Five Wise Owls Fingering

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, eco world, Yarn, Yarn Review 6 Comments

Collaborations and networking are such an integral part of discovering new-to-me and, hopefully, new-to-you eco dyers.  My teacher, Jill Wolcott, first introduced Five Wise Owls to me last summer as she knew I was always on the lookout for eco options. Five Wise Owls features animal-fiber free eco yarns in her Etsy shop.  Juliah, dyer extraordinary from Five Wise Owls, kindly sent me a skein for this review.  I loved it so much, it ended up being featured in this year’s Pattern Club!  Formerly known as “Worth”, Juliah’s organic cotton fingering is now known as Five Wise Owl’s Fingering.  Let’s look more closely at this fingering weight organic cotton yarn from one superb indie eco dyer from Texas. Gauge Summary:Less …

Apple Oak Fibre Works 2 swatches

Yarn Review Apple Oak Fibre Works

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Eco Elements, eco world, Fiber Focus, Puddles, Q&A, Yarn, Yarn Review Leave a Comment

In contrast to last week’s 25/75 linen/cotton blend, today’s fiber is a 30/70 linen/cotton blend. The two couldn’t be more different! In today’s LinCot review, coarse strands of strong linen engulf puffy thick/ thin roving of cotton. The resulting texture is incredible with bristles and softness at the same time. If you’ve ever thrummed with virgin wool and roving, I suspect the feel is similar. Apple Oak Fibre Works brings Irish naturalism to hand dyed yarn! Wife and hubby team, Jennifer and Tristan, apply botanical dyes to a variety of fibers (animal-based and plant-based) in both roving and yarn (and a few other specialty items).

CEY Mika swatches

Yarn Review Classic Elite Yarns Mika

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, eco world, Fiber Focus, Puddles, Yarn, Yarn Review Leave a Comment

Joining rank with Sprout and Seedling, Classic Elite Yarns introduced Mika in January 2017. This sport weight sister to Sprout and Seedling embodies the same lofty nubby texture. Unfortunately, this review changed from I love it and am planning many a summer tank with Mika, to farewell Classic Elite Yarns ☹.

pile of swatches

Shibui Knits Fern Yarn Review

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, Eco Elements, eco world, Fiber Focus, Pattern Related, Puddles, Yarn, Yarn Review 3 Comments

The drape of this cotton grows more airy with each needle size. Ideal for summer knitting, especially items that are intended to hang loosely from the body. Knitting a variety of knit and purl combinations in the swatches, when it came time to designing I jumped in with lace, cables, and a fun self-edging… the yarn held up to it all!

Birdies Yarn Bulky Organic Cotton in Koi

Birdies Knits Bulky Weight Yarn Review

Lindsay Lewchuk Announcements, eco world, Pattern Related, Q&A, Yarn, Yarn Review 5 Comments

A surprise snow this morning became the perfect backdrop for a still shot of “Snow Gazer” after wearing it nigh an hour of hiking through the snow with Puddles. I’m a bulky weight yarn convert! With bulky yarn and “large” needles, I knit a cowl in just a couple of knitting sessions and the headband in just a few hours!! The amazing colors in today’s yarn review are hand dyed by BirdieKnits, a woman with an incredible eye for color and a customer focused business sense. Gauge Summary I swatched out on three “huge” needles – US 8, US 9, and US 10 – and to my surprise and delight, all three were rather shift stable changing less than 10% …