Adventures in Fiber... on AND off the hoof!

I had a great time at the two day felting workshop in Lexington taught by Nicola Brown, and as always there was lots of learning, laughing, and great camaraderie between the participants. I don't know how Nicola does it, she starts with a group of people of varying experience, different fibers to use, and a variety of projects they want to complete. It all seems a little bit chaotic in the very beginning but by the end of the second day everyone has happily finished at least one or two projects and we've all picked up tips, tricks and inspiration from Nicola and each other!

Nicola brought lots of sample items to show us, many from her new book which she has just co-published with Chrissie Day. I have the book and love it, but it was extra-nice to see her projects "in person." Based on some of the items she showed us, I wanted to make a scarf/shawl using some nuno collage techniques. Although it wasn't completely different from some things I've already been doing, I did learn some things and loved the result!

The other students created some stunning items as well, from bags to vessels to wraps. Lots of creativity in that room!

The day after the class was over, my friend Jan (who organized the workshop) brought Nicola out for a visit to our alpaca and llama farm so that she could see some of the local Kentucky bluegrass countryside. I planned a casual hike where we would lead some llamas carrying a little picnic of wine and cheese and fruit (we normally offer "commercial" llama treks, this was going to be an informal version).

One of the llamas, Bandit, is normally a tiny bit edgy but then calms down and can be one of our sweetest and most dependable, having been led by small children on prior hikes. I wasn't 100% sure that he'd carried the pack before, but as I put the pack saddle on him and tightened the girth he stood completely calmly which reassured me that he had in fact done it before. We each took a llama and I gave Jan and Nicola a short spiel about the differences between alpacas and llamas and how to handle them safely.

As we stepped out of the barn, Bandit suddenly turned into a whirling dervish as he felt the contents of his pack bags shifting!!!! He bucked and bucked, with Nicola (experienced wth thoroughbred horses years ago) holding onto his lead rope for dear life!!! As he bucked, the pack saddle and bags banged on his sides and shifted and his panic increased, and after giving her a bad friction burn on her hand Nicola couldn't hold onto the lead any longer. We watched, helpless, as poor Bandit bucked across the field with the pack saddle now practically around his waist and one pack bag flying off, and then he ran out of sight into the woods.....

Nicola ran after him while I put the other two llamas in stalls, and Jan retrieved the pack bag that had already fallen. I joined Nicola and we located the other bag and tracks in the mud leading back toward the field where he normally stays which was nearly 1/2 mile away. We also doctored Nicola's hand which had a bit of skin removed and a big blister- she was a great sport about it but I know it had to hurt. Long story short, Bandit wasn't back down there and I suggested that we search around our farm in the comfort of the air-conditioned Kubota RTV (which gave Jan and Nicola a tour of the farm nonetheless). Although I felt sure he'd go back to his buddies in the field, we were concerned about him getting caught on something since he still had the pack saddle and lead rope attached.

Finally I suggested that we just have our picnic in our breezy, high wildlife observation tower where we'd have a good view in case he appeared, and give him time to settle down and find his way back. Sure enough, about 30 minutes later my daughter came to tell us that he'd arrived back at the llama field and she'd caught him, removed the pack which was around his back legs by then, and put him back with his friends, unscathed. Phew....

We enjoyed our wine and cheese, miraculously the wine bottle hadn't broken although the bananas were mashed over everything and the crackers were mostly crumbs! After we knew Bandit was okay, we laughed over the incident and Nicola recounted some other now-hilarious times when she'd been injured! We returned to the barn for some photos with the llamas and said our farewells. Thanks, Nicola, for coming to Lexington and I hope we can persuade you to return in the fall. I'm sure you'll always remember your visit to Seldom Scene Farm!

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Springtime Hodge and Podge

The choir trip with my son's school to Orlando was a lot better than I thought it might be and (with the help of a little Tylenol PM) I actually was able to sleep on the bus! Universal Studios was really nice (minus the super-loud music and sound effects and commercialism), and it was fun to see the kids perform, but I was predictably thrilled to return to the tranquility of Seldom Scene Farm. Hogwarts was by far my favorite part, but there's tons of magic going on right here with spring on the rise.

We're waiting on our first alpaca crias to arrive any time, very exciting! Also, our daughter's ewe is due to lamb soon but since we're going to be gone we've left her at our friend Dianne's place to deliver (thanks again, Dianne!). We are completely addicted to her new Lamb Cam (live barn views via the internet), and will be anxious to pick out our own lambs "on TV" when they get here and watch them bounce around on the screen before we can see them in person.

The other babies on the farm are these chicks which are being added to our egg-laying flock. We had the sweetest group of girl scouts come for a llama trek recently; they enjoyed playing with the chicks almost as much as they liked the llamas.

Fiber activity has been scarce, although I have continued to pick up the needles and work on my Tea Leaves Cardigan which I'm hoping to complete while there's still some cool weather around. I've made more felted birdhouses, but forgot to photograph them before they were shipped to Wyoming and taken to Damselfly Gallery in Midway.

Another piece of news is that we have decided to sell one of our premier alpaca studs, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo, at the AOBA National Auction in Denver in May. We had fun doing some photography and video with him the other day (of course the dogs wanted to get in on the action). He's a very cooperative, charismatic and photogenic alpaca, so it made the process a lot of fun!

We have a dusting of snow on the daffodils today after near record high temperatures this week. That is the epitome of March in Kentucky, it's definitely going out like a lion. I hope that you're enjoying at least some signs of spring where you are!

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Llamas and Daffodils and Lambs, Oh My!

My days have been filled with mostly-pleasant spring things, and I'm not even minding today's showers as the ground was getting mighty thirsty. Here are some of the first daffodil's "friends" that have VERY quickly painted the woods with cheery color! Taking the time to plant all those bulbs years ago was definitely one of the best investments of time I've made on the farm!
My friend Dianne had the good fortune of having triplet ewe-lambs born and Mirian and I went out to see them. Talk about CUTE!Mirian is going to be getting one of Dianne's ewes soon after it lambs in a few weeks, and it was fun to see Dianne light up as she explained some of the basics of shepherding to her. Here, she shows Mirian a fleece from her recently-shorn sheep.It's always fun to visit Dianne's farm, and the special light of her barn highlights her beautiful animals in such a lovely way.Yesterday, four new llamas arrived, delivered by my friend Karen who sold us our very first llama 18 years ago! They're super-pretty boys, but will need a fair amount of handling to get them tame enough to use on our treks. That'll be a great project for the kids on spring break! (They don't know it yet)"Bandit" had broken out of his pen by this morning, and he reminded me of how llamas are a bit smarter than alpacas as we herded him back into the barn!
I've been working on our farm marketing, and would love to invite you to join the Seldom Scene Farm page on Facebook! Become a fan by our shearing day on April 10th, and you'll win a free Llama Trek for 4 with a deluxe lunch! Pin It Now!