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>>> Natural luxury yarns & fibres |
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Shades of 2008: All Lara Downs yarns and fibres (with a few exceptions) are hand dyed here at Lara Downs. Our selection for 2008 is shown below, consisting of random shades No.1-10 and semi-solid shades 11-20 in similar tones to the first 10. Shades 21-31 have been added only recently. These shades can be selected in any of our 15 luxury natural fibre yarns either in knitting yarn lengths (100 gms) or embroidery threads (8 metres); as well as in top form (mohair, merino or silk), and for our Pearls (kiddy curls) . Shades No's 1-20 are shown in mini hanks consisting of a mix of some of our yarns. Shades 21-31 are shown in our cashmere-silk blend yarn, but by clicking on each colour, a larger image displaying various yarns in the selected shade, will be displayed.
Note that there is also a separate set of 80 shades specifically for our Angoraglow kid mohair 2 ply embroidery threads. These are shown elsewhere.
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Random Mixed Shades 1-10 from the left |
Semi-Solid Shades 11-20 from the left |
Click on shade icons to display larger images |
Click on shade icons to display larger images |
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Shades 32-40 coming soon.
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Random Mixed Shades 21-31 from the left'
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2008 Shades of Rio, Sophisticate & Jade shown below in four of Lara Downs' luxury natural fibre yarns. Also check out our Cashmere & Silk Drape in Blueberry - random on our handcrafts page.
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Shade of 2008 'Rio' No. 4 from left to right: Cashmere/silk (solid), Cashmere(random), Merino (random) & Boucle chunky silk (random)
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Shade of 2008 'Sophisticate' No. 3 from left to right:Cashmere/silk (solid), Cashmere(random), Merino (random) & Boucle chunky silk (random)
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Shade of 2008 'Jade' No. 2 from left to right:Cashmere/silk (solid), Cashmere(random), Merino (random) & Boucle chunky silk (random)
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Lara Downs 15 Natural Luxury Fibres
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Lara Downs yarn offering for 2008 includes many of the world's luxury natural fibres including mohair, merino wool, cashmere, silk & alpaca. All but the alpaca are featured on our board at Fitzroy (pictured below). |
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Our yarns are pictured from left to right:
Merino 8 ply, 4 ply and 2 ply
Merino 8 ply Slub and Fine Boucle
Mulberry Silk Chunky Twist
'Enchant' stranded Mohair & Silk
'Angoraglow' kid mohair 2 and 4 ply
Mulberry Silk Chunky Boucle
'Enamour' stranded Cashmere & Silk
Cashmere/Silk blend 2 & 4 ply
Pure Cashmere 2 & 4 ply
(Alpaca 8 ply not shown).
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>>>>Angoraglow Knitting yarn - pure luxury fine kid mohair. "Angoraglow" is a smooth, lustrous soft handling 100% Fine kid mohair yarn. This yarn is spun from our best Fine Kid mohair fleeces, selected with great care after matching for micron and is supplied exclusively by Lara Downs. It is a delight to work with and the finished effect is lustrous and has a silky feel. In knitted form, the fabric has a light halo effect (but is not fluffy) and has been skillfully designed to resist shedding . The photo below shows our small 40 gm hanks of 2 ply in various solid shades. This is sufficient to knit one lacy scarf.
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Angoraglow yarn is available in either 2 ply (Laceweight) or 4 ply. Supplied as either 40 gm hanks (2 ply), 200 gm hanks (4 ply) & 8 metre lengths for embroidery (2 ply only). Yarn thickness gauge: 4 ply = 5 wraps to 1 cm, 2 ply = 10 wraps per inch.
Yarn length per 100 grams: 2 ply = approx 425 metres, 4 ply = approx 212 metres. |
Some of our 2008 shades in 4 ply Angoraglow are shown below. To order, choose from all Shades of 2008. |
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Blueberry No. 1 |
Honey Blonde No. 52 |
Rio No. 4
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Bluebird No. 34 |
Red Rock No. 22 |
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>>>>Angoraglow Embroidery Threads - pure luxury fine kid mohair.
"Angoraglow" 2 ply yarn has been used as the basis of our new range of Embroidery threads, displayed in colour groupings. Threads may be ordered by Group or individually. A discount price is offered for muliples of 10. |
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Embroidery Thread Shades |
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Group One - Warm Creams
A. Au Natural (75), B. Cream (61),C. Peaches & Cream (63V), Sand (68), E. Summer grass (73), F. Bronze (74) |
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Group Two - Pinks
A. Pink Pearl (16), B. Salmon glow (14), C. Baby pink (15), D. Mauve glow (29), E. Marshmellow (28), F. Musk (31) |
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Group Three - Greens
A. Lettuce (50), B. Iced Lime (59), C. Green sheen (54), D. Green swirl (46V), E. Olive (57), F. Camaflage (55) |
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Group Four - Mauves
A. Lavender berry (38V), B. Pretty Girl (48V), C. Dusk (30), D. Lavender (27), E. Smoke (26), F.Shiraz (25) |
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Group Five - Light Blues
A. Misty blue (32), B. Snowflake (37), C. Silver Mist (3), D. Sarsparilla (36), E. Soft blue (42), F.Lavender blue (33) |
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Group Six - Oranges
A. Salmon (5), B. Flesh (8), C. Tangerine (6), D. Amber glow (4V), E. Apricot (13), F.Burnt orange (7), G. Copper lights (78) |
Each yarn is numbered for accuracy in ordering. V after the yarn number signifies a variegated shade ie two or more shades blended. |
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Group Seven-Reds, Purple, Black
A. Blood red (9), B. Lady in red (12), C. Exotic (10V), D. Grevillea (11), E. Beetroot (20), F. Royalty (24), G. Panther (1) |
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Group Eight - More Greens
A. Gumleaf (52), B. Green glow (58), C. Seagold (49V), D. Jade glow (43), E. Jade (47), F. Sea opal (53) |
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Group Nine - Flesh tones
A.Naked (21), B. Milk chocolate (77), C. Rosebud (66V), D. Latte (79), E. Mushroom (39), F. Chocolate (80) |
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Group Ten - Yellow/Green
A.Citrus (60), B. Limeglow (62), C. Lime shadow (51), D. Golden Delicious (65, E. Moss (64), F. Khaki (56) |
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Group Eleven - Gold/Mustard
A.Frosted Apricot (71), B. Moonglow (69), C. Goldilocks (72), D. Gold (70), E. Mustard (67), F. Iced Coffee (76) |
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Group Twelve - Deep Blues
A.Blue Ice (41), B. Arctic (44), C. Sky blue (45), D. Subdued blue (35), E. Deep blue (40), F. Silver Fox (2) |
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Group Thirteen - Strong Pinks
A.Lollipop (18), B. Peach (17), C. Coral (23), D. Grape (19), E. Heavenly (22), F. Carmen (34)
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Please email us for queries or print off our order form to order any of our yarns or embroidery threads. We also offer embroidery & embellishing threads in other fibres. |
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| >>>>Pure Merino yarns |
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Lara Downs now has a lovely range of pure Merino yarns in a smooth ring spun style available in 2, 4 and 8 ply.
2 ply 100 gm hanks = 900 mts
4 ply x 100 gms = 455 mts
8 ply x 100 gms = 200 mts
These are available natural or in any of the Shades of 2008 featured on this page.
Can also be supplied on cone - special order required. |
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| >>>>Pure Merino fine boucle and slub yarns |
| These fancy merino yarns will lend themselves to a wide variety of purposes. The fine boucle is a springy yarn with plenty of bounce, whereas the slub is a softer more lofty yarn. Both have very interesting textures to create special features in your work. (see at left, Slub above the Boucle) |
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Slub yarn at left. Fine Boucle at right.
Both yarns are available in 100 gm hanks either in natural white or one of the Shades of 2008. |
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| >>>>Embellishment Gift packs |
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These delightful thread packs are designed to inspire creativity and are rather fun for the creator to make as well. No two packs are exactly the same in terms of colour ways, so please don't ask, but each pack contains 4 threads, each 8 metres long and can include pure silk, pure mohair, rayon and/or other natural fibres. Some are displayed below.
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Best to select Gift packs in person from our retail outlet. Alternatively we can supply by mail order in response to general suggestions about colours, but no promises about meeting prescriptive orders.
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>>>>"Enchant" - Kid mohair and Silk stranded yarn
At long last Enchant is back in stock. Orders will be filled as soon as possible.
This new and original yarn combines the best of both worlds by exhibiting the stunning lustre of pure silk plus the softness of our own kid mohair. By stranding these yarns together for knitting as a single yarn, all of the unique properties of each natural fibre is retained, rather than being blurred through blending. Enchant is recommended for use with 5.5mm needles. Tension: 6 stitches and 6 rows = 3 square centimetres. Five lovely shades are shown below. It is also available in any of our Shades of 2008. Supplied in 100 gm hanks.
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Masquerade No 6. |
Bird of Paradise No. 7 |
SplendorNo 8. |
Copper Rose No 39 |
Spun Gold No 29.
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>>>>>Pure Silk Yarns - Chunky Twist , Boucle Chunky & Fine 2 ply
All three silk yarns are quite stunning. Made from Mulberry silk (best quality pure white) these yarns absorb dye like no others and simply glow with stunning colour. A little goes a long way.
Close up view of our new Silk Boucle yarn at right. It knits up beautifully but could also be used as a weaving yarn. Our 2 ply silk yarn is smooth and sleek. See above. |
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Our Enchanted Cobweb shawl on the handcrafts page, combines both "Chunky Twist" silk and "Enchant" our mohair & silk stranded yarn, to great effect. These yarns are all available in any of Lara Downs Shades of 2008.
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GoldenWattle (Chunky Twist)
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Jade -random (Boucle) |
Masquerade- random (Boucle) |
>>>>> Pure Alpaca Yarn - 8 ply in 100 gm hanks
This 100% alpaca yarn is soft and cuddly. Not given to overstatement, alpaca dyes to lovely soft hues. These are four of our favourites.
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Morocco |
Salmon blush |
Sahara sunset |
Bird of Paradise |
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| >>>> Pure Cashmere and Cashmere/Silk Yarns |
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Introducing sheer luxury cashmere and cashmere/silk blend yarns in 2 and 4 ply weights. Superbly soft and easy on the eye.
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Our 55/45 Cashmere/Silk blend shares the soft handle of the cashmere with an added touch of lustre from the silk. A subtle and lovely yarn, also in 2 or 4 ply. Inset at left is a close up of an article in Lara Downs Cashmere/silk in new shade 'Marakesh No. 40.
Available in any of Lara Downs' Shades of 2008 or natural (white). |
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| >>>> Novelty Mohair handcrafted yarns and accessories from Adele's of South Africa |
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About Adele's yarn. Adele, an enterprising South African woman is helping to empower local, often disadvantaged women through an innovative handcraft business, producing unique designer yarns and garments. They specialise in using locally available mohair and merino, combined with man made fibres to create some stunning effects. You can now share in this worthwhile enterprise and benefit from these talented women by purchasing some of their wonderful products, now offered exclusively in Australia by Lara Downs.
Click on yarn icons for more shades
These products can be purchased at our Fitzroy outlet or online.
Images courtesy Be Sweet and South Seas websites
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>>>> Angoraglow Yarn Harmony Knitting Kits
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> Harmony Quartet Knitting Kit
featuring Super kid mohair & Silk.
This fabulous wrap in 'Sophisti-cat' blend and modelled by Liz, has been knitted from the Quartet Kit.
Kit contents: 140 gms of yarn (includes 40 gms Angoraglow 4 ply, 40 gms Angoraglow 2 ply in two different shades (40gms x 2) plus 20 gms Silk boucle).
Kit includes a free pattern for the wrap. |
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Some of our Quartet Harmony blends in cross section:
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"Elegance" |
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"Sophisti-cat" |
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"Harvest" |
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"Lilactime" |
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"Carmen" |
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"Gumleaf" |
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"Springtime" |
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"Sarsparilla" |
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> Harmony Trio Knitting Kit
featuring Fine kid mohair in three harmonising shades
Liz models our Trio scarf pattern in 'Salmon'
Kit contents: 120 gms of yarn (3 x 40 gm hanks of Angoraglow 2 ply in harmonising shades).
Kit includes free patterns for the scarf & larger wrap |
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Lara Downs Harmony Trio Knitting Kits are available in Salmon (see above),Citrus, Peacock, Sunrise,, Forest Floor, & Passion.
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Citrus |
Peacock |
Sunrise |
Forest floor |
Passion |
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| >>>>Angoraglow Kid mohair Neck Hugger Kits |
Neck Huggers are knitted using any three shades of Angoraglow 2 ply from our colour range to create colourful and comfortable neck warmers. Using far less yarn than regular scarves, and being quick and easy to knit, they are a great idea for the busy knitter and are a great gift idea.
Lara Downs kid mohair is wonderfully comfortable right up close and is snug and warm. Don't try this pattern with other yarn of lesser quality as it is bound to prickle !
The pattern comes in three variations and is exclusive to Lara Downs. All three patterns come free with each Kit ordered. Matching buttons supplied for an additional charge.
See our Handcrafts page for photos of completed Huggers. Colour combinations at right: Deep Peach, Cherry ripe & Panther (top) & Wild berries, Tangerine & Latte (bottom).
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>>>Imported Mohair & Wool Blend Yarns
12 ply Touch Yarns from New Zealand (brushed & boucle)
Lara Downs has selected yarns from the Touch Yarn company (NZ) to distribute within Australia, based on our experience with this attractive and well designed yarn. We mainly distribute their beautiful 12 ply kid mohair/merino blend but also offer small quantities of other yarn/fibre mixes. Touch yarns have a lovely soft handle and attractive colour range. Choose from either solid or random ranges in traditional brushed finish or the popular boucle style. See the Touch web site to select style and colour of yarn. Supplied in 100 gm hanks.
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| 2 ply Fine kid mohair & merino yarn (80% kid mohair, 5% merino, 15% Polyamide) (brushed only) |
We have three lovely shades in this very fine yarn - Chocolate, Forest and Sand. Available in either 100 gm hanks or 25 gm balls (convenient when only using a colour as a feature).
Tension measured over 10 cms 17 stitches & 25 rows using 5mm needles.
Refer to our Handcrafts page for a Mini-wrap knitted in Forest, with striped feature using the other shades.. |
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>>>>A Note on Quality Control and about buying Mohair Yarn
Please refer to our statement on quality control and a note of caution about buying Mohair yarns, published on our Mohair page.
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>>>>Wendy's Rainbow Threads
NEW- Rainbow Twists. More colourful delights now in 10 mts x 4 = 40 metre twists. Great for embellishing - anything really !
Join them together as you knit for an amazing result. |
An exciting range of mohair, wool, silk and synthetic yarn mixes in short lengths, have been blended especially for fibre artists, embroiderers and scrumblers. Some mixes specialise in mohair and mohair blend yarns. Only the best quality yarns are used in our blends. We can make up packs to meet your particular colour requirements if you don't see just the right shades in our photographed samples . Please note that each pack will be unique in its mix of textures and colour selection while staying within the general colour theme you order. Please contact us to discuss your requirements if necessary.
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Rainbow threads are also supplied in attractive retail packs in 10 yarns x 1 metre and 10 yarns by 2 metre lengths . See our order form for pricing details. |
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Outrageous Oranges in mixed fibres |
Turquoise mixed fibres |
Rainbow threads in smooth mohair |
Pale Pinks in mixed fibres |
Beautiful Blues in mixed fibres |
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Gorgeous Green mixed fibres |
Yummy Yellow mixed fibres |
Rainbow threads in mixed fibres |
Rich Reds in mixed fibres |
Teal in mixed fibres |
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Boggy browns in mixed fibres |
Passionate Purple mixed fibres |
Rainbow threads in brushed mohair |
Basic Blacks in mixed fibres |
Posh Pink mixed fibres |
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| >>>About Pearls & Clouds |
| >>>>Mohair Pearls (Kiddy curls) |
We describe our curly kid mohair as pearls because of their similar luxury image to that of the real pearl as well as for their pearl-like colour and lustre. Our mohair pearls are offered for sale in their raw natural state and also in many hand dyed hues, some of which are shown below. Please order pearls by shade name using our order form or indicate if you would like a random mix of colours. Very small quantities of pearls can be ordered especially for doll's hair. Our Doll's page includes more colours especially selected for wig use.
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| Using Pearls & Clouds: |
When mohair pearls are put through a carder, the resulting array of fibres resembles fluffy clouds and hence our term for hand carded kid mohair. Our clouds, (otherwise known as sliver), are available in any solid colour or blend selected from our various colour ranges , some of which are shown below. Mohair pearls and clouds can be used in wonderful ways in handcrafts such as spinning , felting and weaving as well as in fibre art. The wonderful example of fibre art by Angela Norris (below) uses mohair as a highlight, & employs the skills of embroidery & beading to produce a delightful mixed media collage/landscape entitled 'Lavender Field'.
Refer to our handcraft page for other ideas. |
| Hand dyed kid mohair pearls - Solid shades (S), Random Mixes ie dyed as a single batch with multiple shades (RM) & Blends ie curls separately dyed in different shades and then combined (B) . Click on images to enlarge. (Only several have enlargements so far but more coming soon). |
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Passion (RM) |
Blue Ice (S) |
Violet (S) |
Blue hues (RM) |
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The Red Centre (S) |
Autumn jewels (RM) |
Earth tones (B) |
Latte (S) |
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Gold (S) |
Kangaroo Paw (S-KK) |
Wild skies (B) |
Amberglow (RM) |
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Claret (RM) |
Musk (S) |
Masquerade (B) |
Moss (S - KK) |
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| & more pearls................. |
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Jade (S) |
Greenpeace (B) |
Limeglow (S) |
Precious opals (RM) |
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Noroesk (S) |
Grevillea (S-KK) |
Blue satin (RM) |
Sultry (B) |
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In the Pink (RM) |
Vineyard (B) |
Berry cocktail (B) |
Elegance (B) |
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| >>>>Mohair Clouds (or Sliver)- hand dyed & carded kid mohair in named blends. (See Exotic in enlarged format). |
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Wild Skies |
Stormy Seas |
Regency Red |
Seagold |
Mother Earth |
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Exotic |
Cherry Ripe |
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Sultry |
Precious opals |
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Also see our Fibre Art Kits which combine our Clouds and Rainbow threads plus other decorative goodies in a single kit designed to inspire Felters and others who enjoy creating with luxury fibres. |
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©
Lara Downs 2006 All Rights Reserved. Website's original design by GeB
Productions
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