Alpaca Yarn and Fiber KAL
Our August program will be a presentation by Dave Zandberg of ZZ Alpacas (zzalpacas.com). On a farm in Dallas, Oregon, Dave and his wife, Sue Zofchak, raise about 50 alpacas, 7 angora goats, some llamas, some sheep, and a few dozen other assorted animals. Dave and Sue are regulars at many local yarn events selling the yarn and fiber made from their herd. Dave has agreed to come and tell us all about the farm, the yarn, and what it’s like living with an alpaca herd.
We’re going to do a Knit-A-Long (KAL) with their yarn and fiber and hope you’ll join. Most KALs are based on a pattern and everybody knits the same one. We’re going to mix it up a bit and have everybody use some of Dave’s yarn or fiber – alpaca, mohair, or a blend – with whatever pattern you’d like.
Alpaca yarn is a bit different than wool when it is knit. With less elasticity than wool it is prized for its gorgeous drape and warmth. It also felts easily and beautifully. Dave and Sue have both pure alpaca yarns and a variety of blends in both natural and dyed colors so there will be something for every project. If you have never knit with alpaca yarn this is a great chance to try it.
Now for the KAL details. There will be a raffle prize! This is NOT a judged event – the goal is to have lots of people participate so that we will all get to see and learn from the variety of yarns and techniques in the projects. The drawing will be done at the November meeting. To get a raffle ticket this is what you have to do:
1. Make a project with Dave’s yarn or fiber that has more than one color.
2. Bring it to the November meeting.
That’s it! Any project, any size, any way of working in that second color counts. It does not have to be complicated. It does not even have to be finished.
Anyone who does either stranded, intarsia, helix, slip stitch, mosaic, stripes, or other type of colorwork for the very first time on this project will be given a second raffle ticket. If you’re a bit nervous about doing colorwork, this is the moment to try! Your fellow guild members will help you with any new techniques and if your project has a few tight floats or less-than-perfect color changes you can felt it and the world will never know. If you’d like to use many colors in a project consider splitting skeins with someone else.
copyright Knit Picks
Some of us will be doing a small bag project. Ravelry has hundreds of free patterns if you need some inspiration. Here are a couple of free patterns I found on Ravelry.
