Fat Cat Crochet

Day 7 and 8

Now THIS is what I call a fun spin!  This is an amazing fiber blend of  Hand Dyed 70% SW Merino, 15% Seacell and 15% Banana (Yea. Banana!). I saw this at S.A.F.F. last Fall and kept coming back to the booth. The colors really grabbed me but the price ($25/4 oz braid) really didn’t.  But once I committed to purchasing Fanty (my wheel:) I just had to try some.  When I found out it was called Screaming Wild Monkeys (available exclusively from River’s Edge Fiber Arts) oh Hell, I had to have two!   It’s a dream to spin!  The staple is at least 4 inches long and so smooth!  It makes spinning fun and easy!

Here’s some info on the fiber blend:

SW Merino – From the Lion Brand website “Superwash wool is a wool yarn that is machine washable and, therefore, will not felt.  Each hair of wool is made up of scales. Felting occurs when these scales bind together. The superwash process prevents the scales from binding in one of two ways. Some superwash wools are given an acid bath that removes its scales. Alternatively, the yarn can be coated with a polymer or resin; this is essentially a protective coating for the yarn to prevent felting. A yarn can be treated with either or both methods to become superwash. It’s important to remember that excessive heat (such as with a hot setting on a washing machine or dryer) can damage a superwash coating, which may lead to felting.”    To me the SW process makes the wool less ’sticky’, more slippery which makes it easier for me to draft and therefore spin.

Seacell - is a fabric made out of Lyocell (a 100% wood pulp fiber) and seaweed. The theory is that your skin will absorb nutrients from the seaweed, which is quite mineral- and vitamin-rich. It is said  that the porous, open structure of the Seacell fibers “breath” well and absorb what your skin expels.

Banana – Textiles from banana fiber is pretty rare here in the states, but in India and Japan it’s widely available. Commercial banana fiber is produced in the same way rayon is – the stems and leaves are made into a pulp and extruded into long strands.  Banana trees are more renewable than the wood used for rayon, and of course it’s multi-functional (mmm, bananas), so the fiber itself is already pretty eco-friendly.

Days 5 and 6

(Sparkie finds the soft sound of the wheel very soothing:)

This is the fiber I received with the purchase of my wheel.  I’m a new spinner and don’t yet know the differences between Coopworth or any other kind of wool.  Or the different processes that are used to prep the fleece for spinning.  All I know is I don’t like this fiber.  It’s got lots of  ’veggie matter’  in it  (meaning there are lots of hay bits mixed in) and it’s lumpy, bumpy, nubby.  It’s almost as if it missed a step in the cleaning/prepping process.  I checked the forum boards over on http://www.ravelry.com/ and found some people with the same issues from this manufacturer and some who have had beautiful fiber from them.  I don’t think I’ll be buying any more of it soon.   I still have 4 more ounces of it but I think I’ll switch to something fun!

Maybe this?!