Hair of the dog

Despite what you know of me, this post it not about likker.  Instead, I have actual dog hair.  Hair of the Loki to be exact.  I’ve read lots of opinions about using dog fiber for yarn.  Some people think it’s weird or gross (um, using fiber from a stinky, smelly sheep is not?) and others are fine with it.  I am obviously in the latter group.  However, after collecting over a pound of Loki hair the last two years I did not trust myself and my new found spinning skills to to the fiber justice so I trusted VIP Fibers instead.  I finally received the yarn yesterday and I am very pleased.  There is approximately 600 yards of two ply sport weight Loki yarn at 16 WPI just waiting for me to figure out the perfect project.  Since fiber spun from a double coated pet is up to 80% warmer than wool I anticipate a lace project to incorporate plenty of open space in the fabric.  For those of you who wonder about the smell, allergies, etc.  here is a quote from VIP:  “Odors and allergies are caused by the oils, dander and enzymes in a pet’s skin not the actual hair itself.  Washing the fiber, yarn or finished product will remove some of the culprits but not all.  VIP Fibers is the only spinnery that has developed a patented process for permanently removing all of these factors from your keepsake yarn.  Though each natural fiber has it’s own scent, your keepsake yarn will not ’smell like wet dog’ and your keep sake will not affect people with pet allergies.”  I wet the yarn myself to confirm this and there is no wet Loki smell at all.  I plan to spin some of his hair myself sometime so I’ll have to find a way to deal with this myself sans the patented process. 

With the socks finished, I had no choice but to go back to the FPS.  I’m actually starting to feel like there could be an end in sight (even though technically I’m only about half finished) and maybe sooner than the pattern thinks.  This baby is already pretty long and there is no question it is going to grow with blocking.  I fear if I do all the tiers as written I may end up carrying around a small throw on my shoulders rather than an elegant stole.  I’ll have to check with those who have finished  and see what they think. 

FPS Totals:  Tier 13, 63 hours.