been too long...

it's been too long since i wrote in here i'm told... my only excuse is the amount of work i've been doing.. we're almost all done dyeing for this season because it's way too cold.. all hay  to last us through the winter has been put away.. all meds and supplies to last us through the winter has been put away.. a new roof on part of the house has been completed(no more leaks yeah!)... the sold alpacas have been delivered to their new mom and dad, all paperwork completed for this quarter and now, whew i can concentrate on making some new combo yarns.. like these-

and sell some of my new alpaca socks too! medium womens size and mens large sizes now in stock..

well, i'm off to knit up sample swatches and this time i think i'll even crochet some sample swatches too, so people can see that my yarns are just as wonderful for crochet as for knitting... more soon i promise! thanks for reading, sandy

100% alpaca lace is now dry

well it took a couple of days for the yarns to dry since they were done in such large skeins(880 yards each! so a shawl could be made without knots) but here are some of what i've hand dyed here in the past week..(while my husband rebuilds the fallen roof on the house, sighs)

guess what i did this week.. rovings! and hand dyed yarns too...

here are some of the hand dyed rovings and yarns i've been doing this past week...

we've been doing alot of fishing here too, grin, so you'll notice alot of lake type colors in my creations!
here are 2 of our favorite minnesota fishing lakes

been away so very long..

sorry i've been swamped with yarn orders and farm work and have been away for what seems like forever.. but now i'm back!
 here are some interesting things i'm looking into doing this weekend-how ro make paper beads and how to make hammered spoons  what fun!, more later!

even more dyeing from yesterday...

 

it was too hot here (97 degrees with 87% humidity) for me to do much else but run up and back moving sprinklers and turning them off and on every 20 minutes for the alpacas- who won't share the cool water with me, pout) so i was able to dye in  between, some are wool, some are alpaca, all lovely in my eyes, grin.. more later!

okay so i'm addicted to... more dyeing!

all these today are 100% alpaca!

a dyeing we will go..........

some of this weeks fun... 100% alpaca yarns, dyed naturally here on the farm...

some farm pictures today...

this is what i have always called the blood lily, my grandmother back in philadelphia grew them and when she died my mom dug up one bulb for me before they sold the house, it's a rich deep red and grows really well up here-
and it's planted next to my stella dora bright yellow lilies that just keep on blooming!

it's dragonfly season up here now, i adore these little prehistoric helicopters besides being friendly and curious they eat their own weight in bugs every day! here's just one kind that are here now-

pine cones that you'll see in my seasonal crafts will come from this smaller tree/bush besides the huge tree out the side of the house..i've forgotten the name of it but it's the soft friendly kind of leaves/spikes...

the alpacas and the importance of shade and fresh grass....

it's getting to be summertime here in minnesota and we raise alpacas here on the farm(we're a full service alpaca farm, offering everything form consulting, to onsite classes, to stud services, to sales besides selling and working with their fleeces for my own yarns and finished goods) and shade and cool places to avoid the mid day sun are vital for alpacas. we have barns including one that is 1/2 underground for the girls who spend alot of time on the cool cement floor when it's really bad outside.. and we have lots of trees for them to lounge under while laying around on the fresh grass(also important for nutrition and maintaining weight) here are some pictures form this morning, when they are first let out into the pasture(we have 3 pastures for the girls and rotate them weekly) from their night time barn pastures...they especially enjoy the center of the big pasture that is still semi wooded..
p.s. we have a few girls for sale, see anyone that interests you? just email me at notjustyarns@tds.net and let's chat)