Alpaca and Socks

Remember when I told you about our trip to the Credence Farm last Sunday? I finally took some pictures of the alpaca I bought for me and me alone. I had a greedy moment. I tend to have a lot of those when yarn is involved....

Here's the general information.

I love the color! I told Mom and R that it looks like my hair - brown with some gray mixed in for good measure!
Just another view.

Remember the sock blank that my Ravelry buddy dyed and sent to me? This is what it looked like before it was ravelled and knit.

I started the cuff with the yarn starting on the left side of the above blank.

The white background of the blank with the little rosebuds made this section:
And....ta da...... Here they are!

This was such a fun adventure for me! I was so curious to see how they would turn out.

Here's another shot. The lighting stunk yesterday and wasn't much better today, so you'll have to trust me that they turned out very nice! Thanks KM for helping me get my sock knitting mojo back! It means a whole lot to me! :)

Field Trip!!!!

Today was Open Barn day at the Credence Farm. R had her heart set on going, so we had to go! Not only that, but they had yarn! We HAD to go! We called Mom and asked if she was up to a field trip and she was. So, off we went. It was a beautiful drive in the country. All the rain we've had lately made everything even greener. We were met with the sounds of peacocks, guineas, chickens, roosters and no telling what else!

I believe this is Henry. He is a Great Pyrenees. They had two of them and they looked just alike. HUGE dogs and absolutely gorgeous! Those alpaca would move when those dogs got near them! I believe I would too....Here's the complimentary mowing service.

This one was interested in the camera.

Rear view.

Time for a pose.

I loved the color of this one.

I'm not sure if you can see the black one near the fence. It was gorgeous! I wouldn't have minded having some yarn from it. Maybe next time.... oh yes, there will be a next time!

What a view! This was from the upper level of the barn. When I first walked in and got a whiff, I thought, "Man, what have I gotten myself into." Then I remembered that smell from somewhere in my past. Ma's farm in Tennessee! Then it was a comfortable smell. Weird!

R got some fiber to spin and has been spinning most of the afternoon. It's so calming to watch her spin. I've been knitting a pair of socks and wondering what I can knit with almost 200 yards of fingering weight brown alpaca yarn that I just had to have. You know what I mean!

Happy (Late) Mother's Day

We had a wonderful Mother's Day. I guess it was so wonderful that I forgot to post and say anything about it! We got up early, for me and the kids ;) and went to church. The sermon was on Patience. It seemed to be very fitting! After church RL fixed a wonderful dinner of Beef Stroganoff, garlic bread and a salad. All of that was followed by a Key Lime pie! Mom and I were in Heaven! Of course RL and the kids spoiled us! We got Mom a movie that she had seen and liked, "Faith Like Potatoes". It was a very, very good and inspirational movie. It's based on a true story. Normally I don't like those true, tear jerkers, but this one was pretty good! The kids and RL got me a book I have been dropping hints about for months (thank you for listening R!),"The Gentle Art of Domesticity" by Jane Brocket. Her blog is the last one I have listed over there on the side - Yarnstorm. Such a good book! I've enjoyed her perspective on everything from knitting, baking, to all other gentle arts. RL told me to also order something for myself from Knit Picks. He doesn't have to tell me twice!

Mother's Day was also a pretty special day for someone else! Ginger turned 14!

I remember when she came to live with us. She was ALL ears! They still flap a little when she shakes her head. Bless her heart! I've heard she's rare because it's not common for orange tabbies to be female. She was rare for other reasons too - like she was the only kitten in her Mom's litter. Her Mom was thrown from a car on a busy stretch of road in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Mom and the kids found out about her and went to pick her up. She's been with us ever since. Sometimes she's not so easy to live with, but then again, who is? She's our baby so we love her. Happy birthday Ginger!

Look Away if You're Diabetic!

We are friends with a family who loves R's cakes. They order them for most of their birthdays or other occasions they can think of. Sometimes they just order a cake to order one. The last cake R made was extremely detailed with seed packets on it. It was gorgeous. Well, the cake she made this time has some detail to it, but the most important thing it has going for it is.... ICING! Lots and lots and lots and lots of icing! April, the birthday girl, loves icing! When we started delivering the cakes, they asked us if we ever had leftover icing. We normally do and after a few years of exposure to the stuff, we have lost our love for it. So, we pack the stuff in a ziploc bag and take it with the cake. Last time April and her sister ran and got spoons and ate the icing out of the bag. Yeah, it's enough to make you sick! April asked for a cake with a cat on it, since she loves cats. R decided on a design and went with it. Then she decided to give April what she really loves...icing. This cake must weigh a ton! I haven't lifted it yet, so I haven't a clue. I'm pretty sure we need to take some insulin with us with we deliver it.

So, what do you think? R said it looks like a Gingerbread man got sick all over it. I think she's right! Hope they like it!

Once again....I am ashamed....

Yeah, yeah, I know I overreacted about the sock blanks. Not everybody in the world knows what I know and I don't know what everybody else in the world knows. That is probably a good thing on both counts! As for the sock blanks, they are simply yarn that has been knitted up into a long piece, or a 'blank', and then you dye it. There are two strands of yarn knitted together in the blank. You ravel it and then knit it into a sock. Sounds like a lot of work, but it's kind of like a mystery. You just never know what you're going to get when you're finished. When I quilted, my father-in-law would ask why I took a complete piece of fabric, cut it up into tiny pieces and sewed it all back together again. I guess you could kind of say the same thing here. I really don't know why I do either one, but I know I enjoy it, so that should be enough, right? Right!

As for the shame part....it's because I haven't blogged in a while. I've been checking other blogs and trying to figure out why some are blogging regularly and here I sit...saying nothing at all. I need to do this update thing a little more often.

I do have things to share - like these stitch markers that came with my sock blank. My friend made them for me. Aren't they pretty? I just bought a new sock book with some complicated pattterns, so I imagine I will get to use these markers soon.

I like them all, but I'm a little partial to the one in the middle of the picture above. Aren't those beads pretty?

As for my friend who made them, her family could really use some prayers right now. Her grandmother just had a stroke and they are in the waiting phase. It's so difficult to wait until you hear something, good or bad. To matters worse, they live about a days drive from her grandmother and that makes the waiting a little worse. Please remember them in your prayers. Thanks.