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!

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!

Spin off here I come!

So I'm back from travel and prepping my prime alpaca fiber for entry into the VAOBA spin off in October. My alpaca, Princess, was a bit like velcro and as such I don't think I can really show her whole blanket. But I can get a good 2 oz. so I'm going to enter it into the spin off. I've posted a picture but it's not very good, white fiber and camera flashes don't mix well, at least in my inexperienced hands. For example you can't tell that she has fabulous crimp in this picture, but she does. And I just got her fiber test back, she has a mean diameter of 20 and a CV of 15. All of which means (I'm told) that she's got really nice fiber! Yeah!!

The other item I'm having issues with is a hat. I love the hat, love the color, even ended up liking the design. However, the size is super huge. I seem to have problems with my needle felting technique when it comes to hats. I called Catie Dutcher and she's helped me with some tips but it was too late for this hat. Now I"m trying to find a way to shrink this guy so it can be worn by a normal human and not a giant. I'm currently trying elastic around the bottom, under the band. Not sure if that's going to work though since it seems to make the top sort of mushroom. It has been suggested that I wash it in hot water but I'm afraid that's going to shrink it height wise as well as width wise and I don't want that. And I'm not sure what would happen with my band. That's my lovely "novelty yarn" from my spinning/plying attempts. I managed to crochet it into a hat band. Not bad, huh? Except too big. Such is the nature of experimentation.

On a totally separate note, I was reading the Georgia Mountain Fiber newsletter and noticed that they have a new partner, Amia Yarn Company, for marketing alpaca fiber and products. I haven't dealt with them yet but it's good to see the industry making some strides. Amia is hosting a contest to promote their grand opening. You can find out more by going here: http://knitwitchblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/contest-time-again.html

So, if you read that you know that I'm going to get entered at least once. And if I decide to send a picture of my hat, that's twice. I'm all about entering. I'd love some beautiful alpaca to crochet. Not much of a knitter, goes too slowly for me since I don't know all the stitches. But I'll learn someday. Maybe this winter while I'm freezing in Virginia. Who knows? At any rate, that's all for now, enjoy your pacas!

Back to the Spinning Wheel

I've been traveling for the past week and will be on the road again Wednesday but I thought I'd take a minute and post a new note. I'm hoping to be spinning here again in a few minutes and see if I can't finally get some usable yarn all plyed and ready to go. My Hitchhiker wheel is pictured to the left. It's made by The Merlin Tree and I have to call them next week to see when my jumbo flyer and bobbin are going to be mailed out. Not sure what I'll make yet, that's half the fun. I'm still trying to get all of my raw alpaca fiber carded so I can do something with it, whether it be spun, wet felted or needle felted. When I get back from my next trip I have to get some things together for submission to the VAOBA show in October. I'm submitting some prime fiber for the spin-off and maybe some items for the fiber arts. If nothing else I'm going to put some things in the store and see if I can't actually sell something! That would be nice.

The chickens have been released from their cage and allowed to wander the yard. They seem to have figured out where home is and haven't tried to run/fly away. They like it under the bushes we have because there's lots of yummy bugs there. The husband has been cutting back some of our wild blackberry vines and the lower limbs on the bushes so they can get in under them for shade and munchies. The bugs are going to figure out pretty quickly that it's not safe for them any more! That's all for now, the spinning wheel is calling!