The cone of qiviut arrived! It looks remarkably innocuous for something so expensive. Would you believe that this small cone of yarn (center) cost $360 (!!!) ?
Well, fortunately I didn’t pay for it, and apparently it’s worth it to my friend (he lives in Alaska and wanted to give an Alaska-oriented gift to his daughter). So I will have $180 worth, aka 2 ounces, of qiviut yarn to play with at the end of this scarf. Probably still a bargain for my friend considering the labor involved in designing and weaving the scarf, but a nice bonus for me since I would have been happy to weave it up for free! (Friends being friends, and all.)
I did a wrap to see whether a black or white silk warp would be more appropriate, and decided that either black or white would work, though they’d give two totally different “feels” to the qiviut:
I think I would weave it up with white, because the contrast is better, but I think my “client” will prefer black.
Meanwhile, in the background of the second photo, you can see my diversified plain weave sample – have woven up about a foot and a half so far. I plan to weave another foot or so tonight, then measure it, dye the first portion of the sample, and let it batch overnight. Measuring it beforehand will give me an idea of the shrinkage, and after dyeing the finished sample will give me a good feel for the “hand” of the final fabric.
And my community college drawing class is starting this week, so I will need to listen to the lectures and start the first lesson…lots to do!
I’d be tempted to go with the white, because of the whole Alaska theme. But of course, what the end user wants is what matters. Enjoy the sumptuous yarn!