Lunch with the Alpacas

I had to run out to the barn for Jr's (Libra) noon feeding of gruel and took my camera to show you that the little guy is still with us. Tonight is weigh in and I'm hoping that he will hit 30 pounds. He's layered up here with a turtle neck underneath his coat. The taller white guy standing behind him is Astra (Snickers) who was born 3 days before Jr. Astra is about 4 times larger. I had a little naming help with Astra. Marianne was the winner of my naming contest.

More Finished Fiber

Look what Michele from Jersey City, NJ just finished.....a lovely black/brown scarf that will be gifted to a friend. I know it doesn't show up great for you but black is incredibly hard to photograph, I think. I have problems photographing red also.

The fleeces were from Sonata ↑, black Chinella, and black Berringer. Go here to read Michele's blog where she mentions the fiber in a couple of posts.

Fleece to Socks

You know how I love to see "stuff" made from my alpacas. At the beginning of the month, Jeanne from Eugene, Oregon bought the yarn for these socks.

They are for sale in her Etsy store (go here: ohthisnose ) but I asked her if I could buy them if they haven't sold in a week. She has a lovely store of her fiber art....beautiful quilts in all sizes, handmade shopping bags, and MORE SOCKS. I think that she should ask more dollars for the socks (well, after I buy some ☺).

The fiber originally came from Lady Belita, seen here with her cria, Celeste. We love Belita but she is rather grumpy. Her ears are usually back just like this picture. Don't get me wrong, she isn't mean and doesn't spit or anything like that. She's just a little insecure and would rather be left alone.

Back to the yarn......I had Belita's fleece blended with Merino and spun into 250 yard skeins up at Stonehedge. They do a great job. In fact, I have 10 pounds of gray alpaca and merino up there right now.

Back to the yarn.....I dyed a couple of skeins in my crock pot using Jacquard dyes. This was my last skein of this blend. So now, tah, dah, Socks!

Cancer

Jen from Pennsylvania ordered this hat to be sent to a different address than her own. Come to find out it was to go to her sister-in-law's hospital room.
Her sister-in-law, Maria, is receiving chemo and will no doubt be losing her hair, and Jen wanted her to have something besides the tradition chemo scarf.
Jen says, "She's the best"

I hate cancer! It's a horrid, sneaky disease. Smitty was setting fence posts 2 months before he died.

I hope that you all will send good energy, or prayers, or whatever you believe in out to Maria and all the others who have had their world shaken by this horrible illness.

I Dyed Yesterday

Sharon gave me over a pound of adult, white, alpaca roving quite some time ago thinking that I might like to dye it up. Look at it! Isn't that yummy! As alpacas age their fiber tends to become less fine so when you see something listed as "adult" alpaca, keep that in mind so that you are not disappointed in the softness. I used my crock pot to dye 5 different dye lots.

I got one batch of two 2 ounce bumps listed in my Etsy store. See here

I say 2 ounces but I alway weigh at least 1/10th over, usually 2/10ths.

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And what's a post without a picture of an alpaca? This is Chinella ( 1 year, 4 months old) who is joint owned by Beth and me. Lucky for me, Beth doesn't spin so I can't wait till May to get my hands in this lovely black, black fiber.

Jr's New Duds

It was warm here yesterday and I wanted to wash Jr's (Libra's) coat, so after cutting part of the sleeves off an old turtle neck, I slipped it on him. I cut a couple slits for his back legs and gathered the extra up in a little pony tail and fastened it with a rubber band. He's styling, isn't he? It is supposed to be cold again tonight (about zero), so I slipped his regular coat over his T neck for the layered look. By the way, he is up to 28.3 pounds tonight. EEEHAW!
I guess that I'm going to have to put a halter on him soon if I continue weighing him weekly because he's getting pretty heavy for me to pick up. He's a good little boy though and doesn't squirm.
That mess on the back of his neck is hay. Because he's so small, the rest of the alpacas eat above him and lots falls down and sticks in his fiber. I'm definitely not saving that baby alpaca fiber at shear time.
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I dyed a little over a pound of alpaca today - 5 different dyelots to go in to my Etsy store.

New? Sweatshirt

For Christmas daughter Terre gave me a gift card to Macys. Knowing full well that I won't be going to the city for a long time, I found this hooded sweatshirt on line and ordered it. Can't have too many hooded sweatshirts for the barn, you know. I thought the kids would be proud of me because it's a Ralph Lauren and not another shirt from Tractor Supply. Polo is a big deal name brand, I think. I really love it!

This morning I pulled it on over my turtleneck to head out for chores. I liked that the cuffs were long and turned them up. Well, damn, the cuffs are all worn with holes. Thinking I could pull the mailing envelope out of the trash and send it back, I noticed that the holes are all in threes and evenly spaced around the cuff. Oh, my gosh, this must be the worn look...... Duh! Yep, I'm definitely an old timer .