Sure Signs of Spring

Crocuses are popping up all over the property, both in flower beds and in the "wild."




A late Valentine's Day gift report: How awesome is this pin of a Suri alpaca?!


Speaking of Suri alpacas, the animals on the farm are starting to show their fiber in longer dreadlocks. Click picture to make larger.


Of course, we can't have Spring without a nearly finished mitten... While danger of frost continues through May 17 in these parts, I am not hopeful that I will get a lot of use out of these until next season, especially since the second mitten still needs work as well. The pattern is "Woodruff" by Jared Flood, a very fun knit.



Happy Spring to All!

Finally... a Lace Shrug!!

I am pleased to FINALLY present a Lace Shrug in its completed form. We have had the worst winter weather the past few days and I am beginning to wonder if we will have school at all in February. I just got the call that there will be no school for the third day in a row tomorrow. So today I sat down and made myself finish the seaming and the end weaving. Here is the result!



Details:
Pattern: Lace Shrug by Kristin Sparkland (Shubuiknits)
Yarn: Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace
Needles: Size 4 and size 2 for cuffs
Colorway: Night
Size: Small/Medium
Started: March 27, 2010
Finished: February 2, 2011
Notes: If I were to make this pattern again, I would not knit double stranded. The shrug is a little thicker than I imagined it would be, giving it a sweater-ish quality. Single stranded would have been lighter and more sheer, which would make an interesting contrast to this version. It also took a lot longer to make than I expected. There were many points where I didn't work on it at all, but when I was knitting, it took much longer to make progress than I expected. I am humbled that even an easily memorized lace pattern demands attention from an experienced knitter. I might choose projects more carefully next time!

Close-up of cuff and sleeve:


I planned to wear this item to many events already, but I think it really WILL make its debut appearance on a recital this Sunday. Initially it was slated to cover up my arms at my sister-in-law's wedding on Memorial Day weekend. The shrug would have been ideal as a summer accessory in the freezing cold air-conditioned concert hall at the Viola d'amore Congress in June. Then, I wanted to perform in it in this Fall's Symphony concerts... And it would have been so nice to show off at the holidays, since my in-laws gave me the generous gift card that allowed for the purchase of the lovely yarn and pattern. Alas, now it is February and I am thrilled that I have an event to wear it. In spite of its relatively diminished size, the shrug is toasty warm and should keep any chill in the church off my arms.



Stay warm in your woolies!

Have Wheel, Will Travel

In anticipation of alpaca shearing season, I asked for a spinning wheel for Christmas. Several family members gave me generous sums of money. The day after I returned home, I headed out to Stitches 'n Scones and purchased a recommended model: the Ashford "Traveler," which features a double treadle. That means you can use both feet to make the wheel spin, thus decreasing the one-legged fatigue that a single treadle produces.

Who would have guessed that a spinning wheel arrives in a box?


Opening the box with awe at the packaging... and some trepidation:


Look at all those parts! There are 31 steps in the directions - GULP!


Midway, several parts are together, but not connected yet:


Finished, after about 4 hours of careful work! It could have been put together faster, but I re-read each instruction many times so I wouldn't have to re-do any steps... and I didn't want to scratch that beautiful Beechwood!


And here is the "traveling" part! This is how I can transport the wheel easily to spinning lessons and group meetings. I had a great lesson with Christina Wall last Saturday. I have gushed about her knitting designs in previous posts, and she is a wonderful spinning teacher as well. (Classiccableknits.com)


I can't wait to spin on my front porch all of next summer...

Welcome, New Woolies!

(Bella, left - 'Greta, right)

Time flies when you are having fun! We welcomed our third alpaca, Bella Oak, to the farm two weekends ago. Bella came with her friend Sassafrass (or Sassy, for short), who will keep Moonstar company.

(Sassafrass)

Moonstar and Sassafrass are still young and growing which means they eat higher protein hay. These animals don't like to be alone, even if they can see each other in the next pen. So the breeders allowed us to borrow Sassafrass.

(Moonstar, left - Sassy, right)

Unfortunately, there was some bad news: Bella is no longer pregnant. Her cria was reabsorbed some time in December. The breeders did bring the ultrasound machine so we could see 'Greta's cria developing nicely. If things progress as planned, the new cria will be born mid-August.


After a few days of getting used to each other and the new environment, the alpacas and the dog have settled in to their new routine.

(Tenny)

The routine consists mostly of eating hay all day!

CHOMP!

Christmas Pre-Reveal

I am tired of seeing bags and bags of Christmas wrapping paper go into the trash on Christmas morning, and so I decided to begin taking action.

Presenting, recyclable and reversible gift bags!

These three presents are headed to the Missouri niece and nephews:


Close-ups of the nephew's bags:
Bag A


Bag B


The view inside of the bags:


And the bags in reverse: perfect for upcoming birthdays!


Close-ups of the bags in reverse:
Bag A


Bag B


I also experimented with reversible wrapping paper, this gift for my niece:




As Christmas drew close and time ran out, I just used the two gingerbread cloths like regular wrapping paper. I did manage a third bag.




Will these few gift bags reduce the paper at this Christmas? Not by much, but I hope that throughout the next few years we will have more recycle bags and less waste.

Now that I have pre-revealed the gift wrap, I must confess that I did not knit a single gift item for Christmas... I think that the scarves below will become late presents for some friends who still need a token of appreciation. I am hoping for a more inspired knitting year this coming 2011.

Until then, enjoy the 12 days of Christmas!

More Neck Warming

I do love this Cabled Keyhole Scarf Pattern! Newly matched with souvenir yarn from last summer's trip to Maryland, this is yet another soft and beautiful combination. The yarn comes from a Huacaya alpaca named Smokey, introduced in this blog in July. He lives on the Bluebell Alpaca Farm in Grantsville, MD. You can find more info here: http://www.bluebellfarmalpacas.com/



Details:
Pattern: Cabled Keyhole Scarf by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Alpaca from Smokey, Bluebell Alpaca Farm, MD
Needles: Size 7
Colorway: Gray
Size: The larger one
Started: December 22, 2010
Finished: December 24, 2010
This is a great knit project for a road trip!



Merry Christmas to All!

Love for the Neck

I ran across this lovely pattern at the Knitspot.com, shortly before Thanksgiving and couldn't wait until she published the pattern. She promised is for after the weekend of December 11th, but the joke was on me when I checked out her blog on Monday the 13th and found that she had already published it on Friday the 10th!! Sometimes restraint on the Internet is not worth it! I hurried to purchase, rooted around in the stash for perfect yarn, and cast on. It was a busy, hectic, ridiculous week, but I managed to finish it up by Friday the 17th.



Here are the details:
Pattern: Cabled Keyhole Scarf by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Schachmeyr Nomota "Alpaka Fashion"
Needles: Size 7
Colorway: Blue with a hint of green
Size: The larger one
Started: December 13, 2010
Finished: December 17, 2010



The yarn was purchased in Biberach, Germany, the day before I went to my first Viola d'amore Congress in Ochsenhausen at the monastery. Very special memory for me, and I am happy that I finally found the perfect project for it. I had two yards to spare when I was finished! I just need to block it still... Maybe after all the celebrating is over!