Still Kicking

No, I have not fallen from the face of the Earth. My section of the planet has just become a very busy place. Work is crazy busy then there's alpacas to tend to in the evenings and chores on the weekends. It seems that blogging just doesn't fit into the schedule very easily. I have been knitting though. I finished the back of the Equestrian blazer and have so far knit the left front twice. I cannot get this thing right. It is currently in time out. I've also been knitting socks but don't have a pair yet.

One of the things that has kept me busy in the evenings was getting all the fleeces ready to send to the mill. DH and I went into overdrive the week before Easter and got them all skirted. We drove up to the farm that is part owner of the mill on Good Friday to drop them all off. We should have yarn within the next two weeks. I'm so excited about this. This will be the first millspun yarn from our herd and I think most of it will be especially nice. The poll that has been in the sidebar all these months was not really put to use. The lady at the mill said each fleece tells her how it wants to be spun. Some wants to be worsted and some wants to be DK or even sport weight. So, right now I don't know what I'll get back. My hope is that most of it wants to be DK or sport since those are my favorite weights for alpaca.

We also have been working to finish the studio/tack room/office in the barn. After a couple of minor accidents involving paint and then a nail gun and Blue Kote (contains dye) things are back on track. There are a few more things to be done but it is basically ready for business. I have an area for dyeing now; no more stinking up the house.

There has also been a very sad event in our lives recently. Our beloved C.C. contracted an illness from a tick and had to be euthanized last week. We were both heartbroken over this. C.C. was a very special kitty and we miss him so much. His sister misses him too. They were very close. This illness is transmitted by a tick that bites a bobcat then in turn bites a domestic cat and transmits a parasite that destroys the blood cells. This is considered 100% fatal. If you are lucky enough the catch it early there is an experimental treatment that is sometimes effective. Emma has since been checked to see if she was exposed and got a clean bill of health. She stays closer to home though so hopefully will never get bit by one of the bad ticks. It turns out that this parasite is endemic to our area of Tennessee. I used to think it was so cool that we had bobcats roaming our property. NOT!

As soon as we get our yarn from the mill I'll make a post of what we have to offer. Any opinions on the best way to get this out there to the market. Etsy? Ebay? Opinions on Paypal?