It's a Slow Wednesday

I wandered into my friend's gift shop the other day.  Joanne is clearing her stock, as she has just sold her gift shop that she has run for several decades in our small town.

And I fell in love....  

Isn't he beautiful? (or do you think it's a she?)

It's silly.  I'm not a big consumer of decor items, especially since I'm at the stage in life where I'm trying to de-clutter. But really....I couldn't resist.  It called to me.  I know its a lucky talisman for my kitchen. Besides, I got a stellar deal, too.

Do you have a suggestion for a name for him (her)?



I'm learning how to knit socks with the "Magic Loop" method.  I really didn't think I wanted to learn this, but my knitter friend insisted on showing me.  I have to admit that the rounds go a lot easier than on DPNs, which I was perfectly happy with.  However, I got stuck after I turned the heel and I've left this project.  I need a morning, a coffee and no pressure to put my head into it.

Some pictures from my morning out at the barn...

I covet my neighbour's land....is that wrong?  It's currently hay fields.  I can picture a herd of 100 alpacas over there grazing.  No fence-posts or barn over there, though. Hmmmmmmm.... 

I was greeted by my farm help this morning.  They don't get much done, are kind of goofy, but they work for free and don't disturb the quiet peacefulness of the barn.

I'd like to know what is making a home under the barn these days.  Too big for a mouse or chipmunk, I think.  I hope it's not a weasel eyeing my chickens.



This is Ka'Kocha.  He's in a pasture by himself for the time being.  He can see the girls all the time, so he's okay about that.  He'd like to get in with the other boys to remind them who's boss.  Big Ka'Kocha outweighs our younger herdsire, Striker, by about 60 lbs.  Striker has that little guy attitude though...keeps challenging the big guy.

A couple months ago, for the first time ever on our farm, we had a gate failure.  KaKocha got in with the girls unattended.  He was too busy trying to ensure the other guys were on the side of the fence, that I think he forgot all about the ladies! (Well, I guess we'll know for sure next summer.)



Smoke is in the House

It's official. Smokey the Barn Cat is retired. After a couple invites into the house, and putting the husky in her place with a few well-placed swats, Smokey has settled in.

We aren't sure how old Smokey is. We guesstimate about 8-9 years old. Smokey came with a mysterious past. His previous owner brought the cat home upon graduation from his university frat-house, where the cat had lived among young men. After some time, that owner gained a new fiance that was allergic to the cat. Smokey took right to the barn, made quick remedy to our barn mouse problem and never strayed. In turn, he had a comfy spot in a heated barn room with a cat door, 2 squares a day and all the necessary vet care. Although he was wary of the alpacas, he loved farming. When hubby would walk out to the back pasture to close a gate, faithful Smokey would always be walking along beside him. Smokey was right with us, whether we were fixing fences or skirting fleeces.

We figure Smokey has reached the age where he deserves more comfort and companionship. Apparently, so does he.

The only issue is that I can't keep him out of my alpaca shop located in the house. It's like an obsession for him to be in there, and I'd rather not be mixing cat hair with the alpaca fibres. However, if you think about it....he's lived with alpacas for the last 4 years, he probably thinks he belongs there.

I have a very different life than I had 12 years ago. Way different. About that time, I was doing some soul-searching as my life wasn't about what I wanted. I read a few self-help and motivational books. One must have suggested writing down what you imagined your perfect life to look like that started with the phrase "I see myself...."

I still have that piece of paper somewhere. There are about 7 main phrases there. One of the items said "I see myself amid a circle of artists".

I put that list away for years. One day years later, I came upon the list and realized that, even without my directed effort, most of the items had come true in some way. I guess that by recognizing what you want, you put things in motion to get there.

I can especially recognize that I am, indeed, amid a circle of artists. Artists enrich my life. True artists have the courage to let their individual light shine. I'm still working on that.

My friend Fay came over the other day to get my opinion of an applique quilt she was piecing together.

This is what comes of Fay's imagination....

The details in her work are amazing.

I met Fay through my alpaca yarn shop and she fast became a good friend. I have met so many interesting and talented people through my small business. Some of them, I haven't actually met in person, but through email or Ravelry.

Fibre artists share a bond and I usually feel like I've met an old friend.

Here's some shots that my new friend, Val sent me. It's of my handdyed fibre that she bought and spun on her spindle.

Yes, Val....I also would need a beer to spin on a spindle ;)

(Seriously, some people swear by the spindle....I could never get the hang of it. I didn't work with a quality balanced spindle, which might have been my problem. Little kids in Peru can master this while they walk!)

I think Val is a natural!

I know that Val is addicted. She's just purchased her first spinning wheel. I remember that feeling...to fibre artists, it's better than the "new car smell".

My Favourite Time of Year

Fall is certainly my favourite time of year. There are no bugs. The day temperatures are moderate. The nights are cool for sleeping. The night sky is clear. The June cria are old enough to stop worrying about them. The start of the school year seems to put everything back on a schedule. Harvest vegetables are plentiful.


Here are some fall pictures of around Eau Claire and Bonfield, Ontario that I took on a drive this past weekend.





Another great thing about fall....people start thinking about wearing warm alpaca and knitting again!


I find handspinners, handweavers and handknitters to be an incredibly social and sharing group. Once a year, I try to have a "Friends on the Farm with Fibre" event. I invite lots of fellow fibre artists. Sometimes the date works out, and my house is jammed with friends and spinning wheels, fibre and yarn for the day. This year, the date I picked had a few conflicts with other events, but still we had about 14 fibre friends come for the day. While it rained outside, we had a relaxing day of spinning and knitting and friendship.


I am a member of the Country Roads Artisan group that celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year. Prior to our Fall Studio tour, we hosted a celebration at the shopping mall in North Bay. We displayed our wares, did demonstrations of our craft, shared cake and coffee and information with the public. The city mayor, and both our provincial and federal members of Parliament came to congratulate us. I always love to spin in public. People are so interested in this craft and in awe of the process. I get to meet a lot of very nice and interesting people while doing the demonstration. I found it especially satisfying spinning so relaxedly, watching others run about in our usual fast-paced, "gotta-get-the-errands-done" mode. Spinning brings me inner calm.


Our Country Roads Fall Tour was the last weekend in September. You can find more information about this tour and our group at our website http://www.countryroadstour.com/.
If you are planning to be in the area at any time, check out the information and hours of operation for the studios.

Below is an example of fellow member John Stephens' work from his studio At Wit's End Glass.

John's work is really unique. Many of the pieces feature birds or other wildlife. As well as 2D pieces, he also creates 3D works that incorporate other items such as rock, lichens, driftwood, etc.

Here are some of my recent handpainted sock yarns...

And I leave you with a fall shot of my farm....

and, of course, a recent picture of Lily for those who have followed the story of her hard little start.

For my Canadian friends, Happy Thanksgiving!

End of Summer Colours

No, I didn't spell "colour" wrong...even if my blogger spell-checker tells me so.

Here are a couple new colours of my chunky yarn in my shop. It's an 80% alpaca/20%merino chunky 3 ply.

In Twilight


In Bella Donna
I almost called this one black cherry. I thought that with the dark overtones, this colour would knit into a great accessory for an otherwise all-in-black goth-girl...one who wouldn't ever wear anything named "black cherry".

This is our truck. Big, bad-ass 4x4 truck. I try not to drive this, since I am short and cannot exit it gracefully. Wearing a skirt when I have to get in is not an good option. On a winter dressy occasion, when the nasty weather forced us to take the truck, we had to haul a stepping stool for me to get out without ripping my skirt. Sometimes, I have to drive the truck to work at the little library. It's not the type of vehicle your "library lady" should have to drive to work, is it?

We bought this truck after our other navy truck got flattened by a huge pine tree that fell in our driveway during a wind storm. Red wasn't a colour we would normally buy, but this used truck was available at a good price.

I have these blossoms showing all around the sheds and on the way to the barn. When I was young, we called them snapdragons. I'm not sure if that is the correct name for them. They sure are pretty.

Who decides if something is a weed or a flower?

Mostly Pics

Seems the hint of fall is in the air here.

Misty mornings. It was a month of September that I named my farm. Here's the girls coming in from the back pasture for their breakfast pellets.

My family is taking every advantage of the last days of summer.
It's times like these when I think about the possibility of having to line up another shearing crew for the spring.
In case you were wondering...I had to hold the camera and the dog's leash. Otherwise, I'd be right in there. Honest....really....;)

I'm in denial about the approaching seasons. However, my hubby had a couple loads of wood delivered the other day. Reality approaches.

I'm all packed up for my booth at Rosseau Farmer's Market tomorrow. Market booths are a lot of work for me, but I do enjoy meeting people so much. Even on a slow market day, I get a rare opportunity to sit outside and spin on my wheel. The weather network says it will be fair weather.

I'm looking forward to fall. It's been too humid here this summer. I do look forward to the return of routine that fall brings. Not to mention getting to wear soft, warm alpaca again!

Rainy Days

Oh, my yummy shelves! I've been having fun on my dyeing days this summer. These alpaca blend skeins were yet to be labeled as I got ready for the Artist's Garden event last weekend.

The Artist's Garden brings together about 25 artists and artisans from our community onto the gardens of Ash Creek Pottery in Callander, Ontario. For two days, the public comes to see the artists in action. I was there demonstrating hand spinning, not dyeing. The ladies of St. Andrew's Church serve lunch and desserts in a great tea room. Mid-day, a bagpiper plays from across the pond. The resident ducks walk amongst the gardens and glide into the pond. People play a game of trying to count how many frogs reside in the beautiful water garden beside the pottery studio. On a lovely day, you cannot find a more peaceful venue.
Saturday was a perfect day, even with a short 15 minute rain in the morning. I saw many old friends and met many new faces. The artisans are a great, friendly bunch and we have fun while we are there.
Sunday was not a perfect day. The skies turned black, the phone rang with warning from North Bay of high winds and hail. With black, ominous clouds approaching and the winds picking up, we scrambled to cover the tables the best we could. Not even my anti-rain dance in my long skirt and plaid rubber boots could save it. The skies opened up and it rained, and rained, and rained.
I felt quite sick watching from the studio's covered porch and realizing that I had several thousand dollars worth of yarn, hand knit and hand woven articles under the plastic. My poor tent didn't stand up too well. Somebody's market tent completely collapsed.
My fellow artisans thankfully rushed over to help me secure my product as best we could under plastic.
It rained for a very long time.
The best time was had by six year old Sage, who, barefoot and covered with a blue garbage bag ran through the rain and puddles, declaring that 'This is the Best Day Ever"!
When it finally cleared, the hostess found a dry table and tent and people helped me move some of my product to a drier spot.
Like many others, I was soaked to the bone with drip dry hair.
Worse was that when I got home tired, I had to unpack everything to ensure it wasn't wet.
I was happy that I only lost one photo card and some labels.
Sunday night, I was feeling that I might have participated in my last outdoor venue. I was tired and cranky.
But Monday, the emails started flying talking about how next year's event could be even better.
I love this event and the spirit of the people involved in it.
I'm in! (well, assuming I'm invited...)
I just might have to think about a more weather-proof display system.

Here's some fibre blending that I'm working on. White alpaca and a teal blue merino...makes a batt that looks like a waterfall. I'm thinking of adding either some sparkly angelina or some more colourful silk to it....we'll see where it goes.

It hasn't all been work. Lawrence Hill's Book of Negroes has been out on a steady reserved rotation from the library, especially as it has enjoyed such wonderful reviews. I finally got a hold of it when I had time to read it. It's so hard to put this book down. I thoroughly enjoyed Hill's writing style, the story and the character, Aminata Diallo.



You may have been wondering about Lily. She's still doing fine, although she is smaller than she should be. Lily absolutely refuses the bottle, so we are weighing her often to ensure that she is still gaining. So far, so good. She is gaining, ever so slowly. Lily already has a fan base of her own rooting for her continued health.

Thanks for dropping in. I am always pleased to find comments, so please leave one if you feel inclined!

Easy Summer Living

My schedule has been varied a bit over the last 2 weeks, so it seems almost like a holiday.

I had a booth both at the farmers' market in Rosseau and in North Bay on the August long weekend.

The young cria, Lily, started refusing the bottle from us. I guess after tasting the real stuff from her adoptive alpaca mom, the kid replacer just didn't cut it. She's also eating grass now. We need to keep an eye on her weight and make sure she keeps gaining.

Without the regular bottle feeding schedule, we've been able to spend some more time out at the lake. We still have to run home to look after the animals at least twice a day. Still, it seems like a holiday to be swimming, relaxing in the shade with a good book, visiting with family, fishing, etc.

We had a good rain for most of today. Tonight, I went out to take some nice shots of the green fields and perhaps some alpaca pictures.

It's hard to sneak up on the alpacas with a camera. Either they come up to put their noses into the lens, or more often than not, you end up taking a lot of pictures of alpaca butts as they turn and move away.


I was able to take a picture of one back pasture before the girls noticed me and figured they should run in to get some pellets.


We often have deer in our back pastures, sometimes even grazing alongside our alpacas. I counted six there tonight, although I couldn't get them all in one picture.

Do you remember Mr. Lonely?
Uhmm...pretty sure it's a Miss. Isn't she pretty? I think we will call her Miss Lovely from now on.
She's not so lonely anymore. Aren't they getting big?


I've been doing a lot of hand dyeing, both yarn and rovings.

Here's my 3 ply sock yarn in "Feet on Fire" colourway.
and "In The Navy" colourway.
This coming weekend, Aug 14th & 15th, I will have a booth at The Artist's Garden on Hwy 654 in Callander, Ontario. Check out the link. 22 artists and artisans show their wares and demonstrate their craft. I'll be hand spinning....alpaca, of course!

Thanks for stopping in to read my blog. It makes my day when I see that someone has left a comment.