The Paca Spinner

Life On the Farm.

2011-06-03T04:28:00.000-07:00

Hello Crafty Fiber Folks,
I haven't blogged in a few months, life on the farm has kept us very busy. I will be posting new and exciting things on the my blog about Alpaca Farming, Fiber Processing, New things that I'm working on and much much more. So check out the new videos that will be popping up on our blog and sit back have a snack and enjoy.

I am in the process of uploading new videos. You can also check my youtube channel. For more exciting videos and Fiber Tutorials.

Sunshine State Fiber Arts Guild

2011-03-23T04:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, What a hit, our guild was a smoking hot environment with Spinning Wheels, Drop Spindles, Knitters, Crochet going on. It was awesome, what else was super cool was we had a few awesome demonstrators this time. We had Steve showing us his amazing 200 year old walking wheel and weasel. What an incredible experience it was to look at this machine work. It gives you great respect for our ancestors who had to make yarn in this manner. Steve gave everyone, the opportunity to work the wheel. Thank you Steve for enlighting us with this awesome demonstration.

Then we had Reene, a talented artist do a needle felting demonstration. She is so talented and did such a fabulous job showcasing her work and it was a honor to watch her. Renee has alpacas and teaches a variety of classes at her studio in Spring Hill. Check her out www.crofutalpacas.com

I look forward to our next guild meeting, it will be a hoot to see everyone again. I am very excited to learn navajo plying. Eileen will show us how at the guild. Thank you to all that came to the guild, without you our guild wouldn't be what it is today.

Many Blessings always,
Kimberly

January Craft Challenge is Here!!!!!!

2011-01-27T16:08:00.000-08:00

Oh My Gosh, Just got my shipment today and I'm so excited. I am frothing at the mouth to get started!!!!!!

I've missed the last challenges and was so bummed. So this time, I am participating.
My dear friend, Pat Riesenburger with Aussie Threads & Fibers put together this fantastic challenge. The Felted Crystal Cuff.

Folks get the opportunity to let their creative side run wild, and then once finished with the project. Submit for judging.

So, I will embark on this crafty endeavor starting tomorrow and will be posting pictures up along the way.

Blessings, Kim

Woodland Yarns Are Here!!!!!!

2011-01-12T04:14:00.000-08:00

Whoo-hoo. I finally have taken that big step and started with my own yarn brand. I am so excited. My yarns are beautiful and everyone is in love with them. We offer so many blends and I just can't wait to see our new palette and new combinations that we are creating.

We are doing some really cool blends as well. 100% alpaca, alpaca merino blends, angora blends, silk blends, bamboo blends, and much more. Also plenty of weights to please everyone.

So excited!!!!! My Dreams are coming true...

One Day At A Time

2011-01-12T03:58:00.000-08:00

Well haven't blogged in a while, and first and foremost, need to say that I am looking forward to this new year. Our family had a rough 2010 year. My father was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carinoma in December 2009. Sadly after a long year of battling the disease, he passed on December 28th, 2010. I must say that it left me sad, angry, confused, and many other states of mind that I just could not explain to myself or to my family. It isn't easy no matter what, but it left me feeling so alone and scared. After all of this that has happened, I had to pick myself up move forward, and take one day at a time. My father would be saying, Quit that cryin and move on gurl. I do know that my father is in such a better place, no more suffering, no more of laying in that bed unable to move. Now he isn't in pain, his spirit can go anywhere he wants to go and do anything now. I know he is watching over me and my family. I LOVE YOU DAD!

FIBER PICKERS CONTINUED.....

2010-06-08T05:11:00.000-07:00

Fiber Pickers vs Wool Combs ( Flickr )
The battle continues, who will win. Ok Ok, I know I'm acting a wee bit strange here. Alrighty then, what I found out about these incredible pieces of equipment is.
The Fiber Pickers - which would be in the form of a bench or swing, make the job of opening up the fiber strands easier and quicker. You can open up and pick a fleece in 10 minutes. You will have to use your elbow grease on these pieces of equipment cuz you are still sliding your arm back and forth. It looks like when you watch an example of one of these pickers in action that it will be so painful on your arm.

Here is the bit of research that I found out on these two. Bench or Swing Picker!
Talked to a bunch of alpaca farms that are using either the Bench or The Swing and they all loved them equally. The farms were amazed at how easy it was to use, it didn't cause any types of discomfort while manuvering the slide action with your arms. The fiber was so opened up and debrie fell out, which is a spinners or felters nightmare.... They also shared with me that the more they placed the fibers back thru the unit, that the fibers were even more opened up. " One farm said, it looks like clouds, in the sky".

So with this info, I will probably purchase one of these units, for the ease of use and since I have so much alpaca fleece on my hands. So folks I truly highly recommend either one of these.

Now if you don't have the cash, to get one of these units. You can purchase Flickr cards. They are known as wool combs. They work very similar as the larger pickers, but its all done by hand. You basically grab the fleece in your hand and flick open the ends prior to running the fleece into the drum carder.

So again whatever your fleece weapon will be, your fleece will be opened up and ready for processing. Lets get Fiber Picken!!!!!!

Get Creative Marketing your Fiber Products

2010-03-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

This is a continuem...

Marketing your fiber products has never been easier. We have so many avenues at our fingertips. Ravelry, Etsy, Blogs, Ebay, and much much more. You have to think outside of the box and do things so different and unique to add flare to your products.

If you stay in the same pattern doing things exactly like everyone else. A. Your product will stay stagnant and B. Will not sell well. Come up with ways to make a logo for yourself that stands out. Everything has to be a WOW factor. Another thing is to become your own graphic artist, make your own website, flyer's, business cards. Have these on hand every where you go.

Get involved with local guilds, these are a great way to market your products. Some of these guilds meet monthly and surely there will be a number of these in your area or even if they aren't and you have to drive a hour. It only takes one person to change the dynamics of your business. Word of mouth is so much stronger than ever.

My business has grown just for that reason. Also sell yourself, get excited about your products. You stand behind your business, if you are not excited then you can't get folks excited for you. Be well manicured, if you have an image of a yeti, do you think folks are going to give you their time. Heck no. They will turn the other way and not think twice. No matter how awesome your product is. First impression is the KEY!!!!!

Also be personable, be charming even if your dog tired. Be the best you can be for your business. People will remember that. Treat every customer like they are your first customer. Make them feel that they are the most important being at that moment and every time they contact you. If you make folks feel like you don't have the time to help them. Then they will walk away and go to someone that will spend time with them.

I know its hard to be great at multitasking, but the biggest successful folks are, and you can to, just manage your time well. Also attend farmers markets in your area, this is a great way to sell your products. Hit up the small mom and pop craft stores, yarn stores or unique boutiques and offer to purchase a small space from them and you will market your products from those areas. Awesome right, it works.... TRUST ME!

Well, I hope this helps in your business and marketing venues. Be The Best, Look the Best and Market well and your business will soar to new levels....

FIBER PICKERS

2010-03-30T04:19:00.000-07:00

FIBER PICKERS

Is it just me or do these things look like something out of the medival eria. They look like large torture devices and are just dang scary! Ok getting serious now, there are two types of Fiber Pickers or The Bench Picker or The Swing Picker

The Bench Picker is designed with 424 stainless points that is adjustable. You can pick a bag of fleece in 10 minutes. You feed the fiber in an opening area on one end of the picker and then you start to slide the top part to operate the picker. Thus allowing the fleece to be opened up and passed out the other end of the picker.

Now the Swing Picker, is designed with 334 straight stainless steel points. You feed the fleece into a feed tray and then swing the picker back and fourth to open up and pick the fleece. They are both adjustable and from what I am researching do the same job. What is the benefits of each one. Which one works best for what I'm planning on doing with it. Where do I turn, am I going to get mulitple advice or opinions. This is where you just want to freak out!!!!!

From what I saw on You tube, each one of these pickers did a fine job. They operate the same, they just look different. One has more points than the other. My other questions would be, do you have to have a picker. Can you use another tool like Wool Combs to do the job.

If you haven''t had the pleasure of seeing wool combs, they remind me

of the movie " X-MEN.That had the actor Hugh Jackman, who played

" Wolverine".

Here are WOOL COMBS...

Don't they look like Wolverine's claws. So do these do the same job

as Wool Pickers. Well, I will post more about this topic when the

research is done. It will be interesting to me what other views are on this topic.

Whatever you decide, Choose your Wool Picker Weapon and Lets Get Fiber Pickin!!!!!!

Get Creative to Market your Fiber Products!!!!!!

2009-10-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

Times are definitely changing and the tides are already turning.... In these difficult times in order to be successful, we have to come up with creative ways to market our yarn products.
Ebay was the it thing, not anymore. More folks are coming up with ways to market their products faster and better than before. Etsy, Ravelry and more have sprouted up.... Remember that old saying, " If it ain't broke, don't fix it". That is true, but in this day in age... Folks are steering away from the same old same old. They want something unique and different. Something that says " Hey, Look at me". They want products that says how they feel without having to say anything to anyone.... So do some homework for yourself. Look at the products that you are marketing. How many of those items have you sold?. Do you find them flying of the shelves?. If they haven't moved and collecting dust per say, then time to restructure your business plan. That is where getting creative comes from. In this day everyone is trying to come up with creative ways to make an income, to of course sell their products.... If you are into yarn, felting, knitting or crocheting or any other fiber art. Sit down and think of ways that you can make those better. The folks that step out of the box and go in a different direction are the one's that will be successful in the long run. Now it might not happen right away, it only takes a few folks to turn your products into big ticket items. Reason for this post is, I am so terribly guilty of taking the same direction of everyone else. I needed to reevaluate my business and take a different approach. It's a risk to do so, it was either fold up or stick this out. So I'm taking on this challenge and I am already excited how it's ending up. It is starting to take me and my business places. Will keep you all updated on this new journey I'm embarking on... Blessings and Get Creative Folks!!!!!!

Kettle Dye Fleece

2009-09-24T04:10:00.000-07:00

Kettle Dye Fleece!

Dye is so much fun to work with. You are able to do so many things with a hank/skein of yarn. Did you know that you can handpaint your yarn. I like to use those sponge paint brushes that you can pick up at the hardware store.

You can use a variety of different items to dye your fleece. I have even heard of folks using either a microwave or crock pot to dye their fleece. I have used two methods, kettle & steam.

First you have to soak your carded fleece or braided skeins. I use a mixture of warm water and 2 tbsp of vinegar. The vinegar helps open up the fiber so that the dye can be absorbed easily. I soak that for about 20 minutes. Then I wring out the water only. Then I will place this is my pot. You can also apply color to the water or place the color in the pot prior to placing in your yarn. I have done both ways, I have used a cup with different colors and poured those in a zigzag motion on top of the yarn in the pot. Or just used one color and placed the color in the dye pot before placing the yarn. The key is to steep the yarn till the color runs clear. This is how you know that your yarn has taken in the dye.

So you are wondering well how to I mix up my dye. Well you can do a variety of things here. You can use natural methods of dye, or you can use commercial types of dye. Some are better then others. I have used the following:

Ashford Dyes, Cushing Dyes. I have also used, Wilton cake decorating paste and Kool-aid.

These have all dyed beautifully without the colors bleeding out. When you use your colors, some of the commercial dyes only a little bit is needed. Where the Wilton and Kool-aid you need to add more for a deep color. You must remember, that not all yarn will come out consistant if you are using, either Natural, Wilton or Kool-aid. Sometimes the commercial dyes will do the same. Its always a great idea to dye small amounts so the color will go into the yarn more evenly.

Now I have mentioned, steam. Yes don't be afraid of steaming. It works wonders. All you need is a large kettle, large aliminum foil, dye, fleece, cling wrap and sponge paint brushes, squirt bottles or spray bottles. All up to you which method you would like to dye your fleece with. Either way it will be unique and beautiful. First, place some water in your kettle. Then apply your foil to the top of your kettle. Make sure you make a few steam holes in the foil. Bring the water to a boil. Then you lay a few towels down to catch any escaping dye, then your cling wrap, then place your skein in a vinegar bath. After 20 minutes wring out your yarn. Place the yarn on top of the cling wrap. Mix up your dye, and either squirt, paint or spray your skeins. Remember you don't want to drown the yarn. Just enough to color it, then once you have one side completed. You must flip your skein and do the other side. Once you have your skein the way you like it. Fold the cling wrap over the skein, roll up the skein and place on top of the foil.

Let your skein steam till the water runs clear. Now remember, when you remove your rolls of cling wrapped yarn. Please be careful, You can get burned. What I do is use those Jelly jar grabbers and grab the yarn still wrapped up. I then place them in a strainer and allow to cool with the cling wrap on. DO NOT UNWRAP, TILL COOL!. Usually can take 24 hours. Then once cool. Don't rinse. Hang to dry.

Enjoy!!!!!

Alpaca the fun fiber!

2009-09-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

Working with Alpaca fiber is truly amazing!. Alpaca can be blended with so many other fibers to make a true unique blend of yarn. There are many forms of Alpaca fiber that can be dyed to creative colors. I have found that Fawn, White and Even Grey Fleece dyes really well. I have also found that spinning huacaya fleece is easier then suri fleece. Suri is slippery and harder to spin. If you are a new spinner, I would start out spinning with either with a coarse fleece, then move on to the huacaya fibres.

Felting is another cool craft that can be done with alpaca fiber. I just recently dove into Nuno Felting and wow, LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Weaving with 1 ply alpaca yarn is also pretty cool. I wasn't sure if it would handle the reed action, but it did great and has held its own.

If you get the chance try spinning or working with alpaca fiber. You will truly love it.