Fawn Alpaca, Tibetan Yak & Colonial Top

A nice big box arrived from one of my suppliers yesterday. It's always fun to open up a big box, but even more exciting when there are new fibers inside.

When I placed this order, I decided to add a few new items to my inventory at Wind Rose. First of all, I purchased this beautiful Fawn Alpaca. It's such a lovely shade of light brown that I really don't know why I haven't ordered it in the past. I already carry Natural, Black, Silver, Dark Chocolate and even a nice blend of Black & Cultivated Silk. I think adding this gorgeous Fawn rounds out my collection!

Also in my box of goodies was a fresh pound of Tibetan Yak. I've carried Yak at Wind Rose before, but this is a new color. It's really pretty and almost hard to describe. It's like a warm silver and it's sooo soft. Did you know that yak fiber is used as a substitute for cashmere? Yes, it's that soft!

It's important to note that yak has a shorter staple length of around one inch, so it helps if you're comfortable with shorter fibers. However, there's no reason you can't blend yak with your favorite wool to infuse that extra softness into your project!

There's one more newby in the shop, although it's hardly a new fiber. I've decided to carry Colonial Top also known as Corriedale. I haven't carried this fiber in the past because of the overwhelming popularity of Merino, but from time to time, I do get requests for a wool with more texture. The felting community seems to like Colonial Top. I'm sure this is because it will both wet and needle felt and it has a long staple length. I also know quite a few felters that like to play with contrasting textures in their work. Sometimes you don't want everything to be silky smooth.

I hope I'm not making this fiber sound like sandpaper or anything. It's coarse, but not that coarse. Actually, because of it's staple length and crimp, it's a very nice wool for beginning spinners. Also, if your spinning wool for a rug or a basket, you want a fiber that has a little more strength to it like this fiber has. So, for the sake of variety, I think Colonial top will be a good addition to my inventory.