Embrace the Neps!

Each day I’m working at Uist Wool a moment arrives, usually midway through the afternoon, when I need to get out of my office chair and go wandering onto the Mill floor, or up to the Wool Shed, or even to go and feed the cows on the croft here at Scotvein.

(There’s something rather equalising in your work day about shovelling manure off a shed floor.  It gives me a break from the office and the cows get fed and fresh bedding for the night ahead.  Three beautiful black Dexter cows in case you were wondering and very friendly to people who do their housekeeping.)

But I never tire of taking a few minutes to go down onto the Mill floor and see what magic is taking place with our wool.  Today is no different.  Carding and spinning a mocha blend of Scottish Bowmont (for ease of definition we often refer to the fibre as Scottish Merino).  The yarn range will be launching early in 2017 and we’re getting really excited about sharing these beauties with you.

Our Card produces a neppy finish with this type of wool and gives a terrific texture to the final yarn.  I can’t resist giving a gentle squeeze to the full bobbins as they wait to be placed on the spinning frame.

I love neps.  Big fan of them.  There may be purists out there who abhor their existence but for me they add an extra third dimension to the yarn ‘3D+’ maybe I’ve just invented a term?   Something about the sculptural texture and random shading appeals to my soul and I want to see the yarn evolve into a form that I can wear, hug, wrap or cover-up under if the world gets too frantic.

Off to see the cows now – Hoover, Tina and Duo.