Creek View Cattle Ranch Alpaca/Columbia Blend Sport

Description

2 ply Alpaca/Columbia blend sport weight yarn from western Washington State

2.2 ounces

Approximately 215 yards

Hand dyed blueish-purple Alpaca spun with grey Columbia wool 

Hear the story of this yarn on our RangeWool Podcast Episode 2.

Footprint of fiber to yarn – 90 miles.

This yarn is truly a collaborative effort between two farms to create a beautiful wool/alpaca blend yarn. This unique blend hails from the Hill Top Alpacas farm in Nine Mile Falls, Washington and the Columbia sheep grazing on Creek View Cattle Ranch near Ritzville, Washington. Esther and Marie both are Pacific Northwest famers raising their flocks on the western side of Washington state. Combining the softness of alpaca and the memory of wool this creates a perfect yarn for next to skin garments.

Wool was washed, carded, and spun at Fibers First in Post Falls, Idaho.

• Alpacas are part of the Camelid family, about 15-35 microns.
• Alpacas come in a range of colors from white, brown, tan, grey, and black.
• Alpaca fiber is soft and fluffy with a slight sheen and not much crimp. Lack of crimp can make the yarn heavy and fabric can droop.
• Alpaca is wonderful to drape garments that can be worn next to skin.

• Columbia sheep are a medium wool, about 24-31 microns.
• This yarn is a crisp, yet soft worsted weight, light in feel, and a clear white.
• Yarn is professionally spun, any irregularities show the spirit of the animal.
• Columbia wool is a great all purpose wool that is comfortable enough to wear next to skin, but provides great substance for outwear and layering pieces.

Range Wool:

Alpaca farms are scattered throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Columbia sheep were developed in the United States through breeding Rambouillet ewes and Lincoln long wool rams. This produced a sheep that prospered in the western ranges as dual purpose; meat production and dense heavy fleeces.