I occasionally (ok, usually) have trouble spinning one kind of yarn for any significant length of time. I just get bored. This is somewhat surprising, since back when I crocheted I pretty much only made blankets, which is a repetitive process not far separated from tedium.
But lately, I just haven’t had the creative energy to come up with any new yarn ideas. When I want to spin something, and I don’t want to think about what, I sit down with my bag of Gustav’s fiber, and I spin medium-weight brown yarn.
I named it Hot Chocolate back when I first started spinning it. At this point, I’ve probably spun 30 ozs and several thousand yards of the stuff. Strange thing is, I still like it. It’s fluffy and…stable. Dependable, even. If a yarn can be dependable.
Anyhoo. No big take away message today. Just personifying my yarn here. Totally normal. When I start talking to it, you can have me committed. And yelling at it for not being balanced doesn’t count!
Cliff House Alpacas 
I’m just about to spin some Alpaca for the first time. Wish me luck. I’m a bit apprehensive about it. Please give advice if you can. I’m so used to the merino that the alpaca will take some getting used to. It looks similar in colour to your photo but it has silk in it too.
I’d say that alpaca feels more “slippery” when you draft, though not as slippery as straight silk. My wheel has a scotch brake, and I barely have any tension on it as I spin, just enough so that the yarn still winds on.
I haven’t spun as much merino, but it seems to cling to itself much better. In fact, I generally have trouble drafting it as thin as I want. It feels kind of like I’m yanking the roving apart instead of drafting.
I’m sure you’ll adapt quickly though! Probably faster than I do to merino 🙂
Thank you for that excellent description. In the last hour I tried it and you’re right, it is more slippery. I loved it! although I need to be very careful because it is fine and soon wants to separate. I took it very slowly. Maybe I too need to adjust the wheel a bit to allow the twist to go more slowly onto the spool. I’ll try that tomorrow.
You’re dead right about the merino and the yanking. However interestingly the merino I spin in England is a lot finer than the merino I spun in America. The last lot was targhee and that was even more coarse.
This alpaca/silk mix is so shiny and sparkles. It’s just gorgeous. Is it dry clean only?
Does it hang nicely when knitted up, do you think. Cotton is the worst for that because it soon goes out of shape.
I’m so new to alpaca but I thought I’d love it and I do.
I’ve never knitted with it because it is very expensive over here and out of my budget. I’ve only got this lot because the firm was closing down and selling off their stocks at half price.