In Which the Pirate Flicks.

Some time ago, I was given multiple bags of alpaca “seconds” – fleece that couldn’t be sold for a number of reasons, possibly that it’s not soft enough, that it wasn’t sheared well, or that the quality is really varied. The stuff I have is… all of the above! But it was free, and I’m having fun going through it to pick out the good stuff.

This bag of fibre came from an alpaca named Valdir, who is apparently part white and part tan:

I’m picking through the bag to find the best of the locks, flicking them open with my hand carder…

…and putting them all in a box.

All the short cuts are going directly into the garbage, and the soft fibres that aren’t in perfect lock formation will go through the drum carder to make floofy batts.