Yarn, Yarn, Yarn!

I've finally had a chance to do some spinning, and it's been wonderful.  It's such a relaxing pastime, so contemplative, almost meditative, soothing...  Wait, I'm thinking of someone else - this is how I spin:

It's not like this all the time, of course - he originally was bawling facedown on my lap, but then his hair accidentally gets spun in the yarn :)

I've been spinning yarn for most of the past week - all my spare time, and probably some time I shouldn't have spared!  I believe I've made about 2200 yards since Thursday.  Of course, some of that was already spun onto 4 bobbins over the previous month or so, and I just plied it into yarn on Thursday - but then I just kept going.  I still need to make another 1400 yards or so to have everything I need for the knitting I need to do.  

My commission knitting has started early this year - a good thing.  Usually people start asking for knitted items when it gets chilly, early to mid-October, (and then they'd like them pretty quickly), but we had a nice cool week at the end of August, and I suddenly have a list of 9 items to make.  Mostly stuffed alpacas and sheep, and baby/children's hats, a pair of mittens, some slippers...  I also sold a pair of slippers at the farmer's market last week, so I was hoping to make a replacement pair, but that's suddenly a lower priority!  I think it's going to keep coming, people have started stopping at my market table to really look at the knitting, talk about those nephews that need newscaps, grandchildren that need socks, etc.  

On the subject of alpacas, they are doing well.  We had another one get sick a few weeks ago, Hugh this time, and he's doing fine now.  We successfully treated him, and that motivated us to get up extra-early one morning and preventatively dose all the rest as well.  During that, when I was holding little Tammy to get her shot, I realized she has blue eyes.  Her mother has one blue eye, and one black - most alpacas have black eyes, the blue ones are considered a negative trait.  I believe you can't show blue-eyed pacas but I'm not positive.  They are so pretty, though, and with Tammy's pure white coat, she's just beautiful.  A couple of days later, I was browsing around on an alpaca forum, bounced from link to link, and found myself reading an article saying that 90% of white, two-blue-eyed alpacas are deaf.   That suddenly explained a lot, and we've decided that she is indeed deaf.  She gets left behind during pasture changes - she's happily grazing or sleeping, and somehow just doesn't notice that approximately 100 animals have stampeded away for a new pasture.  Caleb often has to go get her and move her.  I've noticed that she and Annie are often separate from the paca herd - I think Annie is learning to stick close to Tammy regardless of herd movement because she can't simply cry for Tammy and get her to follow - she tried that for the first few weeks and it didn't work!  I have never heard of deaf animals, other than very old dogs or such, and I think she'll be fine, but it's certainly a new experience.

ETA:  I wrote all that at 6 this morning.  When Caleb came home this evening, he found Annie standing over Tammy's body in the pasture, we have no idea why she died.  She was never very vigorous, but she seemed just this past week to be doing much better.  The worst part of losing babies for me is the forlorn mothers - they just don't understand.

And now back to the rest of the morning's blog...

We finally have more calves!  Myra and Bridget both dropped babies this week, both matching their mamas.  A little white girl for Myra, and a red boy for Bridget.  We're down to just Kerry waiting to have hers now.  I will try to get some pictures up in the Highland photo gallery in the next few days.