It’s Love!

Oh how I love these little guys and their deliciously soft and lustrous locks! This is Serena. She has her own blog. She rides in the family minivan. She visits old folks. Someday soon, I’m going to visit Serena.

In the meantime, I’ll have to content myself with the fluffy goodness of her brothers and sisters. I am currently having a love affair with DROPS Alpaca. It is produced in Peru without any added fibres or chemicals. The range of colors is ridiculous. I happened to have some black in my stash from which I am knitting the Bower Cardigan. Now I wish I had a few skeins in every one of the rich, natural shades available. This yarn has a gorgeous sheen and an impossibly soft halo. More, more!

These sweet, gentle creatures (along with their larger cousin, the llama) are of the camelid family and have been domestic for over 6,000 years. Though their origins are South American, alpacas are found almost everywhere these days, including Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, South Africa, Canada and the US. Because of this, the spun fibre has become very affordable. Apparently, they’re easy to farm and very easy on their grazing ground because of their big, soft feet and hygenic habits. Alpacas use a communal dung pile where they do not graze; some have even been house trained!

The fleece of the alpaca is akin to sheep’s wool, however, it contains no lanolin making it naturally hypo-allergenic. It is very soft without a hint of scratchiness, glossy, and flame resistant. Perfect for baby things! The Suri Alpaca has particularly long, curly locks giving the spun fibre a very silky hand and stretchy resilience. ‘Rasta-pacas’, Mon!