Gathering Yarn Products
Haynes Creek Heathers
Haynes is a rural farming community in central Alberta, within the county of Lacombe. The hamlet is named after the creek that runs near it, which in turn was named after one of the early prairie pioneers.
My father's family moved to the area 3 generations before me, and my dad established his own farm a kilometer from Haynes in 1963. It was a wonderful place to grow up, and I made many a bike trip to Haynes Creek, along with my siblings, to skip rocks on the water, and explore the muddy banks.
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Haynes Creek Heathers is a 100% non-superwash wool line from the highlands of Peru. It is milled in a facility known for quality of fibre, fair treatment of their workers and family (see the Mirasol Project). This mill has recently attained their Fair Trade Certification, and we are proud to support their efforts.
Brook Farm Yarn
Hearing the stories, seeing the photographs, reading the family history does not compare with standing at the end of a lane, and touching the brickwork of where your grandparents lived and worked, and where your Mom was born. This is Brook Farm.
The Grants were tenant farmers, for several generations, in the County of Rutland, England.
Brook Farm is a line of 100% British wool, milled in Yorkshire. This non-superwash fingering weight yarn is a blend of Brown Masham and BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) which grips wonderfully for colourwork projects, but is soft enough for next to skin projects.
Luxury Yarn
Vera Belle Briggs was a Victorian lady, living in modern times. She served afternoon tea in a porcelain cup and saucer, with a stir spoon nestled on the saucer. Vera (I called her Gran) was kind, generous, and loved silk embroidery.
Our first luxury yarn offering is named Vera. It is a sumptuous blend of 50% Mulberry Silk, 30% Extrafine Merino, and 20% Superfine Merino. This is the finest grade of Merino that can be spun and plied into yarn. There is a subtle sheen for the eye to enjoy in this DK weight yarn, but the pleasure is in the touch. It is Divine.
Vera will be available for September, 2020.
Undyed Yarn
We are pleased to present a collection of undyed (ecru) fibres from quality mills around the world. The foundation of this line is our stock service (always in stock) line of sock yarn, silk lace and Merino worsted base from Italy, and the British blends of Gotland and Brown Masham in fingering, DK and aran weight.
Undyed stock lot offerings are always being added here; buy them while they last, and know that when they are gone – they are gone! We try to keep a variety of yarns in stock of both plant and animal based fibres, and also in weights from lace to chunky.
Stock Lots Yarn
Stock Lots (also known as mill ends) are the surplus yardage of yarn at a mill whenever a production run ends. Most mills do not have storage space for this surplus, and the surplus does not produce sufficient choice in colour or quantity to interest larger buyers; in the past, this has meant that mill ends represented waste that was sometimes thrown out or sent to be shredded for fiberfill.
Fortunately, a market for this surplus material has begun to open up in recent years; mills are able to find smaller buyers that they can sell the ends to. It should be emphasized that stock lots are no different in quality from the yarn run they came from! Buying a stock lot is not buying an inferior product, just a product that took a longer time finding a home.
Our stock lots range from lace weight mohair to chunky weight acrylic/wool blends. Some arrive as a commercially dyed product, and others are still undyed. We have a local hand dyer who is always working on a few of our stock lots, so that we can offer a hand dyed product to you at a great price.