Into the Whirled - Phat Fiber Sample

Into the Whirled - Phat Fiber Sample
Originally uploaded by Project Pictures

It was with some sadness that I picked up the final sample from the September 2009 Phat Fiber box. It had been a fun ride and had its ups and downs, but I was going to miss getting to go to my big box and pull out something random! (This is not entirely true, as I have plenty of other random stuff to spin.. just not quite THIS random!)

But I saved the "best" for last. I will admit that many other fibers in this box wowed me, but this sample from Into the Whirled had me drooling from the start. Fine merino at its best, it had been dyed into a lovely colorway named "Minotaur" in honor of the September theme. Cris did a great job.

Not only that, but every single contributor to Phat Fiber ought to take a look at the labeling on this sample. First off, she sent a full 1/2 ounce. That's way above and beyond the requirements. I do wonder if I somehow got a "bonus sample" but we'll at least give her full credit for more than 1/4 ounce, right? On top of that her fiber is VERY CLEARLY LABLED. It has full fiber content (admittedly not a mix, but still there were some with no information at all). It has the colorway and dyelot. It has the weight right there. In addition the back of the tag tied to the braid has space for all of this information to be re-written AND space for WPI, yardage and other spinning notes.

The colors were rich and evocative of the name. On top of that they're very fall-appropriate and I liked them, so she really hit the nail right on the head. The combed top spun just like I would like Merino to do--smoothly, easily and evenly, with no felted clumps or obvious neps.

I was able to make a full 75 yards of 2-ply yarn from this sample. The colors stripe through each other in a pleasing fashion, never clashing. It's really a very pretty yarn and a perfect finish for my box!