Op-Shop Perils.

I found this cone of lovely stuff at our local op-shop. The picture doesn't show it but the yarn has a silky sheen with a slight slub to the texture. Greedy little me grabbed it and headed for the counter to pay for it, believing it to be acrylic - just what I wanted for the base colour of the crocheted blanket I'm working on. Sure the yarn is very fine but that's OK, I can use 3 or 4 strands together to get the thickness I want. What a surprise when I got it home and did the flame test. It certainly isn't acrylic and definitely not wool as it burns too enthusiastically, although it does burn to an ash that simply disappears leaving no residue at all. When I wound off several skeins and washed them the smell was not that of washed wool and they shrank. Curiouser and curiouser. Could it be linen? Maybe viscose? Surely not silk, the quantity is huge, weighing well over a kilogram. The odd thing is it is cold to the touch and doesn't get very warm at all so I won't be using it for a baby's blanket, especially as it is very flammable. Further experiment showed that the knitted swatch I tried, with 3 thicknesses of yarn, washed without further shrinkage and the fabric is lovely and soft. So all is not lost, it looks as though I will be treating myself to something lacey for Summer. This is actually the first time I've tripped up over an op-shop purchase. I've had some lovely bargains in the past and am still hopelessly addicted. I'll just have to go back until I find the yarn that I need for my baby's blanket won't I?
Bye for now until next time.