Dutch Hollow Acres

It's Monday and that means our virtual fiber market is now open!  Come post your links to your local harvest store, farms store, etsy etc. Connect with fiber shoppers!

To buy or sell fiber products please go to http://www.alpacabytes.com/?p=318

Visit our blog and add your link to our Fiber Market Monday!   This is our version of a Fiber Farmer's Market.

Show us your raw fiber, milled fiber, handmade products, fiber livestock, studs and more! 

Links are free to post until 11:59pm on 7/21/09

All that we ask is that you please link back to our website to help promote the free fiber market atmosphere. 

Enjoy!

--Lindsay
Dutch Hollow Acres
Alpaca Bytes

After looking at what a feed troughs cost at our local Tractor Supply I decided it wasn't even worth buying them even with being tax exempt! 

Here's the poor man's method I used.

• Rubbermaid tub - $4.95
• 2 large washers - $2.25
• 2 wood screws - No clue, I've got hundres in my barn

Obviously you don't need the lid to the tub.  Put the tub on the foor and screwed it to the wall of the stall.  It nicely holds 2 large flakes of hay.  They are flexable and hold up well to animals stepping into the tub or scratcing against it.

Best yet, it's easy to replace should someone manage to break it. Even if you find you have to replace them once a year or even every 6 months you'd still save tons of $ compaired to having to buy the $100+ animal troughs.

I had a custom request for a bar of alpaca felted soap with no dyes so I got to work felting a bar for the customer.  Not wanting to wait the 24-48hrs for the bar to dry before I mailed it out I decided to think smart. 

I turned on our propane fireplace and put the soap on it's harth. The constant warm heat should dry the fiber in no time was my thought.  I've done this before on many wet felting projects. 

Well, it turns out forgetting the soap and taking off for work was not part of my plan.  When I came home from work the soap was still on the fireplace and hard as a rock.  It dried out the fiber alright and the soap inside it too!  Turned the soap into a wrinkly hard rock!

For those who might think I'm nuts putting alapca fiber products near a heat source try purposly lighting alpaca fiber on fire sometime.  Alpaca is naturally fire retardant and won't hold a flame!  Pretty neat huh?

Hand Felted Alpaca Goat Milk Soap

Goat milk soap is known for his superior natural moisturizing properties and is loaded with vitamins, minerals, lipids, and proteins.  Goat’s milk soap leaves your skin feeling soft and rejuvenated.

Each bar of soap is hand felted in alpaca fiber.  Alpaca fiber is luxuriously soft, hypoallergenic and gently exfoliates your skin.  These soaps are perfect to keep in the bathroom next to the sink for frequent hand washing.  The felted soap acts like a washcloth allowing you to clean your hands more efficiently. 

Alpaca fiber naturally inhibits the growth of bacteria and mildew making them a sanitary option to washcloths.

Each bar of soap is approximately 2oz and is lightly scented with Lavender.  Colors vary and fiber is dyed with kool-aid and not harsh chemicals.

Until approved on LocalHarvest you can buy these soaps on eBay.