Alpaca Cria and Lambswool Blended Fiber
It was with great delight I received a parcel of finished fiber back from A & B Fiberworks! As I posted previously, they are a fairly new custom mill so there isn't the horrid long waiting time to get your fiber processed. I sent off just under 2 lbs of rose-brown alpaca cria (first shearing) that I bought from an Alberta seller on eBay and 1 lb of Border Leichester lambs wool (also first shearing) that I bought from an Ontario eBay seller. The idea was for a 2/3 : 1/3 blend of alpaca and wool for softness, warmth, stretch and yarn memory. I really like that I was able to find two batches of fiber that were similar natural colors. Why dye when you can get naturally colored fleece? The less processes it goes through, the better the fiber and yarn!
Anne (the "A" from A &
phoned me when the batch was ready. She told me there was not 1 lb of the lambswool because she weighed everything. The finished batch weighed only 2 1/3 lb. Allowing for a little weight loss on the alpaca from cleaning that still didn't add up to there being one pound of the lambswool. As with so many things, it was a lesson learned - only buy from sellers you know!
On the up-side, this fiber is SO decadently soft I wanted to roll in it like a cat when I first opened the box and fondled it! A & B did a superb job cleaning and blending! The blending is faultless and the fiber has been so gently handled because it's baby animal fiber - I just can't say enough good things about the job they did! The finished roving is thin batts rather than a continuous strip which is fine by me. The fiber is so nice I should be able to spin from a corner without doing any pre-drafting. For sure, I can say it is absolutely NOT going into my fiber stash! The open box is sitting out where I can caress the batts whenever I like and once I'm done spinning a few smaller jobs I will be launching into this gorgeous stuff!
Anne (the "A" from A &
phoned me when the batch was ready. She told me there was not 1 lb of the lambswool because she weighed everything. The finished batch weighed only 2 1/3 lb. Allowing for a little weight loss on the alpaca from cleaning that still didn't add up to there being one pound of the lambswool. As with so many things, it was a lesson learned - only buy from sellers you know!On the up-side, this fiber is SO decadently soft I wanted to roll in it like a cat when I first opened the box and fondled it! A & B did a superb job cleaning and blending! The blending is faultless and the fiber has been so gently handled because it's baby animal fiber - I just can't say enough good things about the job they did! The finished roving is thin batts rather than a continuous strip which is fine by me. The fiber is so nice I should be able to spin from a corner without doing any pre-drafting. For sure, I can say it is absolutely NOT going into my fiber stash! The open box is sitting out where I can caress the batts whenever I like and once I'm done spinning a few smaller jobs I will be launching into this gorgeous stuff!
Posted by Gloria Patre at 8/9/2010 9:55 PM 
Categories: Fiber
Tags: blended fibers lambs wool alpaca cria
Categories: Fiber
Tags: blended fibers lambs wool alpaca cria
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