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Alpaca Meadows Blog

Mix and Matching Yarn

 I met a gal at the Cleveland Clinic Farmer's Market last week that spotted a hat I had made...

 I often, well almost always, mix and match my yarn...  I start with one of my Hand Spun Alpaca Art Yarns and select other yarn based on the colors of that yarn.  The pattern I use over and over is Loving Georgia Lee Tyler by Christine Marie Way Tyler & John Wesley Tyler.

 I have made many, many shapes and sizes and colors and styles of hats using this pattern.  I can't say I always follow the pattern exactly, but instead pick up whatever size hook seems to fit the yarn I'm using and try it on frequently while I'm working for size!

The gal I met asked me to make her a set... so I have added Texting Mittens, also known as Twittens( I just learned) for toasty texting!! 

For these, I found a pattern for mittens, left off the thumbs and fingers, and crocheted an edge to finish them...

'Paca Purses

A good  friend of mine who owns a furniture and decorating store, gave me several boxes of upholstery fabric samples that had been discontinued ...

... and I am having great fun with all the beautiful fabrics...

and some great alpaca photos!

  I printed them on Inject Printer Fabric that feeds right through my printer just like a sheet of paper.

I am calling them 'Paca Purses and have taken some special orders for people who want me to use a special photo.  So far they've all been pictures of alpacas, so darn cute!

Blustery Autumn Felt Bowl

Involution made the Front Page on Etsy today with her beautiful Blustery Autumn Felt Bowl, congrats!

Here is what the artist says about herself ...

"I am a seamstress, wool felter, and jewelry maker, and I love continually exploring new ways to combine these arts into well-crafted, original pieces that are made to be loved for a long time. Wool felt is an ancient medium - durable, natural, and eco-friendly.

In my imagination, beauty is trendless. It is about knowing ourselves, loving who we are, and celebrating our uniqueness. We weren't ever meant to be all the same, and I hope you find something here that calls out to what is beautiful about you."

I love what she says in her bio ...

"I'll admit it. All of my life I've tried to fit into boxes - career boxes, personality boxes, you name it. And I wondered sadly what was wrong with me when I couldn't ever seem to find a pre-prescribed box that really felt like home. So I'm incredibly proud of Involution, because it was the beginning of my heart waking up, the dawning of the possibility that I could chop my own unique path through life's wild underbrush. On a chilly fall day a new idea swept me away with it, and almost before I knew what I was doing, Involution was born.

When I'm creating, my mind goes silent and I just follow the current of my impulses. Involution has become a way for me to express and honor the crazy and beautiful ways we are all so special, because in my imagination, beauty is trendless. It is about knowing ourselves, loving who we are, and celebrating our uniqueness. We weren't ever meant to be all the same, and I savor the truth of that with every piece I make."

Her shop that she calls Involution is definitely worth a visit!

 

 

Making Roving With A Drum Carder

I ran across this video clip that I thought I would share...  Looks like it would be worth a try!  If all you see is a black square, click on it and the video should begin.

Strauch Drum Carders

Fiber Show, Chicago Time

Well, it is 5:30am and I am up!  The only problem is I am in Chicago sharing a hotel room with my husband and daughter, and it's just 4:30am here ...  I found coffee, a newspaper, and a little Business Center with a computer so I am set. 

I am here to be a vendor at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Show at Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake, Illinois.  It is a three day show and sounds wonderful, with lots of vendors, classes, workshops, give-aways, demonstrations, garment competitions, even a fashion show!

Today is set-up day.  We are assigned set-up times according to where our booth is located.  I'm scheduled at 9:15, should be finished by noon if not sooner, then we plan on taking the train into the city.  My husband's sister lives here so we plan on spending the rest of the day with her, checking out Navy Pier, the Sears Tower, the Magnificent Mile, and whatever else we stumble upon. 

It will be a working vacation, mostly working, but it is great to have a little get-away and change of scenery.  My daughter will have a chance to get to know her cousins who she hasn't see in years!

Plying With Beads

  Although stringing the beads was a bit challenging, and manipulating my single fiber strand without getting it tangled in the strung beads during the playing process could have made me crazy, I was very pleased with the end results!

 These are the hand-dyed Suri Locks that I started with. 

 I spun carelessly from uncarded locks not worrying about any kind of uniformity.  I felt like a kid going out to recess, playtime!

 Once I got a rhythm going and coordinated pushing a bead forward when  I was ready for one, the plying flowed smoothly.

I used my Louet Spinning Wheel, versus my little electric spinner, because I needed to stop and start frequently.  My Louet gave me the control I needed without having to turn it off and on.

 I named it, as I do all my yarns, "Pretty As A Princess".

Stefanie Berganini has written some good instructions on spinning this kind of artyarn- click Plying With Beads

on the Spin-Off Magazine website.

 

This looks like a book I ought to have!

Alpacas and Daylilies

 

I love my alpacas.  Not only are they gentle, passive, interesting, majestic creatures each with their own personality, but they provide beautiful, luxurious fleeces that allow me to engage in many creative endeavors using their fiber, which then helps to feed my family, but best of all feeds my soul ...

 Pasqualena

Okay, that was deep!  Alpacas also produce manure, and it is great stuff ...  I have used it as fertilizer many places on our farm, some of which I wish I hadn't, as I now have enormous bushes around my house that have grown so fast they'll probably have to be dug out sometime soon.

I also have beautiful flowers, thanks to my alpacas.  And I learned a little about daylilies today...

Stella d'Oro Plant

  

This is the now-famous daylily that started the race to the "rebloomers." The name Stella d'Oro translates to "Star of Gold".

Today, it's a national trend, and "Stella" is the number one daylily in the country.  Many gardeners say their "Stellas" are in bloom practically all summer and fall. And this is why this variety is planted almost everywhere now--you'll see them in median strips on interstates and in almost all good commercial landscaping, even at gas stations and fast food restaurants.

This all tells you that this is a no-maintenance, and I am into no-maintenance, easy-bloom perennial--what better reason to add it to your garden!

 It all started with the original "wild" orange daylily. Many Americans think the tough old orange daylily they see in old gardens and along roadsides is a wildflower, but it really isn't. No daylily is native to North America; most hail from Asia. 

Daylilies are not really "lilies." In fact, they are quite different. True lilies grow on tall stems with flowers at the top.

Daylily flower stems (called "scapes") are generally much shorter, and grow from a fountain of grass-like foliage at ground level.  

Daylilies don't grow from bulbs like true lilies. Daylilies form a mass of thickened, fleshy roots. These unique root systems hold so much moisture and nutrients, the plants can survive out of the ground for weeks. This survival system, making them tough, and really easy to handle, is one of the reasons they're so popular today. They're also dependably hardy, so once you have them, you have them for years.

The famous old orange daylily and the well-known old Lemon Lily are not the only "wild" daylilies, just the most famous. There are 20 daylily species, worldwide. Today from those 20 plants, more than 20,000 hybrids have been created, to satisfy gardeners who love daylilies, and just can't get enough.

Today's craze for reblooming daylilies all began with Stella d'Oro, the now-famous yellow dwarf daylily that blooms once during late spring and then again in late August and into fall.