...)
What applications will my customer base make for a sport yarn, if we go to the sport weight?
Do I have the customer base to support bringing in a new yarn in sport weight?
Good questions. All will be answered as we sample!
Want a sample? Write to me and I'll send you a little butterfly.
Below are lists of our incoming stock lists for November and December. Some of our winter popular yarns are shown in Red. One new yarn will be introduced in each shipment -- Single & Stunning in November and Donegal Sock in December -- and those yarns are shown in Green. As usual, I will send out a newsletter when the shipment is about to arrive. That is when we also send out private invocies for any yarns which have been reserved. If you need to reserve any of the yarns in Red or Green, then please eMail me, at your earliest convenience: Yarnie@Wool2Dye4.com.
Incoming stock: expect it mid-November
(skeins unless otherwise noted)
Cash Sock MCN, skeins & cones
Sheila's Gold
Sheila's Sparkle
Crazy EightCash DK MCN
Single & Stunning *
W2D4 Merino DK-SW, skeins & cones
WD4 Merino Worsted-SW, skeins & cones
W2D4 Merino Worsted, skeins & cones
*Single & Stunning... NEW ... a superwash DK in Singles construction
Incoming Stock: Expect it mid-December ...
a little early to predict ...
(skeins unless otherwise noted)
Angel Select
Cash Aran MCN
Cash Sock MCN, skeins & cones
Crazy Eight, skeins & cones
Donegal Sock *
Platinum Sock
Sheila's Glitter
Sheila's Gold
Sheila's Sock, skeins & cones
Sheila's Sparkle
Silk DK 50/50
Silk Sock 50/50
Sparkle Select Laceweight
W2D4 Merino DK-SW, skeins & cones
W2D4 Merino Worsted
* Donegal Sock ... NEW ... 2-ply with flecks of dark NEP (nylon) sprinkled through in the tradition of Donegal Tweed fabric
