Yarn Samples

A number of times I've been approached by new or new-ish yarn companies, who are trying to get their name out there.

KPC - Knit-Purl-Crochet Yarns

KPC yarns generously offered to send me a sampling of their yarns all the way from Hong Kong.

I got four balls of their DK weight yarn (which is my preferred weight for most projects.

Using the same factors I used to evaluate MJ Yarns from Jonathan, here's how the KPC yarns rate in my estimation:

Durability - Not Evaluated.  I haven't had the chance to try out this yarn.  Four balls isn't really enough to start a project with.

Uniformity - Very high.  Exceptionally fine consistency in the two DK weight yarns I got to see (100% Ultra Fine Merino and 30%Cotton/70% Merino blend)

Color/Dyeing - High.  KPC has a wide variety of colors, many I think are beautiful.  The orange one in the photo is 100% Ultra Fine Merino in their Saffron color.  It's more orange than they show on their web site, but less orange than my photo would indicate.  But it's got a great tweediness to it that I like a lot.

Put-Up - Good to Average.  50 grams, 136 yards, in a beautifully wound center-pull ball that is secured with the logo'ed ribbon.  136 yards for me is too small, especially if I'm going to knit a sweater in all one color.  The Ultra Fine Merino is very smooth...almost slippery and the balls often unwinds, so the ribbon used to secure the balls is a great idea.

Retail Availability - Low.  The only place I could find to order this yarn was directly from the distributor in Hong Kong.  Not sure if there are any North American stockists yet, but I couldn't find one.

Tactile Pleasure - Very High.  Both yarns (Novomerino and Glencoul) are soft as cashmere in the ball.  I would imagine I would love working with either or both of these yarns, even on a large-scale project.

 

Current Spinning

I've checked off another Work-In-Progress by finishing up spinning Lulu the Llama from Teri's farm, Wunsapana Farms.

 

 

First of all, I finished spinning the singles and then the plying went very fast.

The resulting yarn is 8.3 ounces of pure llama, two-ply yarn...about 508 yards of yarn in total (which classifies it as a worsted weight yarn).

 

Despite scouring the fleece twice before carding it, there is still quite a bit of dirt in the yarn, so I will scour/degrease it once more and then I will probably dye it.   There is a beautiful haze on this yarn that will show up as a very soft and warm looking knitted fabric.  I can't wait to use this.