El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo- FOR SALE!

Click HERE to watch the video!

Sorry it's been a while since I posted here, spring is just such a whirlwind on the farm! That being said, we have a few nice crias on the ground, shearing is behind us, and we're STILL waiting on lambs and more crias to be born.

Our big news this spring is that we're offering our elite stud, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, in the AOBA National Auction in Denver on May 20th! It was a tough decision, but our three partners and I all feel that Michelangelo has made a supreme impact on our herds but he's still in his prime at only 7 and 1/2 years old and he can benefit other farms now! For a while, I'll be feauturing Michelangelo here on the blog as there is just so much to say about him! (And, I'd love to tell you about the sons we've retained in our breeding program as well!)

For now, enjoy the video which features Michelangelo and many of his winning offspring!

Late Winter Hiking

We had a great llama trek last week with Gayle and Emily from Louisville. A lot of people don't think about hiking in the winter, but it's actually a GREAT time to be outside! The temps can be so pleasant with a few light layers to take on and off, and you can SEE so much more without foliage on the trees. There are no insects, and it feels extra nice to be outside!

Emily and Gayle helped us move some alpacas to a new pasture. Cherry Bomb, our 2010 bottle cria, enjoyed checking out Emily!

The Kentucky River is just beautiful right now, it's the prettiest shade of green and is very clear. Let us know if you'd like to schedule a llama trek- we only need a day's notice most of the time! The first show of the season is Southern Select on March 4th and 5th, our first spring alpaca crias are arriving at the end of March..... and then on to shearing in April

Spinning my Wheel!

I recently had a great opportunity to visit with friends in NE Ohio for a little fiber retreat (more here). Although I have recently been more in the mood for felting, that quickly changed as I was introduced to carding art batts and spinning art yarns at the retreat.

My friends Donna and Robbie have The Alpaca Fiber Studio in Chagrin Falls, where they create incredible yarns, dyed fibers, and felted products, as well as teaching classes in spinning. They are great teachers and got me excited about using my carder to produce colorful and unique batts for spinning and felting.

The coolest yarn I've ever produced was this skein of coiled yarn. It was tedious to spin, but using multicolored roving made it more fun as the combinations changed each time I added a coil. I just keep looking at it and thinking of the possibilities for using this in felt or as trim on knitted works. The thing I loved best about spinning art yarns? NO RULES, no "you're supposed to do it this way." That's my style.... and if I can do it, so can YOU!

Mikey's Back!

... the gorgeous El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, that is. We've owned him with two other farms since 2005 (purchased as a yearling at the Parade of Champions Auction), and he moves around for breeding throughout the year between Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky. It's been a wonderful and amiable partnership with great communication and mutual respect amongst the three farms, I'm happy to say! Larry Johnson of Likada Farm and Paul Kezdi of North Coast Alpacas are wonderful partners.

Besides holding a beautiful fleece with record-breaking density, softness and enduring fineness and siring champions in every color group coveted by farms across the country, Michelangelo has about the best disposition of ANY alpaca I've ever known!

Last weekend we met Paul for the handoff in the back of the parking lot of Kenwood Mall in Cincinnati. I was frustrated that I had forgotten to bring a halter when Paul got him off his trailer without one. He said, "don't worry, I never use a halter with him." Yes, I've gotten him out of our pasture just by putting my arm around his neck and have led him that way to the female barn for breeding, but I was a little nervous about having him in a busy parking lot. My concern didn't last long, as he stood quietly while I hugged him.

Some passers-by stopped and asked to see him up close- we stepped back and let them hold on to Michelangelo while they got their photos taken! The woman was from Argentina and quite familiar with alpaca products, but she had never touched an alpaca before and she was thrilled!

Mike jumped willingly into the back of my Suburban for the ride home and laid down instantly, familiar with this semi- annual ritual. A security guard walked over and remarked that this was a new sight for him after several years of watching over the lot!

As we approached the farm, Michelangelo began humming and it was obvious that he knew where he was once again. He got out of the car willingly and pranced into the barn, looking for girls! He'll be with us through May, and is available for breedings at a new 2011 fee of $3,500.

Alpaca Art at Addies

I've had several nice opportunities to sell my alpaca products lately, but wanted to give a bit more detail about what we're up to tomorrow, Saturday, December 11th. It's a busy time and I know that lots of you have wanted to shop with us but other chances didn't work out for you. We had considered having a small barn open house, but thought it might be more convenient if we set up on the deck at nearby Addie's Creekside Cafe in Millville from 11-2 (rain or shine, it should be dry enough and people can go inside to get warm or purchase lunch, a hot chocolate or coffee). A lot of people have been asking me what I'm bringing, prices, etc., so here's the plan!I've got several colorful felted birdhouses ready to go. Most are $22 and a few larger ones are $30 or $35. I'm getting a great response to these and have sold quite a few already (also have some pre-orders I plan to ship next week) and am making them as fast as I can to supply my own needs as well as the galleries where I sell.

I have a pretty limited supply of alpaca socks. I've only got about 10 pairs and they're a variety of women's or up to size 10 men's sizes, all are $20 each. I can order more on request and have them by the end of next week if you let me know.Alpaca felted soaps are a popular, unique gift item, and I've got several in Christmas colors and other pretty shades. They are $8, and if you'd like to order a quantity of 5 or more I can take $1 off and have them for you next week!

There will be some alpaca hats ($20-$25), scarves ($30 for commercial, $60 for handmade nuno-felted silk and alpaca), and I'm putting special pricing on our entire inventory of alpaca sweaters ($40-$100). I didn't go to Peru this fall, so I won't have the cute ornaments or some of the other items that I brought back with me last year.Handmade silk and alpaca scarf

I have some handspun, hand-dyed yarn but will also be offering some special "stash" alpaca yarn for $3-4 per skein.

Making jewelry (seen at top) has been a fun new endeavor for me this year and it's been well-received so far! Some of the jewelry incorporates felted alpaca beads but I also use swarovski crystal, sterling silver, lots of copper, roman glass, etc. Prices on jewelry ranges from $8-$20 for earrings, $30-$40 for bracelets, and $15 to $60 for necklaces.

If you plan to eat lunch at Addies, you may want to consider making a reservation at 873-0273.

So, that's the general scoop, though there are probably some things I've left out! If this goes well, I may do it again next Saturday so please do let me know if you are interested. We're open at the farm by appointment, and I can ship in time for Christmas if it's by next week (and I have time to make!!!) Thanks for all of your support and encouragement of our products, the handmade items in particular.

Art in the Barn!

I've been on a creative roll (when I can find time!), partly getting ready for my friend's upcoming event this weekend, Art in the Barn, at Alpacas at Booker's Corner in Paris, KY and partly just the holiday rush in general. You can see some of the things I've been busy making on my other blog.A friend suggested that I might attempt to make felted bird houses, so today I finally had a go at it. What a fun project! I was pretty pleased with how my first attempts turned out.
I'm learning more and more that using the correct type of fiber for the project makes a big difference. I wanted to use a fiber that would shrink considerably into a thick and water-repellent fabric, so I chose C-1 wool (a pretty generic and somewhat coarse fiber) from New England Felting Supply. I also used some softer wool roving from my friend Dianne for the inside of one of the houses, and will probably try some alpaca along with the C-1 wool next.
These are $22 each, and I hope to have some more made in other sizes by the weekend (They are about 6-7 inches tall by about 5 inches wide). I am experimenting with the best way to hang them, and will probably felt a hanging cord onto the next ones. If you are interested in purchase, drop me a line and we can arrange payment by PayPal or credit card.

On another note, I've had people asking about our cria Forrest Gump (who couldn't stand at birth and walked with a big limp for a while). He's doing GREAT and I plan to put a video up of him later in the week.... and by the way we are thinking of naming his buddy Bubba!

Going home...

BJ in 2002

The matriarch and oldest member of our herd, 3Peruvian Betty Jane, passed on to greener pastures last night. She had been with us longer than any other animal on the farm, since we purchased her at the 2000 "Sale of the Century", the first private alpaca sale ever held (it was a glitzy affair, held at a hotel/casino in Atlantic City, sponsored by WoodsEdge Wools Farm).

Betty Jane was a unique "harlequin" grey with stunning coverage, fineness, and a special presence and dignity about her. She appeared almost fawn when her fleece was grown out, but was a solid silver underneath with spots only on her face. She was our most expensive purchase to date, and we were very excited to add her to our then-growing herd. (We also purchased 5Peruvian Aymara in that auction, she's our second-oldest girl and one of our most outstanding producers).

BJ and her multi-champion son, SSF Peruvian Seabiscuit

Betty Jane never gave us the unusual greys we coveted, though we did have several nice crias from her before infertility issues turned her into a non-breeder. We didn't mind keeping her around, as she was a good sentry and herd leader (sometimes too smart for her own good), and her fleece stayed fine and soft with a very low CV throughout her lifetime.

Like most direct imports, she never came to fully trust humans but instead of being nasty, she mostly just objected with high screams and an angry expression when getting shots or her nails trimmed. She's the only alpaca that I knew to have no birthdate listed on her ARI papers, though her prior owner had listed her birth year as 1993 based on import records, so she was at least nearly 18.BJ and another favorite, Machuca, also now passed

We sold a single female to a new breeder this summer and we gave them Betty Jane as a companion. When I visited their farm recently, I was shocked to see how much weight she had lost and it was as if her age had suddenly caught up with her. We agreed to bring her back here so that she could winter over in a tight barn with a coat on if necessary and be pampered with good hay, and we would give them a different female instead.

Before I could do that, I got a call the other day from her new owners that Betty Jane was down in the field (though they were able to get her up again), and I went to pick her up yesterday. She walked willingly but feebily to the trailer, as if she knew she was going home. When we got here, she pranced into the barn and immediately began chomping hay. Later she was having trouble getting up, and she passed quietly during the night.

I was only a little sad about this, as I know that she had a much better life and death than many or even most animals and even people will have. If she had stayed in the high mountains of Peru, she would have likely been slaughtered at an early age and eaten, partly due to the realities of the culture and farming economy and the need for protein in a place where few food animals thrive. If she were human, she may have been poked with needles and hooked to machines so that her life could have been lingered a little longer, possibly prolonging suffering and inducing fear and a lack of control. Instead, she died peacefully at "home" after a long and productive life where her essence and contributions were appreciated. RIP, Betty Jane.

Sahara Rose

P.S. We have a great-granddaughter of Betty in our herd, CH Peruvian Sahara Rose. She is the same color and also has exquisite fiber and a sweet but vocal disposition.