Handspun, Handdyed Alpaca Yarn from Polaris & friends

In spite of felting the roving a little, this yarn came out quite soft. I plied the dyed single with a single that I spun from dark fawn Polaris and ended up with 204 yards, which is considerably less than I thought I would get. It weighs 4 ounces and averages 10 wraps per inch which is considered bulky. The dyed fiber fought me some and just wouldn't be consistent. Hence, we have here an unintentional Thick N Thin yarn.
More views of this yarn can be seen in my Etsy shop.

Polaris

(♥thanks for your awesome golden brown fiber♥)

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

My dear friend Cary and I did a dyeing workshop last Saturday uptown at the SipNKnit yarn shop. Well, actually we were upstairs over the yarn shop, in what used to be a dance studio. Was a really great place because we had lots of open space.
I've been so pleased that I have been able to dye my alpaca roving and maintain the yummy softness of alpaca that Cary encouraged me to teach the crockpot/roving method. Well, I goofed. I didn't over cook the demo roving. Nope, I was in such a hurry to get the next person dyeing that I abused my fiber. I usually let the roving cool completely in the pot and then handle it VERY gently. At the workshop, I dumped it into a drainer in the sink while it was still hot, and before it was cool, started rinsing (way too vigorously!). This resulted in a rather harsh, hard to spin fiber. You can see it above ↑. It looks fine and will probably be a nice yarn. I'm going to ply it with Polaris, which is a very soft, golden brown and I should end up with about 350 yards.
We are planning another workshop and I have learned a good lesson here. Slow down! Be patient!

Sonata Not Pregnant

Sonata

Not good news tonight. Sonata is in western Michigan at Gosnell's Irish Valley Farm to be bred. They thought she was pregnant but the ultrasound yesterday says NO. We'll leave her there through the weekend to try again and then bring her home. I really miss this little darling. She's our super friendly, visitor greeter who loves Spearmint Life Savers. I'm really anxious to get her home.

☼

Good news - 6 weeks with Weight Watchers and minus 6 pounds. ☺

Alpaca, Merino, Silk, Handdyed Yarn

It has been a while since I posted something that I have made. I think that this yarn is really nice. The gray roving that is the foundation is a combination of black alpaca, Beringer, and light fawn alpaca, Celeste, and white Merino from genopalatte.

As I was spinning each single, I held and added the colored silk that I had dyed last spring. I just had to knit a little swatch before I skeined it up and, oh, my, did it ever feel good in my hands. Unfortunately, when I took a picture of the swatch, I had forgotten to replace the memory stick, and didn't realize it until I pulled the knitting out.

Was kind of a bad morning because I took the skein outside to photograph, came back in and realized that I had left the lens cap on. If you want to see more pictures of this yarn and the alpacas that grew it, look here.

Sickly Alpacas

Oh, my, these are the two boys, Orion & Polaris, that we took to the show and they came home with very snotty noses. Now all seven of the boys are sneezing and snotting. I haven't really felt the need to call our vet because I'm not really hearing any nasty wheezing. Temperatures seem normal. Now you horse folks know how really unpleasant that nasal yuck is, but even though this is sort of thick, it's not nearly as offensive as horse snot.

I had an email from a friend who said that she saw the vet at the show giving antibiotic shots to a farm's alpacas with like symptoms. I wonder how many alpacas got infected there.

I also wonder if it's not just a good idea to stay home. These same two boys came home from the spring show with diarrhea.

☼

I still can't put these pictures where I want them. Pam said she would help me one of these days.

Fiber for Salana's Purse

Lady Belita and Pollux

I have to give some credit here to Lady Belita because she is the girl who donated her fiber for Selana's purse. I smile when I say "donated" because she really doesn't like giving it up. She and her daughter, Celeste, are the only alpacas here who protest when being sheared. She grumbles during the whole process - doesn't spit or kick or anything - just grumbles.

Salana's Alpaca Felted Purse

Selana's Crocheted/Felted Purse

In mid August Selana, from Dortmund, Germany, bought a skein of Lady Belita's yarn that I had dyed a burgundy color. I remember worrying about it running when washed and even mentioned in the listing that it might. When Selana sent me this picture, I asked her, and yes, it did run. After crocheting it, she started to hand felt it but finally got "fearless" and tossed it into the washing machine. Pretty cute, isn't it? The good thing is that she likes (as do I) the color. This was one of my first attempts at dyeing and I was using Landscape dyes which worked well, but I have switched to the Jacquard brand although I don't have a conscious reason.

The purse is listed in her Etsy shop if you want to take a look.

Selana is also a digital scrapbook designer and has a nifty Etsy shop for that. She designs all things digital like cards and scrapbooking stuff.