June 10, 2009 Preparing fiber for processing

June 10,2009: So much has been happening I've found it hard to keep up my journal! After our clip, I sent our samples to Yokom-McColl Testing Lab and spent many, many hours skirting my fleeces. I was sure I needed some professional direction so I called Leslie from Autumn Mist Fiber Mill for advice since that was where I had decided to send it. I had purchased yarn from Aussie Hill Alpacas in New York to try and figure out what I wanted my yarn to be like and they were kind enough to share the name of the mill that had processed their fleece..from those skeins of yarn I was able to determine what type of animal I needed.

My buddy Tucker with Hamilton and Flo.

 

Leslie from Autumn Mist was very helpful and advised me to remove seed pods, briars, and of course, poop. So after many weeks and lots of interruptions, my fleece is on the way to be processed! The fiber histograms were back in less than a week and I was extremely pleased with the results! Hamilton's fleece is 15.6 microns and that is cashmere quality! Now to keep it that way! Firenze is not far behind with 19.6, Dovis is 23.9 and Ishtar is 26.1. I called my guru of all alpaca knowledge, Fred from Northwest Alpacas, to find out how to keep a low micron count and his answer was simply..genetics. Hmmm. Well, they've got that!