Spinning Tuesdays : Qiviut and Leicester Longwool

I'm back to spinning from Deb Robson's Must Spins. I'm almost done with the list and I'm both ready to be done and a little sad. I've learned so much about different fibers and tried fibers I never would. Mostly I've learned to really look at and think about fibers before I start to spin.

 

This week's first spin is Qiviut. Yep, this is a sexy as I've heard. So soft it's almost distracting, I'm happy to just pet it. The Qiviut I have was ready to spin. I spun from a cloud, using a supported long draw. I found it a little harder to control than Cashmere, my yarn came out more thick/thin than I was hoping. It may have just been my mood of the day, I spun this with friends and wasn't entirely focused on my hands.

Qiviut, beautiful brown

Even though the yarn wasn't exactly what I wanted, knitting it was bliss. My swatch was soft and light. It would be the ultimate luxury to have a little light cardigan to get through the coldest days of winter.

Warm and cozy

Two fun facts about Qiviut from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

Qiviut can be as fine as 10 microns – oooh soft!
Qiviut has no scales so it will not felt, but will full a little.

 

 

Next up is Leicester Longwool.

My sample of Leicester Longwool was more dirty than greasy. A quick wash in Power Scour cleaned it up. I combed my sample and spun worsted right from the comb. Like many longwools my yarn got wirey with just a little extra twist. I focused on moving my hands faster and was rewarded by better results almost immediately.

Leicester Longwool shiny, shiny locks

This is the shiniest fiber that I've spun, from lock to knitted swatch the luster holds. It would be beautiful dyed, the luster would make even a single color seem tonal.  The yarn and knitted swatch are wonderfully drapey. While I wouldn't wear this next to my skin, I would love it as a shawl.

Wouldn't this make a great shawl?

Two fun facts about Leicester Longwool from The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook:

Leicester Longwool sheep are critically endangered.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation was crucial in bringing back Leicester Longwool sheep from near extinction.

 

That's my spinning for this week. Next week will be the last week spinning with Deb's lists. There might even be another giveaway to celebrate all that I've learned.

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