Fiber, Fiber, Everywhere

With alpaca care requirements reduced to the four males, I have started to find time for other fiber pursuits. While I have touched the spinning wheel – mostly to move it around, but I did actually spin – in the past week, most of my efforts have focused on inventorying the fiber I have.

Quite literally, I have a room full of fiber. I'm less than halfway through the inventory and I can hardly walk through the living room. The good news, however, is I think I have all the dark fleeces out of the guest bedroom and most of the dark fleeces out of the hobby room. (I can't be sure until I move all the light fleeces.) Most of the dark fleeces are inventoried and I already have forty three pounds of alpaca fiber on the inventory.

Granted, much of this fiber is seconds and thirds – lower grades – and I'll probably use some of it as garden mulch, but the forty three pound figure doesn't include the several pounds already designated for that use.

I'm trying to figure out how to use this fiber. There are several special handspinning quality fleeces I really want to keep and spin for myself. Much of the rest, I think I will have commercially processed. At this time, I have no desire to spin my own alpaca sock yarn, but it sure would be nice to have some available. Once the inventory is completed, I will figure out what I want to have made.

Has anyone ever knit or crocheted with roving? I'm thinking some of the thirds I have might make a nice rug and I'm thinking about working from a slightly twisted roving about an inch in diameter? Thoughts? Suggestions? Experience?