Alpacas, some sheared and some not sheared. On Saturday I drove up to Thunder River Suri Alpacas to see the alpacas being sheared. Rose has been a wonderful supporter and member of North Georgia Knitting Guild and Atlanta Knitting Guild. Her alpaca farm produces animals for other people who would like to start a farm, as well as a range of alpaca products from raw fleece to yarn to dyed yarn to finished garments. Suri alpaca has a lovely sheen and drape similar to silk. It is soft and warm. For spinners, alpaca doesn't need to be scoured before spinning because it contains very little lanolin. This also means that when you buy raw alpaca fleece, very little weight is lost after washing and spinning. If I recall correctly, Rose has her herd divided up into several groups and keeps them in separate but adjacent pastures. She has a bachelor group of males, a bachelorette group of females, and a group of mommies with babies. Like other camelids, alpacas will spit to express disp...
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