Fiber-y Goodness!

I'm currently finishing up the remainder of my Master's thesis, and have had a lot of down time...  Thus, a plethora of knitting has occurred!

First and fore-most I had to finish a pair of legwarmers for my sister...she felted the first pair in the washing machine.

Next on the list is a hat for my grandmother.  It's kinda funny that she picked out the "hip" snowboarding hat pattern, but I do love how it came out.  I had already planned to make one for my fiance, so his will be next.

I also started (and finished) knitting the big dog yarn project that I spun before Christmas.  I found a picture of the Three Sisters Mountains in Oregon, converted it to a faire-isle knitting pattern using graph paper, and then knit it up.  The gauge didn't quite come out right, but luckily it doesn't matter.  I absolutely love how it turned out, and can't wait to see it blocked.  I also need to find a custom picture frame/shadow box to display it.

And last but not least...a second pair of legwarmers for my sister!  I just started these a few days ago, and they are slow going, so they should last me at least until I go home at the end of January.  Then I have lots more fiber-y goodness planned for my little vacation at home...mostly prepping and making things to sell in my Etsy store.  If you have any suggestions on items that you would like to see in my store, just let me know!  I'll even give discounts for everyone who gives suggestions!

Winter Wonderland

Things have FINALLY calmed down (and I am once again in possession of a camera cord to download pics!), so here's a new post!

I have lots of new pictures, but I think for today I'll focus on the snow!  The day after Christmas we got about 8" of snow at home in Indiana, and of course the dogs had a blast playing in it.  We took several walks around the pond and pastures, letting the dogs run and play.  It's really nice having most of our property fenced...now the dogs can run in the areas where there aren't llamas.  Luckily no one decided to take a swim in the pond.

Our pond.

Kaya was almost too short to play in the snow.

Cerro (left) and Abby (right) had a blast!

And of course I had to take pictures of the llamas in the snow.  They weren't quite as amused as the dogs, but I did see Ralph and T eating snow off the fence on several occasions!

Ralph peeking out from behind Kara.  She's now bigger than he is!

The humidity gave T the most gorgeous curls!

A Ralph sandwich...Bluff's in the back and Kara's in front.

Another view of the Ralph sandwich.  See how big Kara is!

Strange looks from both Bluff and Kara, but look at those ears!

I've been knitting and spinning up a storm recently, but I'm not quite done with my favorite project, so I'll make a new post about that all when I'm done!

Etsy Updates!

Well life has been pretty boring, so there's really not much to write about!  I was very successful in updating the Etsy store this past week though, getting ready for our Thanksgiving sale.  So there are lots of new things in the shop that would make perfect Christmas presents!

There is tons of fiber and roving now in the shop!  I've listed all of our 2012 llama and alpaca fleeces, as well as the roving made from our 2011 fleeces.  I've also started a new fiber CSA program, where you can buy a 2013 fleece (as raw fleece, hand carded batts, or handspun yarn) and help support our fiber farm!

Ralph's (alpaca) 2012 fleece.  

Kara, one of the 2 remaining llama CSAs available.  This will be her first shearing, so this fleece will be magnificent!  It has already won 2nd place in a fleece-on class!

Our llama blend roving from 2011.  It is luscious to spin!

There is also lots of handspun yarn.  Many were 2012 Indiana State Fair class winners!  Every skein is 100% unique!

Handspun wool/silk/cotton yarn.

And for those who don't craft, we even have handwoven and hand knit items already made.  We have eco-friendly (recycled fabric) rugs, scarves, hats, fingerless mitts, ear bands, you name it!

A handspun handknit hat.

A matching set of wool ear band and fingerless mitts (sold separately).

Handwoven rug.

Handwoven scarf.

So if you're looking for Christmas presents, don't delay!  We will be taking orders until Dec. 17, so that you will get everything before Christmas.  If you don't see exactly what you're looking for, send me an email or convo me through Etsy and we can work out a custom order.

Thanksgiving Sale on Etsy!

In between class, working in the lab, and writing my thesis, I've updated most of my Etsy inventory (most have lower prices!) and added a bunch of new handspun yarn and woven rugs!

In honor of the holiday this week, we're having a Thanksgiving sale!  Use the coupon code FALL20 to get 20% off your purchase from our Etsy store!

And check back daily for the rest of the week for more updated pictures and new knit items!

Check out our store!  There's a gift for everyone!

Fiber Progress!

I've had quite a bit of time to knit recently, and have made good progress on Christmas presents!  I'm not sure I posted pictures of any of the earlier ones, so I'll start way back in August!

This is a beautiful purple (sorry, crappy camera!) lace cowl that I knit from Stonehenge Fiber Mill yarn.  Either sport or worsted weight, can't quite remember.  It sold very quickly at one of the fiber fairs I attended this fall.

Next is a bee shell for a stuffed turtle I made my future nephew.  His parents raise bees, so I just had to make the bee shell!  Christmas present #1!

One of my frequent "stash busting" projects.  A pair of finglerless mitts from some scrap wool/mohair yarn my mom bought to bind the edges of her hooked rug.  They also sold quickly at the Pioneer Fair.

This is the first of my selfish projects...an earband to finish off my trio of winter items for myself!  The yarn is handspun (by me!) merino wool that I got at the Michigan Sheep & Wool Fest last year.  I made fingerless mitts and a cowl last winter and the earband is the last piece!

Another gift...this time a belated birthday present for my fiance.  I had the slippers knit before his birthday, but I had to wait til he visited to felt them so they would fit!  Sewing on the soles took forever but they look awesome and he loves them!

Another selfish project...washable fingerless gloves for myself.  I decided I needed something for future winter barn work, and they've already come in handy at 2 fall llama shows!

Birthday present #2...socks for my sister.  Unfortunately she loves handknit socks, and I hate knitting them!  The yarn is 10% cashmere and absolutely fabulous though, so at least it is fun to knit with!  One sock is done and the other is about halfway there...

And Christmas #2 or birthday #3...slippers for my mom.  I couldn't find the yarn that the pattern called for but decided to hold 2 strands of the Brown Sheep wool/mohair worsted weight together (in place of a bulky weight), and it works great!  I hope they hold up...they aren't felted...

I've also started on a mohair caplet for myself to wear to a friend's winter wedding next month...currently that is my #1 project to finish.  The rest will probably have to wait til I'm done with school!

Speaking of, school is winding down for me, and that means that life is about to get really crazy.  So I'll be taking a month or so hiatus from the blog so I can focus!  I'll try to get a post or two in before Christmas though once I get back home.  And spring next year should be really exciting as I move to NY and work on bringing an old farm up to speed to house my llamas starting in the summer!

NAILE!!

What a great weekend at the North American International Livestock Expo (aka NAILE)!!  I took my two little "guys"...Ralph and Kara.  At just 6 months old Kara is already bigger than Ralph!  (She weighed 163 lbs on Sunday, at 6 months and 1 week old!)

Anyway, the show was a huge success.  I entered both of them in pretty much every class possible.  Friday night Kara had her fleece evaluated for walking fleece, and ended up placing 2nd in Single Coat fleece with crimp, under 24 months!

Kara's baby fleece...can't wait to shear her next spring!

Saturday was quite hectic, running back and forth between 3 show rings...alpaca, performance, and llama halter!  Ralph and I won the Adult Alpaca Showmanship class, and then he got 1st and GRAND CHAMPION in his halter class (non-breeder alpaca) too!  Kara didn't do so hot in halter Saturday, placing 7th out of 11 (I think) in Silky Juvenile Female.  For some reason my sweet little girl doesn't want anyone but me to touch her!  Both Ralph and Kara went through 2 performance classes- obstacle and public relations.  Ralph won both of the alpaca performance classes, and of course Kara didn't place in her respective Novice classes.  But she did pretty well!  Ralph also had his fleece judged for walking fleece, and also got a 2nd in his class- Dark over 24 months.

Ralph and I in Adult Alpaca Showmanship.

Sunday went much better for Kara!  I decided to try Adult Showmanship since she behaved so well Saturday in halter, and we placed 6th out of 10-11.  She did amazing in halter too, placing 3rd out of 8-9 in Medium Wool Juvenile Female!  The judge really liked her!  Ralph continued his winning streak, winning Open Alpaca Pack and essentially getting GRAND CHAMPION Open Alpaca Performance!

Kara and I in Adult Showmanship.

Oh, and my skein of alpaca/silk handspun yarn won the handspun yarn class too!

Overall, it was the perfect way to end the show season this year!  I can't wait to work with Kara some more and take her back into the ring next year!

I'll apologize now for the lack of posts in the coming weeks...school is getting crazy!

Mom and baby...Kara and Bluff were very happy to be reunited after the show!

I was glad I left T at home...Kara and Ralph are so much easier to groom!

Humming Hoosier Classic!

Finally some real news from the farm!  On Oct. 13 I attended the Humming Hoosier Classic llama show in Crawfordsville, IN.  It was a bit of a chilly day, but a fun show none the less.

I took Ralph, T, and Kara to the show.  It was Kara's first time away from home and Bluff, but she did great!

Ralph and Kara chilling out between classes.  Kara is now taller than Ralph at only 5.5 months old!

The first class of the day was Kara's halter class, and she got 2nd in her age division and 4th overall!

My beautiful little girl!

Look at those ears!

Next was T in halter and showmanship.  He won his halter class, and we got 4th in showmanship.  He didn't want to behave for some reason!

T finally standing pretty!

And last was Novice Pack.  The show went really slow, so we had to leave before we got to compete in Obstacle and Public Relations.  None of my animals placed, but they all did really well.  T was really squirrely again, but Ralph was really good and Kara did a lot of obstacles she had never seen before!  Not to mention it was the first time she had a pack on!

Ralph in Novice Pack, getting ready to put the bag of cans on his back.

Overall a great show!  Now there's just 2 more weeks til the last show of the year, the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, KY!  That show will be just Ralph and Kara.