Oh my goodness! My new employer .... well, sorta, as I've been knitting for her for the past several weeks, has confirmed a date in May for shearing her herd of lovely alpacas. They have a shearer booked and are looking for volunteers to help out with all aspects of the event.
Of course I've volunteered! I'm likely the very first name on her list. I just think this will be an amazing day. I'm sure my husband will be working by then, but hopefully, since it's a Saturday, he might be able to attend as well. I have to ask Caroline which jobs are available, because as much as I'd love to handle the animals, I'm a bit timid. I might be put to better use skirting the fleece. Well, there's still a couple of months to figure out how I'll be helping out, but I'll for sure be there with bells on! I'm totally taken with these adorable animals and I've never seen my husband take to a farm type animal as quickly either. No, not even the horse I bought for him several years back when he was complaining I was spending too much time with mine. That was a short love affair ... one buck and I was suddenly the overly extended owner of two horses ... both a handful in their own ways. Well, it was fun. Live and learn ... and learn, and never stop learning. That's what makes life fun isn't it?
Having accepted that alpaca is definitely addictive, and that I am totally hooked, I'm still knitting beautiful things for Rocaro Alpacas for the spring Saltscapes show. The feel of the yarn is so inviting, soothing, and it knits up beautifully. I've now had the chance to try almost all of the yarns Caroline has available right now. There have been trials and tribulations, as I figured out which worked best for what type of patterns, how many strands looked and draped the best, etc. She has such lovely fine lace weight products that I love, but they really need to be knit with two strands for the best result.
These cowls have had beads added as well. I use the 'add a bead' as you go method with a piece of monofilament as a threader to place the beads over a loop before I knit it. I have a 1.25mm crochet hook which will go through some of the larger beads, but if they have extra coatings, that won't work so I found the simple piece of monofilament worked best for all the beads. I also had the challenge of fitting the crystals over the double strand as they have smaller holes. The edges of the crystal were beginning to cut the yarn, so it was best to loop the bead over only one strand instead of both. I didn't find the end result took anything away from the look of the crystals so one strand it will continue to be.
I now have three of these finished. The latest still needs blocking and it's a dark brown with white luster beads. Very attractive! The next one will be a medium brown with more sparkling crystals. Each cowl has a total of 60 beads in the pattern. I even learned a couple of new stitches for this project. The picot bind off is very lovely and since it's done on both ends, a provisional cast on was necessary so the stitches could easily be picked up again. (Bowing to the Internet Gods in appreciation of YouTube!) The finished result is so professional and pretty. I'm actually rather impressed with my newly learned stitches.
Now if this cold weather would ever warm up so a person could get outside! That cold blast last night has erased all thoughts of spring from my mind. I'm still waiting for my plow guy as there's a huge drift at the bottom of my driveway. There is nothing but ice and blowing snow as far as the eye can see and it's too damn cold for the road salt to work so driving is really fun! Hibernation has been a good rest but I'm anxious to get out and do something different for a change. Seems like it's been a long winter so far. I did manage to get some major housework done recently so wasn't time wasted. Come on Spring .... please!
It's been a busy week of knitting ... although I did manage to slow down a bit over the weekend. There are two more items still on the needles, but not for long as they'll be done this evening. I'll need to deliver them to http://www.rocaroalpacas.ca/ and pick up more bulky wool to do a few more. The idea is to have some stock ready for their show on Feb. 12th in Wolfville. The hats are fairly basic and knit from bulky yarn. The headbands are double knits as there's a rib lining on the inside, making them very thick and warm. They're truly a luxury item. All these yarns are also available through the above link. Just contact Caroline for prices and availability.
The spinning was put on hold this past week, but I'm yearning to get back to it. I'm nearly done spinning the singles for a two ply sock yarn in black alpaca and sari silk bits. It has a very interesting look so far and it isn't even plied yet. The socks are going to a friend in the city who collects antiques. He's swapping me a skein winder for them. I really need to get that winder too, as any more snarls in the lace weight alpaca yarn because the back of a chair was employed, is going to drive me over the edge. My husband flatly refuses to hold the skein while I wind the balls from it.
I guess that's about it from Ye Ol' Knitting Factory for now. Stay tuned though ... more will follow soon.
