Royal Fiber Spinnery

Part of the reason I went along to the Inn of the Mountain Gods was that I didn't want to miss what came after: The Royal Fiber Spinnery. It was the only thing yarn related that could be found in that region of New Mexico so we had to go.

The owner gave us a tour and explained how his business came to be and how alpaca is processed and spun.

He only processes alpaca and spins it into unblended alpaca yarn.

Alpaca fiber

I have been on spinnery tours before but I have never seen anyone using this clever method to get some of the dirt out of the fiber before washing it. The owner said that he saves a lot of money by spinning some of the dirt out and it helps to keep his machines in better shape. Very smart.

They also had a shop that sold their yarn in various weights and colors. I ended up with a rich brown that is almost black. I am slowly building enough stash of alpaca yarn from smaller sources so that I can make something that uses all of them.