Alpaca Update

It's been a while since the alpacas have been featured, so here are some "candids" from this afternoon. Hanging out: Greta, Moonstar, Tenny and Leven. Leven is now 5.5 months old.  

Leven often has one stray piece of hay hanging from his mouth! Looks like a country lad from days gone.  

Getting ready for show season with a nice pose: I am the best. Please look no further... (Ahem... Don't get ahead of yourself there, big guy!)

   

Cassidy is a Momma's girl, always hiding behind Bella. And acting like a bully already too. More food please, or else.

   

Cassidy is really growing up. She is just over 7 months old and looking very big. 

Cassidy gives great kisses and is always curious and comes right up to investigate. She often has her neck hanging way outside of the fencing sniffing something or someone on the other side!  

Dark Star is still looking regal. Loves a good roll in the hay. And dust baths. In spite of the fact that we nearly eliminated dust in his pen. He finds a way to roll in some no matter what.  

Another "ready to show" shot. I don't think there is much hope for his fiber though. We will probably have to shave him before the show.

   

 This scene greeted me when I opened the nesting box this afternoon. Our chickens are busily laying eggs at the rate of 1-2 a day. Heinrich's (the brown one) are HUGE - between 75-80 grams per egg!! Athena's are small and such a pretty color, slightly pink and creamy. Both are delicious! Which reminds me: it's time for dinner!

 

A Few Lucys

A few months ago, a new friend of mine and I got together for a knitting lesson. She picked up the skill like a natural! We also spent time nosing around ravelry, trying to get her signed up and then searching for patterns. The Lucy Hat popped up and we both kind of melted. She loves accessories like hats and scarves. She was planning on knitting it sometime in the future. I ran to the yarn store the very next day!

I decided that she needed to have the resulting hat. (Her first project was moving along slower than she anticipated.) I finished it a few hours before we had a planned get-together in early January. It just started snowing again right as I finished it, so I popped outside to get a few pictures. (Ravelry notes here.)

(I'm still waiting for her to get me some pictures of her wearing it, so many apologies for my modeling.)

She loved it! And was thrilled that someone outside of her family had made her a hand-made gift! Win! Win! She wore the lovely hat all evening. As I looked at her the entire time, I really wanted a Lucy Hat too. So when I got home, I weighed the remaining yarn and determined that I could make my own, provided I knit a wider brim.

Ravelry notes on the second hat are found here.

Switching the upturned brim from side to side according to the whim of the day.

Today was a beautiful day. It was spinning day at Hoosier Heartland Alpacas. Last month I visited them for the monthly spinning group meeting and had the best time crafting in the alpaca barn with a lot of other spinners and knitters. However, since the weather was amazing and The Farmer is off traveling, I had to stay home and scoop poop instead...

But last month, I got to meet everyone. This is Lucy, the dog. She was helping me knit the Lucy hat in between being petted.

Here are some of their amazing female alpacas enjoying their hay.

And a beautiful male. The set-up at the farm was just perfect! So inspiring to see. Can't wait to go visit again - hopefully next month.

Here's to these, and all the rest of the Lucy's in my life! ;-)

Wee Hearts

Joining Ginny's Yarn Along today to share the small heart pattern that has captivated me this week. I haven't made my own Valentines since I was a child, but this year may be my revival year. The pattern is Little Hearts and is available as a free download on Ravelry. My reading book this week is "The Elegance of the Hedgehog." I have to confess that I was attracted to the title as a lover of hedgehogs. We'll see if any appear...

Fresh Eggs!

ta-DA! We did not expect any eggs until March, but Heinrich has been laying for the last four days. Two eggs were cracked and leaking, but the others are waiting to be eaten at breakfast tomorrow!

Yum!

New Friends

We welcomed two chickens to the farm the day before Thanksgiving, Heinrich and Athena. (No, don't let the names fool you, no rooster in the mix. This is what happens when the Farmer and the nephews put their heads together - unforgetable!)

They are about 6 months old and could possibly start laying eggs any day, but there is probably not enough daylight right now. We will patiently wait until Spring! In the mean time, they have been good company while working in the garden... before the snow hit.

We have not given them too much free range yet. They seemed to enjoy their freedom a little too much. We had to chase Athena out of the woods at the end of this session. Their little urban coop placed over pill bug-infested garden beds seems to be keeping them happy right now.

Have a scratchy day...bok-bok-bok!

Of Yokes and Yolks

The final sweater gift goes to Nephew #2, AKA The Godson, AKA "crafty cousin." Unfortunately, for the second year in a row, I have finished his sweater late, but I think he will still be OK with the product, even though it is missing the requested lightening bolts down the front! The yarn is Dream in Color Classy in colorway Malibu Sail. Dream in Color is a hand-painted superwash merino wool: love the hand-painted attributes, do not trust superwash wool. The quality of the yarn feels a little hard and a lot inflexible, and possibly a little thinner than a true worsted weight. I had difficulty getting gauge, which was a problem with this Elizabeth Zimmerman "count your own stitches" Norwegian yoke sweater pattern, found in her "Knitting Workshop" book. The last sweater I made with this yarn turned out a bit small, so I was nervous.

A half-finished sweater try-on at Christmas revealed that the sweater will fit fine, but I probably should have picked something with different shoulder shaping. Nephew #2 is built like a power lifter, and I had to re-knit some of the top accordingly. I almost wish that I had added a design in the yoke, but plain looks great also. Lightening bolts would have taken me a long time to design!

In fact, the yoke reminded me of this Mt. Ranier photo that I took summer of 2011 flying into Seattle!

Now off to block this beauty and get it in the mail.

Darkstar looks on from the snowy alpaca barn, wishing everyone a Happy New Year! And finally, a little preview of some introductions that I need to make tomorrow...

Here's to 2013! Be-GAWK!

Sunday Sweaters for Sisters

Sharing this again at Ginny's Yarn Along on 1/9/13, since this was her pattern. Great stuff! Check out what everyone else is knitting too. Ahhh, the holidays! I always look forward to those few special gifts that will be a total surprise, a treat, fit perfectly, and delight the new owners. Such was the case of the two Sunday Sweaters!

Niece #1 had not gotten a sweater since 2006, a year and a garment that she has little to no recollection of.

She was thrilled to open her gift bag and find this sweater, made with Plymouth Encore yarn in colorway "rosebud" in size 6-7. Pink is her favorite, and she requested the color last summer when I measured her. The sweater fit perfectly, which I had been worried about. Several pictures of her that I got this Fall made her seem like she had grown up a lot. She should be able to enjoy this sweater for the rest of the cold season.

Niece #2 was a newborn when she received her first matching sister sweater and booties in 2006, so she definitely did not remember her first knit gifts. She put her new sweater on in record time.

This second sweater is made with Plymouth Encore yarn in colorway "mauvetone," size 4. Elephant buttons are always a hit with the younger crowd and purple is this young lady's favorite color.

Niece #1 stated that she would rather wear her new sweater than the fashionable jacket she cast off. Her mom agreed that she didn't blame her and would do the same if she had a hand-knit sweater. Both girls kept their sweaters on for a good long time until the room was truly too hot for second layers.

Oh the fun of cozy matching woolies! One more sweater reveal. Stay tuned!