# Lets talk about qiviut/qiviuk



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

These guys, the musk oxen.










Now, someone gave me a sack of fiber. I know.  Generous beyond imagining.

The thing is, the more I read about it...the more daunted I become. 
Holy tundra cow, Batman!!! That is some spendy fluff.
Seriously, who would pay 90 bucks for 210 yards of yarn, 29 grams?
Well, not me!!

I sat and spun a nickle-sized pinch of it as fine as I could on the drop-spindle. 
Oh. Emmm. Gee.
I can hardly keep this little swatch offa my face now. 
(will try for pics in some daylight)


It is not wool. It does not felt. It is the finest thing I have ever touched. Ever, bar none.
8 times warmer than wool, that is what they say!
I read that numerous places, talking about micron counts and whatnot.
The fibers are mostly less than 2" and there are some guard hairs.
You know how silk catches in the cracks on your fingers? Maybe you dont, depends on what work you do with your hands probably.
This catches in the cracks on the palm of my hand. 
I need serious lotion therapy to spin this stuff.

Who has tried it?
Did you mix it w/ other stuff? 
I am feeling strongly that I should keep it pure. It's a nice 'tan' color.
All I want to do is wrap it around my neck. That is it. 
Just a pinch and now I am dreaming about the smoke ring/cowl that I could keep on (day and night) until spring thaw.

I am a lucky little spinner. I know it. :angel:

Looking for inspiration and hands-on experience. 
I have been googling. :teehee:

Please share your experience with this amazing fiber.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I tried some over a decade ago. It's like chinchilla- heavenly. But it is really short, as you've seen, 2". You could spin it with some wool and not loose much quality wise. Even diluted with wool, it will be extremely warm, so you can spin fine and knit lace.


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## Forerunner (Mar 23, 2007)

I can see why the stuff is so expensive......

I'd hate to be the one walking up to that dude and informing him that's it's shearing day.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Spin it fine and make something lacy. How about a snood? http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/wavy-feathers-wimple


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

love the snood 

gam if you have other very fine fiber like merino, you could mix it for a bit easier spinning and maybe stretch a bit (don't know what size of bag you have). i have not had quivit yet but thought maybe NZ opossum has the same or at least very similar properties? very very warm because the fiber is hollow, shiny and very short, maybe an inch? i have it mixed with merino and intend to spin very fine for inner layer of mittens. 
lucky you. one day i might try quivit too


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## susanne (Nov 4, 2004)

WIHH i guess the guy send the fiber raw? unwashed? how do you handle this? doesn't it smell horrible? and how do you get the guard hair out?


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

WIHH, I ended up with the magazine that has those articles in it.
I read all of them and learned a lot. 

It isnt hard to spin, really. Just my rough farm hands need someTLC first.

I dont think they shear musk oxen. They shed their coats in the spring.
Some folks just harvest it off the land. 
I was thinking of how warm the bird's nests must be who use this fiber in their construction. 

There was a pic of someone plucking fiber from an ox who was locked in a squeeze chute, that seems like the only way to take the fiber away from one of these dudes.

Because it is so fine, it seems like it would felt. But it doesnt. You can handle it pretty firmly, it is strong stuff. 
The guard hairs are like 4 inch long pieces of wire. Kind of like cat whiskers really. They are easy to see and pick out.
There was an article about spinning that hair for weaving warp too.


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

My understanding of Qiviut is that the stuff that is harvested off the tundra is only legally harvested by the natives of the land up there. However there are people who farm these critters. I imagine is isn't too different from Bison fibers, not as soft, but tough and soft with really stout guard hairs.


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## frazzlehead (Aug 23, 2005)

I've also heard it suggested that you rub your hands with lemon juice before spinning silk - maybe it would have the same effect?


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## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Apricot facial scrub works well on hands too. WIHH I'd love your recipe for that scrub that you make 

Sye Mitchell did a pod cast all about Musk ox, she taped it from LARS. It's a delightful story. GAM you might find some inspiration listening to it. There are a ton of links too that you might find useful. Scroll down to find the player. http://www.weavezine.com/2007/12/episode-23-alaskan-weaving_30.html


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