White on Green

It sure is nicer to head out to the barn in the morning with the promise of warmth and sunshine in the air.  It's almost time to retire the winter rubber boots for the summer rubber boots. The alpacas are looking for those first blades of green in the pastures.  It will be a week or so until all the snow is out of the fields, but once it happens, the green seems to sprout almost overnight.

 Alicia here is getting a bit annoyed with me.  She is supposed to be pregnant for the first time.  Sometimes, with new moms, it is hard to be 100% sure with a spit check.  Every chance that I get, I check her from the back-side to see if the cria is bulging out one side.  She's getting self-conscious, I think.  What a nice fluffy butt she has, though! 

Here's a picture of some of the boys.  It's nice to see them out getting exercise.  They don't move around much in the winter...basically their winter trail is from the barn, to the hay feeder, to the poop-pile, to the waterer.

Then, there is Jessie, the camera hog.  She's just curious, really.  And if you were wondering...Yes, that nose is as soft as it looks.

 This is Lily, the rejected-then-adopted cria from last June.  You can read her story here. 

So, all my white fleece from last year has finally come full circle back from the mill.

I've got a new batch of yarn and fibre.  Pictured is a sport weight yarn in a blend of 70% alpaca, 30% merino.  It's a very soft and lofty knitting yarn.
I also got returned a large batch of white 3 ply sock yarn that is 60%alpaca, 20%merino, 20%nylon.  My 3 ply yarn makes a very warm sock that is durable, but still soft.
As well, I've received a large batch of 100% alpaca white rovings, 70% alpaca, 30% merino blend white rovings and soft beige fingering weight yarn.
I am trying to rearrange my life to have some time to start dyeing the white yarn and rovings , now that it's warmer in my sunroom.
Thanks for popping in!

Spinning Faster...

I'm spinning so fast, it's making me dizzy :)

No, not really, but...

I remember when I bought my first wheel, a Lendrum DT, my DH offered to "put a motor on that thing". I gave him a look and told him that he was missing the point of spinning.

Someone once likened spinning to the "new Yoga". Well, I have to agree. Spinning for pleasure is meditative and relaxing, as any spinner can tell you.

However, every June I have the job of turning a trailer full of fleece into dollars. Most of the farm's harvest gets taken to the mill to turn into rovings, batts, yarn or felt. However, those special 'best' fleeces or the odd-ball colour\grade fleeces are washed, carded and spun by yours truly for sale as skeins or garments.

I had been half-heartedly looking at the Roberta on the internet. An Ertoel Roberta promised more consistent yarn in a faster rate while saving my ankle joints from treadling.
But, I didn't know anyone who actually used one and the new sticker price was beyond my current gambling limit.

Then about a year and a half ago, I had the great luck to hear about someone in my region selling an electronic spinning wheel. It turned out to be an Ertoel Roberta.

And the price tag on a used one was worth the gamble. Especially, if I could process more fibre at home rather than paying mill processing costs (I can justify any expense :)).

Well, even though it has taken me a year and a half of 1) findling around with it 2) getting frustrated with it 3) swearing at it and 4) staring at it for months...my Roberta and I have finally bonded. It took some adjustments and oiling, and use to both wear it in and get comfortable with it.

The on\off switch and the speed control are hand knobs on the front of the unit. This is a bit awkward when you start out. I was going to either get a pause-switch foot pedal or have DH make one, but it never got done. Now that I'm used to it, I don't think I actually need one.

I used some Polworth from my old stash to test drive her. It ended up quite overtwisted, but I'll use it for some spare mitts.

Then, I started spinning some of my 70% alpaca\30% merino rovings. Since I don't have a 3rd bobbin for plying on my Roberta, I plied on my Lendrum.


I'm really happy with the result. It's very consistent and wasn't overspun.

I'm starting another batch of the same yarn and I'm going to track my time this round.