Mining the wool mountain!

Over the last 30 or more years I've been collecting yarn. Travel souvenirs, online bargains, local sales, charity shops and abandoned projects have all contributed.  In December my brother christened it the European Wool Mountain!

So I've decided to start mining the wool mountain.  So far I've discovered
Noro Furin and Silk Garden
Natural Dye Studio cashemere alpaca and silks
Rowan cotton chenille, tweed and some of their R2  "street" yarns
Debbie Bliss tweeds
Colinette in all sorts of colours and yarn styles
1980s mohair on cones
vintage Bernat Klein cotton
and a matching skirt and jumper pack of turquoise tweed fabric and 4-ply yarn from the Isle of Skye

I've developed a few ideas for simple yet dramatic pieces that will turn things found in fairly large quantities into an interesting collection for Open Studios events.  A couple of them are pictured below in Rowan Kidsilk and Noro Furin. I love the way the stripes end up at right angles and are vertical across the back.

This week I also made a much smaller one that's more of a neckerchief so single skeins of sock yarn are getting used up this way too. Expect more variations on the shawl/wrap/poncho/cowl/scarf theme in a few weeks.

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