The Start of an Alpaca Fleece/Wool Yarn Rug

I found a rug on Pinterest that I thought was super cool. It's made of chunky fiber and it was simply knitted with big honkin' needles.

Pinterest Inspriation from http://www.scandinaviandeko.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/DIY_7_97_12_2_nettiin.jpg

The roving

I didn't know where to start as I've never seen fiber made into yarn of this large gauge, but I thought I'd ask around. One of the firefighters I work with is an Alpaca enthusiast, and she's also a knitter. She said she could sell me some of her lower-grade fleece for a nice price, which I instantly took her up on (I mean, really, I don't need super soft/perfect quality fleece for a rug!) Of course what she sold me was a little dirty so I had to go through it and pick out all the pieces of hay, etc, but otherwise, it's the softest most beautiful fiber EVER! 

The wool yarn

The start of the project!

I sent it on to get processed into roving (per her suggestion). Unfortunately it took the fiber mill almost 4 months to get it washed and processed, but I've now got it back. So last weekend I bought size 25 cable knitting needles and last night I got started. I'm using 2 strands of chunkier cream-colored soft wool yarn and a strand of the roving. I wasn't sure how many stitches I should first cast on so I started with 22. We'll see if that's enough. If not, I can make two rugs and then just join them together. Regardless, the rug is looking incredible, though it is probably more suited for something like a blanket! It's SO soft. But anyway, it will be perfect for a rug, too. I plan to put it in the baby's room to help muffle some of the sound we have in there now that we don't have carpet in the room. I know I'll need to put one of those sticky mats underneath it or else we'll be surfing on it. But other than that,  think it will work beautifully. I guess I am still curious how I will make it so that it doesn't "shed" the fleece, since it's not woven or spun, it's just simply roving. I wonder if walking on it a lot will eventually matte it down. I will have to ask my firefighter friend to see if she has any suggestions. Also, I might need to figure it out sooner than later because my little kitty took a liking to the material and she started licking it last night! So, instead of clogging her guts with this expensive fiber I'd rather it stay in rug-form and serve an actual purpose!

Stay tuned, there's more to come!