Spinners...HELP!! 10 lbs. of raw alpaca

[dillonandmarasmom]

I love my DH!! He knows me, and knows I really want to learn to spin. He just scored for me a big (HUGE) bag of alpaca. Straight from the girl's back...

It hasn't been touched. I want to learn to spin, but not necessarily to wash and card it. So, any rec's on what I should do??

Also, any ideas about how much actual yarn I may end up with? The bag is literally 10 pounds. I am assuming my first time spinning will result in some single ply yarn goodness...

TIA!

[flapjack]

Bless him The yarn craft husbands are doing seriously well at looking after their wives this week, aren't they?
At a guess, I'd say you're going to get between 5 and 6 lbs of clean fibre for spinning from that (actually, wait, more. Alpaca don't have lanolin, though they do have dust in abundance) If you google, and/or read the small ads in the back of Spin-Off, you should be able to find someone who will card it for you, and they can talk you through washing it as well.

[dillonandmarasmom]

Thanks, Helen!
I am probably going to take it to a local wool mill for washing and carding. They are really nice people, and they have wonderful antique tools. Heck, they may even offer to get my spinning going. They have a plethera of lovely wheels .

[fallriverfox]

What a nice problem to have!

[JoyfullySubversive]

Originally Posted by dillonandmarasmom

I love my DH!! He knows me, and knows I really want to learn to spin. He just scored for me a big (HUGE) bag of alpaca. Straight from the girl's back...!

Sounds like he's overcompensating for something.
Now, MY hubby only had to give me THREE pounds of Alpaca fiber,
because that's just how manly he is.

Ok, so here's what you do.
I'll PM you my address. Send it of to me.
I'll wash it, card it, spin it, and knit it up.
All free of charge!
And voila! a huge hassle of your hands!
I know, I'm just so freaking sweet and helpful like that.