Shearing Day and Socks...

Such a long time since I last blogged!
I have been knitting these socks in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Yarn in the purple iris colourway. They are a combination of components of socks in "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch. I have been using the wonderful stitchkeepers which I got from The Loopy Ewe - thanks to Sheri for matching the colour of my stitchkeepers with the sock yarn!! Nice touch!!
Shearing day at Alleena Alpaca Stud was VERY busy and thoroughly enjoyable. I managed to go home with bags more fleece - I only brought home really lovely quality fleece to play with -bad alpaca fleece is pretty nasty stuff to mess with, in my opinion. The shorn alpacas look funny with their fluffy heads, especially the babies.

Loopy Ewe Order Arrived!

My extravangant order from The Loopy Ewe came - lovingly undone and rummaged through by Customs, with pamphlets from Australian Quarantine and all squished up again with sticky tape - THANKS CUSTOMS!!

I ordered some patterns (with bonus pressies and samples from Sheri at the Loopy Ewe, as she does with all customers!)...

Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Sage - I LOVE this colour...
Indian Summer Supersock Yarn by Cherry Tree Hill, Louet Gems in scrummy Cranberry...
Blue Faced Leicester Fingering Weight Yarn by Gypsy Knits in Lavendar Blue pictured with laceweight 100% silk Schaefer Yarn Andrea in Dian Fossey colourway...
WPI Tool from Nancy's Knit Knacks - I already have one of these but wanted a couple dotted around the house near my various wheels as I use them all the time. If you are a spinner, these are great and come with a handy little yarn classification chart (You could make you own, of course...)
And stitckeepers for my sock dpn needles - these are great little doovers - much more effective than the little rubbery thingies I have been using previously, and safer for little kiddies who like to delve into knitting bags, as they cover the points.

Great service from The Loopy Ewe, and I will be returning soon (Naughty!). Postage was only US$13.00 to Australia, which is very good compared to other stores!

Lots of intellecual and writing pursuits happening as well - attended a Jane Austen Society Conference (yes, there is such a thing - it was great!) and have a NSW Writer's Centre workshop coming up soon. It is good to stretch the brain muscles.

Tonight - my son's first performance as a drummer. Proud moment...

The Computer Has Died...

...so I'll be back as soon as that nasty piece of technological incompetence is fixed. (Sigh...)

Handspun BFL - The New Love of My Life

Oh, how I loved spinning this BFL yarn! The long fibres just glided through my hands. It was effortless to spin, and is a soft delight to squish. This is my "Freedom Cry" colourway, spun 2 ply in sport weight. There is still some more left to ply, when my little one isn't so demanding due to this nasty flu THAT WON'T GO AWAY. I have had a little preschool-sized body attached to my legs for a fortnight!

Ooh! Aah!

I have succumbed. I placed a SOMEWHAT TOO LARGE order with Sheri at The Loopy Ewe for some patterns and scrumdidly yarn. Sheri has very politely been answering my 101 emailed questions, and has a nice range of yarns and other items. US$16 flat postage fee to Australia, and she offers some nice perks for returning customers. Certainly worth a lookie-see.

WILL YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THIS SILK YARN!!! I love it. Love silk. Love sheen. Love yarn. Looking forward to some yarn therapy in the near future.

Alpacas on the Farm...

About a year ago, just as we were selling our small farm, I won a lovely female alpaca in a raffle, of all things! No, not a frozen chook, or a meat tray, but a live alpaca!! Since then, that special alpaca had a female babe, and we have them on agistment. It was a nice way to ease out of the farm (although I still would like another farm in the future!), and was obviously meant to be, as I have been interested in alpacas since they started being imported into Australia when I was a teenager.

I've been working one day a week helping my friend Jeanne at Alleena Alpaca Stud on her stunning 40 acre property in the Hawkesbury area. When Jeanne isn't looking, I pretend that it is MY FARM!! It is great to still get a chance to stomp around in boots doing the various farm jobs that need doing, especially at this time of year when the days are sunny and cool. Jeanne is one of those friends who I've just "clicked" with, and I really enjoy spending time with her. She's very knowledgeable about alpacas, so if you are looking at putting a couple of animals on your property, or even to agist if you don't have enough land, I'm sure she can help you with some great advice. Alpacas chase away foxes, so that in itself is enough reason to love them if you have sheep, goats or chooks.

And shearing time is in the not too distant future... Yay! Whoo! I'm sure I'll be there rummaging around for fleeces like a maniac!

Alpacas - up to the eyeballs...

A lovely friend has just given me mountains of alpaca fleeces, some of which are short but extremely soft cria fleeces. I had to refuse bags of the stuff, but my garage is still packed to the ceiling. There will be LOTS of carding and spinning of those fleeces soon. At the moment I am still getting through the alpaca fleeces I am spinning for a customer. I'm surrounded by mountains of alpaca fibre!!

I had a quiet day spinning today - one ear always listening out for my son who is very sick with this nasty flu that is going around. Although it is horrible when the kids are sick, it is somewhat peaceful when they are sick enough to actually SLEEP. I felt like a mother from days of old... attending to the very basics of life.