Thursday, March 15, 2012

What's a Knitty Knotty?

        Fiber night is held at Quarry Critters Alpaca Ranch every other week. We call this night "Knitty Knotty Knight",  well some of us also call it "Knitty Knaughty Knight".  We come together to  knit and  spin.
         I want to tell you about one member of our group named Linda. She is one of the 2 Linda's in our group. I first met Linda on Lincoln Square in Gettysburg, PA one Saturday morning at my vendor booth for Quarry Critters. I sell my alpaca fleece, roving, yarn  and other items made from alpaca fiber at the local farmers market.  I was sitting and busily spinning away as she told me that she use to love to spin and that she still had her spinning wheel.
       "I'm going to learn to spin when I retire", she would tell me.
So I invited her to our group. She continued to come, as she would sit and knit she kept saying how she had a spinning wheel and wanted to  learn to spin.
     I'm happy to announce that Linda retired  and  she learned to spin.  Yea!!! 
    At our last "Knitty Knotty Knight" she brought her wheel. She showed us what she had spun in class.  Linda had done an excellent job of learning to spin.  Upon filling her spool she asked if she could borrow a knitty knotty, then listen to this, this is so cute,
         then she says, "Hey, that is the name of our group!"
Love that.
Linda is taking her yarn off the spool and winding it on the knitty knotty. 

 After the yarn is on the knitty knotty, 
it is secured in 3 -4 places then taken off
the knitty knotty to make a skein of yarn.   



 Linda is happily looking forward to her new life in retirement and spinning. 
She has her next project already under way. She is spinning blue wool and is thinking about plying it with green wool to create a barber pole effect.  I wonder what she will make with her new yarn she made herself. 


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Thank you for visiting our blog and reading all the way to the end. I hope that you enjoy what you find here. Please visit our website to find out more about alpacas and all the fine items and clothing that can be made by their fleece.  

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Alpaca Perfect for Spring, Get ready


Alpaca Boucle Jackets for Spring
Everyone says that alpaca is warm. Well it is, yet it breathes too. Thus making it the perfect all year round garment. These Boucle Jackets made from alpaca are lined with silk. They are perfect for the spring as an outer jacket when you need a little something in the cooler weather of spring. They are quite stylish for the upscale event you are attending or for that everyday running around. They look great with jeans or dresses. They have pockets too.   717-359-9989

Now available in white, size small
Now available in black, size large 
Now available in burnt orange, size medium 
Now available in red, size XL 


Call 717-359-9989 to Visit 

Peaceful Day in the Barn

Place yourself here. 
Take a breath and relax.
Enjoy the peace and quiet of 
all those alpacas 
waking up
 this beautiful spring like morning. 



Schedule a visit today 

Monday, March 12, 2012

Newly Weaned Alpaca Boys


Newly Weaned Alpaca Boys
Written by Julie Wysong
                Today I went to check on the newly weaned alpaca boys. Weaning is when we remove the baby alpacas, called cria, from their mothers. These little guys were doing just fine. They were wondering inside the barn after seeing how windy it was outside.  Let me introduce them to you. Lawrence is the one with multiple colors. You can’t really see from the video but he has gray ears.  Standing beside him is Kimble. Kimble is a fawn color which is a light brown shade. Kimble is the one that is flirting with the camera. He is so curious. Every time I walk near him he will flirt with me. He would flirt with you too. Joshua is about the same color as Kimble. He came walking passed. You can almost see how soft and luxurious his fiber is. Joshua is the biggest of all these jr. hersires. Finally Montgomery got the courage to come in and walk past me.  There will be one more to join this group but for now these 4 little guys will try to get used to not being with their mothers. They are doing just fine.   
Schedule a visit to meet these newly weaned alpaca boys
 Call today 717-359-9989 Quarry Critters Alpaca Ranch