Alpaca - Merino Top from the Mill

Yesterday I ran over to Frankenmuth, MI, to Zeilingers to pick up some fiber that I left in March. I love going over there because they are always so helpful and treat me so well....They make me feel special even though I'm only bringing them a hundred or so pounds of fiber each year - compare that to the thousands of pounds of buffalo that they do.
Anyway, I'm so pleased!!!! I will just tell you about the white. The alpaca comes from Target who lives in St. Louis, MI, with Chris and Jenn at Diversified Alpacas. He's a very handsome herd sire with lovely fleece who we are hoping to breed to my Ariana.

I had left Zeilingers a little over 10 pounds of 75% Target and 25% white merino from Genopalette's lambs. Gary suggested that I have it made into topp instead of roving like I have always done in the past. This picture → is the pound of noils left over that might be considered trash. I can imagine it in an awesome bed for Max or Cassie.

Speaking of Max, here he is posing for you so that you can see what 8 pounds of top looks like. I had a treat in my hand to get him to stay.

I love the way the fiber is coiled around. Looking down into the bag → is like looking into a tornado. I'm really anxious to spin some of this because it's so soft and smooth. When I pull it apart it is about 4 inches long which makes me think it's going to practically spin itself.

I took the picture above to list this in my Etsy store. The picture on the right shows how I use my weaving warping frame to wrap the top and then band it with information like - weight, my stuff, and a picture of the alpaca who donated the fiber.

Note on the warping frame, I've used it only once to measure yarn for weaving. What a waste, but it works to put up roving and top.

NutriSystem update: I thought that I had all my food but the Schwann's truck dropped off a bunch of frozen stuff today. I had a veggie pizza and an ice cream bar for lunch. They were yummy.

I started the program last Monday and have lost 3 pounds. This is amazing because I'm eating constantly.

I was just looking up how to spell top or topp, and came across the neatest little FAQ - How to tell if the fiber is roving or top? Pull the fiber apart. Top pulls apart in a straight line; roving leaves a rough, triangular-shaped edge.