hand carding- on the cheap

in december i met an alpaca rancher. as we were talking i mentioned that i was making some dolls for the kids for christmas, and asked if he had any fiber for sale. he did, but then he offered the unsightly leg hair that he can't sell, for free. and, as we all know, i love a freebie so i took him up on the offer. fast forward 2 weeks. i get an email telling me where i can pick up said 'leg hair'. i go to a local shop and come home with a huge, stinky, dirty bag of alpaca leg hair. yes, it was as appealing as it sounds. but i was soaring! i couldn't believe my luck and subsequently called at least 5 people to share.
after shaking, washing, picking and so on, i finally had it somewhat clean. i went internet shopping for carders hoping to find some that moonpie and i could both use. and i did find some. but they were, at the cheapest, $65. now if i'm going to pick sticks out of alpaca leg hair, you gotta know that i'm not paying $65 for carders. so my brain got to ticking and i came up with a solution- dog grooming paddles.



as you can see from the label, these are deluxe. and did i mention that i found them at the dollar store?!? i bought 2 for myself, then i splurged and bought 2 more for moonpie.



oh man, we had fun! carding is hard work, and alpaca sheds, but it was a sweet time to spend with my girl while buddy napped. at one point she said 'momma, i'm so glad i can spend some time with you'. }}}sigh{{{

so here's the bottom line- if you are in need of some natural stuffing for doll making, felting, etc. check your community. drive around and look for sheep or alpaca. then befriend the rancher- you just might luck out too!