Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Luxury Yarn Sampler

I love trying out new yarns, but there are so many popular (and expensive) brands that I have never been able to feel in person at my local yarn store.  Why would I spend $40+ for one ball of yarn when I never had a chance to feel it?  Well Keith found me this amazing Luxury Fiber Sampler for Jimmy Beans Wool and it gives me a few yards of a bunch of top yarn lines so I can test them all out. 


I was especially excited to see the sample of Zealana Air - a yarn that is part Australian Possum!  (40% Cashmere, 40% Possum, 20% Silk)  I lived in Australia for 5 months when I was in college and these were a plentiful as squirrels are in New England.  I held one once and they are super soft, so I knew that a yarn made out of their fiber would feel really nice.  The yarn has a good feel to it, but isn't the softest or shiniest of the bunch.  I do know that I would be happy to make a cowl or shawl out of it! 

The labels were wound into the center of the balls, so there was so fun guesswork trying to figure out which was which.  Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico was another standout to me.  It was so soft and had excellent drape.  My fingers went straight for it as I was searching through the yarns and then I was excited by the shimmer with the twist of silver in it. 

Yarns included in this sampler: Artyarns Rhapsody Glitter, Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk and Metalico, The Fibre Company Road to China Light, Jade Sapphire Cashmere Silk 4ply, Lotus Mimi, Madelinetosh Pashmina, Manos del Uruguay Fino, Reywa Embrace, Rowan Kidsilk Haze Glamour, TSC Artyarns Tranquility Glitter, Zealana Air, and Rowan Creative Linen for the Garland Strand to string your 12 stars together.
So much soft yumminess in one package. I considered reviewing each individual yarn, but ultimately decided that saying, OO THIS IS SOFT a dozen times wasn't really going to be that useful. 


What am I going to make out of my luxury yarns?  Well the kit does come with instructions for a Christmas Garland.  What would you make with these bits of yarn?