Today I thought I'd share with you some pictures of how we get yarn from our alpacas.Not all pictures are form the same project because my photos are just not that organized right now. Should be fun!
We start we these cute little critters. This is Zach.
Every Spring the alpacas get a haircut and we bag their hair in large bags.
We take those bags and then clean the fiber. We take out any yucky spots and then wash the dirt out. The kitty like to help. :o)
Then we take some of the fiber and dye in big pots. We will make a huge rainbow of colors.
The the dyed and undyed fibers with get a pass through the carder. This is a fun little machine that will straighten out the fibers to make it easier to spin.
Then off to the spinning wheel!
We spin lots of lots of yards of yarn during the colder winter months.
We get skeins like this one after the fiber is spun.
After the yarn is finished you can knit to your hearts content!
This is a great way to showcase the progression! I love it! And the cat is adorable, XO
ReplyDeleteZach is adorable! Are hairs from older alpacas not used as well? Do you spin your own fibres or send off to a mill?
ReplyDeleteZach is actually a few years old and we have alpacas ranging from 5 months to 12 years. We use the fiber from every single one. Not every alpaca has yarn quality fleece, but those fleeces are good for other projects like felting or rugs.
ReplyDeleteWe don't waste a single hair on them. :o)
We spin all of our alpaca fiber ourselves, but we do also buy mill spun yarn to up our inventory for festivals and such.
Great post, I really enjoyed the pictures!
ReplyDeleteI'm your newest follower and linker!
ReplyDeleteSmiles,
Melanie
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What an interesting process to go through. Do the alpaca like to be shaved? How do you clean the fur/fleece out? Just by hand?
ReplyDeleteYes, we pick the fleece by hand and then wash it in big tubs with regular human shampoo.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the kitty loves to 'help'!
ReplyDelete