Sweet Harmony Farm

I am a very slow knitter; therefore I weave.  Occasionally I do knit and no, I’m usually not the person who knits a swatch first, although I know I probably should.  Most of you faithfully knit swatches, right?  This would mean that most of you also have accumulated a ‘swatch collection’ and what does one do with swatches?

One could make simple ornaments!  I admit this idea is a ‘no-brainer’ and lordy, why didn’t I think of this myself.  Hmmm, how lovely a Christmas tree will be decorated with alpaca! 

Swatch Ornaments

Dig out your swatch box and put project swatches to good use making ornaments. Thin, drapey swatches will give the smoothest effect.

Materials: Glass or plastic ball ornament; knitted swatch (height and width similar to or slightly smaller than ornament circumference; exact dimensions are not critical, swatch will stretch to fit.); strong sewing thread, needle; ribbon (optional)

Directions: With right sides facing, sew two short ends of the swatch together to make a tube. Turn right side out. With a doubled length of thread, make a running stitch line along the bottom edge of the swatch.

From inside the tube, draw the thread tight and gather the bottom of the swatch into a tightly closed circle. Fasten off the thread. Pop the ball ornament into the swatch bag.

With a doubled length of thread, make a running stitch along the top edge of the swatch. Draw the top opening tightly closed, stretching the fabric slightly if necessary. Fasten off the thread. If you'd like, attach a ribbon for hanging.

                                                 From Knitting Daily, Interweave Knits, www.interweave.com

We love autumn and October in New Hampshire is especially beautiful.  The maple trees’ leaves slowly turn to glorious hues of reds and orange, making the sky look so blue and the grass and fields so green.  The air is wonderfully crisp and dry and there’s always a great breeze.  It’s perfect weather for hiking. This is such a fabulous corner of the country to live in, and autumn our favorite season.

This is the time of year I switch to drinking more tea as coffee really doesn’t keep one warm, we go apple picking, we split and stack large piles of wood, we rake huge amounts of leaves, we cut down the perennials, we pull up the veggie garden and till back in large amounts of compost.  I go back to cooking soups and casseroles and baking bread.  As the days get shorter we lament ‘oh no soon it will be snowing once again’ but we wouldn’t choose to live anywhere else but here, where we have 4 distinct seasons. 

It went from normal autumn chilly to downright cold just like that this week which of course now makes me concerned that the alpacas are cold.  Yes they are livestock with super thick fleece so by nature are just fine in the cold weather.  Yet here we are in the house, all of us ~ me, Dan, Stella, and our indoor kitty Gracie ~ all snuggled up near the woodstove so it’s hard not to want to bring the alpacas inside!

Dan is concerned too, so the other day he came home with some straw to put down for bedding for them.  We have found out that hay that is on the ground will wick up moisture and not dry if it’s been rained on, so yeah, the alpacas would get cold.  The straw is hollow and does not absorb moisture, so it’s perfect for them to snuggle on.  We spread out a bale and it didn’t take long for them to all cush on it.  Smart alpacas!  We will continue to add straw on top of what’s there, layer upon layer, to keep them dry and warm over the fall and through winter.  Apparently, if done correctly, there is a composting effect, therefore creating heat which does help to keep the alpacas warm.

Off to make soup!

Why do we all raise alpacas?  Why, the fleece of course!

This year, 2009, has been named by the United Nations as the International Year of Natural Fibers.  Alpaca fleece is a natural fiber!  You can read about the United Nations’ overview of alpaca fleece at http://www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/fibres/alpaca.html.   There has also been a non-profit organization established, in cooperation with Heifer International, to celebrate this United Nations declaration, called http://www.keepthefleece.org/.  Their goal is to build the largest fiber flock in the world.  What a goal!

We are so happy to be part of this growing community of alpaca fiber producers.  We have lots and lots of bags of many, many pounds of fleece (well, for us it’s quite a lot!) and are still deciding on which fleeces to be processed where.  Someday I will learn to spin, but for now we will send it out for processing.  Some will be sent to our wonderful, local mini-mill, Sallie's Fen Fibers, to be made into yarn, some will be made into yarn through our preferred co-op, NAAFP, and still some will be made into wonderful rugs.  Because this is still such a new venture for us, we prefer to get our own fleece/yarn back, which will also serve our ‘locally grown’ clientele well.  But also as a business which supports a growing industry (alpaca textile), we realize that joining a co-op is a sound decision.  The NAAFP co-op’s regional collection facility as well as their commercial mill is here in New Hampshire!  So not only will the co-op’s yarns have our fleece in it, the co-op’s yarn is locally made in regards to our farm!  We’re thrilled.  

And how could we not be thrilled?  Alpaca is the absolute best fiber there is!

Even though it is now October, it is still not too late to join in the celebration of the International Year of Natural Fibers. Whether you knit, crochet or weave, you’ll enjoy working with alpaca!

There are several horse farms and horse owners here in our town.  In fact there are at least 6 horse farms/owners here on our street, plus the vet.  Our farm is also within 7 miles +/- of three different feed stores, each selling 1 of the 3 major brands of alpaca grain/pellets (Poulin, Blue Seal, and Mazuri), all which also sell hay, so our alpacas will never go hungry.  Because the overwhelming majority of livestock in our area is horses, the hay is usually 1^st cut Timothy hay.  There is certainly nothing wrong with 1^st cut, especially when it’s still very green, but it does tend to be coarser and ‘stemmy.’  Alpacas will usually pull out the stems and not eat it, leading to quite a large amount of waste.  Alpacas’ digestive systems requires a  higher protein value than horses or cattle, so the hunt for green, grassy, 2^nd cut hay for the fall and winter is on.

We purchased some 1^st cut hay from our neighbor when our alpacas first came home.  It was pretty green.  The alpacas seemed to like it although they have definitely been pulling out the stems, and as a bonus they also seemed to enjoy grazing on what little grass we have growing in the pastures.  Next spring we will have our soil tested so that we can fertilize the pastures properly.  But right now it’s autumn and it’s getting cold outside, and our vet would prefer they put on some weight before winter.  It will be easier to maintain their weight from then on, rather than trying to have them put some on during the cold weather.

We went over to a friend’s house yesterday to pick up a couple dozen bales of 2^nd cut hay from his fields.  Beautifully green, fabulous ‘just cut’ smell, and much softer to the touch!   I pulled out the other hay from the feeder and re-filled it with the new hay.  When the alpacas see me, they generally all come running (yes, it’s a nice feeling!) and run they did!  They took a few good sniffs of the new hay, a few bites, then turned around and walked back out to the pasture.  Silly, silly boys!!  All except our littlest guy, Arlo, who happily eats hay from my hand.  I’m guessing that because we’ve had some light rain occasionally the past few weeks, there must be new growth on the field that they like.  Right now as I type, they’ve just come back from the pasture and are chowing hay!  I guess they like it after all.