Camel yarn

lol! still saying though... Gem, back AWAY from the keyboard! hehehe Noreen

Gemini .........i lost air from all this laughing mirjam [ who was once cornered by areal life BIG BULL , while cleaning his water Bin ]

hehehe I'm glad that I could give you and Noreen a good laugh today! Oh and I got pinned against a fence by a horse once. He just sort of leaned there like he thought I was a pillow or something. LOL No matter how much I spoke to him, and even tried pushing him away, he just leaned in like "Oh yeah, that's a soft fence!" LOL My brother finally had to come over and take the horse by the reins and walk him away. The horse just looked back at me like he was laughing. hehehe

I am in an exceptionally good mood today. The sun is shining brightly in a clear blue sky... and people are actually walking around wearing spring jackets today. One woman commented that she never thought in a million years she would be out dressed like that on a January 12th. ;o)

I wasn't wearing my big heavy winter coat, but I also wasn't exactly in a spring jacket either. The sun is very warm, but the air is still a little nippy. Besides, considering that Matthew has the flu, I am not taking any chances. :o)

Gemini

Camels are big too! And, some are not a whole lot friendlier than a bison. But, some camels are so friendly, that they are like stalkers. They are the stinkyest things that ever wanted to come into the tent with you. However, if you find a "friendly" camel, they will stand still better if you give them a date every so often. ( So, did you hear the joke about the knitter that dated a camel? (He was tall, tan, and had a good hump, so she thought she would give him a "whorle.")

Actually, bison "wool" is collected by setting up"scratching posts" covered with stiff brushes. Then, the bison brush themselves, and then the wool is collected off of the brushes. It is not real efficient, but it is easier than trying to get a bison to stand still while you give him a full make over.

One morning, I went out to collect camel wool off of the thorn bushes around the compound. Looking out over the scrub, it appeared that every thorn bush was festuned with camel wool. However, on closer inspection each bush had only a miniscule amount of wool, and that was so nasty that I did not want to put it in my little packsack. Mission aborted in 15 minutes. There is no such thing as free camel wool -- even where it is blowing in the wind!

Aaron

Neat! I didn't know that about Samoyeds.

=Tamar

Quivit is from musk oxen. Yak yarn is from yaks (I saw some at Stitches East. I think it's a little more expensive than gold per ounce, and a lot like bison.) I've heard that yaks are fairly mild-tempered, but I don't know about musk oxen.

Cattle like to scratch themselves against trees. Maybe they set up velcro-covered scratching posts and then collect the fiber from them? ;-)

I read somewhere that someone was seen walking next to a camel and spinning directly from the camel.

=Tamar

So my guess was right! Do they do that with muskox as well?

=Tamar

Muskox are not domesticated at all. However, where they live naturally, there are a nymber of low bushes. THe muskox walk over the bushes, and the soft hair from their underbelly is caught on the branches. This is harvested, and spun into the most beautiful wool.

HTH

Higs, Katherine

:o) My Casper (short haired, mind you) sleeps beside me most of the night and it is very toasty. ;o)

I wouldn't want Buffy sleeping with me... her fur comes out in huge tuffs throughout the year. Not that she is bald... she just keeps shedding in tuffs and looks so mangy sometimes. Besides, she wouldn't be able to get up on the bed anyway... she is too old to jump, and even when she was younger she didn't like heights or even stairs... the two steps to each part of the deck she can handle though.

Gemini

LOL Oookay! I also love the comment about friendly camels being like stalkers. hehehe

LOL A little eyeshadow, mascara and lipstick too?

Hi Aaron! I don't remember you... or if I *did* welcome you before, I am now having a blonde moment. ;o) Anyway, just in case... welcome to the group!

If you want to check out what some of us look like just click on the URL after my signature. If you would like to be added to the album, just send me a jpg picture of yourself to gemsawriter AT yahoo DOT ca and put RCTY Album in the subject line and the name you use here in the body of the message so I can add it to your picture.

Ooops, I forgot to tell everyone.... SOOZERGIRL's picture is now in the album! :o)

Ps Camels ,,, since camels caused many Accidents on our desert road there was a suggestion to paint reflective lines on their bottoms .... :>:> but it was called off ,,, mirjam

HAHAHA I had visuals! Poor camels! hehehehe

Gemini