A Different Kind of Challenge: Working with the Louet Spinzilla 2015 September Fiber Pack

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email asking if I would be interested in reviewing the Louet Spinzilla 2015 September Fiber Pack which I agreed to do…and then it came…and it was like a little avalanche of fiber!  The box contained far more than I expected.  This is the fourth fiber pack Louet has designed for Spinzilla 2015.  This pack contained  1 lb Wensleydale Top,  1 lb Superwash Merino Top,  1 lb Wool/Mohair Blend and a Gaywool Dye Starter Kit in their Bush Blends.  The regular retail of these products is $184  but the pack is offered for sale at $85 — so it’s a great bargain.  To make it even better, the pack includes a 20% off coupon on purchasing more of the dyes.

Wow…ok…this isn’t the type of fiber I normally work with nor were the dye colors ones I would typically pick, so what a great challenge for me.  I started assessing some dyeing options first by playing with the samples off of the sample card:

Then, I figured I would go ahead a dye each of the three fibers in each of the six colors.  I separated the fiber and then tied up six bundles each containing equal amounts of the Superwash, the Wensleydale and the Wool/Mohair Blend.  I prepared some pans for oven dyeing and got cooking:

After everything was dyed, rinsed and dried, I had these pretty bundles:

In the Iceberg colorway, you can really see the difference in the way the fibers took the dyes.  The Superwash saturated the most easily while the Wensleydale and the Wool/Mohair did not saturate as much.

My next design decision was how to combine the fibers for spinning.  Because of the vibrancy of the Superwash samples, I decided to spin them all as singles and then ply them for a Six Ply and I’m so happy I did!

Now, left with the Wool/Mohair and Wensleydale samples, I wondered whether to combine them in some way or just spin them on their own.  The Wool/Mohair seemed to be crying out to be made into some batts whereas, the Wensleydale whispered to be left alone.  However, when it came time to make the batts, I decided to consult with the Pantone Color Report for Fall 2015 first:

I know it sounds a bit like consulting with an oracle, but it works for me.  From looking over the color report and thinking about what I had, I made three batts from the Wool/Mohair:

And, from these batts came these yarns:

OK, coming into the home stretch now, I grabbed the Wensleydale top samples in Garnet and Alpine and let it just be itself in simple two ply yarns:

I love these yarns!  I can’t wait to weave with them.  It’s hard to see from the images, but the Wensleydale has a gorgeous sheen and the colorways are so natural and lovely looking.  As many of you know, I’m  used to challenges involving unusual (ok, weird a lot of the time) things, so this was a great opportunity for me.  These fiber packs are a lot of fun and really a good buy.  Thanks, Louet!!!