Newport Harbor© Alpaca & Merino Lambswool
Available in 24-yard skeins for $2.50 each (suggested retail).

Ocean drives, cottages and castles, sails and spinnakers, lobster, America's Cup Races, and a windmill to
sail past after a beautiful summer's day.  Sunsets, bicycling, warm fireside evenings, seagulls, a bridge, and
memories of ferry trips not really so long ago . . .Newport Harbor©.

Newport Harbor© needlework thread is 70% British Merino Lambswool and 30% South American

Alpaca.  When we decided to introduce this yarn, we were exploring several concepts for the development
of Felicity's Garden©, beyond the colors as they are presently known.  Our concept for Newport Harbor© is
that it is a blender for Felicity's Garden© that will put the stitcher in control.  Newport Harbor© is our twist on
unusual shading.  This is a yarn of hidden potential.  Close inspection will reveal a yarn of more colors 
than the palette of 12 initially suggests.  Each color of Newport Harbor© (except white, black and navy) is made up
of five colors of dye.  There are actually 48 colors of dye that have been used in this yarn.  Each color is
processed individually before being spun and twisted together.  Look closely and you will see the colors
contained within.  Newport Harbor© has the ability to interact with surrounding colors.

Newport Harbor© is also perfectly capable of standing on its own, and shows great beauty in so doing.  The
earthy colors in this line will lend themselves to many decorating themes.  Pieces worked exclusively in this
thread will reveal natural feelings of color expression.  The feeling of this yarn is that of woven blankets and
heathered sweaters, and adding this yarn to Felicity's Garden© with all the colors of that palette will expand
this small palette to surprising levels.

The size of Newport Harbor© adds to this thread's potential.  Newport Harbor© is approximately 1/2 the size
of a strand of Felicity's Garden©, which was very deliberate.  It can even be worked in basketweave with a
strand of Felicity's Garden© on #18 mesh needlepoint canvas without "packing."  The reason for this is the
excellence of spinning which makes these threads "self-accommodating."  This yarn is spun and dyed in the
United States.  The smaller Newport Harbor© thread does not produce a blending of equal proportion, which is
exactly what we wanted.  This is what makes the blending so interesting.  Newport Harbor©, when combined with a
similar color will produce subtle shading in your work.  The combination of Newport Harbor© with colors that are not
closely related in color density or shade, will produce tweeded colors with the resulting appearance of a woven
fabric from the Hebrides or Shetland Islands.

This thread was also selected for its binding ability to Felicity's Garden©, which makes it extremely easy with
which to stitch.  When Newport Harbor© is used as a blender with Felicity's Garden©, the result looks like an
entirely different yarn rather than simply the sum of its parts.  Now consider the possibilities when plied with
Felicity's Garden Duets©.

Newport Harbor© Virtual Color Card
12 colors, 24 yards per skein.  Available in fine needlework stores everywhere!

This color card has been prepared through digital imaging.  We have taken every effort to verify that these
colors are being presented as accurately as possible, however, settings on your monitor may vary.

#18 Mesh Needlepoint Canvas.
One strand of Newport Harbor© alpaca thread combined with one strand of Felicity's Garden© silk and wool thread
will work almost all possibilities very successfully.  Newport on its own, two strands will give good coverage for
most stitches.

#13 & #14 Mesh Needlepoint Canvas.
Fiber according to stitches using a combination of something along the lines of above and below.

#12 Mesh Needlepoint Canvas.
Two strands of Newport Harbor© and one strand of Felicity's Garden©, one Newport Harbor© and two strands of
Felicity's Garden© will work most stitches for blending  To work Newport on its own, three strands will work
most stitches.

Newport Harbor

©2001, Rosebud's Studio.  All Rights Reserved.

Newport Harbor - 70% British Merino Lambswool
& 30% South American Alpaca

Ocean drives, cottages and castles, sails and spinnakers, lobster, America’s Cup Races, and a Windmill to sail past after a beautiful summer’s day. Sunsets, bicycling, warm fireside evenings, seagulls, a Bridge, and memories of ferry trips not really so very long ago. . . Newport.

The Thread
Newport is the combination of two beautiful, natural fibers in remarkable proportions. Merino is, of course, the finest of lambswools, and Alpaca, with its beauty and luster when paired in just these right proportions, creates a yarn that speaks in gentle hues that keep nature in mind.

Blending Newport with Felicity's Garden
When we decided to introduce this yarn, we were exploring several concepts for the development of Felicity’s Garden beyond the colors as they are presently known. Felicity’s Garden Duets is our newest addition along these lines.

Newport is a yarn of hidden potential. Close inspection will reveal a yarn of far more colors than the palette of twelve initially suggests. Each color of Newport, except white, black and navy, is made up of five colors of dye. Each color is processed individually before being spun and twisted together. Look closely and you will see the colors contained within. There are actually 48 colors of dye that have been used in this yarn. This yarn has the ability to inter-react with surrounding colors.

Using this yarn as a blender for Felicity’s Garden, for example, on #18 mesh you would use one strand of Felicity’s Garden with one strand of Newport. Shades of colors that are close to each other in intensity will produce very subtle changes that would actually move into the realm of shading. Newport is a perfect binder for Felicity’s Garden because of the agreement of the merinos and the introduction of the alpaca. If Brown Raccoon #009 of Felicity’s Garden is paired with a gray of Newport, the result will be a grayish brown. The result will not reveal that two threads were actually used. It will look like a new blended color. If Spinnaker in Newport (#12) is added to Brown Raccoon, a reddish brown will occur. Suppose you are working a branch under a red flower, this blend would create the potential of moving the flower color into the shadows of the stem.

The size of Newport also adds to this thread’s ability. It is smaller than the size of Felicity’s Garden, and this is very deliberate. First of all, even though Felicity’s Garden will stitch one strand on #18 to perfection, one strand of Newport can also be added. The reason for this is the excellence of the spinning. These threads become self-accommodating. Yes, it is a little tighter in basketweave, but still acceptable, where two strands of Felicity’s Garden on #18 would be too much bulk. The smaller Newport thread does not produce a blending of equal proportion, which is exactly what we wanted. This is what makes the blending so interesting. The blending that is done with colors of equal depth will create shaded colors for Felicity’s Garden. The combination of Newport with colors that are not closely related in color density or color, will produce tweeded colors, and what we really liked was the resulting appearance of a woven fabric from the Hebrides or the Shetland Islands.

Stitching With Newport On Its Own
Newport is perfectly capable of standing on its own, and shows great beauty in doing so. The earthy colors in this line will lend themselves to many decorating themes. Pieces worked exclusively in this thread will reveal natural feelings of color expression. Look closely when you stitch and you will see many colors reveal themselves.

Color, is a very involved subject. One upon which entire volumes have been written. But, to keep this very simple and brief, I’m going to be very specific about the effects of color this yarn can have when used in combination of other yarns. For example, if you have worked a design that has mixed fibers, and perhaps a lot of yellow in the work, and you have chosen one of the Newports with yellow in it for a background, it will become even more apparent as your eye is already prepared to receive the yellow-color message. The yellow of the design will bring out the yellow in the Newport. This is as it should be, a very subtle message, but it is there. The effect is that the background choice seems excellent because it just seems to work so well, and really compliments the design itself. Another example is to use the Newport that has apricot in it, and watch the effect it will have on pulling apricots and pinks out of a design with these colors in it. The ultimate effect of this color messaging is to move the eye back to what is the main part of the design. This is art, and you are the artist.

About The Yarn
This yarn is a single, and not divisible, but easily pliable to meet your stitching needs. Due to the excellent binding ability, many ply can be worked together quite easily.

Understanding Ply
Simple yarns are classified by the number of twisting operations applied to them. If a yarn is alike in all its parts, it is called a simple yarn. If a yarn has unlike parts, it is a complex yarn. The single yarn is produced in the first twisting operation which is performed by the spinning frame. Twist is defined as the spiral arrangement of the fibers around the axis of the yarn which binds them together and gives strength. Twist is produced by revolving one end of a fiber strand while the other end is held stationary. A ply of yarn is made by a second twisting operation which combines two or more singles to increase the diameter, strength, or quality. Each part of the yarn is called a ply. The twist is inserted by a machine called a twister. When two single yarns are combined, they are said to be plied. Each one can, however, stand alone. When two are combined they actually exceed individual strength by 10%. To break down a single yarn would be to destroy the first twisting operation of the spinning frame.

Fiber Construction
Texture and strength while being stitched with is dependent on the spin as well as fiber quality. An embroidery or needlepoint yarn has to be able to withstand abrasion while being pulled through canvas or fabric. It is the twist that produces a good part of the durability. A tight twist gives strength and can also add elasticity. A tight twist can even give short fibers strength. A twist can also be part of what is visually pleasing. The main idea of yarn construction is that the twist keep the yarn together. It is this process which turns fiber into what we call yarn. An individual fiber may circle yarn many times so the catch of the fiber has more to hold on to as the fibers cross many times. Also, these encircling fibers hold the yarn together by the tension of their individual elasticity. The tension of these encircling fibers is the reason for the strength of the yarn with the tighter twist. There is, in addition, more elasticity because in a yarn of tighter twist, the transverse elasticity is brought into use. (Transverse = lying or being across or in a cross section; being or extending across the length of something at right angles.)

Twist is another important factor in what keeps a single yarn together. The spun halves that comprise a single can appear strong, but if one attempted to stitch with one half of a single, it would simply pull apart within a few stitches because it has no twist to give it strength.

Merino Wool
Merino comprises 70% of Newport Harbor, and the most precious of sheep wools. Spinning merino wool is a very labor-intensive work. There is a fineness in character to this wool, it is full of great potential and carries an allure and mystique. Merino fleeces are very dense, with a high wax and grease content (at the time of origin) that serves to confine weather damage to the tips of the staple, which is easily removed to produce the beautiful sound fiber with which we stitch. This characteristic also keeps any tendency to “pill” to a minimum, as such a condition is caused by short broken fiber working its way to the surface of the finished work.

The environment where merinos are raised can also affect the outcome of this fiber. The use of this wool goes far back into the mists of antiquity. Of course, there is a wealth of conflicting accounts as this fiber is followed through history.

Briefly, it is said that there were merino sheep in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates, also known as the site of the Garden of Eden (modern Iraq). From here, the Phoenicians took them to Anatolia (modern Turkey), Greece (in the well-known myth of Jason, the Golden Fleece was that of a merino), Italy and North Africa. In North Africa, they were cared for by the Berbers, makers of fine wool and cloth. At the start of the 8th century, the Moors brought the breed to Spain. It was these Moorish woolworkers who brought the secrets of this trade through the Dark Ages. It is also thought to be possible that the merino breed came from a cross-breeding with Cotswold sheep, a British long-wool breed. The word ‘merino’ means “thick curly hair” in Spanish. It is also said the word is from the Sierra Morena Mountains, where in the foothills these sheep were raised. There was also, it is told, a family in Morocco with the name of Merino who raised these sheep. This wool has always been highly regarded by flock owners. Spain threatened death to exporters of these sheep. Nonetheless, some were smuggled out.

Five Leading Flocks Emerged
The Escurial - A royal flock with beautifully crimped, dense wool
The Paular - This flock was owned by Carpathian Monks.  this was a sheep of soft, silky, tight wool,
also having a surface yoke.
The Negrett - A count by this name owned this flock.  These were very different in appearance.
A very large sheep with short wool and loose skin.
The Infantado - This was a duke, whose flock carried his name.
The Guadalupe - These were big, large-boned sheep, with dense and well-crimped wool which was quite oily.

Through these flocks developed the merinos that we know today. The first merinos were brought to Australia in 1797. In 1850 they arrived in North America. The main types of merinos developed outside Spain were; the Saxony merino, which was from the Negrett breed; the Silesian or German merino, which were from a cross-breeding of the Negrett, Escurial and Infantado; and the Rambouillet, or French merino, and this is suspected to have an infusion of long-wool blood.

The Vermont and Delaine were of U.S. development. The Debouillet was developed in New Mexico around 1920. In 1814 a few merinos were brought from New South Wales, Australia, to New Zealand. This valuable gift was was not recognized for what it was. . . they were eaten. Today in New Zealand, merinos represent only about 3% of the entire sheep population, which current estimates have at 67.5 million head. Today the sheep are raised for wool.

Merino is a very fine fiber with a “crimp pattern” looking almost like corrugations. When a fleece of a merino is washed, as it must be in warm soapy water, it does not shrink. It was originally thought this would have been a pre-shrinking process, but this was not the case. It was soon discovered that the yarn if spun improperly could, however, shrink. When spun improperly, the fiber if it is not straightened when it is twisted, will trap the natural crimp of the yarn inside the twist. If the angle of twist is high, it is unable to spring back. With the crimp trapped, it will “bunch” within the twist. It will, with this happening, lose its wool formation and not have an attractive appearance. Also, yarn spun in this improper manner will have a high degree of shrinkage as the crimp is being held in a captive bunch. So, improper spinning can actually alter the natural ability of merino not to shrink.

What actually needs to happen is that a tension zone be created at the point where the twist enters the un-spun fiber. This has the effect of straightening the fiber at this critical stage so that once the twist is established in the yarn, the yarn that is relaxed, can now take up the pattern of the crimp, which then gives the potential elasticity. There are all kinds of additional tricks of the trade which our spinners have developed to create our product of such beauty and performance. Even allowing for the correct amount of “air space” is part of the perfection of a correctly spun yarn. Proper spinning also has impact on ultimate wear.

Merino is one of the whitest of wools, it would, however, appear as a cream color if compared with a synthetic. Merino can, however, with know-how through a dying process be whitened into even a range of whites.

Alpaca
Alpacas are domesticated animals from South America, and are a branch of the camel family. Llamas and alpacas were originally bred by the Incas as pack animals due to their ability to thrive in the high altitudes of the Andes throughout modern-day Chile and Peru, but alpacas were more highly prized by the Incas for their rich and Silky fleeces. To the Incas, finely woven blankets and clothes were far more valuable than the readily plentiful gold and silver that their empire enjoyed in great abundance. In essence, the Incas valued the labor involved in creating such textiles rather than gold or silver. . . a concept the conquering Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro, were never able to comprehend. This is why many fine Inca textiles survive today, while most of their artworks of gold were melted down and shipped back to Spain.

The Incas discovered that by mixing alpaca fiber in with sheep wool, a much stronger yarn could be created. The fiber is eight to twelve inches long, and is coveted for its softness, fineness and luster. Natural colors are white, light fawn, light brown, dark brown, gray, black and piebald. The alpaca can only be sheared once every two years, which is one of the reasons for the fiber’s high value. Our dyers of Newport tried to let the natural range of colors reveal themselves in creating these basic colors of nature.

The hair of the alpaca is stronger than sheep wool. Alpaca consists of two varieties of fiber: soft wool-like hair, and a stiff beard on the outer hair. The most highly sought-after alpaca is the Suri, a super-breed just as the merino is the highest of sheep. The Suri is sought by the finest manufacturers because of the long silky-fine staple. It also has the curl throughout, which of course assists in the spinning process of quality yarn.
 

Click Here for Our Printable Information Sheet on Newport Harbor!

For Your Information. . .
Neither our manufacturer nor Rosebud's Studio can be held responsible for color fastness if yarn is immersed
in water.  We recommend testing your yarn prior to stitching.  If wet-blocking is planned, our yarn is said to be
by our manufacturer "permanent color fast," but it is not impossible with the strict regulations imposed by the EPA
on dying chemicals, that a color that is not fast could slip through.  Our observations in testing this yarn and the
confidence of our manufacturer tell us there should be no problem with this yarn.  With stitching today including all
the fibers that it does, one would want to take precautions in advance of work being done, and washing would never be recommended.  Textile work should be handled and displayed with respect.  As always, fibers and
fine needlework should be kept out of direct sunlight.  Always plan enough yarn for projects as dye lots can change.
And after all that; for the safest bet, assume that all yarns have the ability through the knotted hank dying process
to have the ability to bleed, especially reds and blues.