A Surprise in The Mail!
I love getting surprises in the mail! It's not my birthday or anything so when an unexpected parcel full of goodies shows up I'm as excited as a 6 yr old at Christmas! This box came from my Mom and my younger sister and it was chock full of goodies! They had a good run at their local Thrift Shop and picked up embroidery floss in a dozen different colors, some crewel embroidery kits in various stages of completion, some video game cartridges for the kids, and the best part - YARN!
The biggest lot, with a sort of orange-brownish hue is about 600 to 700 yards, I'm guessing. It is spun singles and my sister thought it was wool handspun but my somewhat experienced hand had it's reservations. The second bundle, which she also thought was handspun two ply, I was pretty sure is wool, although I would bet my bottom dollar it is commercially spun.
I realized the only way to figure it all out was to test it. I burned the end of a piece from both skeins but felt it was inconclusive. Both burned like wool but there seemed to be some residual but I wasn't sure.
The only way to know for sure was to put some chlorine bleach in a glass cup and submerge a piece from each skein. Much to my astonishment, it began to foam vigorously! Yes! I had good ventilation and did not inhale!
I realized the only way to figure it all out was to test it. I burned the end of a piece from both skeins but felt it was inconclusive. Both burned like wool but there seemed to be some residual but I wasn't sure.
The only way to know for sure was to put some chlorine bleach in a glass cup and submerge a piece from each skein. Much to my astonishment, it began to foam vigorously! Yes! I had good ventilation and did not inhale!
The left photo is the yarn foaming in the bleach. Is it supposed to do that??? The left photo (although it looks like snot, it isn't) shows the remnant fiber when all the foaming was done. The white yarn disappeared completely, so I can safely assume it is 100% wool, and it is definitely commercially spun. It's very nice yarn, though a tad on the scratchy side, but I know I will use it for something!
This is what was left of the orange-brown singles. I'm guessing that's about a 30 - 40% synthetic remnant so it's pretty safe to assume it is also a commercial yarn - sorry sis! That's not to say I don't like it - I absolutely LOVE the color! Because there's so much of it I'm thinking it will make a really nice shawl. A HUGE thank-you! In addition to some great supplies, projects and yarn, it was fun to play sleuth! Talk about a great gift!! Cheers all! I'm off to peruse some patterns! 
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