Merry Christmas everyone! If you enjoyed my videos throughout the year and you felt they helped you, please consider supporting my work on Patreon - even if it’s just for a month. Here’s the link: www.patreon.com/nimbleneedlez Note: Yes, Nunavut is a Canadian Territory. I, however, bought the yarn at a store in Alaska.

That knitters advisory is hysterical!!!!

A new Zealand knitter here. Possum yarns are fantastic. They are warmer than cashmere and don't pill like cashmere. I also like that it gives the fabric fuzzy halo. If you buy yarn called "rim" possum content is 40%. One down side is there aren't many colours to choose from. Keeping the number down while producing good yarn is win win situation I think. It's a affordable luxury even Mr Obama got a possum jumper when he came to New Zealand.

i LOVE the global and ethical insight. not only are the yarns treasures but so is our own curiosity as a community. thank you Nimble Needles

Kids have plushies, knitters have that one special ball of yarn. 😊 I would really love a video about the more uncommon types of European sheep. I feel these days all the wool you readily find in stores is Merino. I once wanted something more sturdy and started looking for blue faced Leicester and that ended up being quite the search rabbit hole.

Well done! Once again, despite my 63 years of knitting, you have broadened my knowledge of our beloved pastime.

Fascinating information, Norman. One of the things I enjoy about your channel is the education you provide about so many things. Thank you for your hard work. And Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones.

I’m in awe of that pair of gloves. They look perfect.

I've fallen in love with Malabrigo Rios yarn and have only been using that now. Luckily I'm a slow knitter so it doesn't bankrupt me too quickly. Totally worth the price. The colorways vary as it's hand dyed, but i like color variation, it looks less commercial.100% superwash merino. About $20 for 100 g. I ❤ your videos! You are the best at demonstrating things clearly! Have a Happy Christmas!

Your Vicuña gloves look amazing; I’m so glad you made them ❤

I have only one little ball of quiviut. It is, indeed, my “squishy” tactile support yarn. 😊 Thank you so much for sharing all this. I’m starting to long for the Vicuna. My father had a Vicuna coat in the 1950s! 😮

I'm listening to this while spinning a guanaco/merino/silk blend. It was a gift. Fortunately I have contact information for the company. SO nice to work with!

Omg, I was more shaken finding out you were 40 years old than the price of the yarns! 😂 Thank you for such an informative video!

Hilarious disclaimer!! I truly laughed out loud! I’ve heard of most of the yarns you spoke of, I especially liked the back story, or history. Fascinating topic. And you described very well, how the yarn felt in hand! “Putting your hand in cream/lotion..” is the best! How delightfully soft that would be! Thank you, Norman! You’re the Best! Happy Holidays!

It's been very entertaining to watch this video while practicing some stitch patterns with my $5/skein acrylic. 🤣

Wonderful research done here. Many years ago I would go to a farm and purchase qiviut. So soft and lovely to work with. Thanks for all you share ❤

This morning, when taking a little break from knitting, I started reading about the different yarns like cashmere, etc. I was curious about several and which animal they were produced from and even which part of the world. Then... I later saw you had posted this video! So glad you did and for me it was even more informative than the articles I read. Thank you for the great educational video. And Merry Christmas to you and yours!

I live in Alaska, and have collected Qiviut from the Tundra. I was given an entire hide, combed it out and am now spinning my 2 plus POUNDS of Qiviut (lifetime project). I gave a pound away to other spinners. Thanks for the very entertaining and informative video.

I am obsessed 👏🏼 the vibe , the fiber knowledge it’s giving everything I need 😊❤

Another great informative and interesting episode. Thank you ! ❤❤❤

Love this video! I'm going to start buying ethically sourced yarns from now on. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

I love watching your videos. Not only are they so relaxing, I learn a lot. I was very glad to hear you talk about the misconceptions around the cost of garments. You and the people who talk about garment construction in store brand clothing have given me lots to think about!

another great video! I really appreciate the info about how ethically sourced the fibers are as thats very important to me❤

Happy New Year, Norman. I am just getting to view this episode. What a truly informative and wonderful video. Truly fascinating. The only exotic yarn skein I own is of Quiviut. I so appreciate the adventure you have taken us through in the world of rare and exquisite fibers. Thank you!

As always a very informative - and entertaining - video!

Such an interesting and informative video thank you.I have been fortunate enough to knit with a blended quivit and also a blended bison wool.Both were bought in Canada and are absolutely beautiful.I did handle a ball of Vicuña and was fabulous.I love love love your Vicuña gloves,what an amazing 🤩 40th birthday gift🎁 Happy knitting 🧶🌺

What an interesting video to watch! Thank-you Norman for compiling this information and presenting it in the video, so fascinating to hear about these rare and expensive yarns!

That advisory!!!😄😀🤭 Thanks for the warning, Norman. I do get caught up sometimes and want to purchase new yarns that are gorgeous, so your notice helped! Cool review of/introduction to these yarns. Maybe one day I'll get to try some!

Absolutely fascinating! Thank you for the great insight. ❤

You are a treasure! Your personality comes through in these videos. You have me chuckling throughout along with learning about these superb fibers. I am so grateful that you continue to produce content. Thank you for all you do.

Thank you Norman. Another one with so much great information I'll watch a few times. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Your knitters advisory was hilarious. This was fascinating. Thank you for sharing your rare yarns with us. I watched on my TV, so was able to appreciate your 4k efforts.

beautifully done, thank you

I love your videos! This was so very educational and very well done!

Merry Christmas, Norman! Thank you for wonderful content ❤

Thank you, Norman. Very enjoyable episode. Happy New Year 🎉

Thank you so much, that was very interesting episode!😊❤

I clicked on this video as soon as I saw it! Thanks for shedding light on such interesting fibers! I loved watching you speak so passionately about the yarn. The close-ups of the yarn was absolutely amazing and beautiful! I liked seeing the bounce and little fuzz. And how you stretched and pet the yarn-I could only imagine 😮 Also the social aspects of the yarn was very interesting to listen to.

Wonderful video, Norman! Thank you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Fun and entertaining episode!! Thank you!! ❤

I came across a rancher who had recently stopped raising paco-vicuna, and she was getting rid of all her yarn for CHEAP! I got 4oz for $140. I got two weights, two natural colors in each, so 4 varieties total. No idea what to do with them, so they're in that special place in my stash. Y'all know that spot!

Absolutely amazing. Very informative as always. ❤❤❤❤

Thanks for sharing us your knowledge. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2024🌹

Interesting and great information. Your advisory was so funny but also really real. Thank you for the hard work.

So interesting! Thank you for sharing!

Merry Christmasdear Nornan, wishing you the best of 2024 thank you for your unique videos.

Fascinating video. I really enjoyed it. Subscribed. Merry Christmas ❤

Thank you! You are right! Many of those yarns I knew nothing about! I so enjoyed this video! Merry Christmas!

Thank you for the advisory! I consider myself a beginning knitter and appreciate your helpful videos! Thanks for such an informative video, I was in Alaska many years back and purchased a skein of musk ox yarn, but have been too nervous to make anything yet! I am going to look at it again 😊

Ich bin sprachlos! Hatte keine Ahnung, dass es das alles gibt. Vielen Dank für das lehrreiche Video. Und dir auch frohe Weihnachten! 🎄

Thank you for sharing all your squishy yarn treasures. What a treat!

Thank you for covering these!! I bought a skein of Qiviut when I was in Alaska last summer. I almost got some arctic fox but ended up buying other wool instead. Qiviut is sooo soft.

Thank you so much for sharing! I've been knitting for almost 15 years now and have developed a special interest for natural fibers, but I still hadn't heard of many of these yarns! I appreciate your insights on the ethical considerations of each yarn, the transparency around price, and your ending message about an increase of price not inherently meaning an equal increase of quality. This is my first of your videos; I'm subscribed and excited to look into your catalog! I hope you have a fabulous new year! :)

Norman, I found this video satisfying to many of my interests. I've always loved learning where things come from and how they're made. And, of course it's about yarn! I love your presentation, knowledge and obvious love of your artistic medium. Your descriptions of each yarn were so vivid i could almost feel it myself. I so appreciate your discriptive artistry as well as your knitting artistry - your gloves were simply stunning...so lovely. Thank you for creating another wonderful video. May this new year bring you as much joy and good fortune as you continue to bring to your yarny community. 💜✌️🧶🤟

Hi Norman. Thank you for this very informative video. I really enjoyed it. Such beautiful yarns. No I would never knit socks with the first one you showed. As you so aptly pointed out, not very many people would see them. Your gloves on the other hand are so worth showing off! Amazing work! Thank you for another year’s worth of wonderful videos. Merry Christmas Norman!❤️🎄🎄❤️

Thank you for sharing this insight into rare yarns. I appreciate these yarns but will never have the skill or budget to purchase. I love your videos and teaching skills.

I have a Musk Ox head band and I treasure it! So warm, so soft, so easy to wash (by hand, of course). I purchased my head band in Anchorage. It was hand knit by a Coop of native women. Musk Ox yarn is most wonderful.

Hi Norman! As always, you help us to dream of magic items in the knitting world! Merry Christmas and hugs from Canada.

I bought a skein of dark teal qiviut yarn in Alaska last year and *love* it! I made a lace cowl out of it with a bit left over and it's the softest, warmest, lightest weight thing I own.

Your disclaimer brought a smile to my face. I haven't had the luxury of trying any of these yarns but maybe one day I can ethically source some to knit a fabulous once in a lifetime knit. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you!

Beautiful video, Norman. Christmas Blessings to you. ❤

Wow! Brilliant presentation. You are so informative and knowledgeable. I thoroughly enjoyed your video. I always learn something from your work. Thank you and Merry Christmas!

I enjoyed your video very much. Thank you for all of the information. With that said, you, are an amazing person. Your videos have helped me out tremendously on my knitting journey. I’ve been crocheting for over *cough* 40 years and knitting for about two years. Informative videos and awesome tutorials. Thank you for all the time and money you spend on your videos. I am grateful. 🤗 😊 P.S. Merry Christmas to you and yours. 👋

Loved this video🤩🤩

Danke für dieses echt schöne - für mich - Weihnachtsvideo ! Und danke für die gute Aufklärung :)

I love learing about all these new fibers. It really reminds me as a handspinning enthusiast that I should try to branch out and spin a variety of sheep breeds and other fibers. I love the concept of spinning the under coat from more northern climate dogs. My best friends have a husky mix and i plan to process her shed fur in the spring and blend it with wool to spin. I am so exited to have a yarn made from shed hair of an animal that i love and care about. She is such a sweet little dog, and i will be reminded of her any time i work on it or wear whatever my project turns out to be.

Well done, informative and I love your knowledge and your inviting us to have ethical concerns of how the product is produced and brought to market. This is why I follow you and your wonderful knitting skills too. Happy Holidays from Granny.

Also thanks for all the information and Happy Christmas to you, and all your viewers

Watching this while working on some *extra* sturdy socks for my partner and thinking: Wow... I'd love to have a little stole out of this. Or this. Oh, no, wait, THIS! :D As always: Love your content, looking forward to becoming a patron next year

Thank you so much for your video! As another commenter said, kids have their pet plushy and knitters have their pet ball or skein of yarn. One thing my grandmother taught me was not to compromise on the quality of your yarn. Knit less, or take apart a sweater it you’re not wearing it enough, rather than use a low quality yarn. I’m a lace knitter and that means using good quality or all that work is for nothing. I prefer to make sure I shop as ethically as possible and to be mindful about what I buy. I shy away from Australian merino ever since hearing about museling for example. Not so long ago I stepped up my yarn game: I’ve started spinning. It gave me an entirely new appreciation for fibre quality. It takes me a lot longer before I can start a new project unless I combine a commercial yarn with a hand spun one. I’m currently processing an alpaca blanket in preparation for spinning. I know the animal’s name, which is pretty cool, and the fibre is very fine as it’s a prize winning blanket, much softer than any alpaca yarn I’ve ever been able to afford at a fraction of the price because I’m doing the processing myself. My source is less than 15 minutes from where I live. I’ve seen the living conditions of the animals and they live like royalty. Due to my budget I’ll probably never be able to afford those rare yarns. But it’s wonderful to learn about them. AndI tend to agree about dyeing possibly affecting the properties and feel of a fibre. If I like how a fibre feels and how my sample spin feels, I’m not a fan of risking dye affecting it. Especially if the natural colour is beautiful. All the best for 2024 and happy knitting!

I just rewatched this video not sure if I had seen it before, but I enjoyed it as much the second time I did the first!

Ahh!! I love the arctic fox yarn! I’m indigenous from the west coast of Canada, it’s SO cool seeing your treasures from the north! I have an arctic fox pelt that I got from a trading post when I was in the Yukon and it’s such a prized item of mine 🥰 I love the disclaimer because I now have that website open just drooling hahaha

Norman, thank you so much for this very informative and entertaining video. Because of the cost of some of these yarns, I'll probably never get an opportunity to try them but I'm happy to know about them.

I enjoyed this video for it’s educational value. I Only have been exposed to yarn shop yarns and haven’t taken the time to understand weight, blends and values. Thanks so much

I love that advisory 😂😂. Thank you for broadening my knitting knowledge including any caveats on ethics

New Zealand won't be running out of possums any time soon. They have no predators and New Zealand has a large percentage of forest compared to a lot of countries so lots of places for them to live. While conservation efforts that involve eradicating pests in specific areas to make bird sanctuaries are going well, there is still the majority of the country where the introduced pests (possums, rats, rabbits etc.) are still in very large numbers.

Love your disclaimer at the beginning Norman! Very funny (and appropriate for those with a lot of disposable income) 😂🎅

Thank you Norman for the delicious yarn content. I have been longing for some quivit for awhile, and I might have finally got my grabby little paws on some after watching this video hehe. Also, cashmere is my current fav that didn't get its named spot in the video. I am obsessed with undyed cashmere. Sometimes I feel that undyed yarns don't get the love that they deserve -- they truely feel amazing and look great, and they take less water to produce, so more eco-friendly this way.

Love this! When I was a beginner knitter I knitted with fun cheaper yarns and discovered that acrylic made my hands bleed! So I switched to wool and my hands were a lot happier! I love unusual yarn and we had a local small yarn shop that specialized in off beat yarn. A lot of it came from cascade yarns and other more reasonably priced brands. I got camel, yak, bison. I never paid more than $13US for 100grams! I did blend them with merino wool as they’re all very warm. They’re also water repellent/resistant, so ideal for a cold winter hat. I love angora blends but there are ethical problems with it though we do have access to ethical angora in our main large yarn shop. I splurged on some tie dyed 100% ethical angora for a ruffle scarf (the main body was alpaca) pricey scarf for snow weather (it doesn’t get cold enough for snow where I live!). I love a soft halo for a hat and alpaca, yak and of course possum have nice fluffy halos perfect for a hat. I purchased some NZ possum maybe 10 years ago? And I’ve knit it into hats. It’s also super warm and water resistant! I can wear those hats in the rain and my hair stays dry. Sadly the wacky yarn shop closed and the main shop only has expensive yak. I’ve never seen camel or bison. The yak is in the $30US price range so I’ve been sticking to baby alpaca. (Only 1 hr away on the back roads you’ll see alpaca farms with the occasional camel!). Because I live near fire country sheep work hard to reduce fire threats and you’ll even see them working areas in the cities like Berkeley CA! So we have lots of small yarn brands.

Merry Christmas Norman and all the best for 2024 ❤

Hilarious advisory! You were absolutely right, I’ve never heard of some of these. I’ve actually touched Quivit when we visited the Musk Ox research station in Alaska. It was amazingly soft but I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that much with the real possibility it would be eaten by bugs where I live. I do have a mini skein of Bison I purchased in New Mexico years ago. Mine is not the soft version and someday I’ll make a couple of coasters with it. I would never knit socks with any of these!!!

Ich schmeiß mich weg 😂😂😂the knitters advisory is priceless. New subscriber here 👋🏻 ❤the arctic fox yarn halo is beautiful 😍your vicuña gloves are stunning!!!!

I loved the disclaimer at the beginning. Interesting yarns. Thank you for sharing. I hope you have a fantastic holiday season.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with luxury and rare yarns. I learned so much and appreciate you. I hope you had a wonderful holiday!! Xo 🤗

I love the knitters advisory!!! So funny 😂

Have a great festive season and great 2024 to you and family. Thankyou for you videos so far. Love your disclaimer message :) so relatable. The fibre can have some elasticity also from the way it is spun. Spinning yarn for knitting is different to that one might do for weaving say. Gorgeous yarns. I have some possum yarn to spin, I will blend it with another fibre. Also collecting the soft underbrush off my sons former cat to spin up.

I subscribed because of this video! Thank you for the ethical and context based information! I loved the insight into the fact some are deeply engrained into the culture while others are ethically questionable. You've inspired me to get some very fancy yarn someday. XD Maybe.

Years ago I bought 100% cashmere goat yarn (Pashmina) by Galler Yarns now discontinued, made a cowl. I also bought mink yarn years ago but, my very young special needs daughter got a hold of it - torn up - I just cried. All in the life of a knitter.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you, wonderful to see beautiful yarns I’ve not seen before. I have created two berets out of the Australian Bushtailed Possom. It’s one of the warmest and beautiful fibers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Found it at a little shop called ‘The Ball and Skein’ in Cambria, California. One of my favorite places. 😊

Thanks for an informative and interesting video. I live in Alaska and am fortunate to have a lovely big stash of qivuit that I enjoy knitting with.

"If you shop yarn you don't need or buy only one skein with no project in mind and no intention to ever start one." LOL! I feel so called out.

Those gloves you made took my breath away!!!!

It’s such a treat to have access to so much information thanks to you. I live in Bolivia where vicuña is now illegal to be used for yarn as they are a protected species.

Wow! I can differently say I’ll never knit those kinds of yarn. But they are interesting.

Merry Christmas! Thank you for PSA at the beginning. Haha You always are so nice to remind us to be responsible. =]

Thank you for the disclaimer!!! 😂❤

That disclaimer stopped me dead in my tracks and instantly made me a subscriber. I love it! 😂

Now that was interesting, thank you!

We have super rare wool in New Zealand?! I had no idea! 😁 Wonderful video, thank you. I’m daydreaming very happily.