Baby Alpaca - To Dye For

JR with his momma, sweet Sonata, right after his birth last year, September 19, 2008.

I came across the seconds from JR's first shear. If you are interested, seconds are the less desirable fiber from the alpaca. In JR's case, from his neck, chest, and belly. The fiber is usually different lengths and probably has second cuts. JR's fleece will probably never be as soft and fine as this first shear.




I have never tried to dye over a color as dark as this brown so this is another experiment - that went well.
*I washed the fiber in Dawn and the hottest tap water I could get. After letting it soak about 1/2 hour, I drained it, ran another sink full of warm water to rinse and added a big glug of vinegar.
* While I was washing and draining, I heated up about 8 or 10 cups of water in my crock pot and added another big glug of vinegar just before adding the wet fleece.
* I put into the water about 1/2 teaspoon of red Jacquard dye on the left and the same amount of Burnt Orange on the right. Then lowered the wet fleece in. I did a few pokes to settle it down but didn't stir because I wanted the colors to stay separate. They did....

This is about 6 ounces of fleece. I love the colors!

JR's Blue Ribbon Yarn

It's such a thrill to hear about my 'pacas' fiber from all around the world. I just received this picture ↓ from Barb in California. This is what she had to say *** Just a quick note to let you know that Kendra won a blue ribbon for JR's yarn at the Los Angeles County Fair. You sent that as a sample to us on (we think) our first order from you. We took a picture for you***

JR's fans will remember this little guy who was born last September and struggled to survive. He has remained very small for his age but is the most delightful, friendly little feller on the farm. I'm so pleased that his fiber has brought joy to Barb and Kendra.

Spun in the Fog

What a breathtaking sight this morning at the beginning of my walk.

I ran back into the house and grabbed my camera because I had to record this work of art by a fellow spinner. Sharon, I thought of you because you are the only one I know that could possibly reproduce this beautiful design.
Local schools were on delay and then cancelled this morning because of the fog. We were a little anxious on our two mile morning walk and listened carefully for approaching vehicles.

That's my barn walking from the east.

Alpaca Scarf - Start to Finish

My goal for this scarf project was to see if I would be happy spinning and knitting with a single ply yarn. My thoughts have always been that a single would slant and perhaps even fall apart.
I started with a couple year's growth of white alpaca fleece from the handsome Target who lives with Chris and Jenn in St. Louis, Michigan.

To Target's fleece I added a few pounds of white merino that I purchased from the McMurrays' who have the shop Genopalette on Etsy. They always provide me with the most awesome, clean sheep fleece imaginable.
So below is little Max with this huge bag of top beautifully processed at Zeilingers' in Frankenmuch, Michigan.

I dyed up a few pounds of the top in my crock pot and have some still listed in my shop (This isn't the same dye lot as my scarf)

I spun 2.6 ounces of the dyed top rather tight for me. I was really afraid it would fall apart, but I didn't need to worry. I washed the yarn in hot water and agitated it a little so that it would felt some. It did just that, stayed together, but retained its lovely softness.

....and here, TA,DAHHHHHH, is my scarf.

It is for sale in my shop here if you want to look more.
In conclusion - YES! I will continue to knit with a single ply yarn, but I will probably always worry about the possibility of a slant - probably never doing a vest or sweater, anything large....

Garden Harvest

Yep, that's it, friends..... Have I mentioned that I don't like digging in the dirt?
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My "Golden" Couch

Two Golden Retrievers - bliss.... That's Terre's Izzy on the left and my dear Cassie on the right.
Terre has flown to Daytona Beach today and will bring my Mom back tomorrow to live here with me and my 4 leggeds.

Kendra's Yarn

Target is the handsome donor of the yarn pictured below. He lives with and is loved by Jen and Chris at Diversified Alpacas just down the road in St. Louis, Michigan

I love getting pictures of my fiber after it has been spun. This lovely yarn below was spun by 24 year old Kendra. Kendra has been spinning for two years after learning on a drop spindle at her County Fair. This year she won the honor of Best Handspun Finished Article. You go, Kendra!
This is a link to Kendra's spinning progress: Here
Kendra's mom Barbara Klause who lives in California is the perfect mom 'cause she ordered this fiber for Kendra. In fact, she just ordered 6 more ounces of it (opps, hope that's not a surprise)