Yarn Along

Q: How many alpacas does it take to make a sweater?

A: None. Alpacas can't knit.

Haa haa. We might say that joke at the farm a lot. But to be honest this sweater took 9 alpacas to make! I didn't use their entire fleeces but I did use part of their fleeces.

The main gray color is from my alpaca Dom's Blue Moon of ELK "Blue".

The rose gray yarn is from: Smoke, Sooshi, Bates

 CCNF Smoke Ring "Smoke"

FDA Bisturi's Royal Rose Blush "Shoosi"

Arrow Acres Mr. Bates "Mr. Bates"

Bates gets two pictures in honor of Downton Abbey beginning back!

The white yarn is from Treasure & Lily.

 Heather's Acres Arctic Treasure "Treasure".

Glen Ridge Diplomacy's Sugarlily "Lily"

 The bay black yarn is from Ono, Bocote and Star.

Black Midnight's Ono of Arrow Acres "Ono"

 Arrow Acres Bocote "Bocote"

Cayuga Star "Star"

Put them all together and you get a Rose & Cross Pullover!  I made quite a few modifications from the pattern. Mostly for the fit. I made the notes of my modifications on my Ravelry project page.

I love how this sweater turned out! I can't complain about the colder weather because I am so excited to get to wear it. 

I do get asked many times how many things I can make from one alpacas fleece. My answer usually includes these responses. From my alpaca "Blue's" one fleece so far I have made a pull over, shawl, hat and I plan on making a second large lace shawl. I think I could easily have made two sweaters.

But it is not always practical to process a single fleece. A lot of the fiber is lost on the machines. So it is better to combine fleeces to have processed at the same time to have less loss.  Since Blue's fleece is sentimental to me I had it processed alone, but the fiber mill did add 10% silk to it and spun it as a 2 ply. I held the yarn double for this project.

So since it is rare we process a single fleece it is hard to get a solid answer. Also each alpacas fleece is different some alpacas produce more fiber than others, some is longer, some if finer and some is more dense. When we process their fleeces we take all of those things into consideration. When we are combining fleeces to be processed together one of the most important things is the staple length. That is the length of each fiber. That helps to keep a consistent yarn. It also helps to find a good fiber mill to process your yarn!

Joining Ginny's Yarn Along

The pattern for this project can be found in this book.

Yarn Along

I am so excited to be back sharing on the Yarn Along!  It has been too long. I have been spinning yarn and knitting so much over the past few months. I had Tiny at the farm with me today and he was a champ at modeling some of Blue's yarn that I have recently spun. I can't wait to knit it up. I have so much more of his fleece to spin, but I thought I would make a small batch and start knitting with that to see how I want to spin the rest of his two fleeces.

I have been very busy working on a new pattern "Treasure Vest". I am so excited to say it is very close to being released!!!  I have made many different samples of it in different sizes. I have knitted, unknitted, knitted and unknitted and then knitted it again and again to get it just how I want it. The pattern is being tested and the pattern is with my graphic designer so I should be releasing the pattern soon!

In the mean time Treasure is being pampered at the farm and kept cool on these HOT days.  She is the inspiration for this pattern. 

For reading I have been listening to the audio book "Written in My Own Heart's Blood". It is the final book in the Outlander series. I am SOOOOO sad that this is the last book, but I am so happy that I have the Starz versions to watch in the future. I have enjoyed these books immensely!

After I release "Treasure Vest" I will be doing a lot of spinning and knitting from my handspun yarn. I am hoping to be back sharing on the Yarn Along regularly now that I won't be working on too many of my own secretive patterns. 

Joining Ginny's Yarn Along

ps- Check out my Fit Along that is starting August 3rd ~ Fit Along

Me and My Alpaca & Freddy Too

Smile at the camera Blue.

I needed to get a new picture of me and I thought Blue would love to help me out. Most alpacas look soooooo funny after they get sheared, but in my opinion I think Blue always looks cool! 

Freddy even got in a picture! I was also happy to finally get a picture of me in my Postcard Cardigan. I really don't have any good pictures of me wearing it so I was very happy to get a few shots of it.

You may be seeing some of the above pictures in a magazine this Fall :)

Christmas Card Photo Take 1

It snowed here at the Jersey Shore today! I thought the snow would make a perfect backdrop for a Christmas card picture of the boys with Blue. Unfortunately by the time they got home from school it was so dark out!! Bahh Humbug.  The boys and Blue couldn't have been more cooperative, but it was just too dark to get any good pictures. Well good enough for a Christmas card, but I really did like how a few of them came out just for the family scrap book.

On the plus side the boys had a great time giving Blue some extra treats and hay. I know Blue didn't have any complaints.

Tiny's Orange Sweater & a Standing Stones Cowl

I made another Standing Stones cowl with Miss Babs Yowza yarn. I modified my pattern to make one skein of 560 yards work. 

Modifications: 

Part II- I repeated the rows 25 times for a total of 50 rows

Part IV- I repeated the chart one full time. On the second repeat of the chart I knitted row 18 and then started the bind off.

I have had quite a few requests on modification for this pattern to make different types of yarn work (mostly people who are knitting from their stash and have a limited amount of yarn to work with). I have been suggesting the modification to Part II. The nice thing about this pattern is that you can end it at any time on Part IV. You just have to keep an eye on how much yarn you have left to make it work for your bind off.  I really love how this one came out and I loved the few cool nights we've had because I got to wear it!

And speaking of the cooler nights I've been sweater knitting!!! 

Tiny requested a hand knit sweater. I jumped at the offer and together we made it happen. He picked out the yarn. He also picked out the cable detail that goes up the front and back. The rest of it I designed for him. I just tried it on him as I went and made it up stitch by stitch.

I love how it came out. He loves it too!

Maybe asking a kid to model a hand knit sweater a few days after having his tonsils and adenoids out might not have been the best idea ...... he was a tad bit cranky.

I took it off of him while we waited for my Dad to get back to the farm with their new alpaca. I was carrying it around and taking some pictures of it.

The sleeves are really the same size. They just look off in this picture.

We went to hang out on the swings in the shade and do you know what????? 

He asked me if he could put his sweater back on!!!!

I am pretty sure I had the worlds biggest smile to that request and I quickly helped him put it back on.

I had him try it on him so many times as I was making it and I was afraid he wouldn't want to wear it once it was done. But he really does like it! 

He is so picky about his clothes. He doesn't like tight collars or buttons. He doesn't like his sweaters too big. He doesn't like tags! His list of dislikes goes on and on, but I was able to make this to fit all his wants. Especially the neckline. Not too tight and not too big.

He was having so much fun giving the alpacas some hay. 

Who know that was all he needed to cheer him up?!

I can't believe this little guy is going to be starting Kindergarten next week. I am going to miss having my little buddy around.

He made sure each of the alpacas got their fair share of hay.

Especially Blue!!!! I can't wait to get his fiber back from the fiber mill. I am having it processed into roving and I'm going to spin it and make a sweater for myself!

I hope I didn't bore you with so many pictures of Tiny's Orange Sweater, but I feel like it has been so long since I've been able to take pictures of my finished knits and share them!  I have some projects on and off my needles that I hopefully will release the patterns next year. I am going to give them a year to be worn, modified, tested and then I'll be release them.  I'm not planning on releasing the pattern for Tiny's sweater. It was just a fun simple knit that I did without a pattern (my favorite way to knit). It was so much fun to make and fun to have him be such a big part of the crafting of it!

Ravelry link- Tiny's Orange Sweater

Yarn: Berroco Vintage Chunky

Meanwhile on my needles is a fantastic sweater! I wish I could share it, but I'm keeping it on the down low.

For reading listening I have been listening to the Audiobook "Voyager" by Diana Gabaldon.  I can't get enough of these books. It is the third book in the Outlander series. I enjoy listening to them and knitting. Since the books are soooooo long and there are so many books in the series I love that I know what book I am going to read next. It is a perfect companion for knitting. I am also watching "Outlander" on Starz.  I am sooooooo  happy with how they are doing the series! I was worried about the show not being as good as the books, but they really are doing and awesome job with it. Or at least I am really happy about it! I am also enjoying that it is a series Freddy and I can watch together.

Okay back to knitting!!! 

Joining with Ginny's Yarn Along

A New Addition to the Farm

The herd was all excited when they saw my parents pull up with their green trailer. They know that means something exciting is happening!  Bootiful got a front row spot to the show.

It's a new girl! Brady and Tiny were there as part of the welcoming committee.

 My parents spent the weekend in Virginia at the Breeder's Edge Alpaca Auction. Remember back a few years ago when I went with them and won Blue? If you missed it you can read about it here "Once in a Blue Moon".  This year they didn't win Bingo, but did win an alpaca by bidding on her. 

She is GORGEOUS! She is a fourteen month old medium rose gray female. Her official name is FDA Bisturi's Royal Rose Blush. She is from Flying Dutchman Alpacas in Oregon. She was owned by Amanda VandenBosch and if you know anything about the alpaca industry you will know that Amanda is a very well know alpaca judge.  

She is hanging out in quarantine with L.E. and Jatoba. Two of the worlds sweetest alpacas.

She is going to need a farm name. We usually pass around a few names until one sticks. I am calling her "Polyanna" until they decide on her real name. My sisters and I watched that movie a million times as kids and I've wanted an alpaca named Polyanna so I could yell "Polllllyyyyyaaaaannnnnaaaaa!" Just like they do in the movie. I am sure they won't call her that, but until they find a name that sticks I'm calling her that.

Jatoba is in charge of passing on her sweetness onto the new girl. L.E. just does what ever Jatoba does :) 

 The little boys think she is just beautiful. They are strutting their stuff and she is loving the attention.  Do you see Mr. Bates on the left? They will get to go to the shows together this Fall and Spring. Maybe somewhere down the road they'll have a romantic date.

Well that is enough for Polyanna right now. Don't you like that name :) 

The babies are getting so big! The three little ones will soon have even littler ones to play with soon. The Fall crias due dates are quickly approaching! I can't wait to see what else Smoke Ring has cooked up.

Maybe another Bootiful?

And just in case you snuck a peek in the picture before Tiny is sporting his new sweater I knitted and designed for him. I'll have more on that for the yarn along. But Blue said he wanted to be in this post too :) 

Tiny is still miserable from his tonsil surgery! Getting anything done is just about impossible for me, but I'm glad I got this post together!!! Hopefully I'll be back on a more regular schedule soon.