#teeswater

Tour de Fleece Day 18: Teeswater

Another classic English longwool. Known for it's fine, lustrous curly locks, it's sort of the silk of wools. It will be interesting to compare the yarn to the Gotland, Lincoln and Wensleydale at the end of this study.

The references state that the staples are 12-15 inches long, but in my sample top I measured 6 to 10 inches (fiber stores list 6-12 inches). The color is a nice warm white. I would compare the sheen to tussah silk instead of mulberry silk. With the slipperyness and density, it wanted to spin fine. With the length, it can be spun with little twist to preserve drape, though I ended up on my middle whorl. I think it would be a nice wool for an open lace shawl.

I found white top at the normal sources, though Mohair and More was sold out. You can find natural and dyed locks on Etsy, and a very expensive but very pretty braid of top dyed like an oil slick.

References:

Ekarius, C., & Robson, D. (2013). The Field Guide to Fleece: 100 Sheep Breeds & How to Use Their Fibers. North Adams: Storey Publishing, LLC.

Robson, D., & Ekarius, C. (2011). The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook: More Than 200 Fibers, from Animal to Spun Yarn. North Adams: Storey Publishing, LLC.

Smith, B. (2014). The Spinner's Book of Fleece: A Breed-by-Breed Guide to Choosing and Spinning the Perfect Fiber for Every Purpose. North Adams: Storey Publishing, LLC.

Sheep pic By Paul Buckingham, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10642447, the rest by me.

The Knitters Book of Wool by Clara Parkes

As I new knitter, I have made the mistakes born of not knowing beans about yarn. So, one of my first choices was a lacey mohair yarn that quickly devolved into a snarled mess. Mohair is not for the faint of heart. Or those with few skills.

This book introduces you to wool as a fiber, to the kinds of processing it undergoes to become yarn, to the sheep breeds and their distinctive characteristics, and then to some patterns that illustrate how to suit the kind of wool yarn to the project.

The images of the natural crimp of various yarns drives home the astonishing differences among wools. You see here a Corriedale which is a medium wool, and Teeswater which is a long wool and a Navajo-Charro which is a dual-coated. The sketch is of Blue Cap born in 1839, a sheep that people found so AMAZING that an entire breed, the Wensleydale, a long wool, was created out of his progeny.

20 odd patterns from socks to pullovers are offered including Risti Mittens by Nancy Bush who specializes in Estonian knitting. Made of a Finnish wool yarn, which is “lustrous but strong.” Then two of the Three Bear Pullovers by Sandi Rosner with the dad’s made of Icelandic Lopi yarn and the mom’s of hand-dyed Merino. And finally Lillia Hyrna Shawl by Shelia January in lace Icelandic wool.