Another use for alpaca and llama spinning fiber.

You may or not be aware that there has been a record-breaking freeze here in central Texas. A couple of days ago, I decided to check my outdoor spigots to see if they were all right. I had covered them as I always do, but the one on the coldest part of the house, on the upper deck outside, was frozen solid. The valve would not turn, and later in the day, when it did turn, no water came out.

Having experienced numerous water problems at my current home, I decided to do what I could to thaw out the spigot and protect it further, since we were not to get into above-freezing temps for at least another day or two. I turned on a space heater inside the house on the wall behind the frozen spigot. Checked in an hour. Still no water.

Wrapped the pipe with styrofoam tubing, which I remembered I had in the garage. Waited another hour. Still no water, but I just had this feeling, I was getting close.

I had an "ah-ah" moment. Why not stuff the covers with alpaca and llama fleece? I had originally intended to card and spin these fibers into yarn at some point, but I thought it was worth the sacrifice to see if it could fix the problem. After waiting yet another hour, I went to check and water was already dripping! No busted pipe. No water leak.

I always knew alpaca and llama were one of the warmest fibers on earth, but I never dreamed I would put it to use in this way!