GOR Woollen Mill

02/09/2026

What does “Baby Alpaca” actually mean?

This is one of those fibre terms that sounds pretty straightforward...

But it's actually a little more complicated than you might think.

An alpaca baby is called a Cria and you might assume that Baby Alpaca means fibre taken from alpaca baby — a cria at its first shearing. (I'm going to use the term alpaca baby for a cria here)

And sometimes, that's what people mean.

But in the fibre industry, “Baby Alpaca” can also refer to the fineness of the fibre rather than the age of the animal. Nor does the term describe whether it is a huacaya baby or a suri baby.

In other words, it can describe fine fibre — often around 20 microns or finer, depending on the classification or system being used.

So, a fibre described as “Baby Alpaca” doesn't necessarily mean that it came from a cria or alpaca baby.

And that's where things get interesting.

A young alpaca doesn't automatically produce the finest possible fibre, and an older alpaca can still produce beautifully fine fibre.

There are lots of things that influence the characteristics of a fleece — including the individual animal, genetics, fibre diameter, uniformity and the area of the fleece it comes from, etc.

Which is why, when we're working with alpaca fibre, we don't just look at one parameter.

We look at the fibre itself.

Its fineness.
Its length.
Its handle.
Its colour.
Its character.

Because there's a lot more to alpaca than the words written on a label. 🧶

Had you always assumed “Baby Alpaca” meant fibre from an alpaca baby?

We'd love to know! 👇

31/08/2026

A little more lightness for the season ahead. 🌿🧶

As we slowly make our way towards spring, we're starting to look beyond the cosy winter knits and thinking about lighter projects.

Summer Fiesta is one of our Merino and linen blends — a yarn we love for its softness, lightness and beautiful drape.

It comes in two weights:

5ply / Sports Weight — 6 colours
4ply — 5 colours currently available

Same beautiful blend, two different weights, and plenty of possibilities.

The 5ply has a little more substance, while the 4ply creates a lighter fabric — both with that lovely combination of Merino softness and linen character.

And because we're working with natural fibres, the yarn has a lovely, slightly organic texture that really comes to life when it's knitted or crocheted.

We're going to be giving Summer Fiesta a little more attention over the coming weeks, including some of the differences between the two weights and what you might make with them.

Are you already thinking about your spring projects, or are you still firmly in winter knitting mode? 🧶

28/08/2026

Alpaca isn't just alpaca. 🦙

When we say “alpaca”, we're actually talking about two different types of alpaca: Huacaya and Suri.

Huacaya are the fluffy, teddy-bear-looking ones. 🧸
Their fleece grows out from the body in a dense, woolly-looking mass and, ideally, has a lovely defined crimp running through the fibre.

Suri are a little different.

Their fibre grows in longer, hanging locks that fall close to the body. Suri fibre is known for its beautiful lustre, silkiness and fluid drape — it can almost look like silk when you see a really lovely fleece.

But here's the interesting thing:

Both Huacaya and Suri can make beautiful, drapey textiles.

The difference is in the character of the fibre and the way it behaves.

Over generations, Huacaya breeding programs have placed a lot of emphasis on characteristics such as fineness, density, uniformity, staple length and well-defined crimp.

With Suri, you'll often hear more about lustre, lock structure, length and that lovely silky handle.

And then there are all the things that make an individual fleece special — colour, micron, length, density, handle, uniformity and simply how that particular animal has grown its fibre.

Which is why, after working with alpaca fibre for a while, you realise that “alpaca” really doesn't tell you the whole story.

There is so much variation hiding underneath those two little words.

And that's what makes working with it so interesting.

Are you a Huacaya person, a Suri person, or are you like us and love them both? 🦙🤍

And yes, we have both on the farm 🤩

26/08/2026

Same yarn. Two ways of making. 🧶

I've been having a little experiment with our La Bella 4 Ply, looking at my swatches I knitted both by hand and on my domestic knitting machine.

It's been really interesting to see how the same yarn behaves in two quite different ways.

The hand-knitted swatch has that familiar, slightly more relaxed feel, while the machine-knitted version creates a different fabric and drape.

But the important bit?

La Bella 4 Ply is very happy on both. 🤍

This has become part of my learning curve with the knitting machine — trying different settings, making lots of swatches and slowly figuring out what works.

And I'm rather enjoying the experimenting.

There's something lovely about taking a yarn you know well and discovering another way to use it.

So whether you're a hand knitter, machine knitter, crocheter — or someone who likes to dabble in all of the above — La Bella 4 Ply is a wonderfully versatile yarn.

Which would you choose: hand knitted, crochet or machine knitted?

And yes... there may be a few more swatches before I consider myself an expert. 😂

24/08/2026

They're back. 🤍🩶

Our La Bella 8ply/DK is back in stock in all three of our natural shades:

🤍 Crème / Natural White
🩶 Light Grey
🩶 Mid Grey

Three beautifully simple colours, created from the natural shades of our alpaca and Merino fibres.

Soft, warm and wonderfully versatile, La Bella 8ply is one of those yarns that doesn't need much fuss. It lets the fibre, colour and texture do the talking.

We've spent the week making more Crème in the mill, and now all three shades are ready to head off to their next projects.

A cosy cardigan?
A favourite jumper?
Something smaller and very special?

We're rather looking forward to seeing what you make with them. 🧶

La Bella 8ply is now back in stock online.

Which shade would you choose? 🤍🩶

23/08/2026

Well... look who has a back! 😂🧶

My little domestic knitting machine experiment is officially turning into an actual vest.

I've now finished the back, and I'm having far too much fun with this.

When I first started learning the machine a few weeks ago, I thought it might be a useful way to keep making while giving my hand and arm a bit of a rest.

What I didn't quite expect was how much I'd enjoy the process.

There's something very satisfying about feeding in the yarn, watching the rows build and then suddenly realising you've made an actual piece of clothing.

I'm still very much learning, and there have definitely been a few moments of "what on earth did I just do?" along the way...

But we're getting there. 😄

And this is still our La Bella 4 Ply in Mid Grey, proving once again that our yarns are very happy being knitted in more than one way.

Back finished.

Now onto the next bit...

Wish me luck! 🤞

20/08/2026

18/08/2026

As the world seems to be burning, we're planting more trees. 🌱

It might feel like a small thing in the scheme of things, but we're trying to create more shade here on the property — for us, for the wildlife, for the land and, of course, for our alpacas.

Trees take time. There's no instant result, and planting a little tree today doesn't suddenly change the landscape tomorrow.

But that's rather the point.

We're thinking about the property not just as it is today, but what we want it to look and feel like years from now.

More shade.
More habitat.
More shelter.
More biodiversity.

And hopefully, a few very happy alpacas making good use of it. 🦙🌳

We can't control everything the weather throws at us, but we can make small choices about the patch of land we're responsible for.

So, one tree at a time, we're planting for the future.

We sourced our trees from ballarat_advanced_tree_nursery 🌳

17/08/2026

From fibre to yarn — La Bella Crème is back on the machines this week. 🤍🧶

We’re starting a fresh batch of our La Bella Crème 8ply/DK, which means there’s a little bit of everything happening behind the scenes — preparing the fibre, carding, spinning, winding and eventually skeining and labelling.

There’s something particularly satisfying about making a batch from start to finish and watching those soft, natural fibres slowly become the yarn we know and love.

La Bella Crème is one of those colours that doesn’t need much fuss. Its beautiful natural warmth comes from the fibres themselves, and the alpaca and Merino blend gives it that wonderfully soft handle La Bella is known for.

We’re hoping to have this batch ready and available next week.

So if you’ve been waiting for Crème to return... it’s on its way. 🤍

17/08/2026

From fibre to yarn — La Bella Crème is back on the machines this week. 🤍🧶

We're starting a fresh batch of our La Bella Crème 8ply/DK, which means there's a little bit of everything happening behind the scenes — preparing the fibre, carding, spinning, winding and eventually skeining and labelling.

There's something particularly satisfying about making a batch from start to finish and watching those soft, natural fibres slowly become the yarn we know and love.

La Bella Crème is one of those colours that doesn't need much fuss. Its beautiful natural warmth comes from the fibres themselves, and the alpaca and Merino blend gives it that wonderfully soft handle La Bella is known for.

We're hoping to have this batch ready and available next week.

So if you've been waiting for Crème to return... it's on its way. 🤍