Vicuna! - maybe

My "vicuna" yarn just arrived from the dealer in the UK that I really love. If you want really special yarn at reasonable prices I would recommend them. So far I have been pleased with everything.

Those of you reading this may not know I am a crochet-holic - I seriously do not feel happy unless I have at least three or four crochet projects on the go. Right now I'm doing an alpaca lace jacket in grey, a perhaps-scarf in hand-woven silk combined with a very fine silver lurex thread (this is "perhaps" because having made it I think the yarn is too thick to look good in crochet so the whole thing may have to be made into something else) and the very beginnings of a top in blue and grey silks - bought as an ebay bargain and so I need to think how to make it all work together.

Anyway, the dealer had some vicuna that I stumbled across (the site is very hard to search and there is all sorts of stuff tucked away). It was, er $2 a skein instead of the normal vicuna $300. Now this tells me something, and the site DID say that it might not be vicuna but was believed to be - this dealer is honest about yarn content and says outright when he's not sure. But at $2 who cares? So I bought enough for a small scarf (as Alex says, "How many small crocheted scarves do you need?") and today it arrived.

It smells as though it's been lurking at the back of an Afghan bizarre for many years. Minnie, who likes to sniff all packages, was truly amazed by it. But I have washed and washed and washed it - and lo and behold, it's fluffed up. Lots of long, white hairs also fell out of it, so it does seem to be from some kind of antelope-type animal.

I suspect it isn't real vicuna. It might be anything - ibex crossed with camel? - but it will make an interesting project. I'll photograph it later in the winter once it's done and you can tell me what you think. Right now the skein is hanging out on the terrace and infusing the flat with the smell of wet goat. Lovely.
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Oh - and I meant to add that vicuna is endangered (which I only realised when I looked it up). But I think this yarn is pretty old - and probably something else in any case.

I did once eat an endangered species - by accident. I'll tell the story one day if I dare.