Satin Angora Yarn
January 26th, 2012
I thought I’d begin my review of past projects (mentioned last time) with a skein of yarn I’ve spun from the fiber I’ve gotten from my angora bunnies – the result of all of the grooming featured in my posts from earlier this month. The picture was taken with my phone – apologies for the lower quality image.
This particular skein was spun in April and May of 2008. It’s around 225 yards of 40+ wraps per inch (without halo) two-ply pearly soft copper satin angora that was carefully plucked from Gus and spun from the lock. It was spun on my trusty old Ashford Traditional scotch tension on the 14:1 ratio (that lovely wheel has since moved on to a new home). All of this information was written on a small string tag. I am so glad I got in the habit of labeling and recording notes on tags on my spinning a couple of years ago, otherwise I’d be just guessing.
It is one of my favorite skeins I have ever spun of any fiber. His fiber is the softest thing I’ve ever felt on this planet, cashmere included. The satin genes really add some amazing textural qualities to the already wonderfully soft angora – it has a pearly sheen to it and the fiber feels like it’s been blended half and half with fine silk.
The drape of the fiber is amazing, obeying gravity flawlessly despite the fibers weighing practically nothing. The 225 yard skein pictured weighs 20 grams, and I am certainly not the finest angora yarn spinner – not by a long shot. Although that really hasn’t been my focus – I spin my angora yarn to incorporate as much fiber with lots of twists to hold the fiber tightly together (which means room for air) which probably contributes to the nice drape. I believe it’s also the reason why the items I’ve made from my angora have worn so well and don’t shed. They are a little slow to develop a halo, but when they do, as this skein has from being fondled on a regular basis, it sure is pretty. I have no idea what I will do with this skein. I have paged through a couple of pages of patterns on Ravelry, and strongly considered knitting Alison’s Rabbit Tracks. but have yet to get past just petting it.
Cobalt and Indigo - together they represent my love for art and for the artistic process. Ceramics, knitting, spinning, natural dyeing and angora rabbits are some of expressions of that love for process. . To find out more about the person behind the process, visit my
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