Tag Archives: alpaca

FO Friday: Shiny Black 2-ply

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My Shiny Black Alpaca 2-ply is done and dry. It came out GORGEOUS!

I did get a little aggressive on some part of the plying and even after a bath, some sections are over plied/very energized. I can probably send it back through my wheel in the opposite direction and take some of the crazy out.

It did stay a sport skein. I got 12 wraps per inch (mostly). This 133 gram skein came out to 160 yards. Will make a lovely project. I am thinking of gifting this to a coworker who is retiring that is into fiber. She doesn’t retire until March so I have time to ponder.

Happy Spinning!!

Plying and Pale Ale

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The hubby was in charge of bedtime last night so I had some free and clear time. The singles from my sparkly alpaca FLEW onto my wheel this week. The fiber was very excellently carded and it felt easy to spin.

I poured myself a strawberry blonde ale from a local brewery and started plying. The two bobbins are fairly well matched and I only had a few yards to chain ply at the end of one bobbin.

The skein is resting on its bobbin and waiting for a bath this weekend. Pre washing the yarn looks to be around 11 or 12 wraps per inch. So light DK to sport weight probably? It might change a little after its swim and whack.

Happy Spinning!!

Shiny Alpaca Singles

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I ignored my adult responsibilities and sat at my wheel for most of yesterday. I had finished my Finn yarn and I pulled more fiber from Fiber Flurry to spin. This time it is black alpaca with Firestar mixed in.

This roving is carded very nicely is lovely to spin. It’s smooth and comes out fairly consistently. I have 4.7 ounces of this fiber. I think I will plan to weigh it and spin onto two bobbins for a 2-ply. A single day got me an almost full first bobbin!

Happy Spinning!!

Fiber From The Flurry

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Since I can’t really knit right now, I decided to organize my Fiber Flurry purchases. Turns out, I bough all fiber!

On top, there is some merino and assorted fiber batt from HLA Fiber Mill. It’s just over 2 ounces and will make a cute skein in PB’s color scheme.

On the bottom left is 4.7 ounces of alpaca and firestar roving. IT’S SO SUPER SOFT! This was leftover It’s from Grey Meadows Alpaca farm and is the leftovers from their mill runs. I got a chance to chat with the owner and he was super fun.

Lastly, on the bottom right is a new to me sheep breed – Finn Sheep. I grabbed three ounces of the natural color dark brown. I will need to pull out my fiber/fleece source book in order to learn more about the breed. But these sheep are from the 14 Hand Ranch.

I think either the Finn or the pink batt will be the first on my wheel once my hand is back to normal! Happy Spinning!!

Another Alpaca And Merino Blend

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My wheel was cold without spinning on it. So here I go starting yet another bag of roving from my donated fiber stash.

This fiber actually had some information in it. This i3 ounces of merino/alpaca from Midwest Fiber Farm. Definitely a natural fiber with no dye. It is a nice blend of light and dark grey fibers. It is marling inside the singles.

I think this one will REALLY come out pretty when I ply it. Like a broken record, I plan to spin all the singles and make a 2-ply….again, lol.

Happy Spinning!!

Friday Spinning Win

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I managed to snag some free time over the weekend to wash up and dry my latest hanspun. I came out with two really nice skeins!!

On the left is my unknown merino/alpaca 2-ply that came out black/dark grey with white tweedy bits. This skein had about 7 wraps per inch equating to a bulky yarn. I managed to get a 112 gram skein with 159 yards. So I really should be able to make something with this one!

And on the right is a skein that delighted me to no end. I had 4.1 ounces of all BFL roving in a natural/tan color. This spun a lot finer for me than previous attempts. So this two ply came out to more like 9 wraps per inch and close to a worsted. This is my finest spinning yet. The finished skein was 114 grams and 251 yards. That is pretty darn close to commercial yarn stats!!

I think that BFL skein will need to be my next Musselburgh hat…..

Happy Spinning!!

More Skeins Ready For A Bath

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As predicted my mystery tweedy alpaca singles very quickly passed through my wheel. And while those singles were resting I managed to get a whole other fiber bat spun up.

I ignored my household chores of laundry and dishes to spend a whole glorious evening plying my singles and watching Vlogmas videos from my favorite knitters. I ended up with these two pretty skeins.

They don’t hang completely straight and have a small amount of twist which means I might have overplied them. But that should wash out when I soak and whack these skeins. But now I need to catch up the laundry and washing line so I have room to wash and dry yarn!

Happy spinning!!

Finished: Alpaca Blend 2-ply

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My spinning mojo is still chugging right along. I finished up the alpaca blend singles I had on the wheel. I did a pretty simple process of spinning a bobbin of singles and then wound into a center pull cake. I then plied by pulling from both the inside and outside of the cake. A wash and whack after that and I have a VERY soft finishd skein of yarn!

Skein: Merino/Alpaca 2-ply (Rav Link)

Size: I ended up with an 83 gram skein of 128 yards. So this is a bulky skein for the most part.

What will I do with this one? I have zero clue, lol. I am just starting a handspun section of my yarn stash to hoard all my treasures!

Happy Spinning!!

Spinning Some Alpaca Blend

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My wheel was empty after finishing my last two skeins of yarn/plying. So I grabbed some fiber from my stash and got started on some new singles.

Most of my spinning is coming from the hand me down fiber I got from my mother’s friend. He bought a ton of fiber at festivals and farm stands. This was some alpaca and merino blend in the natural colors (I think). I don’t have a ton of information because I didn’t buy it.

So far its spinning really well and fairly thin. My skills are improving and my lumps/bumps are getting smaller and fewer. It really is intoxicating to see how fast this can go!

Happy Spinning!!

FO Friday: 70s Kitchen Handspun

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I did it!! I produced a usable skein of yarn! My 70s Kitchen hand spun is washed, whacked and skein-ed up ready for a project.

I started with four ounces of 100% alpaca and ended up with 88 grams and 56 yards of a bulky yarn. It might be super bulky in some spots. It is a little ropey and still has some twist to the finished skein but I’m super proud.

I am pretty sure I want to knit with this right away. I did some Ravelry searching and found the Alpakka Har by Cait St. George that the toddler size would be just perfect for my yardage. As long as I hit gauge that is. But it’s a basic beanie so I think I can fudge it as needed.

Happy Knitting!!