OK, a fair amount of progress has been made on the EZ Blanket. Unfortunately that progress was interrupted by a snag which involved me having to frog over 2,100 stitches to fix it.
Usually with a snag you can just stretch it a bit and voila. Not this one, a very convenient snag pin pointed a spot where I had split the yarn while knitting leaving only 1 of 3 plies knit. ARGH!
So, after frogging and re-knitting I am officially 1/2 way through 1 of 4 parts to this blanket. For some stupid reason I’m obsessed with counting stitches and I have completed 10,800 stitches so far!
Last but not least!
If you’re going to the NYS Fair Wednesday 8/31 come say hi.
I’ll be doing a spinning demonstration at the wool barn from 10-2pm.
Thank you Alpacamundo for suggesting the EZ’s Garter Stitch Blanket, it was exactly the type of project I need to get me out of my funk. As it turns out the reason for my funk was too many small projects, I didn’t know it but I was looking for a BIG one!
I have a thing for rugs and blankets and after looking into EZ’s blanket it was exactly what I was wanting to tackle. Garter stitch is easy, mindless, minimal counting, and with any luck the project might get done before Christmas to be used as a gift or possibly sell.
So, my lovely 2.2 lb cone of heather grey alpaca will become a beautiful blanket. Since the yarn weight is is a 3ply fingering I decided to go with a 60 stitch base which seems to be getting me very close to the recommended gauge in the pattern.
And this is how much I’ve done so far. Yup, I’ll be posting about this one for quite some time.
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Fiber Wordless Wednesday!
The alpaca in the collar is the one that is on my watch list. She was dilated yesterday and uncomfortable looking but of course is a perfectly normal happy alpaca this morning. Ugh, teases!
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I’ve totally hit a fiber arts wall. I have 3 bobbins half filled with spinning, I have 3 projects started 2 crochet 1 knit and I hate all of them. I’m not feeling creative at all this week which is so unlike me.
So, I need some suggestions.
Here is a huge cone of a fingering weight alpaca in heather gray. It hasn’t spoken to me at all as to what it wants to be. Ideas?
I better get out of my fiber funk soon because guess what? I’m going to be a spinning demonstrator at the NYS Fair! Yup, if anyone is planning on attending the NYS Fair on Wednesday 8/31 stop by the wool barn and look me up!
On a side note I’ve noticed that the wild grapes are starting to look pretty good on my nightly walks. I’m thinking of using some of them to dye yarn later this fall.
Here’s what’s on my needles right now. It’s one of the yarns from my TdF… single ply beaded alpaca/wool.
I’m not sure what it’ll end up being sine I don’t know how much yarn I have. Right now it’s a 2k,2p ribbing in the round 80 stitches. It will probably be a cowl or ear warmer.
But for now here’s the Fiber Wordless Wednesday. Short video of my rescue alpaca Cokie and her bff Goliath. I guess they had a tiff recently.
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Hello Fiber Arts Friday Fans! It’s been a while since I’ve done a science behind alpaca fiber so here we go. Today’s question, why is alpaca warmer than wool?
What is Alpaca Fiber?
Well all know that fiber from a sheep is called wool and the stuff that we wash and comb on our own heads is called hair but what is alpaca? The argument can be made that alpaca fiber is really a hair but is often referred to as wool but for the majority of breeders we refer to it as, fiber.
The fiber that is sheared from the alpaca is produced by primary and secondary hair follicles and even a derived secondary which grows in both the primary and secondary follicles.
Primary fibers are what we call guard hair and are straight and stiff often giving that prickly sensation next to the skin. These fibers are most present on the legs and brisket of the alpaca and sometimes can be seen as a halo above the finer secondary undercoat or are called “cria tips” on new born alpacas.
Secondary fiber is the soft undercoat that gives the alpaca a soft handle. Secondary fibers cluster around a primary follicle and are the fiber that creates the crimp. Note: You cannot have secondary or derived secondary fibers without a primary fiber, therefore breeding to eliminate primary fiber results in a low density high micron fleece. Surprisingly, as fiber density increases the diameter of primary fibers decreases as it is forced to share skin real estate with secondary and derived secondary fibers.
Derived Secondary fibers are the finest of the 3 types and are what breeders strive for. A derived secondary follicle has its own root structure but share the same exit point from the skin of a secondary fiber. This type of fiber can only be identified through a skin biopsy.
Alpaca Fiber Structure:
Alpaca fiber is made up of 3 different parts, Cortical Cells, Cuticle, Intercellular Binder.
Cortical Cells – These are the body builders of the fiber and give it strength along with creating the crimp that we love so much. What causes crimp? Cortical Cells are made up of 2 parts, the orthocortex and paracortex. These 2 parts twist around each other creating the crimp in Huacaya or the twist in a suri. This crimp causes the actual fiber length to be 10%-30% longer than the staple length. Unfortunately crimp is not a reliable when determining fineness.
Cuticle – to protect the cells each fiber is covered in a material that we often refer to as scale. This protective coating is what provides the fiber its strength and also makes the fiber smooth to the touch. This is what we feel when we check for handle in a fleece as we rub the fibers between our fingers. The scale is also reflective and produces luster.
Intercellular Binder – It’s the glue that holds the 2 cell parts together within the cuticle.
Findings:
Alpaca owners who have been telling others this fess up, “alpaca fiber is warm because it is hollow and traps air for extra insulation.” I heard this from several breeders and never really questioned it until now.
The only medullated (hollow) hair fibers are the thick prickly guard hair which none of us wants in our fiber. So what causes alpaca’s superior warmth? The simple answer fineness and density. Alpaca fiber is finer, allowing more hairs to occupy the same space, more fiber = more trapped air = warmer.
Example Wool vs Alpaca
Let’s take a typical worsted weight yarn. The memory of wool causes the yarn to look fluffy and springy and less fibers are needed to occupy the space for a worsted weight yarn. The alpaca yarn does not have memory, is finer and requires many times more strands of fiber to occupy the same space needed to make a worsted weight yarn. (I keep hearing it’s about 3x more but have not found research to back this yet).
Because dense fine alpaca fiber weigh less than wool, lighter weight yarns and garments can be made from alpaca that have the same or superior insulating properties to thicker wool garments.
UPDATE 8/13/11: According to the Yocom-McColl Wool Testing Labs alpaca fiber is NOT medullated (hollow) but most fibers DO have a trapped air bubble within the fiber! Check it out! The dark bubble in the center of the fiber is trapped air.
Alpaca fiber with air bubbleWool Fiber from Sheep
Thank you and this concludes today’s Fiber Arts Science Friday 🙂 Be sure to check out the link-parties page!
