I inherited a great deal of yarn from a weaver, some of the cones no longer had labels and I couldn't really tell what fibre they were by just looking at it.
But I have two *very* large cones of this white mystery yarn and decided it was long beyond the time I needed to use it for something.
A cursory examination led me to wonder if it was a cotton linen blend. It was stiffer than most cotton yarns are, but had a distinctively cotton-y feel to it.
I finally dragged my digital microscope out and took a gander. I expected to see some linen fibres in amongst the cotton, but nope. Everything I could see had the typical flat spiral of cotton.
So, why, then, the stiffness? Well, the singles were very tightly twisted, although the ply was not all that high. That tightly twisted single would lend stiffness to the yarn. With the ply being fairly loose, the yarn should be absorbent. It is about the same thickness as my 2/8 from Brassard, and, since I have quite a lot of that yarn in my stash, I'm going to put a 2/8 cotton warp into the loom and use this yarn to weave towels.
Last week I received an email from another publication asking if I was interested in writing about a very specific topic. Since the question they posed intrigued me, and I didn't have a definitive answer, I said yes, I would. It means I have to weave some samples and explore possibilities, and that wet finishing needs to be part of the process. So, right within my wheelhouse, as they say.
The next warp going into the loom will be the rayon shawls, and if the editor likes my proposal, that sample warp can be done 'next'. And since I rarely beam a warp less than 10 yards, I can use the same 2/8 cotton warp for the samples to start using up this mystery yarn.
Win-Win!
Since I recently sent out to the universe that I only wanted to write about the things that interest me, that makes 3 publications that have contacted me about articles - all of them asking for stuff that I know something about and that I feel passionate about sharing with other weavers.
Sometimes you really do just have to be clear about what it is you want, then be patient until time grinds away and the universe can deliver what it is you are looking for?
Anyway, once again proof that you really do need to know about and understand your yarn to make appropriate choices when using them.
The Intentional Weaver contains information on burn tests and how to identify mystery yarns that way.
So cool. :)
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