Women in Textiles Around the World - It Takes a Village

We're beginning day 14 of our Alpacazonia Fiber Collection Project and learning how to iron out the crimps, as we sort stored fiber, network with other producers and track and document our progress regarding cost in time, effort and money for future project evaluation.

The following photo keeps me going!

Photo by Laurie Donnelly

My inspiration when sorting comes from this woman on the job at an alpaca mill in Peru.   The use of skirting table and sorting table at waist height, plus electric tumbler makes my job so much easier! I put on a support brace when back muscles  begin to ache from standing for lengthy periods of time and try not to complain too much. If I had to sort long hours off the floor, I’d have trouble ever getting up again…

                                                                                                                                                                 

Recent NBC Nightly News online report:  A family of 7 in Pakistan is showcased weaving together. All the women and girls in the family weave carpets as a group effort for 14 hours a day, every day, and earn $800 a month between them. The youngest child is in a program called “Bags for Bliss” where she can attend school, plus earn money for the family doing embroidery to be incorporated into hand bags as part of the school curriculum. I was inspired and moved to realize that 6-9 hours spent sorting for Alpacazonia Fiber Collection Project per day is no big deal in effort or accomplishment to the rest of the planet. We’ve been so spoiled in our country…it’s a blessing to have a reason to work hard - hand’s on! It’s nice to be able to work within our own village – our CA Fiber Friday groups!

Photo from Ruth Elvestad Fiber Workshop by Sandra Wallace

Photo by Josh Petray, Paso Robles Press.

Workshop participants delighting over alpaca blanket woven by Gretchen Nygaard.

                                                                                                                                                        

Women and Girls – Peruvian “Cottage” textile production

Photo by Altheo Cox

Group of women selling textile wares along side road in Peru                                      

Photo by Altheo Cox

Girl with naturally dyed yarns

Photo by Altheo Cox

Peruvian Woman Weaving on simple basic loom

Photo by Altheo Cox

...and spinning with simple drop spindle.

Photo by Altheo Cox

DAY 10 - FIBER DRUM TUMBLERS, ETC

June 22, 2011 

Day 10 of Alpacazonia Fiber Collection pilot project

Yesterday was the first day of Summer 2011 and temps reached 100 degrees here. We worked in the morning with friend/neighbor, Michelle Bauguess, who’s helping us sort at $1.00 lb, plus taking bag of tumbled too short fibers home to refill her dog’s beds. Our current sort hours: 8 am to hot, then “cooled down” to 8 pm.

 We’re also talking to community service groups to see if folks can help us sort as a fundraising project for their organization.

Fiber Drum Tumblers

We borrowed Daphne Capaldi’s fiber drum tumbler this weekend and now have way more tumbled fiber than sorted. We won’t know our real total until we get through those bags, but current sorted total is at 250 lbs….only 1,750 lbs to go!

Note the plastic bag holders. They used to be sold by Ace/True Value Hardware, but they’re no longer available. There’s a tinker toy like hard plastic connector on the bottom and 2 pieces of metal wire that connect to it to hold bags and four to connect pieces together for base…the best fiber bag holder we’ve found, because bags are easily pulled on and readily removed when full. Great for collecting fiber on shearing day! Too bad manufacturer stopped making this product, because we could use more than the two we own.

Bag holder parts

Connector & assembly

1. The tumbler on the left in top photo has 1/2“ screening. (Available via Light Livestock for $2,500. www.lightlivestockequipment.com/fiberdrum.asp ) We obtained our tumbler via a trade for breeding to one of our studs several years ago. Dirt, loose debris and fine fibers fall through. Only one design flaw – door has to be bungeed open when emptying drum, otherwise it can fall forward and knock you out on the top of your head or whack you sharply on your back! Otherwise, well engineered, efficient, balanced and reliable.

2. The tumbler on the right was made by Daphne’s dad and brother, without plans, and has 1” screening. It helps sort out some of the too small pieces, which we sweep up for compost material.  Each style has its advantages.  Daphne’s tumbler is on wheels, which is a great plus.  We advised her to purchase dishwasher replacement tips for tumbler prongs (inside drum to separate fibers while tumbling) and she did. Otherwise, our arms got scraped on the sharp metal edges when reaching in.

3. We tried a borrowed Jiffy Tumbler, but it was too low to the ground and too small a capacity for our “commercial” purposes. (Sells for $975 new, so good value for fiber artists and hobbyists).  It is best for small scale occasional use, IMHO. Door is completely removed, instead of hinging open. Beautiful wood work, crafted like a piece of furniture. 

 Contact: Mary Hagen
Alpaca Heights & Jiffy Fiber Tumbler LLC
5008 S. Ubly Rd.
Ubly, MI  48475www.alpacaheights.com

4. Stonehedge Fiber Milling Equipment has a drum tumbler that looks well designed, but we haven’t tried it. Looks like it has an easy “open and latch” door of adequate size for reaching into drum. Didn’t find price on web site: http://www.fibermillingequipment.com/    They sell other fiber processing equipment and also have a fiber mill in Michigan.  

Stonehedge Drum Tumbler

5.  MSA Fiber Drum Tumbler  http://www.chisholmtrailalpacas.com/Fiber_Tumbler.html  $2,750.

Needs to be assembled.

Google and you’ll find more “brands”. We have no financial interest in any drum tumbler manufacturer…info provided just for the sharing.

 6. The following link supplies free plans to build your own tumbler.  “Welding required”.   I like the “handle” on the end for easy portability.

http://www.gtyurkon.com/buildyourowntumbler/

                                                                                                                                                                                                               

We discovered that on some bags it’s best to presort for length on a skirting table first. Otherwise, too short pieces get jumbled up with longer fibers and results end up more difficult to sort. The tumblers are great for removing sand, grit and general dirt, which would add unwanted weight to shipping costs.

Daphne says Suri fiber is best sorted on skirting table and doesn’t tumble well. ..long or short. However, she reports that it’s easy to accomplish and she’s enjoying the cool silky feel of it compared to hand sorting robust Huacaya!  Incidentally, luster is not a factor on short leg/neck/blanket fibers for commercial usage. That’s a “show” criteria, which perhaps factors into elite yarns or fine fabrics and textiles?

This afternoon, all of our girls escaped and were eating garden salad and grapevine leaves, plus our lawn and rose bushes and honeysuckle vines. They meandered up to the fiber barn and we rushed to herd them back to their pens...forgetting to turn off tumbler. An hour later we returned to a mass of fiber that was so matted we had to toss it. Too bad....it would have sorted a lot of lbs for the project. Tumbling should take 5-10 minutes max, just enough to throw dirt out.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 Three bags full! The measure is a yard stick. This represents 61 lbs of fiber, with each bag holding around 20 lbs. Volume = about 5’ x 3’.

To “vacuum pack” bags for more compact shipping, place mesh bag or nylon stocking over end of vacuum (this keeps fiber from being sucked into vac) …place vac extension in bag and seal opening with one hand…turn on vac with the other. When bag is  compressed to full extent, slide out vac extension and quickly twist bag end, then secure tightly with sturdy rubber band. Bag is at least ½ smaller and easier to pick up and carry.

                                                                                                                                                                                                 Sandra                         

SORTING NOTES - 17 Jun 2011

SORTING NOTES:

As of Friday, June 17 2011, we've sorted a total of 150 lbs within 6 days of project start. There are groups forming throughout CA with producers sorting to specs and we'll be able to add their totals by the end of next week. Next, we need to get fiber from various points in the state to Paso Robles, to reach our 2,000 lb goal for baling at SLO Cal Poly mid July.

Thanks to those in local Fiber Friday group who helped us on our shearing day! I was able to speed up Alpacazonia fiber collection project, because entire tumbled short blankets are usable without any waste and I was able to sort a total of 40 lbs quickly the past two days! Pre skirting and recording stats on shearing day is well worth the effort!

We received a piece of sample yarn from manufacturer to illustrate what they use in their product.  When the ends are unplyed, you can see what "grade 6" looks like. 8 ply - worsted.

                                       

The project's mill told me that Suri fiber is OK to include in bales, as long as it fits length/grade criteria! So, if you have robust Suri leg/neck/blanket that's short, we can add it to the 2,000 lb goal.

I found a missing brush, hidden in the middle of a leg bag, after I'd turned the tumbler on. What a racket! One more reason to skirt and sort soon after shearing day. Not a good thing to ship bags unexamined prior to sending out for processing....mills charge on incoming weight for washing, even if you're charged outgoing weight on resultant yarn/roving/felt or batts and goodbye object de arte forever!

Sorting isn't so bad, once you get started. Actually, getting intimate with one's fleeces tells you everything you need to know about your herd and future business decisions.

For example, it's silly to do stove pipe show cuts on legs, especially since we stopped dragging alpacas to shows, because fibers are then too short for production. It was also noted by local shearer that it’s not good for alpacas either, to leave leg fiber on during the heat of summer. From now on, shear those legs and harvest the fiber for maximum profit and less sorting labor! Your alpacas will benefit too!

Tip: Use hay bale string cut into short pieces to tie up noodled blankets. Easy to tie and great recycling! Tie with half hitch in order to untie easily. Once graded, these bags are ready to go into production.

1^st 20 lb bag – Grade 6 short, clean, sorted and ready to bale! Now, if I could only lose 20 lbs myself, I’d be that much smaller!

Sandra Wallace

Tumbling, Sorting and Grading

We're on day two of our Alpacazonia Fiber Collection Project, since launching this past weekend. Two of us have sorted a total of 48 lbs. Here's our fiberometer, so you can track our progress: 1,952 lbs to go

We're using grading system used by Ruth Elvestad. We made charts to assist us in our sorting. Here, we're sorting short grade 6 fibers. The paper plates on the left were made by Sandra Wallace (set includes all grades) and chart on left was created by Daphne Capaldi:

This is our tumbler in action, with fiber bags in waiting - a section of fiber is tossed into the air by rotation and separator bars inside. Dirt and small debris falls though the screening. I tumble short fiber for about 5 minutes per load.

I'm sorting out of the tumbler...clamped board for working surface, which includes inches marked on edge for quick measuring when needed.

We'll be back in a few days with more updates. Follow us on this journey to fill our first fiber order contract!

Sandra

WE'RE BUYING HUACAYA FIBER

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HUACAYA ALPACA FIBER WANTED

ALPACAS AT CROSSROADS RANCH - ALPACA FIBER COLLECTION:  ALPACAZONIA

Simple and direct…

WE ‘VE CONTRACTED WITH A USA MANUFACTURER FOR PURCHASE OF 2000 lbs of the following HUACAYA ALPACA FIBER STATS:

·         1 ½"  TO 3 ½ ” in length – no shorter, no longer.

·         ANY COLOR.

·         STRONG, ROBUST – neck/leg - 2nds, 3rds – Grade type  6.

      Not including too short, second cuts and guard hair leg tufts. (Use that for stuffing and fishing lures instead.)

·         CLEAN!!!!  Free of hardcore debris and other nasty junk, plus sorted for length.  Unwashed, but still clean - skirted and sorted - as dirt and debris free as possible, but residual VM (minimal Hay pieces) is OK.

Yup. We want the stuff that you didn’t have a use for in the past!

Not your finest and longest elite fleeces – but the fiber we didn’t have a direct commercial buyer for UNTIL NOW!

                                  $1.50 lb for CLEAN & SORTED alpaca huacaya fiber AS PER STATS ABOVE,

delivered to our collection site. Paid on incoming weight, upon inspection.  See contact information below.

                                $   .50 lb for RAW FIBER right out of storage – we’ll do the skirting and sorting prior to shipment to USA manufacturer. Priced on outgoing usable weight, post tumbling and sorting.

Paid upon acceptance of fiber, according to terms offered, after in-house weighing of SORTED fiber on calibrated floor scale.

 We reserve the right to refuse filthy, cotted, matted, tender fiber.  Use that in your garden instead! We won’t be shipping it back to you – too costly – so only send or deliver usable raw fiber to take advantage of this new grower opportunity.  Inspect your bags before shipping off farm for any processing!

FIRST RUN – INITIAL CALL:   1,500 lbs clean/sorted fiber still needed.  By invitation only to California producers.

Deadline July 1, 2011

                     Fiber baled and finally ready to ship!

                     Contact us to sign up for our initial sellers list and make arrangements for delivery. 

                  

 Dave and Sandra Wallace       Alpacas at Crossroads Ranch

            2950 Old Ford Rd, Paso Robles, CA 93446      805-237-9640

                        swallace@rain.org        www.crossroadsranch.openherd.com