Thursday, December 19, 2013

I have an obscene amount of alpaca fiber up my nose right now.

I've been working on my mom's Christmas present since September.

It's the 17th, and we're celebrating Christmas on the 19th. Of course, I can't publish this tonight because my mother reads my blog. Hi, Mom.

I have about a fourth left to go.

I probably would have been done a month ago if it weren't for my job and class, but I'm working on getting a desk job where I can do my homework while earning money and thus have more time for yarn stuff. I'm planning on getting my Etsy shop active if this happens.

Anyway, I'm spinning an entire Alpaca fleece for my mother. That's two and some odd pounds of hair that I am hand washing, hand carding, and hand spinning.

Washing the fiber consists of stuffing fiber in a lingerie bag, stuffing that into a five gallon bucket and throwing warm soapy water on top of it and then air drying it on your unused dining room table because you don't have guests at your house, like ever.

Carding the fiber is my least favorite part of this endeavor. I usually catch myself with the pokey brushes and end up with tiny pinpricks all over my hands and sometimes my legs.

Raw fiber, plus Luna.

Yeah, you're unbearably cute. Now get outta there, cat.
Carding lines the fibers up so they can spin continuously. You want something that looks kind of like what comes out of the brush after you brush your cat or dog.


And then roll it up so you can hold it as you're spinning. This is called a rolag. Who knows why.


At this point the yarn is halfway made. The wheel spins the fibers together as I thin them out.


I'll finish another one of these, and then spin them together to make yarn.


Two strands of spun alpaca plyed into yarn. That thing at the bottom where the string is coming from is a Lazy Kate. I'm not really sure who Lazy Kate is, but she's the best.


Finished yarn wrapped around two chairs so I can wash it to set it and then wind it into a hank once it's dry. This is currently hanging from my shower right now.


This is the last of the alpaca I have to spin. It's 12:34 on Wednesday morning. I have roughly 35 and a half hours to get it done. I'll probably need 10. I have a few hours before I work tomorrow which I can use to get a couple skeins done. And then I get off after midnight, and so I will most likely be spinning until it's finished. Probably until 4 in the morning. At least my coffee stock is high.


I was right, I finished spinning at 4 this morning and they were dry when I woke up. 11 skeins of gray alpaca.


And she'll be opening it in two and a half hours!



Gonna try to get footage of my mother opening the package. 

Which I managed to do. But the video won't upload. So this'll be it for now, until I can figure out what the nuts is wrong with my devices.
 

3 comments:

  1. LOVE THE ALPACA!! It's so soft and wonderful. I had no idea and of course the blog really puts it all in perspective. THANK YOU RACHAEL!

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