SpiderWomanKnits

Alpacas in the Snow

2009-12-07T11:31:28-05:00

Oh gosh, I just really can't get enough of these guys. I am not sure I have loved furry things so much! I spent the majority of my life riding, training and caring for horses but these Alpacas warm my heart in the most unique way. If only I could ride them ;)

I got these close ups not with a fancy lens but because Alpacas are incredibly curious creatures. They are so interesting. They will come right up to you and want to see exactly what it is you are doing but whatever you do don't try to scratch them behind their ears or snuggle their necks because they are very head shy. I know that with patience and persistence we may be able to get them accustomed to haltering but right now it's not on their list of favorite things. Still there's nothing like cleaning a water bucket and seeing one of their cute fuzzy faces coming over your shoulder to check out what's going on.

What is on their list of favorite things is snow! Lucky for them we had our first snowfall in Vermont the day after they arrived. Alpacas are very, very hardy creatures from the Peruvian Highlands so Vermont is a great place for them. Greg froze outside yesterday working on their shelter but we've been told they will stay out in even the most extreme weather. And, so will Simonne, so they have a lot of company!

Seriously though, even their furry little butts are cute!

Welcome Home!

2009-12-05T18:42:13-05:00

They're here! We are SO excited and SO happy! Slowly but surely we are getting used to each other. And Greg and I are getting used to the fact that now we have 72 mouths to feed here! Gosh golly, that's a lot of mouths! But it's oh so much fun. And before you know it there will be yet another mouth to feed but you'll never guess who! Don't worry, you'll only have to wait about a week to find out who it is :)

I have to say that I just absolutely adore these two guys. In fact, I am down right smitten with them. Alpaca are such curious creatures. So sweet, gentle, curious, cautious and obviously adorable. We are learning about them quickly and enjoying every minute but they are such a natural extension of our family already. Now, we have to decide if we keep their given names of Hayden and Indy or rename them. It's quite easy for me to say and use their given names but the kids really want to give them new names although they have only come up with Large and Lego so far :) So, we'll see...

Here We Go!

2009-12-04T08:31:44-05:00

Just one thing left to do

Giving Thanks

2009-11-28T11:44:00-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful, peaceful and joyful Thanksgiving! We had such a lovely few days, filled with family and lots of food! I cooked for three days straight. Each year I get closer and closer to ironing out my recipes. This years new and biggest hit was this Sweet Potato Casserole. Oh my gosh, SO delicious and definitely a keeper! We're slowly whittling away at the leftovers but I still have lots and lots of cheesecake, chocolate cake and pecan pie left though. Who's coming over?! You can find me right here, indulging in the goodies mentioned above, perhaps a little too often ;)

why get one when you can have two at twice the price

2009-11-22T20:28:04-05:00

Well, there they are! Our two boys! We got to the farm to pick out our Alpaca and, well, these two guys just seemed like they shouldn't be separated. So, against all rationality (that's when we know we are making the right decision) we decided to bring home two Alpaca!

Greg is still working on their shelter so we'll pick them up sometime next week. We learned a great deal today about Alpaca. The owner of the farm, Kevin, is so nice and gave us a crash course in haltering, worming, feeding, care, trimming their hooves and of course, shearing! These boys are yearlings so we will shear them for the first time this coming Spring. Baby Alpaca Baby! They had such a beautiful herd, the full spectrum of the Alpaca rainbow. These two boys also came with a stern warning that Alpaca are highly addictive! After seeing all the variation in personality and color I can certainly agree. Look! Already we came home with one more than we expected! But they are herd animals so it was the right thing to do :)

We also got to see the babies on the farm! They had two Cria there. Both male, both absolutely adorable, both already sold. (Thank goodness!)

Needless to say we are all SO excited about welcoming the new furry members of our family home. I really can't wait!

FO: Miner the Cave Bat

2009-11-17T16:24:40-05:00

Well, I didn't jut mean to drop off the face of the earth like that. Sorry. I meant to dazzle you with finished pictures of Ishbel but things got really busy over here in the best possible way. Two birthdays in three days means a lot of preparation, fun and of course, birthday cake! I turned 32 on the 13th and Jorn turned 7 on the 16th. We both got incredible surprises. I also managed to knit up this little cutie on the eve of Jorn's birth because he is really into bats right now. He loves him! He was promptly named Miner since bats live in caves and people mine in caves (Jorn's explanation). I have knit other softies before but none have been so well received. I mean really...what little boy could resist a bat?! Project details over on Ravelry.

Jorn also got two lizards of his very own to care for, Lego and Small, two darling little Anoles. He is on Cloud 9. And the critter count is really going up here. You won't believe what my birthday surprise was? Are you ready? An ALPACA! We haven't picked him up yet but hopefully will be able to later in the week. I am sure there aren't very many husbands that surprise their wives with livestock but I sure do love my livestock giving man. We just have a few small details to work out here, like building a shelter, finding a horse trailer to borrow, getting all the things that alpacas need (what do they need?) and you know just learning about alpacas. We never do anything the 'traditional way' around here and that's just the way I like it ;)

Hi

2009-11-03T19:26:14-05:00

Vaughn and I just wanted to pop in and say "hi" while I am busy blocking and finishing off one of my favorite projects ever!

"Hi"

FO: Aviatrix

2009-10-26T18:02:44-04:00

Quite possibly the best baby hat ever! Seriously. This thing stayed on all day while were at Rhinebeck.

The only slightly annoying thing about it was that we were stopped every 20 feet while we were walking around to be asked what the pattern was*

I have knit two of these already because once you knit one you just can't stop. The pattern is awesome, fun and fast! My mods are here on Ravelry along with all the project details.

Vaughn is a very serious baby and doesn't give up smiles as easily as Jorn and Simonne but when he does, look out! You will seriously melt with the baby genuine-ness of it.

* I kid, people. It was great talking to all the knitters. What was so cool was that people could instantly add the pattern to their Ravelry queue using their smart phones. We still don't even have a cell phone but that made me consider getting one for the first time.

Day 24: 30 Days to Blogville or Bust

2009-10-25T14:40:18-04:00

Ha. Ha. Let me distract you with really pretty yarn while we don't mention the fact that I utterly and completely abandoned my pet project of 30 Days to Blogville or Bust which, by the way, I started in *ahem* JULY! Sheesh. There seems to be a reoccurring trend here too. I only got 25 days into my 30 Days of Happiness ending on an unhappy day no less!

Well, it goes without saying that I am happy to be blogging again, if not as often as I would like, at least more regularly. But, do me a favor ok, forgive me for being the worst replier in the world lately. I reply to each and every comment with a giant smile on my face and a warmed heart but I must get better at actually saying so. That's my new goal only I won't attach a silly "30 Days to Comment Reply" or anything like that to it because then I am surely condemning it to failure.

Oh, that yarn! That is Karin's yarn. You can find it here. The bottom one, Rooster (how could I pass that up), was my sole Rhinebeck Fiber Acquisition. The top one, Crap Shoot, is already on it's way to becoming this. Yum. Yum.

FO: The Princess and The Pea

2009-10-20T16:21:10-04:00

On Saturday Jorn had a birthday party to attend, a little girls birthday party! We have been going to a lot of LegoBionicleBlasterStarWars parties lately but not a little girls party so I was super excited! After seeing this on Etsy I knew exactly what we'd be bringing as a gift.

This turned into quite the family project and we had a great time! Jorn quickly drew a princess on muslin that I had prewashed and stretched on a embroidery hoop to make it easier to draw. When we do this he uses a 'disappearing' ink pen first, then we go over the lines with a permanent fabric marker. I love these.

I sewed and quilted ten tiny mattresses and included a vintage doily as a blanket fit for a princess.

Greg lashed some twigs together with twine and glue so the Princess could reach her perch and of course we included a small green jewel as the pea!

We nested this all into a keepsake box that we decorated with the story of The Princess and The Pea. It was well received and SO much fun to make!

Then, Sunday, we were off to Rhinebeck! I'll have to save that story for another day though. Lots of fun was had, old friends were met and new ones were embraced and, of course, a wee bit of yarn was purchased. Good times.