Hello, My Name is Christine and I am a Fiber Fanatic

Do you hear that dripping sound? It is the block of ice I put around my heart, melting. I mean, how could it not? Look at her.

Even in her rough condition, Aibileen is incredibly cute. She had some health issues that we believe she suffered with for quite some time before being rescued. She’s better now, but the long-term infection left her fiber in a rough state. That stripe on her nose is actually where the hair has worn away from rubbing on a feeder.

You can see that there is really no sheen to her fiber at all and she generally looks like she needs a day or two at the salon for a hot oil treatment. It is particularly noticeable if you compare her to Thelma, who has had about nine months of good health and nutrition.

But, I tell you, nobody does sheen better than Minnie. Her fleece also looks as if it has been frosted, like those 1990s hairstyles we all used to wear. They are all classified as heavy-wooled llamas, but Minnie adds the word extra in front of that. She’ll produce a great deal of fiber every year.

I’m looking forward to shearing. Llama fiber is generally not as fine as alpaca fiber and therefore not quite as soft. They also don’t have as much crimp. Crimp is what makes a yarn stretchy. Luckily, I happen to have some super-crimpy sheep and I can combine the two to make a very nice yarn. In fact, I just received a batch of my mill spun yarn this week from Fluery Sheep and Wool. That is Sophia, the sheep, mixed with Dino and Peter, the alpacas on the left in a 50/50 blend. On the right is Blanche, the sheep, and Sammy, the alpaca, in about a 70/30 blend.

I know that in business you are supposed to sell your products. I mean that is kind of the whole point, but after knitting up some sample swatches, I want to keep every inch of it. It is so incredibly soft. Knitters, if you have ever used Cascade Eco-Duo, this yarn is that soft.

I calculated it, I have enough fingering weight yarn here to make 80 pairs of socks. I need 8o pairs of socks, right? That’s not unreasonable, everyone could use 80 pairs of socks. I mean, it’s not like at my age my feet are suddenly going to grow. I should keep it. Right?