Fiber on Wednesdays

Well I decided to post something about "Fibers" every Wednesdays or so. I got the idea yesterday as the front page of our "Beloved" Anchorage Daily News was showing a beautiful picture of Musk Ox and then same day in the Sport Section of the same "beloved" newspaper was another picture of Musk Ox... You might say as I did.... the Sport section... yes it was. I still haven't figured out why but I do like Musk Ox and so it doesn't really matter, or does it?
Maybe to introduce the new season of the Aces (our local hockey team)!!! I will have to think about it a bit harder...Anyway it gave me the idea to talk about this "prehistoric" looking animal that abounds in Alaska (according to ADN's article their rise in population since 1980 from 104 to 2,688 in 2007 (way to go big guys!!! I guess that can be considered a sort of Sport). Considering that this animal is legally hunted every year with special lottery tickets (that too might explain the sport section article...) the Fish and Game Department knows what it's doing. The meat is delicious. The taste is very much like beef but more tender. No gamy taste whatsoever. But the fur is what is important for the native of the region as they card and spin their wool into feather light yarn that can rival the best cashmere. That is the reason why I suppose the price of this is worth the price of gold. There is a name for it that I have not mastered yet the pronunciation "Qiviut". It used to be found only in natural colors of grey, brown and beige but you can now find really every colors possible due to the resurgence of the art of felting, knitting and crocheting. The best part is that it is Hypoallergenic. I have yet to use this fiber in my projects. I would be interested to keep those big dreadlocks whole and make some kind of fantastic piece. So to be continued for that idea. Thanks to Anchorage Daily News to get me started on my own little project.