Author: LDSVenus

Cabled Hat for Ev out of Their Alpaca Yarn

/ LDSVenus / 6 Comments

About a month ago Ev handed me a couple of skeins of his bulky alpaca yarn from Everest (one of their male alpacas – he has the softest fiber! This yarn is actually a bit lighter than what shows) and asked me if I could knit him a hat and I said of course, he’s such a sweetie how could I not! My son told him it didn’t have to be fancy it was just to stay warm during our very cold winters for feeding the alpaca but I disagree, if it’s a fancy yarn it needs to be a fancy hat :P. This is the paid for pattern for bulky yarn I chose. I got the yarn wound into a ball and am ready to start knitting it. Was going to start it today but got distracted and will start it tomorrow.

This coming Saturday I will be at the farm spinning because it’s Alpaca Days for all the local alpaca farms. Suppose to rain but my son will have me set up in the garage so my wheel and I don’t get wet. So glad it’s cooled down, this summer was hot and oppressively humid!!!

My hay fever has started, UGH! Hope everyone is doing well!

Spinning a Tweed Yarn

/ LDSVenus / 4 Comments

This was going to be one of my Tour de Fleece spins but I didn’t get to it before the end of the Tour de Fleece, so I decided I really did still want to spin it, so here we go. This is the Pop Rox from Camaj Fiber Arts and it says it is a blend of soft South American wool and viscose bits. I did a search for South American wool and there are several breeds, merino being one and I am going to guess this blend has a lot of merino in it because it is very soft! I am fascinated with the tweed fibers for spinning. They spin thicker (probably a dk or worsted weight when done) and I like to knit with with the thinner yarns (sock yarn and sport weight) but I just love the tweed look. I can hardly wait to see what the yarn looks like when I’m finished :). No clue what I want to use it for, there is 4oz so maybe a hat, but I can make a decision when I see the yarn spun up :). If you like this fiber you can find it here . Right now it’s a pre-order order for a lb and is on sale for $52 a lb. I bought it when they had it in a smaller batch to see if it would be popular enough to order larger quantities. It was :P. Maybe next month I will order a lb myself to make a hat and scarf to match for a grand daughter :), I am loving this.

Still waiting for the last cria to make an appearance. Hoping for a female with grey fiber ;).

Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler weather after those hot oppressive humid days just a few weeks ago! I sure am!!

Remembering 9/11 in 2023

/ LDSVenus / 2 Comments

I remember where I was when this happened, do you? I wonder if this tragedy still has the same horrific meaning to everyone as it did when we sat and watched those planes slam into those buildings killing the passengers in the planes and many people in those two buildings while we sat there unable to do anything to stop it. Don’t forget, be vigilant, freedom comes at a price and it’s hard to hold onto, don’t let go.

As we remember the 22nd year since this heinous attack was perpetrated on the citizens of the USA, may we take a moment to remember all those who died on this day 22 years ago and thank those who helped in the aftermath. I would like to salute those heroes on flight 93, and all those who, on that day, willingly and unselfishly sacrificed their lives to save the lives of others. I also salute those in our armed services and city, county and state police forces who have given their lives and those who continue to fight for us, selflessly putting their own lives in jeopardy to protect us and others from those who mean to hurt us and our Country. They are all heroes to me and I will never forget. Our country needs to come together, it’s not to late…..yet.

(if it doesn’t let me post the video on my blog should be a link on the video to the YouTube channel)
Have we forgotten by Darryl Worley

Newest Cria is Here :)

/ LDSVenus / 6 Comments

Kitchi (Native American name from the Algonquian tribe) it means brave. He was born a couple of days ago but my son and his spouse (who is also Native American) were busy with him, his mom is a first time mom and he had a small problem when he was born, his ankle is unstable and he couldn’t stand, so because he couldn’t stand to drink from mom, they bottle fed him some colostrum and continued bottle feeding him because they had him and mom separated from the herd in a barn in a stall, the rest were all close loose in the barn and could touch noses, but she was distressed because she was kinda sorta separated so they feed him through the night and the next day they put a splint on him while his ankle heals. He is now nursing from his mom.

The first picture is the clearest of him. His coloring is striking with the black head and his legs are also black but the rest of him is the cinnamon color, so pretty. The second picture is Finn (the cria born 2 weeks ago) checking him out now that Kit (his nick name) and his mom are no longer separated from the herd, Kit is laying down. If you click the picture it should enlarge and show the whole picture. I was going to put a video up of him walking around with his splint but I would have to upgrade my Word Press acct to do that and since this is the first and probably the only video I would post, I didn’t see the point :P. One more cria is due, should be here in Sept :).

Getting ready for another heat wave to start on Saturday through next Wed with some 96 degree days, not sure what the heat index will put the feels like temp at, sigh. Is it fall yet?

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the last vestiges of Summer.

Fiber back from the Mill, Woot!!

/ LDSVenus / 5 Comments

I had skirted the fleeces shown on my July 20 post and sent them to Mystery’s Meadow Alpacas fiber mill. The fleeces were very dirty and because I had to skirt them heavily, I wasn’t even sure how much I would even get back. But I got them back today, and oh my goodness, they are so clean and beautiful! I love them and can hardly wait to spin them! I was very impressed with how well these were processed. If you have fiber to have processed into yarn or spinning I can absolutely recommend them!! The white at the bottom of the grey fiber is part of the clear plastic bag the fiber is in, it’s not the fiber.