I was looking at an old Knitscene a little while ago and found an article about Knit Collage - a relatively new company whose yarn I love. They hire women in India who prepare the fiber and then spin every skein. They are a fair trade company so they pay a living wage to the women there. Often folks come in and are shocked at the price of hand spun yarn. But think of the labor involved in just one little skein. One of their lines is Rolling Stone and has little bits of other fibers and sparkle and other things spun in. Gypsy Garden has little flowers in it as well. All those those things require an extra step in preparing to spin and more time and attention in the actual spinning. A single skein of 35 yds can take an hour or two just to spin. Even my own handspun here at the store with fewer fancy elements requires a lot of time and energy. Often it is hand painted fiber (mine or someone else's) and then spinning 4 ounces of fiber can take a couple of hours or all day depending on the thickness.
Enough lecturing now....Here's my latest thing - the knitted version of the Sparkly Cowl that I put out on Friday. The crochet version can be purchased in store or on Ravelry. I will put the knitted version up this afternoon. I must confess I like the crochet version better - it was faster. Sorry for the picture, this camera won't do the colors very well....It is really a nice Christmas Red with Shiny Bits......I did this one in Plymouth Aire - a super soft Alpaca yarn that feels awesome.
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