It's been a very busy spring and summer. Our gardening has been taking up a lot of our time! We have six gardens right now. I'm very anxious to start getting tomatoes. We have 64 tomato plants, sweet corn, lots of onions, peas, and green beans that we will be canning soon and lots more. The heat has almost been unbearable! With all the rain we've had this year, it's been hard keeping up with just mowing everywhere! I can't believe its already mid July. All our alpaca boys have just been basking in the sun a lot and taking lots of dirt baths! When I go out to the barn, they love it when I spray their legs and bellies with water from the hose. In the first week of June, we got them sheared. They act like they feel so much better to get that fiber off! I love to spray them down with the hose after they get sheared. We had to take more off their legs and tails this year than we normally do because of them getting into some cockle burrs in the pasture! I think it worked out good though because of it being so hot!
We just got back from attending Fiber "U" in Lebanon, MO., which left us very inspired! Fiber "U" is an event put on by the Midwest Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association. It's everything to do with all kinds of fiber. Especially alpaca fiber! My mother, daughter, and I went and took several classes. We had a lot of fun and everyone was so nice! My mother and I took beginning spinning, which I thought was pretty hard. You have to be very coordinated! I brought our own fiber to use. We had a very good and patient instructor. I also took classes in preparing fleeces for show and blending other fibers with alpaca.
Our daughter, Sarah, took a knitting class with my mother, as well as classes in dying fiber and needle felting, to see if she could learn anything new. Sarah now has her own Etsy shop, SarahsCozyCreations.etsy.com. She got lots of attention when people in her classes saw some of her creations. They loved everything she showed them and wanted to know how she made them! She is very creative. She is such a great fiber artist! She is still in the process of getting her creations posted in her shop. It's time consuming taking pictures of everything and fighting me because I love everything she's made and don't want her to sell it! Every piece is so unique and I love them all!
I have lots of practicing to do with my spinning. I am very excited about being able to spin our fiber into beautiful yarn. There is so much you can do with these animals! I feel very blessed to have them.
Next we plan to attend the Sheep & Wool Festival in Bethel, MO on September 3-4. There will be lots to see and learn there. We hope to find some English Angora rabbits to incorporate into our farm. Then, we have been asked to be a part of "Picnic on the prairie", at Lakeside Nature Center, in Kansas City on September 11th. There, we will have our fiber and some of Sarah's creations on display.
In the meantime, our alpaca boys are very lonely and are needing some girlfriends! So, if you're an alpaca owner and need any breeding's, take a look at our boys on "Our Herd" page and consider one of ours. They are all strong, straight and beautiful and all have different characteristics in their fiber.
