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!

We've got chickens!

Well the day has finally arrived. We have chickens in the back yard. Four barred rock juveniles. Here they are hiding under the house my husband so painstakingly built. The kids are very excited. Until they realize they have to clean up after them. They had fun going to get them too, the lady we bought them from had just about everything under the sun with wings and pot bellied pigs on top of it. She had two litters of pigs less than a week old.

On a totally separate note I thought I'd try to needle felt a hat out of raw Llama fiber today. Not sure how it's going yet but I don't think I like working with the forms I currently have. That and I'm not sure I'm doing it right, it seems to stretch out and instead of a small hat I end up with a large. Trial and error. That's why I'm using the llama and not my lovely alpaca. I don't want to waste it on experiments. I'll work out the kinks with the llama and then make a final product with the alpaca.

Also, I was invited to join an alpaca forum, alpcasocial.com, where the members can chat live, ask questions, exchange info and generally benefit from a wide variety of knowledge. It's a great initiative and whoever thought of it deserves a big pat on the back.

I'm heading up to Nottingham Hollow Alpacas tomorrow to skirt some prime blankets for show, one more thing on my to do list will be knocked off!

Fiber, lovely fiber

So today I spent all day outside in 90+ degree weather with a Ryobi sander and a bag full of alpaca fiber doing some wet felting. I'm a sucker for punishment I guess. I've got all of this beautiful fiber from a studly alpaca named Suede (Charmed Alpacas) and this crazy notion that I can felt it thin and light enough to line with some silk and make a wearable item of some sort with it. I'll let you know how it goes. Right now I have three flat pieces of felted fiber and enough fiber to make one more piece. But that will have to wait till tomorrow because I didn't drink enough water today and I've got an enormous headache. But the pieces are lovely and I can't wait to see what I come up with!

Meanwhile, I ordered a digital postal scale so I can weigh my fiber (for various reasons) and I thought I'd weigh the chunky "novelty" yarn I created with my first attempts at spinning.

This is what it looks like:

Not the prettiest yarn in the world, but I'm sure

I'll find something to do with it. And I'm getting

better with the wheel so I should have some nice

alpaca yarn before long that I can crochet with.

At least that's the hope.

Oh, and the chicken coop is almost finished, take a look below. Not too shabby huh?

My hubby is pretty handy after all! And he worked on that after he went over to the farm and helped out with monthly herd health day. With the heat right now that has to start at 7 am so he's been up and at 'em since early this morning. All in preparation for when we actually get a farm! So that's the latest installment in our alpaca adventure. Till next time!

Chickens too!

Okay, so the latest project for my husband has been to build a chicken coop. Most of the alpaca farmers we know have chickens and/or ducks as well. They help keep the bugs down and the eggs and sometimes meat are a great benefit. We've been assured they are easy to care for so off he goes to buy and read books, look at coop plans and different types of chickens and dive in with both feet. Never mind that we don't have an actual farm yet and we'll have to keep the chickens in our back yard in our subdivision! So, he's building the coop and educating our children on chickens. He figures they've got the alpaca stuff down pat now so it's time to move on to the next animal. By the time we get a physical farm our kids should be great farmhands! I don't have pictures of the coop yet, but rest assured I will post as soon as I do!

On a totally seperate note, I'm trying to find accessories for my spinning wheel. I've watched enough you tube videos to make me crazy and I've been practicing my spinning for a while now. The problem is that my wheel doesn't have a jumbo flyer or bobbins for plying. And it's a Hitchhiker wheel made by The Merlin Tree in Vermont. The guy there doesn't mass produce those items and doesn't check his email that often so I'm left in the cold right now. I need extra bobbins and/or a jumbo flyer and bobbin. It's frustrating to say the least. So, the hunt continues and hopefully I can get him to answer his phone! Till next time.

This is Charmed Princess Curiosity, our first alpaca. Isn't she beautiful? She's just over a year old and quite the sweetheart. Right now she boards on the farm we bought her from until we can find our own place.

You're going to do what?

That's the typical response we get when we tell people we want to be alpaca farmers. It's not what you would usually hear when you ask a couple with four kids what they're going to be when they grow up (the parents, not the kids). It's not what we though either until a couple of years ago. It's all my husbands fault. He was bored and surfing the internet one day and came across a picture of alpacas. Next thing you know we're reading up on them, visiting farms in the area and volunteering to help out at one of the local farms. Sooo, a couple of alpaca purchases later and we're on our way. No physical location yet, barely a virtual presence and a whole lot of unanswered questions. Lots of lovely fiber for me to play with and lots of hard work for the hubby. It's just the beginning! I hope to use this blog to chronicle our journey into the world of alpaca farming, expose some people to what can be done with the fiber and generally try to make sense of this decision we've made! Wish me luck!