The Hollyhock Blog

I had Darryl take some pix of Georgie and Carley yesterday as we were going for a little stroll and stand lesson.  The Expo is looming large in the very near future.   I have only a few more days of training sessions.  And the weather is NOT cooperating – snow/rain today and tomorrow.   YUCK! 

So here is Georgie:

Georgie - front

Georgie - right side

Georgie - left side

Carley - front view

Carley - left side

Carley - yeah really!

Carley says "I see you!"

We have the Elk River running through our property.  Most of the land on the far side of the river is flood-plain and it is under varying amounts of water each spring.  But this spring, it is higher than usual – not still not the highest we have seen in the 9 springs we have lived here. 

On the ridge

I’m standing on a ridge – usually the water is 3-4 feet below the edge on the right side of the land.   And the water on the left of the ridge is usually not there. 

Upstream

This is taken from the same place as the previous pix -just looking upstream.  The green is a cedar tree that is now horizontal, roots bared by the high water and toppled by the current.   The wood in the upper left corner is the roots of a maple that tipped over years ago.  That is where the FAR shore of the river should be.  The brush pile in the lower left is actually floating on the water – snagged on logs that have floated downstream that far. 

High water

This is a little further downstream.  The ‘real’ river is way in the background. 

More water

There will lots of interesting ‘treasures’ to find when the water goes down!  But neither we nor the alpacas are in danger of getting wet – unless we get a lot of rain.   I don’t know if the river has crested here, but once it starts going down it is like someone pulls the plug on a bathtub!  It is so sandy here that the water just drains away.

All the socks are finished!  And they finished the baby sets I’ve been working on the last couple months.  So here they are:

Mauve baby set

In mauve,

Dark Green baby set

dark green,

Pink baby set

pink,

Purple baby set

and purple.  I also have a lavender and light blue set.   Hats – $15, socks – $15, blankets – $40.   And I have a special gift for anyone who buys a set.

Baby cards

These are hand made cards – the pictures do not do them justice at all.  They are adorable.  They are made by a friend of my mother.  She does a fantastic job.   I’ve purchased a bunch of these cards to give to anyone who buys a baby set.   It’s an all-in-one gift for a baby in your future.

I thought you might want to see how I make the baby socks.  I got an adult sized pattern from a fellow knitting machine knitter.  After down-sizing the pattern and a couple acrylic attempts, I started making little socks to complete the baby blanket and hat sets. 

So here is a sock as it comes off the machine.  The last step on the machine is knit a bunch of rows with scrap yarn in a contrasting color.   My contrast does not show up very well, but there are a couple rows of blue yarn on the end of this little sock.

Sock with scrap yarn

The purpose of the scrap yarn is to leave the bind-off edge with live stitches.  These stitches are then woven together with the kitchener stitch.  To do this, I first need to put the stitches on needles.

Live stitches on needles

I put them right onto two needles so they are ready to kitchener.   At this point the scarp yarn is unraveled.  This will be the seam over the toes.

Kitchener stitch done

The seam is really not a seam, as the two edges are grafted together and look as if they were knit.    The edge is sewn up, and…..

Finished sock

the sock is completed.   My friend who gave me the pattern has made and worn socks with the seam and she says they are comfortable.   Some day I will test that out.   But since these are for babies who will not be walking or wearing shoes, I’ve no concern about the side seam. 

Preparation for the Alpaca Expo continues.  Less than 2 weeks to go!  Georgie and Carley had their pre-show vet visit.  They each now have a microchip implanted at the base of their left ears. 

Sterile microchip kits

They look scary, but the chip is about the size of a grain of rice.  When a microchip reader is passed over the chip the number shows up on the reader’s screen.   AOBA show rules requires all show animals to have a microchip. 

Training is progressing.   I’m now able to walk the girls on the driveway and around the yard.   Georgie is easily spooked by anything she has not seen before.  Carley wants to take me for a  walk.   She always wants to get to the next shiny thing to check it out!

A new section of the Hollyhock Alpacas website just went live!   It is called ‘Our Alpacas’.  You can get to the home page of the website by the link on bottom of the right-side column on this page.   Then click the ‘Our Alpacas’ link on the menu – third from top.   You will find each of our alpacas listed – family tree-style.  So far, I’ve only finished a page for Embrace, but the others will come quickly.  The hard part is always the first – the learning curve of writing new code.  Now I just have to pick out the pictures for each page.   I hope you enjoy meeting all our alpacas.   Click here to get to the new page quickly.