I can't believe that it's nearly 3 months since we've sheared the alpacas! I know they are glad to be rid of all that fiber, but they still seem so hot. This is how they enjoy their summer afternoons.
Sometimes they aren't so lady-like and fight over who gets the spray. Even the babies seem to enjoy it on the really hot days.
Since it's getting to be time for the fall fiber shows, I have to get geared up to have the fleeces ready to go to the mills for processing. That involves sorting and dying the fleece. Each fleece takes up to an hour to sort. In sorting, we separate the best fleece from what we call 2nds or 3rds. The seconds are used in things like rugs and rug yarn or felted projects. Most of our 3rds this year went to A Matter of Trust to work on the almost impossible task of cleaning up the Gulf oil spill. Every little bit helps.
The prime blanket will be processed into either yarn or roving. Once all of the fleeces are sorted, we will put them together based on how similar they are. Sometime later in the fall or early winter, we will have lots and lots of yarn here to dye and get ready for the spring shows.
Take a look at what we've done with last year's clip in our Etsy Store.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
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