I have over two thousand yards (8 oz) of laceweight alpaca in a large skein. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Also, oh my heavens, it is softer than an angel’s kiss. I just hugged it for a while until i started panicking about how tangled it was going to get.
I spent some time (over thirty minutes on the phone, plus) winding it into a 0.5 oz ball — and then discovered my tight wind was bad for the yarn. That bit of yarn is probably OK for the time being — that’s all i’ll need, i suspect, to make alpaca angels. But what about the rest? Apparently $100 is the average price for a swift and a ball winder. Maybe i want the swift? Would that do the same thing my careful winding around my sewing board does to make skeins for dyeing? Ah, apparently i should have a niddy noddy for that. I almost think i could construct my own niddy noddy.
$40 + $25 for wooden swift and plastic winder http://www.stanwoodimports.com/servlet/Detail?no=58 http://www.stanwoodimports.com/servlet/Detail?no=43
This is apparently a Good Deal. Suddenly the 2000 yards of alpaca got more expensive. On the other hand, dying yarn takes skeins, and skein management is time consuming.
Also, the tiny angel ornament i began crocheting lets me know that this is not as easy to crochet as crochet thread.
I am fantasizing about making a crochet and loom knit kimono-like jacket out of it. (See this design, but not a long kimono as diagrammed but hip length.) Not much shaping. I suspect i’ll be using this yarn in about ten years when my skill begins to reach the yarn.
Oh, and if i did that, the yarn could be dyed in multiple colors: first creating a long strip, weighing it, calculating numbers of strips to make the kimono panels…. (more…)