I won this gorgeous yarn last year in a competition on MaiaSpins (the blog of one of the owners of Tactile Fibre Arts), and I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

At the time, I was a non-knitter with an aesthetic interest in sock knitting I was offered fingering or sport, took the thickest, easiest to knit option, and when she said that it would be naturally dyed, I expected blah, washed out colours that would end up in the back of a drawer somewhere, never to see the sight of knitting needles.

I realised my mistake when this gorgeous skein landed on my doorstep.

The Lowdown:

The Swatch:

Using 2.5mm / US 1.5, I achieved 7.5 stitches and 10 rows to the inch.

The Knitting:

Fantastic! Sport weight makes whipping up a pair of socks a comparitive breeze and watching the colours spiral around as I knit was more than enough to keep me interested. The yarn is soft and sproingy and a pleasure to knit.

The First Wash:

No real noticable change, I washed and ironed them before I gave them away.

The Wearing:

Still gorgeous, I gave these socks to my mother for Christmas last year and they’re still looking as new. The yarn is showing no signs of wear, the colour is as vibrant as the leftovers that have never been washed and they still fit like, well, a sock.

The Price:

This pair was the magic price of $0, but other sock yarns from the Tactile website are around the $30 mark. I have some of their gorgeous merino tencel (the superwash merino sport isn’t available on the website) and it’s beautiful. I recognise that $30 is a LOT of money to pay for a skein of yarn, but for beautiful yarn, naturally dyed in such gorgeous colours, it’s absolutely worth treating yourself. That said, I’m looking for the perfect pattern for this skein, probably not socks, so that I can get the best use out of it.

I wouldn’t buy enough of this yarn to make a sweater or skirt, but a single skein is an affordable indulgence and the Tactile crew are expert posters.

The Conclusion:

This yarn is a solid performer, a great base yarn combined with the good feeling of natural dyes, all enhanced by the superior dye job of the brand’s owners. I love it and would happily knit and wear their fibres more or less all of the time, if only it were in the budget.

Five skeins out of five.

If I weren’t about to embark on a delightful overseas jaunt, I’d be shelling out big time at the brand new Tactile Fiber Arts Store. I will confess to buying a skein of their gorgeous Merino-Tencel Fingering last week, I’m hoping it arrives before we leave next week so I can cast it on during one of our flights.

That said, if I had that mythical million dollars, I’d buy myself some Merino Tencel Roving in Thunderstorm:

And then some beautiful BFL roving in Kelp:

Shockingly, in all my years of spinning and fibre arts, I’ve never spun BFL. I think it’s about time I remedied that situation.

All images property of Tactile Fibre Arts, used with permission.