Wool fabrics are designed to keep you warm. In terms of quality and luxuriousness, alpaca and Merino wool are two of the best. Alpaca Yarn Alpacas are native to Peru and live high in the mountains. They are smaller cousins of the llama. Their fur ranges from white to black, with shades of brown in between, but it can also be dyed in other colors once harvested. The two most common breeds of alpaca are Huacaya and Suri, and their fur is slightly different. The Huacaya alpaca has fur that is fuller and softer, while the Suri alpaca has silky and long fur.Merino YarnMerino wool is a type of fiber that comes exclusively from Merino sheep. Their fur is the most...
There are a lot of theories about why knitting is good for the brain. Once a knitter has mastered the movements, the process is rhythmic and repetitive. According to the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, knitting’s repetitious movements theoretically can elicit the famous relaxation response, which is the body’s counterbalance to stress, a state in which heart rate and blood pressure fall, breathing slows and levels of stress hormones drop. Knitting also involves following and recognizing patterns, learning new stitches and using both hands and math, lending it the capacity to improve fine motor skills while also keeping the mind active and engaged. The Waldorf Schools, for example, teach children to knit before teaching them to...
The word Alpaca comes from the Quechua “Allpaqa, paqu” and is a camelid that comes directly from the Peruvian Andes. Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of Southern Peru, Western Bolivia, Ecuador, and Northern Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level.[1] Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, they were not bred to be working animals but were bred specifically for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, similar to sheep's wool. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as...
We do know Alpacas are definitely cute and people love meeting them. Here are some things you did not know about alpacas: 1) There are only two breeds, the huacaya (wuh-kai-ya), which has fluffy hair (fleece), and the suri alpaca which has long wavy hair (fleece), that hangs off its body and kinda looks like dreadlocks. 2) Like their cousins the llamas, alpacas spit when angry or annoyed. 3) Alpacas are gentle on the land with their soft pads on their feet, which does not churn up the paddocks like a cow or horse’s hooves. 4) They are known as good lawnmowers as when alpacas eat grass, they snip off the top of the plant unlike some other animals that pull the grass up by the root when...
