Mountain Merino Wools and free pattern by Mollie Johanson
Hello all! Recently the nice peeps at Mountain Meadow Wool sent me 4 shades of their beautiful Mountain Merino wool, in a new weight made especially for crewel embroidery. And not only did they send me the wool for review, they are also doing a giveaway on Feeling Stitchy - stay tuned for the details later on in this post!
But first off, let's have a look at that lovely wool!
The wool comes twisted into hanks, like pearl cotton. Also like pearl cotton, the thread is comprised of two thin strands that are twisted together:
I was afraid it would be super-chunky to stitch with - not so! It fits easily through the eye of the crewel needle I embroider with, and the lines were a bit chunky, but not as thick as I'd assumed. I'd say it's equivalent to stitching with 6 strands of cotton embroidery floss. If you need really fine detail, you could divide the strand into 2 as necessary.
Here's a comparison of thread weights I had on hand, Mountain Wool on top, Appleton Crewel Wool next, DMC floss - 6 strands next, and DMC floss - 2 strands last:
Like other crewel wool, it has a nice, springy texture, and since it is hand-dyed there's a natural color variation - almost a heather texture to all the shades. I did notice it knots up a fair bit when pulling through the fabric - so my suggestion is to work with short lengths of thread.
The 2 ply thread makes it stronger than 1 strand of crewel wool, so it won't break when you pull it tightly. Since it's merino wool, it feels softer and less scratchy than regular wool under your fingertips - it's very nice to work with.
I used 3 of the shades they sent me - Geranium, Silver, and Teal to stitch up this wonderful free pattern by Mollie Johanson:
I used a back stitch and lazy daisy stitch on the leaves - You can really see the nice pearl texture. Knots were made by wrapping the needle once with the wool. The large letters were stitched with a split stitch.
So, to sum up my review - this is a very nice quality wool, with a wonderful hand-dyed texture that looks beautiful when stitched.
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This color card shows the full range of colors - please forgive the lighting in this pic and be aware that the colors may not be an exact match, but this is close!
To Win:
Tell us what your favorite shades are - for example - blues, reds, greens, yellows, neutrals, etc. Click here to see a larger version. Leave a comment on this post
Thanks again to Mountain Meadow Wool for making this review and giveaway possible!
Lovely wool shades! I like the blue ones.
ReplyDeleteI love cool tones and neutrals.
ReplyDeleteI love the Reds!
ReplyDeleteI like the browns. And thanks for the photo showing the difference in the threads and for the give-away opportunity.
ReplyDeleteCan I legitimately say I like them all?
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm partial to the colors in the orange/red/purple range. They always remind me of the Australian outback.
Thanks for the great giveaway!
Carol S.
I'm really digging on the reds.
ReplyDeleteI'm always attracted to pinks and yellows. Love crewel working and these Mountain Meadow Wools look like a 'must try'.
ReplyDeletehmm thta's hard! I really like the lupine!
ReplyDeleteLove the greens. Perfect for the nature scenes I love to do. jennylarking at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteI like the blue shades.
ReplyDeleteNow off to check out their website.
They're all so pretty but my favorites are the greens and pinks!
ReplyDeleteThe blues win it in my book.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this review. I am just in the planning stage of a new wool embroidery, so this is very intersting post for me :-)
xx
How lovely! I adore all shades of blue! I havent done much crewel lately, but h
ReplyDeleteHow lovely! I adore all shades of blue. I haven't done crewel lately, but have a pattern in line for the winter.
ReplyDeleteI love working in reds.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful wool floss!! I love colours in the blue-purple range!
ReplyDeleteNormally, the greens are my favorites but I'm drawn to the bright pink/reds. Thank you for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteI like the purples and blues:) Thanks for showing the thicknesses
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful! I love the greens.
ReplyDeleteI love the yellows and oranges!
ReplyDeleteI think the blues are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteAh that's a hard decision! I love the yellow, orange, pink range!
ReplyDeleteThese look lovely! I think my favourites might be the three grays - dove, silver, and charcoal.
ReplyDeleteI love the oranges!
ReplyDeletemy favorites are the blues and purples and greens. morning glory colors.
ReplyDeleteI'm usually a blues person, but these reds and pinks look so saturated and gorgeous! I've been meaning to fill the empty spot in my stash, so I'd love to get my hands on these. thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI love the reds and pinks! I would love to try this out! Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeletetdkcarpenoctem@hotmail.com
Normally I am a blue/purple tone person but the pinks and reds in this range look amazing - such beautiful tones. I would love to try wool embroidery, my mum has done some and I love the idea of Marino wool as I know how soft and beautiful it is to work with. Thank you for sharing your review.
ReplyDeleteThey have some lovely greens, but the pinks are gorgeous too!
ReplyDeleteI love both the blues & greens. Gorgeous shades.
ReplyDeleteokay, asking me to pick a color combination of crewel is hard. I think that the gold to reds are great as i would add these to enhance the applique flowers on the quilt i am planning. But all the colors are beautiful. I am just beginning to make my crewel wool collection so all of the colors are fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the comparison of thread weights. My hues would be blues and yellows. Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteI love all the blues, especially sky, bluebell and denim but my fave is lupine!
ReplyDeleteMy favorites are the greens with the blues a close second. Lovely!
ReplyDeleteBlue bell
ReplyDeleteI love the oranges and yellows :-) Very Autumnal for this time of year!
ReplyDeleteI love the blues- light blue, navy blue, cornflower- all the blues! So pretty! Oh! Periwinkle too!
ReplyDeleteAll of the colors are so vibrant! I think I like the pinks the best right now,
ReplyDeleteI'm usually drawn to reds and pinks but in these threads, the blue range calls to me. I'm picking up crewel embroidery again after a long hiatus and this post was very timely. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love the blues, grays, and greens. lovely! I love stitching with wool.
ReplyDeleteI really love those dark greens and rust colored threads!
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the greens into neutrals.
ReplyDeleteI love yellows and greens!
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for making the comparisons with other strands - and hosting the giveaway:) I like the range of greens, particularly.
ReplyDeleteI really like them all! But the oranges and greens and browns are the best.
ReplyDeleteReds and yellows :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the combo of Dove, Pine cone, Geranium and the Pink! Sweet!
ReplyDeleteThey are all lovely!! Marigold and Lupine especially make me smile.
ReplyDeleteI like the yellow to oranges, or Buttercup to Sunflower.
ReplyDeleteOh this is awesome. It is hard to pick a favourite colour, but I think I like the pinks and reds in this collection the best!
ReplyDeleteThe reds are my favorite.
ReplyDeleteI really like the reds and neutrals.
ReplyDeleteI love the blues, especially Pansy.
ReplyDeleteI love the reds and neutrals. This wool looks heavenly to work with!
ReplyDeleteI love the blues and greens!
ReplyDeleteI love embroidering with wool, so I was excited to hear about this company! I love the blues, especially navy and lupine
ReplyDeleteVery nice. I love greens. Autumn colors, too.
ReplyDeleteI love the reds and pinks, and the teal and lichen greens! Just beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI hope I am not too late!! I love teal and anything with green tones!!
ReplyDelete