You might have thought that by my age I would have grown out of the excitement that follows the delivery of a parcel but some parcels reward my undignified glee. Underneath the cool and rather sophisticated exterior something was hiding.
There is something about tissue paper that adds to the suspense. I think it's that you get a bit of a glimpse of what is inside but can't quite see yet.
And here it is - four beautiful samples of yarn from a company that is new to me, Yarn Stories. I was really pleased to read that they spin their yarns at a mill in Yorkshire, another example of the skills and traditions of the wool spinning industry in the UK being brought back to life by enthusiastic people.
The samples that I have been given are, Fine Merino and Baby Alpaca in an Aran weight and a DK and a fine merino in a DK and 4 ply.
I decided to try the Fine Merino DK first. It is as might be expected extremely soft with the matt finish associated with a fine wool. I was pleased to read that they have not super wash treated this yarn so the ball is still good and springy to squeeze with a bit of a halo, not flat and lifeless like many super wash wools can be. It has a four ply construction with a medium twist and what appears to be a more worsted than woollen spin although retaining a good amount of air in the yarn. According to the washing instructions it can be machine washed at 30 degrees but given that the yarn is not highly twisted I would be concerned about some loss of stitch definition and would probably hand wash.
Taking a practical approach to my swatching I decided to use it to make a pair of baby socks for a sock knitting class that I teach. For sock knitting I generally use a smaller needle than the ball band suggests so went with a 3.25mm needle. As the yarn is quite lofty it took the extra compression well and produced a firm but still soft and flexible result with good clear stitch definition.
I look forward to trying the other yarns in the box and will let you know how I get on!
Yarn Stores have also asked me to tell you about an exciting competition to design a blanket square that they are running in conjunction with the Knitting and Crochet Guild. You can read more about it here.
Yarn Stores have also asked me to tell you about an exciting competition to design a blanket square that they are running in conjunction with the Knitting and Crochet Guild. You can read more about it here.
Disclaimer: I was sent this yarn to review by Yarn Stories.
