Sheep and Wool Activities

Bradley wasn't COMPLETELY bored on our trip. Of course, it was hard to tear him away from the alpacas to get him to try some new things. He tried his had at drop-spindling. He started out doing very well, but the first time the wool snapped, he got frustrated with it and it went down hill from there. I'm not sure what wool they were using. I gave my hand a try at it, and I had done it several years before, and when my wool snapped it just wouldn't grab back on to itself so you could reattach it. Hubby, who has actually spun some yarn on a drop spindle, also had trouble with it. I think we will have Bradley try again with some Shetland wool, because that is what hubby has always used.

The other thing he wanted to do was make a tye-dye hat. He got to do that and was happy as a clam. He didn't seem to want anything to buy at the show, but I picked up a tee shirt with an alpaca on it that said "hum! hum!" That's the sound they make, and that little Cecilia Winsome was doing it the entire weekend. So I think Bradley liked the shirt.

Great Lakes Fiber Festival

I'm not sure we had the money, but we went to the Great Lakes Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend. I am really wanting to learn to spin and I desperately want to crochet something with some natural fiber. We took a tent and camped out. We arrived Friday evening, set up, then went out and attempted to find 5 letterboxes in a nearby park. Well, the trails are extensive. We found one, and I tried to determine from the clues to the other ones if there was another nearby. We think we found the location, but there was no box that we could find. The brick was there, but we didn't see a box. It was getting late at that point, so we went back and found one that was right by the parking lot. We went back to the tent and rested, and once it cooled off some we went to sleep.

There was lots to see the next day. All the vendors were set up. There was a sheep and angora goat show going on and a judging of wool. There were lots of fleece and roving for sale. Lots of traveling spinning wheels, tabletop looms. Many people where plying their wares: knitted items, felted items, woodcrafts, woven goods. There was even a potter. Some people had soaps and lotions. There were also activities for the kids. What Bradley enjoyed the most was the alpacas.

I had thought that llamas and alpacas were the same, but they aren't. Alpacas are smaller and basically raised for their wool. Llamas are larger and used as pack animals. Alpacas are not strong enough to use as pack animals. They make a "hum, hum" sound when concerned or nervous. One alpaca farmer had three young alpacas at the show. They were 8 months old and had just been taken from their mothers three weeks before. They had never been away from the farm. The little female was "hum, humming" all day. They learned real quick how far away was arm's reach and they would stand in the center of the pen when people came around. The gentleman would occasionally go in the pen and move one over to the rail so it could be petted. Everyone wants to touch and alpaca. They are a very lovely animal, and so entertaining to watch.

Another alpaca farmer came on Sunday and brough his one-day-old baby and his mother to the fair. It was simply precious. So tiny. He was unsteady on his feet, but not real timid. When he was asleep Bradley managed to pet him.

So our son now wants an alpaca. I have to admit, they are a very endearing animal, and I wouldn't mind having some, but having an alpaca farm is something in the very distant future.

It was a bit of a long drive for the heat we are experiencing, especially since we have no air conditioning in the car, but we enjoyed ourselves.

I really appreciated the gentleman with the three young alpacas. He would kid around with Bradley, answer his questions, and put him to work. I know it made Bradley feel 10 feet tall to help out. He enjoyed learning more about alpacas, especially "snerts." He did get to witness one. A "snert" is a termed coined by this gentleman to describe what an alpaca does -- it sneezes and farts at the same time. It would be great to get a picture of that....

So, maybe next year we'll get to go again and catch up with the Winsome Alpacas.

Bradley and the Ducks

At the Highland Games the sheepherder demonstrated his dogs by herding ducks around kids standing by cones. My son got to stand by a cone. He is wearing the light blue shirt with the jean shorts. The gentleman said that the dogs really like working with the ducks.

Ranger and his Ball

Ranger finally got over his shyness about the ball and now he loves to play with it. This is just to show you how he is growing!

Lazy Day

Well, I'm home alone. I dropped hubby off for drill on Thursday morning, then my Mother and brother went to our cabin in the woods and took my son. They left on Friday. Hubby's drill started off at the armory, but moved out to Kanawha State Forest. He anticipated being in the forest all day alone on Friday, guarding the gear. He found out Wednesday evening, after church, that drill had changed from Thursday-Sunday to Wednesday-Sunday, with Friday off for most of them. So, hubby would have to work Friday to make up for missing Wednesday. He called me Thursday evening to let me know where in the forest he was and suggested I come out to keep him company. Since I knew he probably wouldn't have any meals on Friday, I wanted to bring him something really nice. I decided on KFC, but didn't know what time they opened. I left at 9:30am to drop off Avon orders and work out at Curves. It was just about 11:00 when I was done with all that, and swung by KFC before heading home. Once I was home I hurriedly showered and packed. I discovered that taking a puppy on a car trip is a lot like taking a baby with you. Only this baby didn't have a diaper bag to make carrying things easier! It was 1pm by the time I arrived at the forest location. Hubby was glad for the lunch. I left the leftovers with him so he'd have something to snack on later. I left about 5pm. It was hot and humid, so the visit was a little miserable for me. I certainly appreciated the air conditioning when I got home. I think Ranger did too.

I didn't feel great the rest of the evening. My knees were really bothering me and I had a headache. I finally broke down and took some advil. I just watched tv and worked on my shawl the rest of the evening.

Today I went to a yard sale at the middle school and got some good deals. Picked up some jeans and shorts for my son. I got a scrapbook and a cute little Boyd's Bear that has a honey pot and on it says "I'm stuck on you." I thought it was cute and went along with my "nickname." I went to Kmart and paid on my layaway (a family cabin tent, this should be awesome to camp out in!) and found some Twilight bookmarks. I also found a big ring. I don't usually like big rings. I've always had small hands, and big rings look gaudy in my opinion, but I loved the design and color of this one. I think I needed some purchases like this because I'm feeling so lonely this weekend :(

For dinner I picked up an order of coconut chicken (yum yum) and I ran out of yarn for the shawl I was making. This one is for me, so it's no biggy. I've ordered some more, and a couple of neat crochet books I think will be nice. The one is "Wraps to Throws" where the patterns are used as a wrap and a throw. Sounds just like my kind of item.

The pictures above are two other shawls I've done. The purple one is a lace pattern and I made it for my niece. The brown shades one is the very first shawl I did in Tunisian. Everyone loves the shades.

Ranger Bit by a Ball

We bought Ranger a ball, and it was a bit big for him but we thought he'd still have fun with it, and he would certainly grow into it. We had him out one day introducing him to the ball, but it "bit" him and he was shy of it for some time after that....

Tunisian Crochet

My grandmother was crocheting all the time. She learned from a neighbor, a gentleman, she had grown up knowing. She taught me how to make a chain, and how to do the single crochet and double crochet stitches, but I didn't do the stitches too well, wasn't interested in practicing and it got boring just making chains. A few years ago I tried taking it up again when I learned about the prayer shawl ministries that had sprung up. The problem was, I kept picking up stitches on one end of the project. When I asked my grandmother what the problem was, she told me, and I asked how to fix it she told me "count." Well, this is one reason I dropped piano lessons, I hate counting! So I dropped crochet too. Instead, I bought a prayer shawl loom, but my hubby promptly confiscated it, tried starting a sweater, and it's still on my loom today!!

Well, in doing some research online I came across something called Tunisian Crochet. What caught my attention was that the person explained it had been known by other names through the years, Afghan Stitch and one that really stood out to me -- Shepherd's Knitting. Well, I love sheep and would love to be a shepherdess, so this caught my interest. I found an online group for Tunisian Crochet, joined, did a crochet-a-long to get my feet wet and now I'm hooked! I have found three Tunisian Crochet shawl patterns online, have only done two so far. The one is a lace pattern and I use Boucle yarn for it and it turns out really soft, dainty and lovely! The shawl pictured above in green is done in the lace pattern. The other shawl is a combination of knit, purl and reverse stitches. The raised bumps are the purl stitch, and the rows across that stand out are the reverse stitch. The knit stitches are worked between the purl stitches alternately.

I bought an afghan pattern, but I have a couple more lace shawls I want to make before I give it a try. I will certainly post a pic if I get it done!

Herding Demonstration

The man with the dogs explained to us that you begin training the dogs without any animals. You teach them the commands. He said that to start out herding it is best to use ducks, and his dogs love working the ducks. The dog in this video is Chip. I love to watch the dogs work. You can see the determination and the commitment to the job at hand. A dog is a wonderful and amazing animal. These dogs are working dogs, and they are happiest when they are doing their job. It's like playing to them. They would sooner go herd a duck or a sheep than to play ball or lie around all day. This is what I'd like to teach Ranger how to do. Hubby isn't really keen on ducks, so I wonder if he could herd quail?

Highland Games

My family is Scottish. My great-grandmother was a Kincaid. I can tell you, we certainly have the Scottish temperament! Hubby also has some Scottish in his family from his mother's side, but "Knorr" is Norwegian. We love getting up to the Highland Games in Bridgeport, WV every year. I love the sheep ;) Hubby loves the sheep dogs. Next year we will be going as representatives of Clan Kincaid. I have a cross stitch crest and a cross stitch clan badge I want to do and frame to help decorate our tent. Mom is working on banners and table cloths. Hubby will have to come up with flag poles. I'm very excited about it. I will have to get a sash so my brother and I can march in the parade with our banner.

We got to see sheep herding dog demonstrations, a border collie agility expo, shetland sheep and a heilan coo (Highland Cow). I bought some roving off the lady with the sheep and hope to get some spinning done.