Spinning and knitting local Alpaca Fiber to make a Spring Vest (Bifurca by Teti's Knitgarden) 

Not me finding out that knitting through the back loop isn't "standard" after knitting for over 20 years 🤣 I blame my Polish great-grandma who taught me. She also knit Continental, and discovering English knitting 15 years later absolutely baffled my brain.

The colour changes in the alpaca just take that vest to the next level. I'm surprised people don't want the natural alpaca colour. While managing the colour is an extra challenge for commercial mills, the colours themselves are absolutely beautiful. The mill that produced the Shetland fleece I mentioned recently also has a line of yarns where they deliberately dye coloured fleece, for a more shadowy effect.

I love those colors! They make me think of peppermint hot chocolate around Christmastime.

I am a project and process knitter because although I have been knitting for a while-it was never consistent. There were long, long periods that I did not touch it because I was a project knitter in the beginning and the process always felt like it took way, way too long. I'm a lot older now and it has shifted....I now feel like it's half about the journey to the end project and the "fun" is in the process and what can be learned along the way. Great vest and I feel like I need to go finish cleaning, spinning, and now knitting my own local raw alpaca I have on hand...😍😁😉😊

That turned out so cute. I love the natural variation in the alpaca. I lean towards being a project crocheter rather than a process one.

Beautiful result. I love the wide armholes. Free unimpeded arm movement. 🇦🇺🎸⚡️🤘🏾🤘🏼💋💜

The natural color changes of the alpaca is magical! Think perhaps that God was giving you a little surprise bonus blessing for this beautiful vest!

I’m both a process and product knitter. I like trying new techniques and patterns but I also try only to make things that I know I will wear. I do the same with sewing. I love sewing coats and knitting hats but there’s only so many I need! But I will knit endless socks because you can never have too many fuzzy socks

I am more of a product knitter, but I do enjoy the process too. But I like having and using the finished products which I think is super cool.

I love how your alpaca yarn stripes like that! I can't believe they would just throw it out. I think yarns dyed over coloured wool look so much better than yarn dyed on white as well.

Love this vest! And a thousand times more because it is handspun. ❤ Also, I would (if I made it), purposely want the sleeves to look like yours, rather than the original pattern. I like how it looks with a swishy skirt, even with short sleeves underneath. 😊 Here, project knitter with an engaging process as a necessity. I couldn't knit a stocking stitch jumper unless it were scrap yarn to keep me interested the whole time, for example. Which is the case for my current project: a scrappy Lento. 🧶 👀

This pattern has been on my list since it came out, but seeing it knit with variegated handspun is what I needed to finally get it going. Your finished vest looks gorgeous! Id also say im more of a process knitter than a project knitter, unless the project is small. In that case, I want it done quickly!

Llama that has been de-haired is also beautiful to spin and makes an amazing yarn. I also blend my llama and/or alpaca with about 25% wool so that the yarn has some bounce back. PS: I'm a project knitter. Process spinner.

I think the shoulders look absolutely perfect on you! And the west fits the brown dress so well 😍

How fun are those color changes! Such a happy accident. I love stuff like that! And, I think the shoulders actually kind of look like cute little cap sleeves. But I can sympathize with the sizing issue. My chest is about two sizes smaller than my hips, and I like long tops, so I've learned I have to taper all my patterns. I, too, am a project knitter. I want the thing! And I want the pride of knowing I MADE the thing. The moments I enjoy the process the most are actually when doing something like plain stockinette, when I can just knit without thinking, so it becomes more of a fidget.

Lovely vest! You have likely seen it but if you haven’t Jillian Eve has a really great video about blending alpaca with different percentages of wool. I thought it was fascinating and it helped me decide how much wool to blend into some alpaca I’m spinning now 😊

wow, this is a stunning pattern! I have a kilo of fawn alpaca AND deep red dyed merino, I might do this project too! thank you for the inspiration!!!

I am somewhat obsessed with how that alpaca yarn turned out in your vest. Also, definitely a process knitter. Unless it's socks.

Beautiful sweater.❤❤❤. And DEFINITELY a project knitter. I HAVE to eventually be finished with a project and have something to wear or for someone else to wear or there is just no point to endless stitching. So, no, I have never finished a blanket. And you styled your sweater beautifully.❤

Beautiful vest ❤❤

This is so cute! I love it. This might be my favorite one ever!!

I am a project crafter. Lately, I've been hopping between weaving, spinning, sewing, and knitting. I do enjoy the process as well. That vest is beautiful!

I love the alpaca yarn! Beautiful vest! And nice Douglas Adams reference :D I'm an "it varies" kind of knitter/crocheter/sewist. I like starting projects and having the finished project. Sometimes I like the process. Sometimes I have to drag myself through the process. Right now I'm working on a bigger knitting project which is beginning to overwhelm me and I have started to do the "take out little moments in the day" thing as well, to keep the momentum going until motivations strikes again. Which works surprisingly well, so fingers crossed I'll finish it :D

That is a beautiful vest! I can only imagine how soft it is! I totally get how a plan for a whole bag of fleece can change. I finished one skein of a giant bag to make a hat for the farmer that gave me the fleece and I haven't touched it since 🙈

I'm both, but I think I am more a process knitter than a project knitter. I make small things for boosts in motivation between long projects. Alpaca is also one of my favorite fibers to wear. It is so lovely😊

Excellent vidéo ! Thanks for your share! Personally, i discover that iam a process spinner/knitter…I love so much processing fibers, what ever technique I use ❤ but I also enjoy when I got the bull’s eye when a project fit my body and match with m’y initial thought 😂 Have a nice day!

I frog that part of each project/piece every time and consider it part of the process. Instead of spending time planning and sampling and mathing, I accept restarting. In a large job like a sweater I will make a sample which becomes a patch pocket.

Hi Jente, I hope you're OK and that your ankle is better xx ❣️❣️❣️❣️ I love the Vest, the colours compliment each other perfectly. I also like the shoulders of it, especially with you Knitting it a few rows shorter than the pattern says. I'm not sure what sort of Spinner or Knitter I am, I love the process of both.🎡🧶 Happy Spinning and Knitting Fibre Friend 🎡🧶🐑🥰 Take care and stay safe Lots of love and Big Hugs Jen xxxx ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🫂🫂🫂🫂🐕

Oh boy am I a project knitter/crocheter. I love making a project and of course I enjoy the knitting too. But when it comes to spinning I am definitely a process spinner! I enjoy it so much I don't really care what I'll do with the yarn in the end. I have so much handspun yarn that I don't have a project for yet. I always say to myself I should really get onto that, but then I don't have time to spin 😩

answering machine here: I am something like you, I do it for the project, but still enjoy the process. However I do not take my knitting/crochet anywhere with me. One reason is the position, how I have to be in a special way to not hurt my back. But i think the most important for me is that when I'm needling, I'm in the zone, and if I take that with me, I will just miss everything around me. This is also why I don't use my phone when outside. It is burried somewhere in the bag on silent, and will only use it if I need to contact someone or check something. Also, when travelling, I feel like I should be 100% with the person I'm travelling with, not half listening to them while doing something else. (not saying that's what you do, just talking ab me ^^)

I am very much both a prosses and project driven knitter. I really like the process of some projects and just enjoy them so much while I'm working on them. But some others I find myself getting bored and just wanting to be done. I am most definitely more a process spinner tho, I really enjoy trying to spin new kinds of fiber. I just got some plant based fibers in the mail, cotton, flax and hemp, and I can't wait ro tear into them and turn them into yarn.

I'd love to spin alpaca wool. It looks so soft.😮

Yes, chain ply!!! Het vest staat je echt geweldig en de merino springt er ook mooi uit als contrastkleur. Ik ben een echte proces knitter, een werkje froggen vind ik geen probleem betekent alleen maar dat ik weer opnieuw kan breien. Ik wil gewoon lekke breien, projecten die afgebreid zijn blijven soms wat lang liggen omdat ik dan nog draadjes weg moet werken of een naadje dicht moet naaien. Maar ja, dat is geen breien dus dat blijft liggen.

5:20 That chain ply(?) is gorgeous! I want to try that for sure.

I remember you saying you find the commercial merino rather lifeless to spin (I agree!) If you give it a gentle wash in warm water it can revive the crimp. I usually card it with other fibres as well and it’s much more fun to spin.

I wash my alpaca after I have spun it up into skeins. I often flick card it open outside if the weather is nice because of the massive dust, then run it though my drum carder unwashed (this is a total cringe for OCD folks). Since there is no greasy lanolin in alpaca, my drum carder stays relatively clean even after running dirty alpaca through the carding machine. Your project is fabulous! LOVE it!

Paaaah paparapapaaapaaaah ❤

I love the extra room in the shoulders, it leaves room for a poofy sleeve, whether in a complementing red or a contrasting pale cream.

Love how it turned out.

Wonderful job. As usual 😊

I was shouting combing isn't enough! I double soak triple rinse alpaca floof then comb out VM and still the finish soak looks dirty. Of course cats are obsessed with floof and in winter want to sleep in the knitting. I hate having to stop and drop spin more when color varies year to year on same animal,frogged a complete sweater as looked like banded caterpillar, I also pet my pieces which I think way warmer than wool. May I suggest fingerless mitts and some bed socks? Such luxury!!

I am a i don't like labels knitter. Progress or product who cares as long as we enjoy it. I love your alpaca ut looks so great. Unbelievable people would throw this away. I have the same shoulder boop issue. Cardigans that fit my bust fall of my shoulders. Have a great day

Hi Jente. Oh wow the variations of colour and detail in your vest are so beautiful. Thoroughly enjoyed your spin and fibre prep. That alpaca floof is gorgeous. I always love seeing fibre prep.. I don't know why but it just relaxes me. I'm a process crocheter. I have to crochet every day, it calms me, its very meditative, it makes me happy, I love the process but I also love that feeling when I find a pattern, work through all the stages and get to the end result, which are currently lacy sun tops. I then have to keep going through the process because it was so much fun... which is why I now have 6 lacy sun tops a 7th on the hook and an 8th planned 🤷🙄😂 I usually have to reign myself in and go spin floof... sooo does that mean I'm also a project crocheter because I use and wear and love all my end results ? 🤔

Your vest came out beautifully! I have that pattern on my list of things I want to make this year too.

Wauw 👏🏼👏🏼 het vest is heel erg mooi! In september leer ik spinnen, …droom ook al van zo’n prachtig project! Top! Je video’s zijn ook heel leuk! 👍🏼😃

Lovely!❤😊

Saw this video was out then had to cook and eat dinner before I could watch it. The tension! I too have alpaca that I was going to spin all of (2 years in now; I have spun some). I also spin it in the grease (dust?) and my flier is dirty af ❤ I just prefer washing yarn to washing fibre 🤷‍♀️ Also that vest came out so nice! I love how the surprise self striping of the handspun shows off the unusual construction. Beautiful pattern wonderfully executed 😊

LOVE it. This pattern is one of two patterns that I am so excited to knit next year. Ironically I just purchased some Alpaca roving from a local farm and wasn’t sure what to use it for.

It came out BEAUTIFUL! I recently did a video on some alpaca too and hardly made a dent in the one bag. So much fiber, so little time.

Absolutely beautiful ❤

You could throw some sleeves on it. But I think it looks great as it is, well done.

Positively glorious! My toxic trait is that I am not a knitter (or a crocheter!) at all hahah. I do weave, though. I've enjoyed trying to spot how many hair styles you wear, too!

I bought this pattern from Teti but haven't knitted it up. I have spun the yarn for the colour-work part but I haven't quite decided on what I want to spin for the main colour. Yours turned out so beautifully!

your vest is beautiful. wow!!

I'm a process knitter I think. But also impatient. 😅 I like the seratonin from completing a task so I'll want to be done with say the front already.

Very cute!

Zo mooi!!! 😍

I absolutely love that vest! I have the opposite problem with my bust. Im plus size, but my bust is not! Haha

Your vest turned out so pretty! I didn't think I liked the Bifurca pattern but I guess I do now! I also really like the red last row, I think it ties everything really nicely together. I'm currently spinning alpaca (with a bit of wool mixed in), and even though I washed it beforehand it's still very dirty. My fingers are always brown after spinning :P

Turned out looking very beautiful! 😊 I have my eye on that Vest pattern, too. But i haven't decided yet if i attempt to spin the yarn for it myself or just buy something nice. 'will see. ... I'm a process knitter i think. But i approach may projects as if i were a project knitter and that might be the reason i get frustrated when it's taking me longer than anticipated. Or maybe i'm a little bit of both. I knit eastern crossed btw, if i recall correctly, but for me it's just the way my grandma taught me.

Love your content and sense of humour! Thank you for everything you do! You inspired me to approach my local farmer to ask if I could purchase his sheep's wool and he told me 'no he will give it to me because it's thrown away otherwise' 😢 It's absolutely gorgeous fibre and now I'm slowly spinning my way through 8 chocolate brown Valais blacknose fleeces. 🥰 Please let me know if I can send you some. Thanks again 🥰

im a process knitter which means im always knitting yet never actually complete anything because i keep finding fun new ideas lol

I'm a process spinner and a project knitter. Although I rarely wear my knits.

im largely a process knitter but....lets not pretend im choosing patterns based on how complex they are lol, Im still gonna wear it at the end and i want it to be something i will wear. That said I have no qualms ripping out a whole freshly finished sweater and reknitting it I have done that a couple of times because i wanted to change the fit but also enjoyed knitting it enough to do it again. I keep getting colored wool thinking ohhh this will be such a nice base for a moody dye job! by the end im like. but what if. I didnt dye it...

I loved the pattern when it was published, but yours is even better. I think the color variation is key as it emphasizes the interesting shape.

I'm deffinatly a project knitter xD sometimes I choose the patterns by how long it's going to take me xD

Definitely a process knitter.

Stunning vest. It looks great on you

Mmmmm process or project knitter? I’d say 50-50 of either. If I don’t see the point of a project, in terms of aesthetics, wearability, fit etc, I know I won’t finish it. But if I don’t enjoy the process, no matter how beautifully it’ll fit, how gorgeous the finished piece is, I know I won’t finish it either. It’ll either languish for months in the quarantine pile before getting frogged or it’ll get frogged immediately. The yarn ‘ll get to languish some more before being used. Let’s call me a picky persnickity chaos goblin knitter. The fibre has to feel good while spinning, or feel good when buying. It has to knit nicely. No stroppy yarns! The colours have to look pretty to me. The chosen pattern has to be enjoyable to knit. I have to know I’ll get a lot of wear out of the finished piece or, at least, tremendously enjoy wearing it when I do choose to wear it (or when it’s a gift, the new owner had to). The finished piece has to look good. About spinning, knitting and wearing alpaca: oh yes! It’s a wonderful fibre! The batch I’m working on is a gorgeous chocolate brown. Not milk chocolate, dark chocolate. “Fondantchocoladebruin”. Or maybe the colour of strong coffee that you shine alight through. Absolutely stunning. 💖

I actually think the oversized shoulders look intentional, they kinda look like pauldrons! (I think that's how you spell that??) I would say I'm a mixture of process and project knitter. If *either* the idea of the finished product *or* the feeling of actually knitting it don't feel good to me, I'm not going to be excited about it and I'm likely to let the project fall by the wayside!

Am I first?!

Can I ask why your inner voices are wolves?