Salana's Alpaca Felted Purse

Selana's Crocheted/Felted Purse

In mid August Selana, from Dortmund, Germany, bought a skein of Lady Belita's yarn that I had dyed a burgundy color. I remember worrying about it running when washed and even mentioned in the listing that it might. When Selana sent me this picture, I asked her, and yes, it did run. After crocheting it, she started to hand felt it but finally got "fearless" and tossed it into the washing machine. Pretty cute, isn't it? The good thing is that she likes (as do I) the color. This was one of my first attempts at dyeing and I was using Landscape dyes which worked well, but I have switched to the Jacquard brand although I don't have a conscious reason.

The purse is listed in her Etsy shop if you want to take a look.

Selana is also a digital scrapbook designer and has a nifty Etsy shop for that. She designs all things digital like cards and scrapbooking stuff.

Jocelyn's Green Alpaca Hat

Jocelyn's Hat

Way back in March Jocelyn was living in Germany. She and her husband were there for about 6 years with a year's detour in Iraq. Germany is where I sent her first two or three yarn purchases. She's back in the States now - Alexandria, Virginia. About the end of August Jocelyn purchased this green yarn that I dyed from Pollux's white fiber. I remember feeling odd dyeing it because even though I love green, I avoid it. I don't even have green dyes and made this from yellow and blue.

I am so pleased that Jocelyn sent me this picture to show you. It's really nice, isn't it? Very unique. There is something very satisfying to see how my yarns end up. It's the mini version of seeing your kids graduate from college......

Teri's Apple Shawl

Remember way back in the middle of September when I posted the apples and the yarn that I dyed for the EtsyFAST monthly challenge? Teri of knitsbyteri bought the yarn and knitted this awesome shawl. Can you see the outlined apples on it? This is her own pattern. Teri started knitting at one hand tip and worked across the back neck edge, increasing across the bottom until the center back was reached and then she reversed the process. I didn't know that we could knit a shawl like this, but then I'm practically a beginner knitter. See her Etsy listing here. Teri was very kind in her listing and gave my shop lots of coverage.

Last weekend was our Michigan International Alpaca Fest at Birch Run, MI. This is a picture of friend, Beth, showing Polaris in his class. Because Polaris's (Lars) fleece wasn't a full 2 inches, he had to go into a "shorn" class. Strangely enough, all the dark fawns that were his age didn't make fleece length.
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We were disappointed because in a shorn class, the judge evaluates just the confirmation of the animal and not the fleece. Lars has really lovely, crimpy fleece. He did bring home a fourth place ribbon though.
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Beth also showed Orion (Slammy) who is Polaris's full brother - same mom and dad, just a year younger. His competition was way too keen - a class of 15 really nice brown guys.
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I am so lucky that Beth is not only an incredibly, awesome friend, but also willing to show our animals. I can do it but actually get physically ill in the show ring....heart racing, stomach upset, blurred vision. Of course, the animal can feel all my tension and gets upset also.

The alpaca shows have a competition called a Spin Off in which exhibitors submit 2 ounces of raw fiber along with a picture and information about the alpaca. A judge then evaluates the raw fleece for: First impression, Staple length, Cleanliness, Lack of second cuts, Lack of guard hair, Crimp, Staple architecture, Uniformity, Fineness, and Hand. Points are given for each category.
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Then the judge spins up some of it and evaluates on: Ease of preparation for spinning and Ease of Spinning.
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Finally the yarn itself is evaluated for Hand feel, softness of yarn & loft and Brightness. A total of 100 points can be earned.
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And the winners are....... light fawn, Celeste, on the left above got a blue ribbon with her 100 points. And brown, Sonata, on the right got a blue ribbon for 98 points.

This is the really big news....... Celeste's fiber got the highest score of all the Huacaya samples submitted. The ribbon with red is sort of like a Grand Champion. She scored 100 out of 100 points. EEEHAW! for Celeste.
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Celeste is our goofy girl who makes us laugh all the time. She will sneak up for a mint as soon as she hears the paper crinkle, grab it, and run off. Hopefully, she is pregnant and will have a spring cria.

EtsyFAST is the group that I belong to that promotes Etsy and Fiber Arts. FAST=FiberArtsStreetTeam. Frequently we create a challenge to inspire one another and to just have fun. No prizes or anything. The September Challenge was Apples. I knew that I wanted to do some dyeing for it. The two skeins of yarn above were my creation. I was so pleased and excited to get it into my shop that I didn't even do a final wash. Well, within an hour after posting it on Sunday morning, Teri, who has the Etsy shop knitsbyteri, purchased them. They are going into the mail shortly. Yea Apples! Yea Teri!

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If you care at all, this is the yarn that I had Stonehedge spin for me. Stonehedge Fiber Mill is a 139 year old working farm with a custom fiber processing mill that started up in 1999. It is a really fun place to visit in East Jordan, Michigan. Opps, I got off track there. I wanted to tell you about the yarn. It is a blend of white alpaca, Lady Belita, and a Merino sheep who I don't know. The Merino is giving the yarn more memory than it normally has. I have knit some hats from it and am right now doing a cabled scarf, and it's a joy to work with.