a wonderful visitor wanted to further her craft
Enthusiastic great knitter came for a visit to our studio/gallery. Alex was keen to learn how to wash, dry and card the wool in preparation for a spinning project.
From Sydney, Alex met Dawn on the Australian Hand Spinners and Knitters’ Facebook page. So, desired to learn how to prepare Alpaca wool for spinning. Therefore, Alex had driven all the way from Sydney to our studio/gallery in Avoca, Victoria. She liked the studio space. Also, our country hospitality delighted her and her boyfriend. Hence, here is a video of her trying her hand at spinning on an electric spinner.
The process of washing and drying the Alpaca wool
First thing, Alex had to do was prepare the Alpaca wool for spinning. Alpacas likes to roll on the ground a lot. That is why their wool is usually very dirty . Secondly, Alex washed it in the washing machine. We use a small twin tub washing machine. As a result, the dirt come of the alpaca wool almost completely. Then, we dried the wool on the blanket under an IR heater. This was not expensive to run. Also, the IR heater is an excellent radiant heater for organic material. It dried in no time. The visit took a couple of hours and then there was lunch, Malaysian home cooked fried rice. Also, we made homemade ice cream with drizzled with local olive oil and sprinkled with Murray Basin pink salt. We topped the dessert off with our garden fresh lemon grass and fresh ginger tea. Our visitors loved their meal which was an instant hit.
An enthusiastic, and wonderful knitter our visitor, Alex, showed us some very fine examples of her handiwork. We’re sorry we didn’t think to take photos as they are spectacular.
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