Category: Fiber Arts

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FAF: Alpaca Fan Shawl DONE!

No more artistic renditions, this is the final alpaca fan shawl!  I still haven’t blocked it yet but you get the idea of what it’ll look like.  When blocked the mesh boarder will be more pronounced and the triangle fan pattern will be more even and noticeable.  I’m thinking of adding more fringe.  Right now I put them in every other mesh space.  I’m thinking I’d like more or would that be too much?  Thoughts?

Alpaca Shawl

Alpaca Shawl

I also retrieved the photo of what’s on my wheel right now.  Alpaca/Merino blend that I’m aiming for a 2ply DK weight when done.

Last but not least the huge granny triangle I started and finished this week on my lunch breaks.  I’m thinking I’m going to use it as a swimsuit wrap since the green matches my suit so nicely!

Crochet Granny Swim Wrap

So what have you been up to this week?

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WIP and Fiber Wordless Wednesday

So I totally forgot my cell phone at home today which had all my photos for today’s WIP.  So I decided to draw what I have been working on this week instead.

1. I’ve been spinning again!  This time I’m trying to see how thin I can make a single ply.  Making bulky weight yarn is easy, 2hrs for 4oz from start to ply but spinning this thin is taking forever!  I’m really looking forward to the yarn though.  Here is my artistic rendition of the fiber that is on my bobbin.

2. The alpaca fan shawl is DONE! Well kind of, it still needs blocking but all the crochet is done and the fringe is on.  Here’s what it looks like, cool huh?

3. Fiber fiber everywhere.  I shipped out 3 boxes totaling 60lbs of fiber yesterday to the mill.  With any good luck by September I’ll be stocked up and ready for shows!

Lastly I’m combining my Fiber Wordless Wednesday into this post, here is this week’s alpaca photo.   If you raise fiber animals and have a photo by all means join in on the linky!

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Fiber Arts Friday – Shearing and Skirting

It was a long wait through some hot days but all of our alpacas are finally shorn!  I mentioned a while back that I attended the shearing clinic up at Jay Ward’s place this spring and I got my chance to do some more hands on shearing on my own animals.  I made the mistake of saving the last 3 animals for myself to shear.  My legs were shaking from fatigue after wrestling all the alpacas before them as the header.

My lovely shearer Chris Hatch was so kind to coach me though and gave me great tips on how he runs his pattern and handles all the smaller cria and tui jobs.  Thank you Chris and good luck in the alpaca shearing contest!

Of course after shearing you end up with bags upon bags of fiber everywhere!  12 animals time 3 bags each equals 36 bags stuffed with fluffy fiber.  So, I’ve been working my way through all the bags skirting them on my new skirting table.  Picking out VM as well as changes in color, guard hair, and consistency.  Which means I’ve created even more bags of fiber! (FYI The red on the cria’s nose is loose minerals, she looks like Rudolf though)

The good news? Those folks that participated in our Raw Alpaca Fiber CSA… your fleeces have been skirted, packaged and shipped out already!  You should get them soon! For those of you still wishing to take part in our CSA we do have full and half shares for Spinners and Yarn left! Check out our Etsy Store for details.

Oh yeah, last but not least progress has once again been made on the alpaca fan shawl.  I’m on pattern row 29 of 30! I was worried that 30 pattern rows would not stretch out enough for my wingspan but I think I might be ok.  We’ll see.  Worst case I might add 2 more pattern rows.

So what have you Fiber Arts Friday folks been up to?

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WIP – Fiber and Shawls

It was a very busy weekend fiber wise on the farm with our shearing of the alpacas.  This of course produces bags upon bags of raw fiber which need to be skirted.  Thus my current and most immediate WIP is skirting.

Skirting Alpaca Fiber

I got bored last week during my lunch breaks and started yet another shawl.  My alpaca shawl still isn’t finished but I forgot it at home so it has been dormant still.   The only thing I could find in my car was some cotton so this is what I’ve come up with so far.

That’s about it.  Don’t forget, if you raise fiber animals share your photos them here at Fiber Wordless Wednesday

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WIP – Crochet Video Close Up

I’m still working on the alpaca fan shawl and decided to take a little video of it while I worked.  Hope it helps some of you out with crochet.  Sorry for the quality, I took it with my cell phone.