We’ve had a busy week of shearing more than 60 alpacas at White Violet Farm Alpacas.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were long days as the shearing crew began early in the morning and worked well into the evenings. At our place, this happens once a year in May and usually takes three days to complete.
As each alpaca is sheared, the fiber is gathered and labeled with the name of the alpaca and the level of the fiber, such as “blanket,” “seconds” and “thirds.”
The shearing takes place at the barn, but the fiber room back at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice was also busy with staff members and volunteers skirting the raw fiber.
Skirting is a process that involves picking out all the bits of straw, hay and other materials from nature from the fleece before the fiber is sent off to be cleaned and carded. After it is cleaned and carded the fiber is ready for the fiber artists to spin into yarn and make fabulous hats, scarves and shawls.
A big thank you to all the volunteers who came out to help! The staff is ready for a weekend!
Click here to see lots of shearing photos from this week.
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