Week one of a 30 day stay home order is down. My life is oddly the same and yet the difference is apparent in a big metropolitan area like the Las Vegas Valley. It’s much quieter in our area, lots of song birds to enjoy. The oddest thing is not to see the planes landing one after another and the strip is not as bright. Yes it’s still has the lights on for the most, but its empty. I have set this time to finish projects. So my wheel is out more regularly in the morning with afternoons used to concentrate on UFO. My unfinished project box is going through a purge. This means those projects that were hopelessly tossed in for later, either get scraped completely for something new or tossed out if they are beyond all hope. But for those that remain, they are getting laid out to finish. On my wheel I have two spins going at the moment. A beautiful 4oz purple braid from Corgi Hill Farms of BFL and Tussah silk 75/25 blend named Lavender Tea. This is an UFO started in November and Friday night I finished the first bobbin, roughly 2oz. Then for a change up during my LYS virtual meeting I broke out a beautiful dark spooky 4oz braid of Falkland from Desert Panda Fiber Arts named Haunted House from my stash. This is wonderful shades of brown, grey and stark black. Both are wonderful to work with.
The first post I did was on my Turkish spindle, as part of that I want to discuss the different fibers I am using in that spin. Last fiber post was on Merino, which is roughly 40% of that blend. Next fiber I want to discuss is Alpaca, again roughly 40% of the blend. I used two colors, fawn and bay black. So let’s talk Alpaca.
Fun facts about this fluffy animal:
• Two breeds: Huacaya and Suri. Huacaya is the most commonly know. It looks fluffy (crazy fluffy sometime) and most toys are made to resemble this breed. Suri on the other hand is about 10% of the population bred and it’s locks grow in long silky ropes, kind of like a sheep dog or dreadlocks.
• Characteristics: Soft, durable, lightweight yet super warm, water resistant, silky, fire resistant, a natural shinny luster, no lanolin so its hypoallergenic and considered by some as a luxury fiber. Suri fiber has a draw back, very little memory or elasticity. So some spinners and yarn companies blend a bit of wool in to help with that. It does how ever lend well to woven pieces.
• Comes in 22 natural colors from white to black. But of those, shades and tones can be in the hundreds, cream and white being predominantly used for dye purposes.
• Both breeds can be found in top, sometimes referred to as sliver. Huacaya also lends itself well to being carded.
• Quality fiber runs between 18 to 25 microns
• Staple; Huacaya a fiber is 2-6 inches and Suri is up to 11 inches
My experience with alpaca has been Huacaya seconds, the neck and belly mostly, but still lovely to work with. I soaked for 12 to 18 hours in a tub of rain water, no soap needed, to remove the dust. Good grief was it dusty, then out to dry in the sun. After that I picked through to remove the VM bits and carded away. They seem to be as much VM as fiber, so if you are doing large amounts or blankets, I would look into a tumbler or willowing your fiber to get a head start on VM removal. So far I have only spun it on my spindles to keep my twist under control. To much twist will produce a stiff yarn and not as pleasing to work with. My fiber did not have guard hairs to remove but some do. So if need be pull all guard hairs first but hang on to those buggers, they make great garden twine or rug weaving yarns. I found it fairly easy drafting not as slick as merino but close. I got a nice fine single with most of the super fine pieces of VM falling out as I drafted. I have not tried dying with it as of yet since I really enjoy the natural shades of brown to black I have in my stash to blend with my dyed wool. I hope you found this information interesting and that I have sparked an interest to try spinning Alpaca.
I finished my new creation..a Pumpkin Lady pin cushion. All hand sewn (I think Moda fabrics from my stash) stuffed with rambouillet from Shannon Kennedy-Kahler beautiful babies. She is just lovely n fun
I want to share my thoughts on Indie dyers and sock yarns. As much as I love making my own yarns some times a beautiful skein jumps up, bites you and says “Take Me Home”. This was such a case with local indie dyer Desert Panda Fiber Arts and her Pocket full of Rainbows skein. All of her skeins are dyed in smaller batches, with vibrant color and reasonable prices. This skein was a Instagram contest win but I was ready to purchase as soon as I saw her first batch for sale. It is 75/25, Merino/Nylon blend of 3 ply sock weight, 415 yards and super soft. As a person who is into texture I call it just Yummy! When in a skein it is silvery grey with a splash of bright rainbow, of course when caked it looked very different, but just as lovely.
Not all sock yarns are dyed to look great in other projects due to the color pools or the self striping. Picking a pattern to let it shine is key and with that in mind I hunted Revelry (with a cowl in mind) finally landing on Like Honey Cowl by Liz Abinante. The pattern originally calls for a DK weight so I needed to make a few adjustments. The cables are simple and smocking is fun. Smocking was a new technique for me and looked difficult until I tried it, it was a piece of cake. The color pooled in wonderful bright mottled against the silvery grey. The fabric is light and soft making this a great spring or fall cowl to wear. So when all is said and done, I highly recommend this dyer and thinking outside the box with a sock yarn. Check her out at desertpandafiberarts.com
Spinning has become my go-to when I need to calm my mind, to find a place of mental meditation. But on days when I can’t take the time to sit at my wheel, spindles are starting to become my lifesaver. This was just one of those days. I’m going to move outside with my spindle, sitting in the garden and spinning just recharges me. I listen to birds, play with the pup and flick my spindle. The feel of the fiber, the change in the staple length or just the pattern as the cob is formed can shut the craziness of the world out.
Merino wool is one of the most popular breeds and well known. The Merino sheep is a medium sized animal with horns or with scurs, these are little numbs were a horn would be. There are 5 types or merino breeds; Booroola, Delaine, Poll, Fonthill, and Peppin. The wool is fine and considered “next to skin” soft meaning it is easy to wear as socks, light weight sweaters and such without making most people itch. But it’s has the draw back of felting easy and pilling so isn’t not as durable for outerwear. Most people are familiar with merino socks being for sale on the web. The fiber has a short staple length, elastic tendency, with a high natural grease (lanolin) weight and is a crimpy wool. Merino is also sold as a Superwash, though not one of my favorite due to the effects the process of making it such has on our environment. That being said _superwash does have it place in modern living. If you love to knit your own socks or make a baby item it can be handy. Superwash Merino has had the scales removed chemically so it can handle a run through the washer. Merino fiber can be slick to spin, superwash is for sure, this can make it tougher for a new spin but a great challenge. It can take a good amount of twist without becoming ropey.
Merino can be spun in both worsted or woolen prep and is lovely as a 2 ply or Navajo plied. When knitted up it makes a warm yet lightweight fabric and can be warm year round in some parts of the world. The luster is not strong but blends well with silk and other luxury fiber well to add a sheen.
Now that all the fun facts of this wool breed is done, it is one of my favorite to spin for soft squishy yarns. My first spins were all merino blended up in batts and I made a large warm simple shawl from them. It’s also the major percent of fiber used in my current Turkish spindle project, which was my first post. Merino sheep are raise all over the world and is fairly easy to get for spinner to work with. The cost can be a bit more depending on the quality and lots of indie dryers work with it for art batts, rolags and puni, along with great dyed braids. Check out Merino products. Being a spinner I say spin away, but most of enjoy it and use your yarn when you are finish spinning.
Okay I think I finished my Disney themed kick ..😉🥰🤣. These are to protect my DPNs while working a sock. I decided to call them my sock pockets. Little snaps hold things in place.
🦉💜🐏🐑
Time for tool bags. The larger bag has a pocket for papers or ruler and a wrist handle for a quick grab n go. The smaller is perfect for scissors, stitch marker or a tin of mints. Yes Disney is my theam. This tote will be full of all kinds of bright fun stuff. 🦉💜🐏🐑
