[Barb]

HI, My name is Barbara Baker and I live in Rotorua, New Zealand.  I came across your site when I was searching for uses for carded fleece from my alpacas.  I am looking to earn some extra cash for a trip back to the UK next Christmas and I thought that using my fleece to make cot quilts seemed like a good idea, now I know the work involved to process it all by hand I am still looking forward to it but doubt I will earn a fortune in my spare time.

If anyone has any information on washing fleece both sheep and alpaca, then the caring process I would love to hear from you.  I am also looking forward to reading all the other useful information as well.  we have 6 apple trees and the last few years the birds and the wasps managed to have the majority so recipes for Cider or Apple Cider Vinegar seem like a good idea   

[nimbusllama]

Hello Barbara and welcome to the best site around!  I am sure someone with more experience than myself will be along shortly    but good luck with your venture 

[Rosemary]

Hello and welcome from dreich Carnoustie 

[Bionic]

Hi Barb, how lucky you are to live in such a lovely place. I was there a couple of years go.


I have a few sheep and a friend with alpacas but I must say I'm not the best at preparing the fibre so hopefully one of the other experienced people on here will be along with some info.

[Fleecewife]

Hi Barb in the land of Ashford  .  Good to have you aboard.


I haven't worked with alpaca much at all, but of course it doesn't have the hooks on the fibres that wool does, so for your baby quilts you might be best to mix in wool from your sheep, to make the filling stay together and not clump.   Here we have places such as Wingham Wook Work where you can take along your fibre and use their big felting machine for making giant felted batts.   I agree that doing it all by hand would not be cost effective, but maybe you have somewhere similar in NZ.  You could try needle felting by hand as you can control how much felting you do, so you get just enough to hold it together without making it too heavy.


Start a thread in the 'Crafts' section where the crafty folk live, as they may not see this intro.

[Lesley Silvester]

Hi Barb from Shropshire in the middle of England. There are mills in the UK that will wash and card small quantities of fleece so maybe you could find the same in NZ. That cuts out the hardest bit. Or you could even have it commercially spun and sell it as knitting.crochet wool. There are a couple of people on here who do that.

[Possum]

What a lovely part of the world to live in. My father was brought up in Whakatane, about an hour's drive from Rotarua and we still have distant family who live in the area. I have visited twice and felt very at home there. Very good farmland but better weather than the UK, as far as I can remember.