Wednesday Yarn Along

Happy Wednesday all you knitters out there.

I am giddy with excitement because I officially booked our rooms for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. That's right. This knitting crew is going on the road. Can't wait! The gyros for lunch are worth the ride. I have so much yarn here that needs to be knitted into something, so I will have to behave myself when I go. But I'm sure I'll bring home something fabulous that I just HAVE to have. And it won't be an alpaca. Maybe a sheep? Ha. Only kidding...but it would fit in the minivan right? I'm sure I'll bring home a sheep's worth of yarn though.

Ok...onto knitting. Seriously, this baby crawling has really put a major damper on my knitting. I think I tried to knit a hundred times this week and maybe got 6 rows done on his baptism outfit. I am being realistic and bought a back up outfit.

I would show you a picture of it, but it pretty much looks identical to the last picture.

So, instead of that I'll show you a sweater that finally fits the baby. I knitted this sweater during my pregnancy. It's made with Mission Falls Cotton.

My apologies for the poor picture quality. It was dark in the house. To make up for it, I've thrown in the pretty spring pictures that I took last weekend on our day trip to Washington Crossing Park.

And a day late...

Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad!

I think it's 35 years. Right? Or 36. One of those. Either way, it's a long time!

Happy Anniversary you two. :)

 

Coop is Open today, Wednesday March 28th from 10-4

We have some beautiful spring colored scarves that are perfect for this time of year. Light weight alpaca. Or pick up an alpaca stuffed animal for that last minute Easter basket gift!

 

Hope to see you!!!

Happy Knitting,

Leanne

Yarn Can Bring Us Together

This past Sunday was one of those crazy days where my boys were invited to birthday parties all over town all day long. So on my first drop off, I run in and am surprised and happy to see a friend. So I pop on over to chat for a few minutes. (shocker, I know) I tell her that I have to get going because someone is coming to the farm to buy yarn.

"Yarn? You sell yarn?"....said by a very nice woman sitting next to my friend.

We went on to have a very nice conversation. Getting excited about yarn, where we shop, what we're knitting, projects, colors, laughing about our kids and how they grumble as we pull into yarn shop parking lots. It's a funny thing how yarn can bring two strangers together so quickly.

I think that's true of all crafts. It's fun to see someone else get so excited about something you love too. Isn't it?

Happy Knitting :)

-Leanne

A great day with an old friend, some scouts and fire

You know those days that you can sit back at the end of it and think, wow, that was a great day?

 Today was that kind of day. 

We packed up the car, grabbed some coffee, bagels and lunch for later, left the farm, picked up an old friend and her son, that I don't get to see enough!!!! and headed out for a day with scouting friends.

 Learned about George Washington crossing the Delaware, hiked in his footsteps...

 Checked which direction we were headed...

 Wore uniforms with pride...

 Laughed and enjoyed the woods, trails, logs, bridges...

 Took in some history lessons...

 Hung out with some amazing boys and a great cub master

 My oldest boy

 Signs of spring

 Fire making lesson. Who knew it was so easy???!!!!

 My boys

 A fire making competition. Felt like we were on an episode of Survivor!

 My dear old friend, Rita, and baby Chase taking a walk in the woods. 

This baby is amazing. A joy the whole day.

 Teamwork at it's finest

Victory!

What a great day. I'm exhausted. But in the good way. It was nice to be off the farm for the day, enjoying the good times with little boys. We all left with smiles, aching feet, dirty knees and lessons learned. I hope you had a good Saturday where ever you were today....

-Leanne

It must be nice to be your own blanket

I hate to be cold. I would much rather be sweating from 90degree heat than be cold. I am famous for grabbing a sweater before leaving home in the middle of summer. So it's not a shock that I love a good blanket.

Last night my little guy was restless and didn't want to sleep. So the two of us headed to the couch. The only blanket in arms length was a knitted one that has been hanging around for years. It's made with cheap acrylic blend. Comfy, yes.... But I wasn't having it.

I found the alpaca blanket. Wrapped it around myself and the baby and it was heaven. Yes, heaven may seem like an exaggeration, but it was wonderful. Let me tell you that. This blanket keeps you warm on the coldest nights but also keeps you just warm enough on the mild nights. You are never too hot, never too cold.... Just right.


So I got to thinking, it must be wonderful to be an alpaca. Just warm enough with your own blanket on you all the time. No wonder they are such happy animals. I would be too if I were them.

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to:

Mom

(aka, MomMom, The Bean Queen, Dee, That alpaca lady, Dee Dee Dianne Margaret Warwick)

After some recent confusion on her age, we did some math and we think that she may be eligible for some discounts now :)

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Love, The whole crew (animals included)

I'm skipping a yarn along today but I'll be back next week with some knitting/reading to share.

Coop is open today! 10-4

-Leanne

No Pictures, Just a little story

I always feel pressure about these little blog postings. Not pressure..ok..wrong word. I guess what I'm saying, is that I feel like I need pictures to go along with every posting. Well, I don't really have any pictures to post tonight. But I do have a story. So here goes...

This morning was foggy. Warm, foggy, first day of spring. It smelled different. The car ride to the bus stop felt different. I turned the butt warmer off in my minivan (by the way...best invention EVER) The forsethias (ok..tried spelling this a hundred times and it's wrong I know) were in bloom, the daffodils were popping up all over the place and I knew that spring was really here.

On my way home from putting the older boys on the bus, I saw the prettiest scene that I've seen in a long time. All the mama/girl alpacas (and Bing) were grazing in the big field next to my house. They are almost always out there this time of the morning. But today was different. It was foggy, it was beautiful and they looked so happy. I noticed how different they all looked. Geneva lifted her head first and walked to the fence. Wea was side by side with her mom, Star, enjoying the fresh spring grass. Bing is so big now. Growing so fast, just like my little baby Chase. By the time I got back in my house, grabbed my camera and walked out to say good morning to the herd, the fog had lifted, they had headed back to the other field and the moment was gone.

But I enjoyed it. Even if it was just for a few minutes.

I hope you had a wonderful first day of spring :)

How to Give an Alpaca a Bath

If you have been to the farm than you know Sanda.  He is a very friendly alpaca and he is always the first to great visitors to the farm.  Poor Sanda has mites and had to have his fleece sheared off last week in order to treat the mites.  My mother has been giving him medication and putting special medication on the affected areas.  Today was an extra special day because he got to take a bath.  We used medicated shampoo and this is how we did it.

The Alpaca Spa Mobile

We filled up the clean garbage can with warm water from the house.  Then we put one hose in the can and connected it to an electric pump and used the other end to spray the warm water onto Sanda. Sanda wasn't too upset about the hose. He is used to the hose in the summer to cool him off.  He really seemed to enjoy the warm water.

Step 1- HOSE HIM DOWN

 Step 2- RUB IN MEDICATED SHAMPOO

Step 3- LET SHAMPOO SOAK FOR 10 MINUTES.

GO FOR A NICE LITTLE WALK

Step 4- RINSE AND REPEAT 

 Step 5- TOWEL DRY

 Step 6- GO SHOW OFF YOUR SHINY NEW COAT TO THE KIDS

 Step 7- FIND A NICE WARM SPOT IN THE SUN TO DRY OFF.

We will have to do this several more times. It is going to be a long haul to get him back to 100% but thank goodness he is so cooperative with the treatments.

If you are wondering about the other alpacas they are doing just fine. Sanda has had a bad reaction to the mites, but he seems to be the only one.  Alpacas respond deferently to the mites. Some don't have any problems and other do. Most often alpacas with lighter coats suffer from more skin problems.

~Andee

We are joing along with A Rural Journal's - Rural Thursdays Blog Hop

Wednesday Yarn Along

Wow. It's gorgeous today. This weather makes me so happy. Makes me want to clean. Yikes. If you know me, that's the LAST darn thing I ever want to do! But there is something about the clean fresh air, windows open and bright sunshine that motivates me to get my act together and straighten up. 

I'm joining in with Ginny again at Small Things with the weekly yarn along.

I have been busy reading a lot lately. Magazines, books, what ever I can get my hands on.

I have also made more progress on Chase's baptism outfit. It's been slow going because of multiple birthday celebrations over the weekend. Oh, and my sweet baby boy has mastered crawling. Oh dear. I forgot how quickly a little moving baby can  get themselves into trouble. Not good for my knitting habit! But, anyway, still knitting my way through it. 

Continuing reading The Snow Child. It's definitely different! I'm intrigued by it. So, the reading continues.

But the most exciting news around this place is....

THIS!!!!!!!

See that headline? 

Yup...that's us on the cover!!!!

I had mentioned a few months ago that a wonderful writer spent a few hours with us and was going to be writing an article about our farm. It just came out and I'm thrilled to share with you all. I sent her some photos that I had taken over the past year and a half and they used them for the article. We are in the beginning of the magazine and guess who we came before?

See that group of guys over there on the bottom right? Uh...yeah....that's Jon BonJovi. It's an article about his new restaurant. We're before a rock star. Pretty cool huh?

The article was amazing and we are so thankful for all the continued interest in our farm. 

And now I'll throw in a few pictures for my grandparents. This is the only way they can see pictures online of what's going on around here....

Happy Knitting!!!! Enjoy this weather.

-Leanne

Happy 8th Birthday

My middle boy turned 8 today. It feels like yesterday that I had him. The weather was just as beautiful the day we brought him home as it was today. We are all convinced that MomMom has made her way into the weather department in heaven. Thank you MomMom for this beautiful day to celebrate our little man. Garrett, may you always be silly, strong, smart and determined. We love you and are proud of you!!!

(this picture is from a year and a half ago, but I just love it)

Party In The Coop!!!!!!!!!!

Today is Shea's 3rd Birthday!!!!!!!!!!

To the biggest alpaca lover out of the grandkids...today is your day, buddy!!!!

 

 Shea is Andee's youngest boy. AKA "Tiny" as in, Tiny Terror.

 He's our little blonde model. Has graced the cover of Alpaca Magazine with his buddy, Sanda the alpaca, was Santa in our Holiday ads and you can always count on him to help out on the farm.

When Andee asked Tiny what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said...

"PARTY IN THE COOP! with pizza and blueberries"

So, that's the plan. Today is Shea's birthday and we're having a party in the coop!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHEA!!!

We love you xoxoxoxox

-Aunt Lee, Uncle Rick, Dalton, Garrett, Chase, MomMom, Grandpop, Aunt Lizzie, Uncle Nick, Finny, and all your alpacas :) See you in the coop!

First time in a yarn store

Today, I traveled to my sister-in-law's house to celebrate the birthdays of my son, Garrett and my nephew, Steffen. On the way, I remembered seeing a yarn store last time I was there. My memory served me right. There was one. So I swung in the parking lot (grumbling from my sons in the back...) checked the hours and continued on to the house. 

After the excitement at the house died down, I looked at my niece, Jamie, and said, let's go to the yarn store. We snuck out of the house and headed down the hill to the store. She's 11, my only niece and she's also adorable and fun and sweet. She is a girly girl. Loves anything that sparkles or anything with Nick Jonas's picture on it. I wish she lived close by. Anyway, my point is that her side of the family is not crafty and artsy like my crazy side. So she's not around people like me very often. This was her first trip to a yarn store. She oohed and ahhed at all the colors. Loved how soft everything was and seemed so happy. She wants to learn (yeh!). She also found some awesome sock yarn that has a tie-dyed effect when knitted. If I was a sock knitter, I would have made some for her. 

So in the end, she helped me pick out a nice skein of Ella Rae cotton that will be a spring hat for Chase. I remember my first trip to a yarn store and I'll never forget it. I wonder if she'll be a knitter too.

Look at this fabulous sheep that was outside the store!!!! It was wearing a hot pink crocheted sweater. And that's my cute niece. It was fun to have a girl around....

Hope you have a great weekend!

-Leanne