We had our annual fiber harvest on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. I want to share a behind-the-scenes look at this annual and fundamental milestone for our farm. I hope it gives you insight at how our Knitwear Collection and Farm Yarn comes to be.

Because it takes the alpacas an entire year to grow the fiber, this means we only get one single, solitary harvest each year.

As you’d expect, that means it’s a really important day for the farm. Similar to our wheat and wine growing neighbors, the entire year’s success genuinely depends on the outcome of the harvest.

Even though harvesting the fiber itself is a big job, it’s just a tiny part of the process really. All of the real work has been done in the days and months preceding. Just like our own hair, the quality really depends on daily health and nutrition.

As a fiber producer, shearing day is like report card day.

As soon as it’s shorn off the alpaca, I see firsthand how well I cared for them.

Is the animal skin & bone? Or are they lean and solid? You’d be surprised how well that fleece can hide a too-skinny frame.

I should mention - harvest isn’t the only time I’m able to make this type of assessment. The herd health “spa days” that I perform in summer to trim toenails and bangs also help me keep a watchful eye.

But harvest day is like that annual physical where you get the best picture.

I’m so happy to report that everyone looks really well.

There were no surprises, no hidden injuries, nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing but healthy, sturdy bodies! That’s not always been the case, but this year it is and for that I’m so very grateful. It feels like a good omen to start a new fiber growing season on a solid footing.

Once everyone was shorn, they were vaccinated and given a spritzing of fly spray. The juveniles (those babies from last spring that are nearly a year old now), also got a microchip and a fiber sample.

The fiber sample is a critical component. Every alpaca in our herd gets a fiber sample taken during their first shearing. A sample is simply a handful of fiber taken from the prime cut. This sample goes to a lab, and is examined under a microscope to determine the quality of the individual fibers. This information helps for breeding decisions, and helps to inform how I’ll use each animal’s fleece.

How much fiber did we get and what will it become?

We got 34 pounds of prime cuts.

an outline image of an alpaca showing the different areas and types of fiber

Prime fiber becomes knitted goods and craft yarn for artisans.

I won’t know exactly how many knitted hats or skeins of yarn that’ll be for many more months until the fiber mill washes and processes it. But you’ll be the first to know when I do!

We got about another 25 pounds of seconds. I use seconds for dryer balls and felt. The thirds make great mulch and weed suppressant around the farm.

The actual shearing process this year went super smooth. I know you’re curious what shearing actually looks like, so I took some video so you see it all in action.

Please do not be alarmed at how the alpaca is restrained. For those not involved in animal husbandry, I’m sure it looks concerning to see an alpaca restrained in this manner - that is understandable.

So let me be clear and reassuring, nothing about this process is painful or harmful.

Quite the opposite, really, once you realize that shearing involves rapidly running electric shears moving over every inch of the alpacas body. The safest way to do this is wiggle free.

To keep the animal secure and to safely use the electric clippers, the shearer uses ropes and pulleys. Ropes are secured around each foot to gently bring the animal onto its side and keep them firmly secure. They are stretched out, yes. This ensures the best harvest — to remove the fiber safely and in such a way that it can actually be used later.

As you can see, it takes a full team to shear one alpaca. But it’s a quick process once we get going. I didn’t set a stop watch this year, but we were comparable to previous harvests — averaging about 5 minutes or less for each.

Everyone is pretty much moving the entire time, with every crew member working on something different at any given moment.

The 2024 Playbook

The next video shows me on the stand with the shearer holding a board to catch the prime cut. As soon as both sides of the prime were removed, I handed this off to Elena, who would take it over to the skirting table. Alex and Lori were over on the opposite side of the shearer doing the “skirting” or removing any veggie matter or undesirable fiber. While that was happening, Diana and Elena were vacuuming up the 2nds and 3rds. And in between there, Mike was trimming toe nails and giving shots.

My role in being there as the prime was being cut is to help formulate my fiber processing plan. At the beginning of the year, I laid out an initial plan for what I’d like to see each fleece be made into. While that plan is made from assumptions of previous year’s fiber quality, it really is just a plan.

Watching it come off gives me a birds eye view of it’s actual potential.

Here is a video I took that shows the prime cut coming off.

After the shearing part is over, and we’ve all had a nice meal and a drink, I make lots of notes.

Then a couple days later, after the muscle aches have subsided, I go back in fleece-by-fleece to make my final selections. This detailed skirting is where I group similar fibers together — in terms of softness and length. It’s a tedious job, but one I quite like and look forward to every year.

Done in the quiet mornings, and alone in my humble dye studio, if there ever was a sacred farm practice, for me, this would be it.

a hand holding a lock of alpaca fiber on the farm in Walla Walla

It’s equal parts a gratitude practice as it is a strategic business process.

As much as I love each alpaca in my herd, I can’t process all of their fiber. Reality is, fiber processing is a time consuming process which means it’s also a very costly one. I only process the very best fleeces in the herd, even if that means fewer hats and scarves for sale later.

The final skirting, sorting, and selection took me 4 full days. Which was no easy feat as the summer cutting garden — which brings in the operational cash flow to fund the fiber processing — required equal attention simultaneously!

Suffice it to say, this is my busiest week of year and it took every last brain cell to get it done so that I could box it up and ship to the mill!

Oh but that trip to UPS is always a treat-worthy milestone!

a woman driving a van with boxes of cargo while giving the peace sign

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

We wait!

I’ve coordinated with the fiber mill and they’re planning to start on my order soon. Just like raising the fiber has so many uncertainties, so does the milling process. They use commercial equipment but it’s still a natural product - which means there can be variations/stumbling blocks/challenges/hurdles in all steps of the milling process — washing, carding, spinning, etc.

I’m hopeful that I’ll get my products back in time for me to dye them before it’s too cold to do it in my unheated dye studio. And I’m equally hopeful that I’ll be able to offer you a piece of the herd in time for Holiday gifting. Or at least at a time in the winter when you can actually use it.

As always, I’ll keep you updated on each step of the process.

A dye garden update will come next as dye flowers begin to bloom, and are harvested and stored for use when the yarn and garments arrive in early fall.

But for now, here’s to successfully completing HARVEST 2024 and to the healthy herd who produced it!

Please enjoy some picture of the Noodle Necks and Bobble Heads. They look so good freshly shorn and nakey!