I purchased my first alpaca foundation females a year ago. I have been knitting just over a year and I have officially been spinning a year, at least on a drop spindle. Wow, time really does fly when you are having fun. Do you know that I bought my first alpacas, the fiber males, before I learned to knit or spin? I guess that shouldn't be shocking since the majority of alpaca owners don't knit, crochet or spin let alone process their fiber. I don't quite understand the reasoning for this since alpacas are raised for their fiber. It's sad that I became an alpaca breeder approximately 25 years after they were brought into the country yet I know more about fiber production than most breeders who have been in the business for years. My answer to that is to educate and I will educate anyone and everyone I can about alpacas and what can be done with their fiber. If I don't have an answer, I will search to find it. I have even been known to shut my mouth for a few minutes to listen to words of wisdom from people who know more. Anyone who knows me also knows that is a tough thing for me to do. The hard part is that there are a lot of farms that don't want to be educated. They entered this industry to breed the alpaca and want nothing to do with the fiber. Yeah, I know...breaks my heart too.
As I was plying a gorgeous skein of huacaya blended with bamboo and merino that I had spun from my boy, Romeo, I started thinking about what drives people to enter the alpaca industry. Which comes first the chicken or the egg? To keep it industry specific, which comes first the love of alpaca or the love of fiber?
The first time that I ever saw an alpaca, I fell in love and so did my family but it took a couple of years of convincing the husband and doing tons of research to purchase my first alpaca. I wasn't "allowed" to buy an alpaca but I did purchase a hand knitted scarf. Actually, I purchased two even though I was only "authorized" to buy one. I have always been a lover of fiber arts but I just couldn't make anything. My attempts at crochet were pathetic. Really, I still have an unfinished and a finished project hidden away in the mess I call a guest room. I loved to cross-stitch but got bored of the tedious work that went into it just to have it hang on the wall being ignored but if I could sweet talk someone into knitting or crocheting me something I was in heaven. I am the girl who used to attend craft shows and buy lovely hats, scarves and gloves because I so desperately wanted them but couldn't make them. Well, I can now.
It makes me wonder what drove other farms to start in the business. Ultimately it comes down to money but there had to be a passion somewhere in the decision. People who had never been on a farm all of a sudden have successful alpaca farms taking care of births, husbandry, and even scooping alpaca poo. What was the drive to get them to learn everything? Me? I wanted my own wardrobe of alpaca hats, gloves, scarves, shawls, blankets, jackets, sweaters, socks...I vowed if I had my own herd I would learn to knit and spin and I have. One day I will weave too. Maybe one day I will attempt to crochet again...I doubt it but hey, never say never.
My first full year in the business was driven by fiber sales since I didn't have any cria to sell. I started with fiber boys before I bought my foundation herd. I've attended more seminars, classes and clinics on fiber production in the last year than most farms have in their lifetime. I am a breeder who understands that selling an alpaca from $60,000 is no longer a reality but selling a pound of fiber for $80+ profit
after processing is (depending on the grade). I am a woman on a mission to educate farms that fiber sitting in the barn or basement is like throwing money to...the chickens.
My answer to the questions is that the egg (fiber) came before the chicken (alpaca). What's yours?
Now I want to hear about all of your fiber arts adventures this week.
Please share you adventures in Fiber Arts!
Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival!
To participate:
- 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
- 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!
- Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what helps us all connect!
Check out these cool blogs:
Posts
That's really cool. As a new reader to your blog, I would've thought you'd been doing this whole knitting/spinning/alpaca raising thing for several years! Some day I would love to have any type of fiber-bearing animals; I keep teasing my hubby that we should get an Angora rabbit so I can spin its fur. I just really want to have my own ready-to-spin herd of fiber-bearing animals. :) I guess that's like the pot smoker who wants to grow her own weed, to feed her addiction more easily, huh?
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday!!!
Jess
Happy Fiber Arts Friday! I understand your falling in love with the Alpacas. When I visited a local farm during a spring open house I was feeling the love too. Since I live in the city having pet Alpacas is out of the question. I love your fancy chickens too! Thanks for hosting, I've met some really nice new folks since I've been participating in FAF.
ReplyDeleteGREAT post. I've always been completely astounded that there are alpaca farms who don't do anything with the fiber. I never understood it because it seemed like a pyramid scheme if you remove the fiber from the equation -- do you just sell breeders to other breeders then, if you don't do anything with the fiber? Someone once told me that they had just sheared their cria and the fiber was super soft, and when I asked what they did with it they said they threw it away because they didn't know what else to do. AHHHHH!
ReplyDeleteYour post makes a lot of sense. We are a farm who has ridden the wave- we have bought and sold at some of the astronomical prices but at the end of the day in this current market I'm still pretty happy to have my alpacas because I love (and use) the fiber so much.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you've only been doing fiber arts for a year - you're really accomplished!
ReplyDeleteI too re-learned how to knit because of alpacas. I also learned to spin and weave because of alpacas.
ReplyDeleteI love hearing about the begining part and am astounded that your journey has only been going on for a year. Mine has been 2 1/2 and I must say you've accomplished a lot more than I have.
You're my hero. :-)
Great post topic! My love was definitely for alpacas, farming and animal husbandry long before it was for fiber arts. I grew up breeding, raising, and showing animals in 4-H and that aspect of the alpaca industry is what first drew me to alpacas....plus their fuzzy adorable faces! The second thing that drew me in was the business potential. Don't get me wrong, I loved the "idea" of processing my own fiber at the time, but it was not at the top of my list. Now, 4 years after first getting into alpacas, I spin my own alpaca yarn and enjoy knitting and hand felting and hope to only get better at it from here on out. I guess my "chicken" came before my "egg."
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading about your love of alpacas and their fiber. The only unspun fiber I have at my house is cat and dog fur which is not much of a source for creative inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHello Andrea, I joined! Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteI have my Celia Quinn's Workshop Experience Outline up today.... so, I'm committed :).
Andrea -- I messed it up :0 My screen wasn't refreshing for some reason, so did the thing that you should never do... I hit the button more than once. So, I'm in their multiple times. Sorry!!!! Can you delete some? I promise I won't do that next time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my wheel! You know, since yours is wood (right?), you could just use some craft paint and some pretty stencils on it to let the original wood beauty show through but also be personalized. OR, try getting an alpaca stamp from Winemaker's Sister on Etsy and then paint the stamp and stamp it on, that'd be fun. :)
ReplyDeleteYou should TOTALLY send in some wonder fiber to PhatFiber!
Jess
以簡單的行為愉悅他人的心靈，勝過千人低頭禱告。........................................
ReplyDelete