Two words.

Angora fiber.

Now that all of us that have ever been newcomers to spinning short and slippery staples have given a much deserved shudder.

I didn't expect working with something that had such a short and slippery staple to be easy.  I also didn't expect it to be so all-consuming.

Spinning this fiber took all of my attention and care to ensure that every short little piece wouldn't be ripped straight out of my hands again, and again, and again.  I found myself shutting out every single thing around me so that I wouldn't be muttering words I'm glad my mother couldn't hear leave my lips.  It felt like every moment I felt comfortable in the rhythm, I would abruptly find a poorly placed piece of fiber leaving my finger tips and anyone that had the misfortune of being around me would hear the umpteenth sigh and mumble session as I fished the end out and strung it back through all of the proper guides and holes.  

After hearing some tips and tricks of the trade for spinning short and slippery fiber, I attempted the strange magic that is spinning from "the fold", which is when one spins from the center of the fiber, as opposed to the ends, to create fewer floofs spitting out from every which direction and to keep the fiber feeding through smoothly.  

While it definitely lived up to the promise, it was difficult to consistently get the fiber to line up in such a way that spinning from the fold was possible.  I would be so focused on getting everything else going that often the fold just wouldn't happen until I noticed the calamity of spiky ends poking out from the sides of what I was working on.

Spinning two gallon sized bags of this was enough to make me want to pull out my own hair, as it has a much longer staple and might be a tad less stressful (at least in the short term).

Nevertheless, I persisted and managed to spin it all up, and despite the strained effort (that at times tested my patience) I managed to make the yarn look even and the softness that made me want to curl up and daydream was enough to let me forgive it.

Until, of course, my mother informed me that most people are sane enough to use a very thin silk thread of the same colour as a base for spinning things like angora to make it more manageable and give it a consistent strong core, then I definitely felt a tiny bit bitter.

The bitterness from a difficult project never lasts long though, because I'm always delighted that it's finished.  I'm excited for the possibilities of it, and I enjoy being able to tuck that knowledge away for the next time.

I mean really, how could you be mad when it turns out to be fluffy and delightful?

Plus even if there is a little bit of sideways glancing from me to the project, something about sitting down and writing to all of you about it makes it a little better because although I didn't know about things like the silk thread trick, at least we both do now.  That's a great part of what this is about, we can enjoy the projects but also laugh together when disaster ensues as I learn new things.  Thanks for this round of laughter with/at me.

Stay sweet, stay crafty, and stay tuned.

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Of the many spinning retreats I went to when I was younger, one gave me something that I never really appreciated until I started working it.

In a random draw, I was given this alpaca fiber.  

A 2 1/2 gallon bag stuffed to the brim, and every last bit was riddled with sticks, twigs, grasses, seeds, and other such vegetation with a nice coating of dirt all the way through.  At points in this project, I thought there was more debris than fiber in the bag.  More dirt than beast.

I looked online for some carders, and was quickly disheartened with how heinously expensive they all were.  It may have just been where I was looking, but it seemed like even the smallest of carders cost about $50, and that was on the low end.  

Feeling set back, I voiced my grievances to a good friend that was over for a crafty morning get-together.  She, in all of her glowing brilliance, asked why I didn't just hop on over to the local pet store and pick up a dog grooming brush.  

Sure enough, I go down to the nearest one and got two for under $30, and they worked like a dream.

That being said, I still had a lot of fiber to go through.  This itty bitty dent was after I had spent 8 hours chipping away at it.

Despite how much time I started putting into this project, I never got bored or frustrated.  It started becoming a reliable and comforting way to spend my morning.  I get up early to help my partner get together some food for his work day, and when he left I would typically just go back to bed.  Carding gave me a nice reason to stay up and enjoy the morning.  I found it soothing to just sit back and make consistent and visible progress for a couple of hours in the morning, and then again in the evening (basically whenever my deck was in the shade so I wouldn't have to fuss with sunscreen but also wouldn't tempt the sun into burning my skin off).

After every carding session, I would spin up what I had just worked on.  In part so there would always be room for the extra fluffy fiber in the bag, but also because I'm madly in love with the colour, and wanted to spin it up as soon as it was ready.  

In total, the carding process took about 39 hours and 20 minutes.  It gave me a deep appreciation for just how much work people used to go to clean fiber,  also a better understanding as to why the professionals have the big, fancy drum carders that do all of that work in a fraction of the time.  

The poofy bliss was a dream to spin, and with each session I was able to enjoy seeing just how much yarn I was actually getting from these hours upon hours of carding.  

The fiber (unsurprisingly) remained gorgeous as I plied and washed it.

However, despite the colour being natural, the fiber was so incredibly dirty that the water went from clear to this murky brown within moments of me washing the skeins.

I managed to get 6 1/2 skeins out of the fiber.  I'm planning on carding and spinning some more alpaca that's the same colour, and making a sweater out of all of it, so stay tuned!

It was a little shocking to see just how much time it takes to take fiber from the start to the finished product of yarn.  I both admire those who did it with far fewer tools than I have, and applaud those who came up with the technology to make it easier.  That being said, I did buy more fiber that needs carding, and am greatly looking forward to taking it through all of the steps and sharing those steps with all of you.  It's fun to possess an older skill set and be part of its continuance in the world.  It's wonderful to remind myself of why yarn and fiber can sometimes seem so pricey, and to see first hand the hard work it takes to get the comfy coats of fluffy beasts to the shimmering beauty of yarn.  I hope you also got some enjoyment out of looking at the process, and know that the sweater will be in the making soon!

Thank you so much for being here and reading about my dreams.  I hope all is well with you, and you're having a sweet life, crafty or otherwise.