Mmmmmmm Cashmere!

A friend of mine casually remarked that she had some cashmere from one of her goats, and wondered if I’d be able to use it at all. I had no idea that she had these beasties. I knew about her chickens & had been greeted by her donkey on occasion, but never met the goats. Oh My Gosh. When I opened the bag and saw the contents, my heart raced. I took it home and washed it, and came up with this.




There were a lot of guard hairs so I’ve been removing them at every phase of my wee little project. After washing & picking out hairs, I had 20 grams of white fluff. Not quite enough for what I had in mind. . . but close! I just happened to have, in my stash of “treasures”, some white yak down. It was a purchase made last winter at Madrona Fiber Arts Festival. I pulled some out of the bag & weighed it - 15 grams. I carded the two together by hand, and came out with oh-so-softly-scrumptious rolags which were the envy of my Knit Night buddies. I spun it long-draw into a lace weight two ply yarn.


The pattern I chose was from the book HOMESPUN HANDKNIT, the Baby’s Lace Set designed by Carol Rhoades. I opted for little socks instead of mitts, and had just a few yards of yarn left when I finished. These will go to a charity auction, and I hope will inspire bidding among the many aspiring grandmothers that I know. :-)