Last week I took a five day road trip with my mom.
We drove nine hours to the state of Maine, where we participated in the Maine Fiber Arts Tour. About a hundred odd farms, studios, yarn shops, and more were on the tour, and we chose the ones we were interested in most. In general, this happened to be farms. We saw prize winning sheep, angora goats, angora rabbits, and my favourite--alpacas.
Here's an alpaca:
Their wool is four times warmer than sheep, and it is SO soft!
But angoras are my mother's favourite. She's planning on getting some soon. Check this one out:
The owner is holding up the ears so that you "can tell it's a bunny". Otherwise it just looks like a blob of fur. We bought some skeins of wool mixed with angora, and it's heavenly. Don't know what I'll knit it into yet, but it is so lovely. Almost as nice as the alpaca!
In fact, let me give you a few more alpaca photos. Here's a baby:
And here's two babies with a mom:
Are they not the cutest thing?
And here's something else I learned. Cashmere comes from goats. Did you know that?
Bought some lovely cashmere at this one farm to make some fingerless gloves.
All in all, it was a great time away with my mother. Every now and then I do need to take some time and connect with her without the kids.
We also learned that there is a remarkable lack of foundational garments worn by the women in Maine who raise animals for fiber. It seems they all love to knit, but they don't mind if certain things droop. To each her own, but personally, I love my "foundational garments". I need the help to have a bit of shape!
About Me: I'm a Christian author of a bunch of books, and a frequent speaker to women's groups and marriage conferences. Best of all, I love homeschooling my daughters, Rebecca and Katie. And I love to knit. Preferably simultaneously.
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I have never seen a baby Alpaca. Cute!
Your trip sounds like something I would enjoy, too. Thanks for sharing your pics and info!