Fiber Arts Friday - I Sort, I know

I spent last week in Terre Haute, Indiana as part of my training to become a Certified Sorter.  The other day I posted many pictures with a vague description of what I learned.  I wanted to save the good stuff for Fiber Arts Friday.  This is my favorite blog of the week...and boy, oh boy has this week been filled with fiber.

First, I must say a massive THANK YOU to Martha Dobbins of Encore Alpacas.  She drove us down to Terre Haute, which is approximately 5 hours south of my farm.  That means we spent approximately 10 hours in a vehicle together.  That is 10 hours of me talking...and if you know me that means that I talked for 10 hours.  I think a reward for her would be to give her some of my suri roving.  See, Martha only raises huacaya and she hasn't had the pleasure to spin suri yet...yes, that will be her reward.

Second, I have to obsess about my Clap(otis) one last time.  After throwing it in the corner, which lasted one day, I was too darn curious how it would look once blocked to so I gave it a hot bath then layed it out on the guest bed.  I realized that I don't own any blocking pins so...I improvised.  Binder clips are wonderful substitutes!

So,...my Clapotis, full of mistakes, still looks sassy!  I wore it all day and felt like a rock star.  All my bellyaching was just that...belly aches.  I love my Clap and I will knit another one only the next one will be using alpaca instead of wool.

Ok, on to fiber sorting.  I have a whole new view on the alpaca industry and it all deals with textile.  I have been debating how to explain it via blog for the last few nights and it's difficult to do.  So I will start at the beginning.  Before I learned about sorting, I would shear my herd, get a histogram of their fiber to learn their micron then skirt the fleece for VM (veggie matter).  Last year at shearing I had all suri except for two huacaya and for the most part their fleece was pretty consistent in length so I didn't sort for length.  I sent the fleece off to mill then I had my roving to sell and spin.  Now I will have my herd certified sorted so that the fiber I submit to mill or the NAAFP will be uniform in color, length and grade.  That uniformity is what makes a better product.

With my sorter knowledge I now know so much more.  I know as a breeder what decisions I need to make to improve my fiber production.  I know that what we are awarded for in the show ring isn't necessarily what is best for the textile use.  We need to breed for uniform fleece not for color or for the prettiest alpaca (those characteristics will come easily enough as we make good breeding decisions).

We need to look to the end product and understand what our fiber makes.  Many breeders know what a micron is but don't understand what it really means.  Do they understand grades of fiber? Do they know what the best micron for making socks are?  Do they understand that one alpaca can have multiple grades? What products are currently being made out of alpaca? That alpacas that appear fawn for show are actually rose gray by textile standards.  Oh yeah, it will blow your mind!  It's hard to write about all the amazing benefits of having fiber Certified Sorted in a blog post because I could write a book on it...oh wait, the Course Broads already have done that and it's called a text book.  Yikes!  

We need to think of our shearing as a harvest.  We don't want our "crops" to go to waste just sitting in a basement or garage because we don't have the patience to sort or the knowledge of how to sell the fiber.  We need to take charge of our herd's fiber and increase our farm's profit potential.  We need to understand that there is a need and a demand of alpaca made products but we, as breeders, need to work together to create the supply.  There are more products being made out of alpaca fiber than we realize.  There are so many benefits to alpaca like that it's fire retardant, absorbes moisture, strength and has wrinkle recovery just to name a few.

As I start my apprenticeship, I will continue to post about my new adventures and hopefully convey to you more of what I am learning.  I understand that most of my followers are not alpaca breeders so hearing this information gives you a better understanding of our industry.  I also realized that if I write about the whole experience in one blog post that I have, essentially, re-written my text book so...you will just have to keep reading each week and gain your wisdom of fiber along with me.



Now, I want to hear what you have been doing all week.  Share your adventures in fiber arts!

Please share you adventures in Fiber Arts!
Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!

To participate:

1. Submit your blog article to the next edition of fiber arts friday using our carnival submission form. Remember to submit your current blog address NOT your complete blog  i.e. you would submit 

http://wonderwhyalpacafarm.blogspot.com/2010/02/e-i-e-i-doh.html  

NOT 

http://wonderwhyalpacafarm.blogspot.com

1. Link back to Fiber Arts Friday from your post so that your readers can come and see everyone else’s projects! Text link to  WISDOM BEGINS IN WONDER!   
2. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!

Check out these cool blogs: