It took me a while to find my pace with the alpaca. First I tried flick carding and spinning on the wheel. It took forever, over a week to get a measly 50-yard skein. Then I tried spinning from the lock on a spindle. That catapulted me into the 80 yards a week range. It doesn't take much calculating to figure that that is NOT FAST ENOUGH!!!
Then I tried blending on handcards, and spinning the rolags, and suddenly I was accelerating....spinning an average of 65 yards a day.....
carding early in the morning,
spinning singles on the spindle during the day,
and plying on the wheel at night.
Certainly not the fastest production spinning ever, but I do have a life outside of fiber! So I am pretty happy with this sort of progress.... I have sent the first box off to my aunt with over 800 yards of yummy skeins.
Want to meet them?
Left to right..... Pucci blended with carbonized bamboo
Pucci blended with rose colored tussah
Diamond, pure
Pucci, pure
Marlayanna blended with coyote cotton
Pucci blended with merino
and in the back, Riana blended with dyed merino-silk.
I'm taking a few days of "break" to fill some swap obligations and finish the present for a baby nephew... but looking forward to jumping back into the alpaca pile!
6 comments:
A beautiful batch of alpaca. Way to go....
Maple
Those skeins look so soft and pretty! Glad you found your groove!
Gorgeous!!
Oh, I love reading about your work with the alpaca fiber, even though I don't understand every detail. I can catch your excitement! Check out our blog for progress on the alpaca pole barn. Love, Aunt Linda
Those skeins are beautiful!
I spin primarily alpaca. It is a dream to work with once you know how to do it. Look into buying or making some combs. I prefer the type where one can be secured to a table for stability. Then COMB the alpaca as opposed to carding it. You will enjoy it sooooo much more than the carded alpaca. I promise. http://www.43things.com/people/progress/RubyToo/9832460
Good luck and have fun.... that's a LOT of fiber to have to spin!
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