Back to Reality....Sort of...

Happy Monday folks.

Vacation is over so it's back to reality. Well, sort of! My older boys stayed at my inlaws for a few extra days so they could have a chance to hang out with their older cousins that we don't get to see very often. They're having a blast. I think they've completely forgot about us.

They'll be back tomorrow and then a loud crazy house will be the norm.

As most of you know, my sisters, myself and my dad also work other jobs besides the alpacas.

My mom is the full time alpaca lady and my sisters and I help with the farm store and care when we can. I'm a graphic designer and have worked as a freelancer for 12 years now. (am I really old enough to have had a career for 14 years?! yikes) Anywho.....my DREAM FREELANCE JOB is open.

Jared Flood and the Brooklyn Tweed team are hiring a freelance graphic designer. My heart nearly stopped when I read this job posting. It is close to my home, most work is from home, it's my absolute favorite company, which if anyone has ever read this blog will know that I am in awe of everything Jared Flood. So, the application has been sent and my fingers and toes are crossed. Can you imagine? The honor of working for such an amazing company?!!!! I am praying that I will be considered for this. If any of you know Jared, you can always give him a nice shout out for me. Just saying....!

Just thought I would share some recent knitting projects that I did this week as well as a few photos from our little get-a-away.

Tomorrow I'll be back with lots of alpaca photos and farm fun!

4th of July was rainy for most of the day. How unAmerican. So I did what any good American would do, I knitted the day away. I casted on the Standing Stones Cowl using Baby Alpaca/Merino blend yarn that we sell at the farm. It's a great teal color and I think it's perfect for this pattern.

Vacation also meant lots and lots of guilt free knitting time. Coffee and knitting every morning on the front porch of my inlaws. This is my Strawberry Fields shawl. Slow going. I forgot how long garter stitch with fingering yarn takes!

 

 

I finished another Outlander Cowl. This time using a light gray alpaca yarn.

Using the big needles again, this cowl is so soft, loose and drapes beautifully. 

A few vacation shots....

We had a chance to visit our favorite seafood joint in Cape May.

H&H Crabs is a great little place. They bring the crabs and lobster right off their boats, into tanks right outside the restaurant. You order up what ever you want, they pick them out, cook them and serve them to you in a big bucket dockside. It's a byob and lots of fun.

Chase's reaction when I told him he couldn't put his hands in the crab tanks.

It's tough being two.

Among many fun things we got to do last week, I think I had the most fun catching frogs in the yard.

There was plenty of frog catching to be done!!!! I am the champ.

Alpaca pictures tomorrow! I promise  :)

Have a great week all!
-Leanne

Knitting, Felting, Summer Yarn Along

It's that day once again. Yarn Along Day.

A time to share what you are knitting, crocheting and creating.

For this week, I didn't get much knitting done.

I casted on another Outlander Cowl, designed by my sister, AndeeKF.

I am finished up the rest of the skein that I used for my previous cowl.

My plan is to knit up a bunch to sell at the farm store.

I also snuck in a few more rows of my "Strawberry Fields" shawl.

The pattern is Pendulum by Amy Miller.

And my rose bush is in bloom! It blooms every year during the last week of school.

A welcomed scene to start the summer.

A seldom seen shot of me. I'm usually behind the camera but Garrett took this photo of me while I was knitting on Father's Day at Monmouth Park. So there I am, being a dork.

I finished up teaching another session of the Beginners Knitting Course.

The world has 3 more knitters! Yay! I LOVE teaching people to knit. It makes me so happy.

The second class of this course we take a break to make some felted soap. 

It's so much fun and good for all ages.

 

For teaching info, class list, schedule, etc....Click Here

After classes, Liz worked on making some felted slippers using alpaca fleece from Smoke's neck.

Some of the little boys hung out while we worked the farm store, knitted and felted.

 

By the end of our day on Saturday, Liz and I both had custom made Smoke Slippers.

And a beer...and some knitting. Yes, it's good to end a day this way!

Here are the slippers. They are soooo comfy! I'm going to fancy mine up with some felted accents and embroidery. But for now, they're great and I wear them constantly.

 

That handsome alpaca is Smoke Ring, our Herdsire. Thanks for the fleece for my slippers!

And on to other things from the week....Alpaca and Kid related....

The babies are adorable!!!!!! They are a fun group. Always running around!

 

Check out this cover!

Yup! That's my sister, Liz and Smoke Ring on the COVER of Alpaca's Magazine, 
Alpaca Owner's Guide Edition! Very cool.

My middle son, Garrett, made it to the little league Championship. This is a big deal for him. His team has never made it this far. This team are nicknamed The Comeback Kids. A great group of boys that never give up and win big!

 

Living minutes from the beach is the best. And I really appreciate it when we can run up to the rides on a Tuesday night for some fun.

Happy little cousins! Ice cream, rides and beach fun.

 

And I'm really, really, really sad to say, but our feathered friend,

Mr. Guinea Pig Hen could not escape the MEAN predators that lurk in the woods.

We don't know where he came from, but he was ours for 5 days.

I loved having him around. He must have ate a gazillion bugs while he was here.

We're guessing that a fox got him. Unfortunately, we had a feeling this was going to happen.

Chickens and Guinea hens don't last long around here :(

Wishing all a good week. Summer vacation starts Friday for my kids.

Looking forward to  a slowed down schedule and much needed chill time.

Happy Knitting!

Yarn Along

Howdy! It's Wednesday...time to share what I'm knitting and reading this week.

From Ginny Sheller's Blog...

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr.  ~

 

 I went to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival earlier this month and picked up these two fun colored skeins of yarn by MarigoldJen. Her booth is in her daughter's tent and I was attracted to the logo. It was at the end of the day that I found her and I was still looking for the perfect yarn that wanted to come home with me. These two skeins made me happy, reminded me of summer and after this long cold winter, it was just what I needed.

Without a plan in mind for a project, I scouted out Ravelry. I came across the Pendulum shawl by Amy Miller and knew I found a life for this yarn.

In colorways Wildflowers and Burning Embers, I'm calling this Strawberry Fields.

Ravelry Link: Strawberry Fields

Thank you for the book suggestions last week. But as it usually happens, I had already read them all.

That's what happens. ALL THE TIME. I'm always looking for the next great read.

I had bought The Owl & Moon Cafe at our library sale a few months ago so I picked this up.

I love a good book. A real book. A great story line, well written and smart.

This book? Is none of that but I LOVE IT!!!!!!!! It's silly, predictable, quirky, romantic, sad, happy, cute and totally cheesy. I think it's just what I needed. It's one of those books that you could read in one sitting at the beach. So I'll keep my eyes and ears out for the next "good read" but for now, the ladies of The Owl & Moon Cafe have my attention.

As some of you may know by now, I teach knitting lessons at my parent's alpaca farm in Wall, NJ.

It's a joy to teach and it brings such happiness to me to see people learning and enjoying themselves.

"Purple Debbie" took my most recent class and blogged about it.

I thought I would share her experience from a different point of view. Hop on over there if you have a minute to read what she wrote. And she also takes a ton of gorgeous photographs of our area!

It's All About Purple Blog link

Have a great week! Happy Knitting All :)

-Leanne