"THUNDER" & "LIGHTENING" Before and After Shearing Day

LOOK AT US BEFORE SHEARING.....

....AND LOOK AT US AFTER SHEARING!

Eight month old little guys, "Thunder" and "Lightening",

were born on the same day--the day after a huge

thunder and lightening storm.

Aren't we so clever at naming our critters! Thunder is

fawn colored and Lightening is the white one.

CHAMP. . .from Fiber to Fashion

'Champ' Makes a Great Western Hat!

I'll sell the hats I make at our Navajo Lake Alpacas

'Farm Store', at Festivals and on ETSY!

Champ's Yummy Fleece at the Fiber Mill

I'm 'skirting' the fleece to get it ready to be made into

batts. This fleece will make lots of hats, scarves

and other fashion items!

Time for a haircut!

The alpacas are sheared once a year and produce about

8 to 10 pounds of fiber. There are only about 10 expert

alpaca shearers who travel across the Country

each spring to shear these valuable animals.

It's All About the Fiber. . .Meet CHAMP!

Don Perignon aka "Champ"

(as in Champaign)

~It's All About the FIBER~

Champ's one of 24 alpacas that makes up our herd right now.

When I look at our beautiful alpacas I see hats & scarves!

Doesn't everyone?

My Booth at the Taos Wool Festival 2008

I sell the felted (and a few knitted) items I make at festivals, which I go to three of four times a year, mostly in the Four Corners Area of the United States. It's a lot of fun--and I meet new friends and lots of great people! But it's a lot of work, too. Like my Dad says, "You can't sell out of an emply wagon"! So, you'll find me in "production mode"...felting like crazy for about three weeks before a festival. I make items I know sell well. In between festivals I let my creative side "turn on" and have a go at bringing ideas into reality. That's what's really FUN!

'Western Hats'

PRIZE WINNER!

My Western Hats placed third in CQ Magazine's
Natural Fiber Product Showcase - March 2009

You can see the other entries and winners at

llamas-alpacas.com/Showcase.