It's August already!

Holy cow, how time flies! Lessee, what's new in the world of my alpacas? We're pretty sure both Holly and Princess are pregnant. Not exactly what I wanted as far as Princess goes but we'll be sure next spring when she does breed with Legend that she's fertile.
I had a productive weekend a little while back as far as fiber goes and got some carded and dyed and spun. I used the Kool-Aid method and dyed some pink and purple and then blended it in my carder to make a really pretty heathered batt that I then spun. Of course then life intervened and I haven't worked on it since. I'm hoping to get enough of it spun that I can make a baby item of some sort. It's so soft and the colors are very delicate. I'll post a picture in a little while.
Other than that, not much happening. Show season is gearing up but I won't be showing anyone. Mark just can't compete with the big dogs and I don't have the extra money anyway so I don't see the point. I did sign a new consignment contract and my alpacas should be making their web appearance on Alpacas of Nottingham Hollow's web page soon. Sue has an Alpaca Street web site as well so I'm hoping they'll get some traffic when posted. Who knows? It's a buyers market right now, not a seller's so it's probably okay that mine just hang out for the time being until the economy recovers. As long as I can pay the agisting fees, we're good! And I'll keep working on winning the lottery so I can buy my dream farm. Yeah, that's the ticket!
I get to go visit my kids in October, I can't wait. I'm sure Perl is a very big girl now and I can't wait to see how they are all doing. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures to post on their sales flyers with them in full fleece.
Oh, speaking of fleece. I sent my fleece's off to a mill to be made into yarn. I should have that back by October as well. I'm excited. I hope it turns out as well as I'm thinking it will. I have all kinds of crochet projects in mind for that yarn when it gets back! I will do my best to keep the posts up to date. Till later!

So I lied, I didn't post any pictures that weekend after my last entry and Jen didn't yell at me either. I did get to meet and greet my new little girl and she's adorable of course. Just like most babies. We decided to name her Black Perl. Sorta after the pirate ship but I couldn't spell it Pearl because that was taken. So, as a nod to my background in computers, we went with Perl. She's growing like a weed and Holly is being an amazing mommy as usual. Princess is even trying to help out. She was inseperable from Holly and Perl while I was there. Being the protective big sister or jealous of the attention, I'm not sure which.

Speaking of Princess, we are still trying to get her bred. She showed no interest in the spring for her date with Legend. And he showed no interest in her. But it was just because it wasn't time yet. A month or so later she smelled right and there was a trial mating with Mr. Tuck. She didn't really know what to do but it proved that she's not a dud and if she didn't take with him then she should really be ready for Legend in the fall. Holly was bred to Mada Vemi's Dynamite with no problem and should have been at her peak so we should be expecting another baby from her next April/May time frame. I'm going to have a decent sized herd before I even have a farm at this rate! Though I would like to be able to have a farm and take care of them myself I'm not sure that's going to happen in the next year or more. The economy has just put a damper on most of that planning. And on sales. I'd like to be able to sell one or two of these guys to help with the whole business side of things but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon either. So, I'm going to stick with trying to sell products. I've got to establish an account on etsy.com and see if I can get some interest there. I've got a box full of stuff to post. Maybe I'll try and work that into my schedule this weekend. Along with everything else that usually happens on a weekend at our house!

I did get some spinning done this last week which is a huge step forward. I had to re-engineer my Hitchhiker in order to get my jumbo flyer to work so I could ply but it got done and I got some plying done and started spinning some of the roving I had. That's progress.

Anyway, that's the latest, which isn't much and I'll really try to post more often, promise!

New baby!

Well Holly's new little girl was born today. No problems and she's standing and nursing just fine. Mom and baby are snugged up in the nursery enjoying the warmth from a heat lamp because the temps at the farm dropped almost 20 degrees today and rain is expected tonight. Sue says the baby is a true black. I'm driving up on Friday to meet and greet and see if we can figure out a name for her. I want to see what kind of personality she has. I'll take pictures then and I promise I'll get them posted this weekend!
Shearing was done two weeks ago and I'll pick up my fleece's while I'm there as well. Now I just have to decide what to do with them???? I'm tempted to send them to a mill and have them made into roving and/or yarn just because I don't have as much time as I used to for working with them. I have time for some spinning and time for crochet but not time for the whole process of carding, washing, etc. Sending to the mill will depend on what it costs though.
Other than that, there's not much happening right now. I just wanted to post a quick note and let you know the baby is here!

I know I'm a slacker!

Yeah, yeah, so sue me. Nobody reads this anyway! But here's what has happened of late in the realm of our alpaca adventure. Little Mark went to two shows. Walked in the Virginia Classic because the weather was horrid and they didn't separate the classes like they should have. Took 5th in the Palmetto Classic with comments about his staple length being positive. It's a start I guess. It's just too frickin expensive in this economy to be entering shows. Unfortunately because we're not a big farm we need all the advertising we can get. And we can't afford to pay for it in publications. Never gonna get one of these guys sold at this rate.
On to fiber though, not getting that much time to work with my fiber as I had in the past. My stuff all sits idle collecting dust right now. I still haven't finished my blankets from last year and I've got shearing coming up next week! That means more blankets! I'm thinking of paying the shearer to skirt them for me and then sending them off to a mill for processing into roving that I can then spin myself. Spinning is not as intensive as doing all the carding and cleaning. It will cost a little bit but it will be better than letting it sit and go to waste. And maybe I'll eventually be able to create something beautiful out of it!
I got some guidance on my spining wheel issue recently as well. It looks like I'm going to have to create an entirely separate tension knob and buy an additional spring in order to use my plying head. I was told I should have recieved the spring with the plying head but I didn't. I attempted to contact The Merlin Tree as well to ask about this issue but haven't recieved a response. That's been typical unfortunately. I don't have a lot of good to say about them once you buy a wheel.
On the other hand I have managed to get some sewing done. I made my little boy a pair of pajama shorts with pirate skulls on them and my little girl a dress with Ariel all over it. And I finally put together the backing for my Christmas quilt. Now I just have to get the batting, pin it and sew it! Yeah sure, that will happen this year. Not.
Anyway, just a short update, no pictures. I promise I'll have some by May though. I'm going to the farm where my pacas board later this month and I'll take some pictures then. Holly should have her baby by then so there will be a new cria to name (and pay for)!

My oh my, it's a New Year!

And with that comes even more change! I know, it's hard to believe, but things don't like to stay the same. Lessee, Mark is going to his first show in March, I'm going to enter him into the Virginia Classic and have him tag along with Dawn Dolpp of Mada Vemi alpacas as a show buddy. I'm also thinking about entering him into the Palmetto Alpaca Classic show as well. Not sure how he'll do but I want to get some judge's comments so I know where to go next. Also helps get my name out there so maybe I'll be able to sell one of these guys along the way.

Princess didn't like her date so much with Mr. Legend. So, it's a wait till spring thing. The plan now is to breed her and her mommy in May. Holly should have a new baby by then (hope for a girl!) and Princess will be a little more mature. And if Mommy says it's okay maybe she'll think it's okay. That's the idea anyway. Holly is going to be bred to Dynamite, also owned by Mada Vemi Alpacas. He's a rose grey and Holly is brown so I'm hoping to get a beautiful baby there as well.

I have been busy with projects lately though I did take a 3 week break to spend major amounts of down time with my kids over Christmas and New Year. I finished a crochet poncho with my natural brown/black blend alpaca yarn. It's got a lovely cowl neck and side slits for the arms, very classy. The picture doesn't do it justice. The other thing I've been doing, not related to alpacas, is learning to quilt. I finished a small Christmas quilt just before the holidays and then this past weekend, put together a table runner and matching napkins for my friend Michelle. It's cute, the white fabric has kitties in Santa hats all over it. She loved it, needless to say.

I have even managed to do some spinning. I had some lovely roving that I bought at the 2007 VAOBA show and I finally pulled it out to spin. It's turning out quite nice. Now I just have to figure out how to put the plying attachment on my wheel so I can ply it when I'm all done. That and the two bobbins that I already have full of some grey I was working with need to be plyed so I can use the bobbins!

VAOBA just offered another one of their wonderful seminars the weekend of the 17th. It was held in Petersburg at Virginia State University at their Randolph Farm. They have been doing some work with alpacas and the effects of worming and feed on fiber. It was pretty interesting stuff. Learned a lot and, as always, met some more wonderful people. Got to catch up with some I haven't seen in a while as well. Carolyn and Jackie were there as well as Anita from 3 Hawk Alpacas. Dawn and Sue too with some ladies that are just getting interested, Gaynell and Diane. It was informational, food was good and it was nice seeing everyone again.

I'll try to post more regularly if only because I like to write, regardless of if anyone is reading!

How things change!

Mark Anthony glued to mom Holly. Isn't that the sweetest face?

Wow, how things change in two months! First, our pacas have moved to Virginia. The wonderful farm they were staying at sold their entire herd and we had to find them a new home. So they are frolicing with the Alpacas of Nottingham Hollow now. I'm not sure Mark is so thrilled by the idea since he's been weaned from Mom and put in a separate pasture, but I think he'll be okay. Mom is pregnant and due in April and she needs to keep everything she's getting for the baby. Princess isn't quite sure what to make of it either but she's got a couple of maidens her age there and they share a pasture. She doesn't know yet that she's got a date this month with a hunk named Amerikhan Legend. She's been very interested in the boys lately so hopefully everything will go well and we'll have a new baby next year at this time from her. With their combined fleece characteristics we should have a beauty!

Sadly the chickens had to find a new home. We had to change our homeowners insurance and the new company wasn't real thrilled to find "farm animals" on the property when they came out to do the assessment. So, in order to keep from having our insurance cancelled the chickens had to go. They went to live at the former Charmed Alpacas. They don't have alpacas any more but they still have chickens. Which means I now have to add eggs back to my grocery list. But I don't have any more poop in my back yard so I guess it's an even trade off.

The VAOBA show in October was fabulous. I assisted in the fleece show again this year and learned even more about fiber. I got to listen to David Barboza judging the fleece and couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable and educational experiance. The VAOBA store setup this year was amazing as well even though I didn't sell anything. And Princess didn't win anything in the spin off either though I did get some great comments about her fiber. I wish I had a better 2 oz. to send in but her prime is so matted I'm not even going to be able to use it I don't think. I am carding her seconds and will use it for either needle felting or wet felting. It's like working with cotton candy though because it's so fine.
I bought some yarn at the show as well but I haven't found a project for them yet. I'd love to do a vest but since I'm only slightly above beginner when it comes to crochet and knitting and I haven't made friends yet I'm not sure I'm going to be able to pull it off. I'll keep working though!

Other than that, it's getting to be winter in Virginia and it's cold so I'm not inclined to be outside that much which is perfect for working on all those projects that have piled up!

Well, it's been a while since I posted, I apologize. It's been a busy month. Not for fiber though, haven't actually got to do too much with my fiber. It's been busy with my real job, the one that pays me right now. I did get the opportunity to help out with herd health at Charmed Alpacas this month. I learned how to administer the shot for de-worming and did almost all of them. That was quite an experience. The pacas are getting their fleece back and looking rather lovely this time of year. Our Mark Anthony is getting to be a rather good looking boy. I need to get him on the show circuit. He could be our ribbon winning future herdsire! I don't have a recent picture of him to show off, need to get one I suppose. I'll add that to my list.
On a totally different note, the chickens have begun laying! We're getting 2-3 eggs daily. They are small and brown but just as edible! We scrambled up a dozen this past weekend and made the kids breakfast. They were very excited to be eating eggs from their chickens. I guess that means I can knock eggs off my grocery list from now on. Yeah!
That's the quick and easy, I'll post again shortly when I get some pictures. Till then, Paca Power!