Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Alpaca Farm Open House

There's a local alpaca farm that has a few open houses a year. During these open house events, fiber artists from the area are invited to come set up tables to sell things, come hang out and spin, and meet all the alpaca. Last weekend was the most recent open house and I was happy to go again!


I brought a little table to set up some handspun, WIP bags, and fiber for sale. I did make a couple sales, but it wasn't as busy as the last open house. It was hot! It wasn't too bad in the shade, I guess, but geez! There are times I wonder why the hell I live in the desert. It was hovering right around 100F the whole day. I think the only saving grace is that there was shade and a light breeze!


There were a few of the local fiber people there with wheels, so it was nice to see them and the projects that they were working on.




And the alpaca! The stars of the show! The reason we were all there! They were super adorbs and so sweet!


And, of course, I came home with a fleece... and a project idea... what kind of fiber addict would I be without coming home with a fleece?!

Have you spun alpaca before? Knit with it? What do you think of it as a fiber?


Monday, July 17, 2017

A (re)Introduction

I'm not, by any means, over the loss of my beloved Bella. Losing her so suddenly and so unexpectedly earlier this year really threw me for a loop. I was a complete mess! I was depressed, and slept an awful lot. I was very stuck in my own head, thinking the scenario through over and over and over and over on loop. Was there anything that I could have done differently? Could we have saved her if we'd gotten an earlier vet appointment? Could we have done something? Should we have let her go and not tried that one last test?

I'm bouncing back to my "normal." I'm not sleeping as much. I'm not crying myself to sleep. I can make it through the day without getting a tension headache. I'm not up for getting the podcast up and going again, that's still just *too* much for me, but I'm prepared to get back in to the swing of things with the blogging bit. I have so many exciting things that I want to share! And projects! And plans!

So I thought that it might be fun to do one of those random facts style introductions that go around Instagram, only do it right here. On the blog. In the blog? I'm not sure which is more correct there...

Anyways, without further ado, here's me!


1) My name is Lora, I'm 27, and I'm a bit of a fiber addict!
2) I would absolutely love to have acreage, with a few acres of garden space, a flock of fiber sheep, and a whole building just for my fiber studio.
3) I have a BA that I finished in 3 years instead of the standard 4, but still don't have a job in my area of study. I work at a locally owned small business. When I say small, I mean small - only 5 employees!
4) My partner, Ty, and I have been together for 4 years and never plan to marry, but do plan to stay together forever.
5)Together we have a slowly dwindling zoo with dogs, cats, ferrets, rats, and horses.
6) He grew up on farms, I grew up in the suburbs, and we both prefer places with trees and 4 seasons.
7) I love the idea of home cooked, home grown, and home preserved. I do my best to do that, but delivery pizza wins out far too often!
8) The process of getting a raw fleece, skirting it, cleaning, it, and getting it spun and then either knit or woven is one that I love. Ty would say that I have too much fiber... I say there's still more space in the pantry!
9) I have 3 spinning wheels, quite a few drop and supported spindles, 3 looms, hand combs, hand cards, and access to a drum carder. I'm spoiled with friends and family who have given me tools or will lend me tools.
10) I read this on a blog post this morning, and it really stuck with me.
It is unrealistic and unhealthy to try to do everything ourselves, flawlessly, all the time.*
I try all too frequently to do everything perfectly and by myself. I've written this in my notebook, on a planner, stuck it to my computer monitor, and will internalize this!

So, that's a little bit about me! If you want to know anything more, please, speak up. If you wonder about my dreams, I'm happy to blather your ears off. If you want to know about fibery stuff, oh dear... I'm not sure I would be able to pick a subject, so you'd better give me a direction!

*The blog that I got that quote from is the Truth and Dare Movement. Many of the blog posts and podcast episodes are worth listening to !

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Two Months Later... a (mostly) wordless Wednesday!

Well, it's been just about 2 months since I last posted. We're in the very beginning of Tour de Fleece now, so what better time to start posting photos of my ongoing spinning projects for TdF?


I've finished up the Hobbledehoy Wizard battlings, started spinning the Hobbledehoy Kaylee's Parasol battlings, begun my Inglenook Fibers TdF sticklebatts, started a wheel spin of a braid of silk/BFL dyed by Edgewood Garden Studio, and finished part of a ply for the skein in the photo before plying!