The Hollyhock Blog

I’m having a tough time organizing my thoughts these days – so much is going on!  So I’ll try to go day-by-day to let you know what is happening here.

3/26 – the TV appearence!

This was a lot of fun.  I was hoping the Minnesota Showcase website might have the video available online, but I’ve not been able to find it.   The alpacas were the stars of the show – especially the one who was very curious about the TV camera.   We alpaca folks love to share our favorite critters with the world.  I hope to see you at the Alpaca Expo this weekend.

3/27 – spinning

Thursday was the meeting of my spinning guild.  I’ve been working on a little bag of roving (same as I was spinning on TV) that was processed by Rachel at Rach-Al-Paca Farm.  Rachel made if for me from the ‘leftovers’ from the yarn she made from one of my alpacas.  It was my test of her roving – and it passed!  I really like her roving.  Makes spinning just whirl along!  I like it so much I’m planning to do a cleaning of my raw fiber room and bring her a bunch more.  Since she will be at the Expo, so I’ve got to get that ready to take to her by Friday!

 3/29 – Knit Happens

A small group of knitters, spinners, alpaca lovers got together here for the day.  Lots of yummy food and more spinning for me.  I finished the little bag of roving. 

 There are about 75 wraps on my niddy noddy which means about 150 yards.    

This is so soft – a picture just doesn’t do justice.  I’m not sure why – but this is about the loftiest yarn I’ve spun.  Wish you could feel this!  I’ve got to get it wet now and let it dry to set the twist – then maybe a scarf?  Ideas?

3/31 – today???

7:08 AM – It was just starting to fall - not sure what ‘it’ was.  Kinda like little, bitty snowballs. 

8:18 AM – My plan was to show what can happen in an hour, but my bro-in-law called to remind me to have gas for the snowplow, get the shovels ready, put hay inside for the alpacas and much more oh-so-helpful advise!  Thanks, Larry!!

And it has not stopped or even let up!  Those wonderful weather folks are saying 4-5 inches today and 1-3 more overnight!  A VERY cruel April Fool’s joke for tomorrow.   I’ve had very un-ladylike thoughts this morning!   This makes if very difficult to take the show girls for leading practice.  It means the alpacas will not go outside much – I didn’t even put hay outside for them – so they will probably not make the trek to their outside ‘bathroom’ either!    Cleaning the barn isn’t really that bad, as a rule they don’t make a big mess – most of them go outside whatever the weather.  But being wet and snowy and then laying down inside where the hay gets on the floor makes for a lot of hay stuck in Annie’s  fiber.  She is the hardest to keep clean because she has never been shorn and hay sticks to cria fiber like velcro!  What to do, what to do??   Stay tuned! 

Happy Easter to all!

We celebrated Good Friday at my parents, where my sister and nephews were spending spring break.  My nephews made special eggs for everyone.   We brought ours home.  

I decided I needed to show off these egg-stra special eggs.   My nephews are 5 and 8, and while I may be a bit biased, I think they captured Darryl perfectly! 

 What do you think?  I would recognize that face anywhere–even on an egg!  

As I mentioned earlier, I’m working on the training of my show girls — the 2 alpacas that will be going to the Minnesota Alpaca Expo on April 4-6. 

The alpacas are expected to walk on a lead rope along side their handler, stand still in the ring awaiting their turn at inspection and during their inspection by the judge and to allow their handler to show their teeth to the judge, so their bite can be assessed.   They are not to be judged on their behavior, but if they are so out of control that the judge is not able to inspect their conformation as they walk and stand or if they don’t allow the judge to inspect their fiber or teeth, it will affect their ribbon placing and the alpaca and handler could be dismissed from the ring if the behavior is extremely bad.  By the way, I’m the handler of my alpacas.  Darryl does not do show rings!  

This is Hollyhock’s Annie M.   This will be Annie’s first show.   She’s a very mellow girl and has done well with the training so far.   I’ve walked her on our driveway a couple times.   She’s still jumpy at strange noises and sights, but she is very patient with standing.

 I don’t think she will cause us to get tossed out of the ring!   But, there are no guarantees.   All bets are off when we actually get into a show ring. 

 And this is Hollyhock’s Princess Rosita.  And she thinks she is every bit of her name!  

We took Rosita to a show last fall and she placed really well, but she is a nervous Nelly!   She walks no-body’s business, but she does NOT like to stand still.  She prances, turns circles around me, tries to rub her halter off on my arm, rears up and generally causes a scene – similar to some of the ‘bad-girl celebrities’ you often see on the gossip talk shows!  I learned that giving her a long piece of hay to chew on or just hold in her mouth seems to work as a pacifier.   I have no idea will happen when I put a halter on this girl!   She will be old enough to breed later this spring, so this will probably be her last show.   My stress level says that is a good thing!

Set your TIVO or VCR – March 26, next Wednesday, between 10 AM and 11 AM, I’ll be on KARE 11′s Showcase Minnesota.  The show features 3-4 Minnesota-related stories each hour.   Next Wednesday, they are featuring the Minn Alpaca Expo.   There will be 2 breeders bringing alpacas, I’ll be spinning, and another gal will be speaking.  Tune in or record it to see me and learn more about alpacas and the Expo. 

Yes – It’s been awhile.

No – I didn’t stick my tongue on a flagpole and have to wait for it to thaw! 

It has finally begun to warm up.   But it has been a slow melt / freeze cycle.  Which makes for a slow clean up of the hay / straw in the paddock.  I’ve been raking up what thaws to expose the frozen layer underneath.   It’s a slow process, but it will help to get all the snow and ice melted.  Another benefit is to clean the ground so the alpacas can roll in the sand and not pick up anymore hay/straw.  It makes a big difference on shearing day. 

There has been lots going on here.   We have a visitor!   Her name is Honie.

 She belongs to Kathe of Sawtooth Star Alpacas.  Honie will be staying with us until Kathe gets her farm set up.  

Honie is pregnant and due in August.  With the three Hollyhock girls who are expecting in May – June, that adds up to a whole lot of progesterone in the barn!   That can make for some interesting feeding times, but we’re very happy to have Honie staying with us. 

Remember that bulky yarn I dyed with the nearly spent hollyhock blossom dye bath?  Well, here it the scarf.  It is a simple K1, P1 pattern – nothing special, but the bulky yarn and size 11 needles give it a lacy look.  It’s about 6 inches wide and 60 inches long.  I’ve used this or a similar pattern to make several of these scarves.

I’ve got a lot more exciting things happening, but they’ll have to wait awhile.  Until next time……

The COLD — the horrible, everlasting cold.   It was 14 below this morning, 7 below yesterday, 3 below the day before.   Tonight it is supposed to be around 0 or 1 below.  Then ‘they’ say it will warm up.  Who are ‘they’ and how do ‘they’ know.    This was supposed to be 2 nights of cold – and it has lingered on for 4 nights, so far!  There is bright, beautiful sunshine out today and it (maybe) made it up to 7 degrees above zero!  This is very unseasonal – and after a long cold winter, I’m ready for at least ’seasonal’.  

 I’m about to start to panic.   The Minnesota Alpaca Expo is now less than a month away and I have been wimping out on training the alpacas that I plan to take.   It’s too cold.   I don’t stay outside any longer than required to complete basic chores.  Some serious cramming for the show will need to be the order of the day very soon. 

Yesterday and the day before, I dyed some yarn with a bag of maroon hollyhock blossoms I have had in the freezer.   It was a gallon size zipper bag stuffed full of blossoms and it all went into one dye pot.  I had 2 skeins that I dyed a while ago, that had started to fade a bit from the sun of the farmers market last year.  I dyed them in the hollyhocks again and then did a skein of bulky to make a scarf.    They went in the pot sequentially from left to right.   All are 100% alpaca, leftmost is 8 oz sport-weight, center is 8 oz lace weight, right is 6 oz of bulky.

The picture doesn’t quite show the incredible difference in color.   The first is dark, almost charcoal like, gray.   The center is medium gray and the bulky yarn is closer to tan.   Natural dyeing doesn’t come with guarantees!    But that is why I like it! 

I’m hoping to have some sit & knit opportunities over the next week, so I’m starting lots of projects that can be worked on without much brain required!