Welcome
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Deer Creek Farm
Alpacas, Miniature Horses and Fiber
503-843-4115 Sheridan, Oregon
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Deer Creek Farm Alpacas, Miniature Horses and Fiber 503-843-4115 Sheridan, Oregon
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BARNS
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The Fiber Barn: At Deer Creek Farm, we have the Miniature Horse Barn, the Alpaca Barn, and the Fiber Barn. At various times the Fiber Barn will most always have alpaca rovings for sale. Currently, they are available in the following colors: rose grey, white, black, and brown. Some of last years fleeces have been blended with mohair, silk, and merino and are available in various shades of grey. You may request a sample by sending an email to deercreekfarms@earthlink.net with your name, address, and which colors you are interested in seeing. The blends are 80% alpaca and 20% of either mohair, merino, or silk. ROVINGS AND SPUN YARN FINISHED PRODUCTS I am a confessed fiberholic. I enjoy spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing, and felting. Below are things that no one ever told me when I first started knitting. With the advent of the internet, I think there is more and more information available about fiber, unfortunately I don’t think many people have time to compile all of it. If there is something that you have learned and want to add to my list, please feel free to drop me a line. It doesn’t have to just pertain to knitting, it can be about any aspect of fiber. Yarn Properties Swatches Find your Niche Mistakes Finishing No Failures No one ever told me that the properties of a certain yarn would affect the finished product. I learned this the hard way with a raw silk sweater that grew 3 sizes and a chenille sweater that has elongated below my knees. The best advice is to knit a swatch and wash it to get a better idea of how the yarn is going to behave. This is not meant to be a comprehensive discussion on properties of fiber as books have been written on the this topic, but merely a reminder of things to think about before spending big money on a yarn that isn’t suitable for the project that wont give predictable results.
Sheep’s wool Sheep’s wool is the easiest and most predictable yarn to knit. It has memory due to the natural crimp in the fiber. It is also very easy to control gauge and tension. I have heard many people say that wool is to itchy on the skin which happens to be true of many wools, however that isn’t necessarily true of all wools. The prickle factor is based on the micron count. If a fiber has a micron count of over 30, then it has the prickle factor and will scratch if worn next to the skin. This type of yarn should be used for outerwear, a sweater that is worn over another garment, a jacket, or shawl. On the other hand, there are many wool yarns today that have been blended with cashmere, alpaca, angora, or some type of microfiber that are soft enough to be worn next to the skin.
Alpaca Alpaca is one of the finest and softest of the hairs. It is warmer than wool and suitable for most projects. Most alpaca produces a fabric with a wonderful drape to it. It does not have the elasticity of wool and it is necessary to compensate for this when knitting certain projects. This means that gauge is very important as it is not going to stretch enough to compensate for a sweater that is knit 5 inches to small. It also means that you will probably need to go down 2 or 3 needle sizes when knitting ribbing.
Chenille: Chenille is made with different fibers. There is cotton and rayon chenille. It has zero stretch. You should use a long tail cast on and bind off very loosely. Some chenille will grow over time. I knitted a rayon chenille that comes down to my knees after 4 years of wear. When it elongates, it will not go back. I have not experienced the same problem with cotton chenille. It is also necessary to watch your tension with chenille as if you knit too loosely, you will either end up with worms or holes in your fabric. Worms are small bits of excess yarn. Some chenille is very slippery and best knit on wooden needles.
Silk Pure silk yarn will grow, and grow, and grow. If you really want a pure silk sweater, it should be knit in a smaller sweater size to compensate for the growth. While yarns that contain silk and another fiber are more predictable, they also tend to grow. I knit a sweater in a cotton/silk blend which is now a size too large after the growth.
Angora Angora comes from rabbits and is a wonderfully soft yarn which can easily be worn next to the skin. Pure angora will bloom after it is knit. If you don’t want all of the fuzz, blends will work allot better for most projects.
Mohair Mohair comes from Angora goats. Commercial mohair is very fluffy due to the way it is processed, and also pretty scratchy next to the skin. It also has zero stretch and must be bound off very loosely. I still have a mohair sweater that I can barely get over my head as it was bound off too tightly.
Cashmere Cashmere is the down that comes from certain breeds of goats. I cannot think of any drawback to this yarn except its price. For some reason, it is cheaper to go and buy a cashmere sweater than to knit one. There are some really beautiful blends that are cheaper, but I still go buy it. I know that it is hard to sit down and knit a stupid little square that you think that you will never use for anything just to see something that you already know. After all the manufacturer has give you all of the information on the label that you will need to complete your project. They have told you what needle size to use to get a certain gauge, What you are up against is an experienced knitter, who has mastered her tension and is probably in a relaxed atmosphere with no kids screaming, dogs barking, or stew boiling over on the stove. Her gauge is going to be different than yours! Swatching gives you more than just an accurate record of your knitting progression, it is also a great way to collect squares for an afghan. As a beginner, you will notice a big difference from those first tenuous stitches with needles that feel like trees in your hands to a wonderful rhythm that develops over time as the needles sing in your hands and your brain is happily releasing endorphins giving you a total feeling of relaxation. I am not suggesting that you limit yourself when experimenting with different yarns and projects, but I feel that it is important to find projects and yarns that you really enjoy working with. Since knitting any project involves the process, if you are fighting with a project or a yarn during the entire process, chances are pretty good that it won’t be finished. Most knitters have WIP’s or work in progress, aka UFO’s. I prefer to call them works in progress and not unfinished objects. If you have a couple of shelved projects, why are they there? Sometimes, it is as simple as just needing some space from a project, but frequently, they don’t get finished. I have found that I do not like knitting on needles larger than size 10. I also do not like knitting with the chunky and super chunky yarns. Most of my WIP’s are on large needles so I have learned to stay away from the chunky’s or if I have to have it, I make a scarf. Moral: “Know Thyself”
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