Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Dyeing Frenzy

This is Celeste in full fleece. Can you see how lovely her light fawn fiber is? Last spring she sheared over 7 pounds of 4 inch long fleece.

Celeste was the first alpaca born on our farm four years ago so she's pretty special, a little goofy and I didn't think she would really grow up. She had a lovely cria in the spring of 2008 and is pregnant again by my own herd sire, Polaris. I worried about her being a good mom 'cause she is so silly but she has taken excellent care of her little girl, Lyra.
Her fiber is awesome! At the alpaca shows, we have what is called a SPIN OFF where breeders send in 2 ounces of fiber to be spun by a judge. Celeste won, not only the best in her class, but also best over all at the show. It's long and not overly crimpy which makes it lovely to spin.

So this is what I have been doing↑ Dyeing like a mad woman! The teal and pink/blue are from Celeste's seconds. There is probably about 5 pounds of fiber here.
I think I know why I'm being rather compulsive about this. I can control it and am getting amazing results. The other part of my life has been chaotic.
Some of you may not know that my 89 year old mom came to live with me at the end of August. She was here a week and fell and has been in Rehab at the Alma hospital since. I have been really frightened about taking care of her because she was scheduled to come home today. Well, yesterday, with the help of the social worker at Rehab, we got her a room in a nursing home in St. Louis. I think Medicare will only cover her stay for 20 days, but I'm incredibly relieved that she is going to have a safe place with better skilled care than I can provide.

9 comments:

krex said...

Sorry about your mothers fall . I do home health care and it can be very challenging to assist someone with transfers and personal cares .

Love your new fiber colors and will be watching your shop but feel free to convo me when you start listing them .

Denise/starsaponthars

Barbara K said...

I'm very sorry to hear about this, you and your mom have been in my thoughts. I'm glad that you have found a place you are comfortable with.

AnneMarie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AnneMarie said...

Hi Maple - I was wondering how you and your mom were doing. Sorry about the fall. I will always be grateful that my sister was able to care for our mother in her last year. You have extra stars in your crown!

Pragya said...

Sorry about your mom too.

Cary ~ My Wool Mitten at Serenity Farms said...

I'm sorry about your mom Maple and understand completely what you mean about wanting some control in the midst of chaos ;)

Hugs to you, and the dyeing is gorgeous. Need a spinning day soon...love ya!

Feisty said...

I had my own adventure with my 89-yo mother-in-law this week so I can sympathize. Not easy, but it's so worth helping the people who have given us so much of themselves.

Kate (KnitsInClass) said...

Celeste is a beautiful alpaca! Her fleece dyed up beautifully -

Sorry to hear about your mom - you're both in my prayers.

Unknown said...

I love alpaca ...wow! Followed you over from fiber arts friday...

as to your mom, I have a similar situation with an elderly relative and its so tough. An impossible situation for someone you love

Map