Sunday, October 11, 2020

Ramble On Rose

Back in early August, The Farmer decided to add one more alpaca to the herd. We really needed a friend for Dark Star, and it would be nice to possibly have another option for breeding. We headed to a farm about an hour from us, where the owners had several boys for sale. 


Introducing: Ramble On Rose! He was the most handsome alpaca, and his name was already Ramble On. Adding a "Rose" sealed the deal to keep the farm names aligned with Grateful Dead song titles.

In true Shady Grove Alpaca fashion, the ride home in the rental cargo van was hilarious. This alpaca was all about the selfies and humming non-stop. Downtime from photography sessions was spent peeing a half dozen times in the back of the van. Nothing a quick hosing down couldn't fix upon arrival.

Ramble is very well-tempered, leash trained, and easy to work with. He is also super friendly when he gets a visitor in the barn.

At home with the new siblings! The boys immediately started a vigorous neck wrestling contest. The life in the barn has completely changed. Ramble is very vocal and loves to hum and announce whatever is going on. So cute! 


 Personally, I can't wait for the spring shearing and adding another color to the Shady Grove color palette. Happy knitting!


Saturday, October 10, 2020

Yarn Along - Slouch Potato

It's been a while. Turns out teaching school is hard this year, and it takes considerably more time than in the past. But teaching is going well, in spite of being at a new school and dealing with all the pandemic restrictions and accommodations. And I did take some time away to knit a hat recently!

I adore the knitting patterns of Anne Hanson. She has a weekly weekend pattern deal, and two weeks ago her Slouch Potato hat really spoke to me. It calls for DK yarn, which I have a lot of in our Shady Grove Alpaca farm stash.

My size 3 needle is made of brass. The oils on my hands must interact with the brass, because the patterned part on bottom turned light blue. It's only slightly visible in the photo above. Fortunately, most of it washed out.

Pattern: Slouch Potato by Anne Hanson

Yarn: Shady Grove Alpacas Suri DK in Moonstar, Size 3 & 6 needles

Started: September 27, 2020

Finished: October 3, 2020


Of course I needed to pose with the lovely lady who supplied the fiber. Moonstar is pretty skittish, so there was a long haul of walking around the pen making ineffective noises to get her attention! 



In this final picture, you will notice a new alpaca in the background. I hope to finally blog about him tomorrow.

As for books, I managed to read two books by Fredrik Backman: My Grandmother Asked me to Tell You Sorry and A Man Named Ove. Both feature very quirky main characters, possibly on the autism spectrum, who have hearts of gold. They were lovely to relax to. 

Check out the other Yarn Along projects and reading lists on Ginny's page. Till soon!