This week I’ve been dyeing up a storm. (all the alpaca fiber and yarns are still wet, so pictures will be coming next week) During this process I wanted to create a color that isn’ t one of the colors I can just find already made up. I was stumped. Remember I’m a novice... I finally figured it out. Use the color wheel. duh. Here’s a site with an interactive color wheel. These things are so helpful. Reading about color theory is probably another good idea. I particularly like Color Choices: Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory. Do you have any color resources that you’d like to share with us? Either leave a link in the linky or in a comment.

So what have you been doing this week? Share with us on Fiber Arts Friday.

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!

Dyeing Supplies

Immersion Dyeing

Dyed Roving

What’s your favorite way to dye? Any cool techniques that you have to share? Leave a comment and tell us.

Time to share what you’ve been up to with your fiber this week.

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!

Autumn's Fire

This week I’ve been dyeing alpaca yarn and fiber using Fall colors. Since we live in the South, summers are our most challenging season on the farm. This makes Autumn my favorite season. It brings such a welcome relief from the seemingly endless hot, humid days.

Butternut

What better way to revel in the season than creating fiber products that reflect its beauty?

Pumpkin Harvest

My dyed yarns and fiber can be found in my Etsy shop.

What have you been doing with fiber this week? Share with us below by linking your blog post to Fiber Arts Friday.

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!

Loved this video, and loved that she used alpaca fiber!

So what have you been doing with Fiber this week? Link your blog posts here:

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!

This is what the yarn looked like a’ natural.

First we wet the yarn, then put it in the dyepots. These pots had water, dye, and citric acid in them. We used purple and blue. We heated them up on the stove and let them sit for awhile, stirring occasionally.

After the dye was exhausted in the pot (water was clear), we removed and hung to dry. My Fiber Artist friend, Sherry gave me the tip to use two coat hangers to hang up the wet yarn. Hanging one at the bottom too keeps it from tangling up.

Final Result. I had a couple of spots that missed the dye so I can dye these again or leave them with a couple of tiny “bald spots”.

Note: Once you designate supplies for dyeing they are not supposed to be used for food anymore. I picked up a spoon to use that I thought, “I’ve never used this spoon.” The next morning my husband came into the kitchen and bellowed, “What happened to my stir-fry spoon?!!” Oops. He was soothed by the promise of a new spoon of his choice from Williams-Sonoma, and I was able to keep the peace. Something to keep in mind as you choose your dye-ware!

What have you been working on this week? Share it with our Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival. And if you missed last week’s Fiber Arts Piece de Resistance – it’s a MUST SEE!

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!
4. Double-check to make sure your link works and goes to the right page so it doesn’t get deleted.

At Alpaca Farmgirl we’re hooked on Fiber! Visit Hooked on Houses and see what other people are Hooked on!

Pat Green Three Drum Supercard

So I’m having a dilemma. I’ve come to a crossroads.

My goal this year is to work the Fiber side of my alpaca business. To that end, I have tried new things. I have begun to knit again. I’ve learned to dye my fiber and yarn, and I’ve even tried Spinning. The idea was to try the different things and see what I liked and what I could live without.

I’ve discovered that I LOVE dyeing fiber the best, and wet felting it the least. In my fiber dreams I would love to create beautiful, colorful batts the way that Loop and Hobbledehoy do. Only my batts would be alpaca because alpacas are my life! *Sigh*
I thought I was well on my way to doing this when I learned that:

1. I have the wrong kind of drum carder. Mine is not designed for fine alpaca fleece . (I cluelessly bought it about 9 years ago from an alpaca breeder and never used it.)
2. I need a picker. Badly. To help with the process.

I did learn to wash the fleece, and that’s good. I also found this cool drying device that allows me to dry fleece indoors quickly.

I love it and it was 75% off!

Triple Picker

Before I go much farther with my tale, I have to mention that we harvest at least 300 lbs. of fleece each Spring at Fairhope Alpacas. I have been advised by my friend and Fiber Artist Sherry that I really need commercial equipment.

I know that I will need that. When we relocate the farm I will set up a Fiber Studio where I can have all the equipment and fiber, but for now, space is an issue. So we’ll hold off on investing in the big machines.

First I will get a picker. Then I want to get a drum carder. My dilemma is whether I should just fly way ahead to the Supercard (which will require some saving too) or if I should start with a smaller fine toothed drum carder.

A few of the smaller/non-commercial ones that have been recommended have been Deb’s Delicate Deluxe and those made by Strauch.  Strauch even has a page on their website – Which Drum Carder is Best for Me? Alpaca Meadows sells carders on their website.

Strauch Motorized Drum Carder

Sherry recommends a chain drive over a belt drive. I am seriously considering a motorized version. Hmm. That almost takes me back to the Supercard. But then space is an issue again…

While I hem and haw, please chime in and let me know your thoughts. I welcome all the input I can get! My biggest questions are:

• What drum carders have you used that you liked/disliked?
• What (if anything) can you do with a smaller carder that cannot be done with the larger ones?
• What benefits do you see to the various carders?
• What else do I need to keep in mind?

Sheri is teaching a Beginning Spinning class here at our farm, Fairhope Alpacas, tomorrow. I am so excited to learn to spin. Today she plans to give me tips on dyeing, felting, and more. Sheri is also going to walk me through washing the fleeces. At this point, having over 100 fleeces to wash seems to be an insurmountable obstacle, but she’s going to show me how to do several at a time outdoors. The kids and I should be able to knock it out the first month of summer. (I realize I can send them out to be washed, but that adds to the cost with the washing AND shipping – I’m going to weigh my options at this point.) And in this economy, I am reminded every day to do more for myself and rely less on paying others to do things. (I’d love to have 6 employees, but that will have to wait for the economic upturn!)

It is my intention to blog everything I can and even take some video this weekend. So check back to see all the fiber trouble we get into!

Please tell at least one fiber friend and ask them to participate in Fiber Arts Friday! And be sure to mention Fiber Arts Friday in your blog posts and link to it. Can’t wait to see what you’ve got going on this week on your blogs!

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!
4. Double-check to make sure your link works and goes to the right page so it doesn’t get deleted.

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.

We have closets, barns, rooms full of fleece. Just sitting there. It’s not that we don’t appreciate it, it’s just that – for some of us – there’s not enough time to do much with it. (Hey, I’ve got four kids and 75+ alpacas to tend to – that’s been my excuse for years.)

There are the organized breeders who ship it off to be processed the day after shearing. I try to be one of those. Try being the operative word. There are many places where alpaca breeders can send their fleece for cash or to be made into something they can sell. Look for a post with those resources next week.

In the past year, my kids have started school, allowing me to take up knitting and dyeing.  I’ve become more and more interested in processing the fiber myself. So I want to keep it around until I have time to work with it.

This room is where we usually hold seminars. Note the screen on the wall for Power Point presentations. Lately this room has needed to become the storage room while we get our house/farm ready to sell. The Artist has been grousing that he can’t fit his studio furniture in here if I don’t move the fiber. But where can I put 300+lbs. of fiber?

I told my Dad that it would help my marriage if he would please let me store some of my fleece in his shop building. He agreed! When I gave the Artist the news, he responded by singing, “Ahhhhh! Marital Bliss!” in his opera voice.

Here’s the truck ready to haul the fleece to my Dad’s. 53 bags to be exact. What are all these fleeces on the ground? Oh, that’s MORE fleece. Fleece from years past that was shoved into a bathroom in the Boy’s Barn. I had forgotten it was even there. (We ceased being able to USE that bathroom years ago when the fleece took it over) I’ll have to go through all this and figure out what to do with all of it…Tomorrow…I’ll think about that tomorrow.

When I saw one of the best fleeces in this bunch had bugs in it (lots of them) – I really wanted to throw up. I was so disappointed. Atlantis’ fleece. Atlantis, who sheared 8 lbs. of NECK fiber! A harsh lesson in not throwing the fleece in an unused bathroom for four years. Okay, okay. I’ve learned my lesson. *sniff* the hard way.

But I will go through all this and sort it out. At least I made the Artist happy by taking 53 bags of fiber somewhere else to store. I even made an inventory so I know which fleeces are where. I kept at least 15 25 fleeces to work with in the near future.

Recently, I sent some of our best fleece to Chris at Vtknitboy (left photo by Chris). I’m thrilled to report that he loved it and compared it with cashmere. If you would like me to send you a complimentary fleece sample for you to try out, email me at katy@alpacafarmgirl.com with your name, address and color preference (if you have one). Or visit our Etsy shop for alpaca yarn and other products for sale.

Anyone else gonna share their true confessions of fiber hoarding?

Once the kids got finished dyeing their eggs…

I decided to dye some alpaca yarn. The dye was too tempting, I couldn’t just dump it out!

Set out to dry. I was pleased with the results!

Time for Cupcakes!

My Five Artists on Easter Sunday. We cleaned up and made it to church

(not an easy feat for us). Yea! Hope you all had a Happy Easter!

Here is the yarn in the jar that I kept putting in the microwave. After I used the green dye there were still some places on the yarn that had not taken the color. So I decided to dye it again in blue and see what would happen. Fortunately I loved the results. I did the same thing with yellow and orange and was not nearly as excited about the outcome.

I did the same thing with orange and pink. Liked these results.

Liz from Hobbledehoy posted a great tutorial on kettle dyeing, which is the next step I’m hoping to take. She uses professiona acid dyes from the Dharma Trading Company. Another great source for dyeing information is Paula Burch’s All About Hand Dyeing site. I recently picked up the book, Hands on DyeingThere is also a group on Yahoo! Groups called “Dye Happy” for those who are interested in discussing dyeing techniques and resources.  I can’t wait to dig in and get started, how about you?

Do you have any other great dyeing resources? If so, please leave them in the comment section!

Now let’s see what you Fiber Artisans have been up to this week. Link your fiber blog posts to the Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Add the permalink to a specific blog post that features something Fiber Art related, rather than your general blog address and not your Etsy store. (Please DO put a link in your blog post that takes us to your store though.)
2. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Use the button or a text link to http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!
4. Double-check to make sure your link works and goes to the right page so it doesn’t get deleted.

Powered by… Mister Linky’s Magical Widgets.