Uh Oh....

So I spent yesterday afternoon knitting swatches from my handspun Jacob yarn.  When Dad gave us the sheep last year for Christmas there was an understanding that he got the first sweater from the wool, and I wanted to make that happen this winter.

The problem:  The yarn smells so bad to me that I can barely stand to work with it. 

No, it's not dirty. 

Yes, it was washed both during processing and again after I finished the yarn. 

The stink was so bad when I washed the swatches that I could barely stand to go into the room where they were drying.

But....

When I asked my family about the smell, none of them noticed anything.  My husband put the swatches right up to the face and told me that I was nuts because they didn't really have a smell.

So why is this a problem?

This is a major problem because this was the first step in the development of my alpaca allergy.  Years before I judged that show - resulting in the overexposure that's left me unable to handle alpaca fiber without significant discomfort - I thought it smelled really, really bad...when no one else noticed anything.

Sigh.

Right now it's just the Jacob.  I don't know if a wool allergy can be breed specific or if there is something else going on.  I'll be calling my allergist asap.