Spinning Tales
When I post about my spinning adventures I like to post about pleasant things, or at least put a cheerful face on mis-haps and blunders.I also don't like to complain about sellers, especially if they're fellow Phatties, which is why I habitually omit seller's names when I complain. Unfortunately today's post falls into this category and worse, it is unavoidable if I want to tell you what happened with these two lots of fiber.
I purchased 2 small lots of this white wool with pink and blue thread neps in it, partly because I liked the look of it but also because the seller said it was very soft. I was VERY disappointed because it is anything but soft, in fact on a scale of one to ten, with 1 being pot scrubbers, I'd give this fiber about a 4. Spun up, I think the only thing I could use it for would be heels and soles of socks. I wouldn't dare use it on a hat, much less a shawl! All I know is I'm really glad I didn't buy more of it!
The other fiber in my tale is a gorgeous baby-bottom soft superwash Merino which the photos above show as singles and then 3-ply yarn on the bobbins. Lovely bright cheery over-the-top rainbow colors! I bought this from the same seller as the neppy white wool.
I skein quite a few yarns at the same time, since I prefer to haul out and use only one piece of equipment at a time. I spin singles until all my bobbins are full (Baynes wheel), ply until they are empty (Bea wheel), then skein all the plied yarn etc. My work space is at a premium so I don't have the luxury (or inclination) to do all these steps for just one 4 oz lot of fiber at a time.
This also means that I am inclined to fix the twist on all the skeins in an afternoon and sometimes I even let skeins share a bath to save on hot water and wool wash. Suffice to say I'll bet you know where this story is heading! In my own defense I will say I've had skeins bleed before so I only ever put one skein in the water at a time and then watch for signs of color leakage. Since the water for the rainbow skein looked clear after a few minutes I put the white neppy skein in with it and came back an hour later when I knew the water would be cool. To my horror, the water was such a dark purple I couldn't even see the yarns in it! The once-white was now a dingy grey and the rainbow was anything but bright, especially the yellows and greens!
Now I take full responsibility for the undesired color change on the white but for there to be that much undischarged dye left in the rainbow points an accusing finger at the indie dyer, no two ways about it! Nothing makes me mad faster than to have spent a great deal of time preserving color changes in my spinning to have it completely over-ridden by someone else's sloppy workmanship!
I skein quite a few yarns at the same time, since I prefer to haul out and use only one piece of equipment at a time. I spin singles until all my bobbins are full (Baynes wheel), ply until they are empty (Bea wheel), then skein all the plied yarn etc. My work space is at a premium so I don't have the luxury (or inclination) to do all these steps for just one 4 oz lot of fiber at a time.
This also means that I am inclined to fix the twist on all the skeins in an afternoon and sometimes I even let skeins share a bath to save on hot water and wool wash. Suffice to say I'll bet you know where this story is heading! In my own defense I will say I've had skeins bleed before so I only ever put one skein in the water at a time and then watch for signs of color leakage. Since the water for the rainbow skein looked clear after a few minutes I put the white neppy skein in with it and came back an hour later when I knew the water would be cool. To my horror, the water was such a dark purple I couldn't even see the yarns in it! The once-white was now a dingy grey and the rainbow was anything but bright, especially the yellows and greens!
Now I take full responsibility for the undesired color change on the white but for there to be that much undischarged dye left in the rainbow points an accusing finger at the indie dyer, no two ways about it! Nothing makes me mad faster than to have spent a great deal of time preserving color changes in my spinning to have it completely over-ridden by someone else's sloppy workmanship!
The difference in color from the bobbin to the finished skein is unmistakable. The yellows and greens have lost their luminosity. Fortunately it's not as bad as it might have been but to me that's not the point! I have purchased multi-colored fiber lots from DyePot and never had any of it bleed so I know this is not an issue intrinsic to hand dying. You can clearly see it's original colors in this shot of all the skeins I set that day. Notice the nice white on the right?
The real difficulty I'm having now is that I have (groan!) six more bundles of fiber from this dyer and all I can think about is how badly will they turn out? Another BIG frustration is that I paid a premium for all the fiber I bought (24.99 per braid). Because I spin mostly for my Etsy Shop it would be nice to make a dollar or two, but when I spring for something a little pricey it would be nice to at least get some satisfaction out of the end product even if I only break even when I sell it, which is definitely all this would do. This has turned into ZERO satisfaction rather quickly to say the least!! But there is one more factor I should mention - weight. The tag said 4.2 ounces but my finished skein only weighs 3.8 ounces. Is it possible to lose that much weight in spinning and washing? I can't help but wonder. (I use the commercial scale from my regular business to weigh things so I have to believe it's dependable.)
And as for customer service, this shop expects to deal with complaints etc within the first 30 days after purchase. Since I bought these for myself for Christmas (joxeux Noel!) that time is long past. Basically I'm stuck. And since this seller is a fellow Phattie I will not do her the disservice of posting her shop but I know I will certainly not be purchasing from her again.
The real difficulty I'm having now is that I have (groan!) six more bundles of fiber from this dyer and all I can think about is how badly will they turn out? Another BIG frustration is that I paid a premium for all the fiber I bought (24.99 per braid). Because I spin mostly for my Etsy Shop it would be nice to make a dollar or two, but when I spring for something a little pricey it would be nice to at least get some satisfaction out of the end product even if I only break even when I sell it, which is definitely all this would do. This has turned into ZERO satisfaction rather quickly to say the least!! But there is one more factor I should mention - weight. The tag said 4.2 ounces but my finished skein only weighs 3.8 ounces. Is it possible to lose that much weight in spinning and washing? I can't help but wonder. (I use the commercial scale from my regular business to weigh things so I have to believe it's dependable.)
And as for customer service, this shop expects to deal with complaints etc within the first 30 days after purchase. Since I bought these for myself for Christmas (joxeux Noel!) that time is long past. Basically I'm stuck. And since this seller is a fellow Phattie I will not do her the disservice of posting her shop but I know I will certainly not be purchasing from her again.
Posted by Gloria Patre at 4/5/2011 6:20 PM 
Categories: Yarn, Spinning, Fiber
Tags: handspun yarn hand dyed fiber
Categories: Yarn, Spinning, Fiber
Tags: handspun yarn hand dyed fiber
How very disappointing! I am sorry that has happened to you. Thank you for sharing the story though. It is good to learn of other's disappointments and well as joys.
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There are so many fibre sellers out there...right and left. I have been burned a few times myself. There is a Shetland breeder in Embro Ontario that sold (by mail) me felted fleece when I was a newbie spinner. She insisted it was fine and I just need to use it in a warm room. She is still in business and I see her at the big shows....but I would never ever buy from her again!!
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That's too bad. We all had a similar experience I think. With bleeding, or suspected bleeding fiber, I would soak it in water with vinegar, and heat it up again (in the microwave)or on the stove.
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I would have been very disappointed, too. I think I'll just keep dyeing my own wool when I want colors. In this case, I think you should set the colors on any other braids you bought from this seller. Maybe some vinegar or citric acid solution, then nuke them in plastic wrap. Someone on the spinlist had this issue recently as well. Good luck with the rest of the fiber.
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