Yaks
Or maybe Yucks. Or was that Yak Yucks? Maybe Yucky Yaks. One of my statements that is quoted more often than I'd like is "Yak is yucky." This comment was made several years ago after a workshop session in which we spun samples of a dozen or more non-sheep, non-wool animal fibers. Among them was a sample of yak. It was dull brown, slightly smelly, and about the consistency of dryer lint. I was not impressed. It wasn't easy to spin into anything like usable yarn either.
I've since improved my spinning techniques considerably. Now that I've had lots of practice with cotton (cotton fibers are generally less than a half inch in length) I am much more skilled at handling short fibers in spinning. And yes, I can spin yak, and camel, and dog or horse fluff, at least credibly if not fluently.
My study group is working on cotton right now, for the second time around. I've been spinning cotton ever since we first visited it two years ago, so I was looking for some other short fiber challenge. Yak came to mind, and I've acquired some samples of domestic (yes, grown in the USA) yak as well as the real thing from Asia. The domestic fiber is not unlike cotton, and spins well using the same techniques. The Asian stuff is in a category of its own, but not at all impossible. I rather like the results after all. This time it is a silvery gray rather than brown. I didn't know yaks came in that color. Asking around produced a promise of some qiviut (Alaskan musk ox, similar to yak in many ways) and down from a black Chow (fluffy spitz type dog.) [Yes, someone out there, I'm still hoping to see some wolf down too. ;D ]
I am still spinning cotton too, as mentioned a few days ago. I also ran off about 600 yards of wool from my own sheep in the last month. Since reaching the end of November and this year's NaNo, I've had the urge to spin and spin. Now I have to make something out of all this yarn.
I've since improved my spinning techniques considerably. Now that I've had lots of practice with cotton (cotton fibers are generally less than a half inch in length) I am much more skilled at handling short fibers in spinning. And yes, I can spin yak, and camel, and dog or horse fluff, at least credibly if not fluently.
My study group is working on cotton right now, for the second time around. I've been spinning cotton ever since we first visited it two years ago, so I was looking for some other short fiber challenge. Yak came to mind, and I've acquired some samples of domestic (yes, grown in the USA) yak as well as the real thing from Asia. The domestic fiber is not unlike cotton, and spins well using the same techniques. The Asian stuff is in a category of its own, but not at all impossible. I rather like the results after all. This time it is a silvery gray rather than brown. I didn't know yaks came in that color. Asking around produced a promise of some qiviut (Alaskan musk ox, similar to yak in many ways) and down from a black Chow (fluffy spitz type dog.) [Yes, someone out there, I'm still hoping to see some wolf down too. ;D ]
I am still spinning cotton too, as mentioned a few days ago. I also ran off about 600 yards of wool from my own sheep in the last month. Since reaching the end of November and this year's NaNo, I've had the urge to spin and spin. Now I have to make something out of all this yarn.