Artisan Pages:
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Alpaca at the Barn!
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Judy is a fiber artist who raises suri alpacas at Big Meadow Creek Alpacas in Troy, ID. She sells raw fiber, roving and knitted items she makes from her animals' fleece in the Milk House Fiber Studio at the Barn. So, the alpacas you see in the picture here are at her farm and will be rarely on view at the Barn. While she would be glad to help you arrange a visit to see the real animals, you are free to stop in the Studio and touch all the fiber and yarn you want! Judy is pleased to have partnered with Margo Kay, a shepherd from Lenore, ID, who has a flock of fiber sheep, a source for her intrepid spinning, and who has been experimenting with natural dyes.
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What is alpaca?
The alpaca is a member of the camelid family, which ranges from the bactrian an dromedary to the rarer vicuòa and guanaco, and the more familiar llama. Alpacas are smaller than llamas, thus not useful for packing, but are raised for their fiber. Alpacas are sheared once a year.There are two types of alpacas: the huacaya and the suri. Huacaya fiber is dense and grows perpendicular to the animal's body, like sheep's wool. Suri fiber hangs from the body in individual locks. Alpacas "come" in a variety of colors from black and grey, through fawn and shakes of brown, to the more common white.Alpacas as animals are soft on the environment, making alpaca a truly green textile.
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Alpaca Yarn
Alpaca yarn, available at the Milk House Fiber Studio at the Dahman Barn, comes from alpacas raised in the Pacific Northwest (much of it from the alpacas raised at Big Meadow Creek Alpacas in Troy, ID) and produced in the US. Alpaca is a luxury fiber--and suri alpaca is a high-end, exotic fiber prized for its combination of luster, fineness, slick handle, cool feeling, drape, elegance, and strength. No other animal fiber possesses all these features, and it makes Suri highly sought after throughout the world. While similar to sheep’s wool, alpaca is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin which makes it hypoallergenic. Alpaca is also naturally water-repellent.Alpaca is sustainable as a fiber and is naturally organic. Alpaca yarn can be used in a multitude of applications including knitting and weaving and is easily dyed.Some of the high quality alpaca yarn at the Milk House Fiber Studio has been combined with soysilk or tencel. Items hand-knit from alpaca are available in our studio, as are patterns specifically made for suri alpaca yarn.
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