Special Deliveries

While I have been away from blogging (mostly because it kept raining & I couldn't take any pictures to share) I received two very unexpected and very special packages. The first box was sitting on our screened-in porch after we returned from a hectic day of being out-and-about and not coming home with everything we set out to get which I always find very frustrating and time-wasting. The box was ultra-light for its size and the return address read Lladyhawk Llamas & Lavender...aha! could it be?? Yes, it was!! a box of 3 gorgeous, soft-like-clouds fully processed llama fiber batts. I immediately called my dear cousin (DC) - she the owner of Lladyhawk - and profusely thanked her. She had just had her llamas shorn and, knowing my love of all colors brown and that I have become a fanatical spinster, she packed up about 10-ounces and sent it to me. Now...what will I do with this treasure? Spin each color separately or blend them all together & spin a tweedy yarn or blend each with one of my sheep rovings or together...or...or...decisions, decisions...but very nice decisions. Thanks again, DC.

A couple of days later, we were again out-and-about again (we do that a lot it seems) and, again, when we returned we found a mystery box on our porch. The return address told me it was from a very good 'tea-business-related' friend who now lives in SC (look for her on the web at The Cat-Tea Corner and be sure to check out TeaGuide and her CraftTea Designs...scarfs, t-shirts & pillow covers she has dyed with tea!). This box, too, was very light for its size and when we opened it, out popped ALPACA fleece in shades of...you guessed it...brown & beige...I guess my favorite color is not a mystery to anyone. Also included in this very special package were a card with a tea-bag (China White Mint) attached and a skein of already spun and plied Alpaca (I will make a lace scarf from this yarn...she how brave I have become about YOs! Thank you, dear Rita!)...WOW! The card informed me that the fleece had been sheared just 2 weeks ago at an alpaca farm near her home and that the lighter colored fleece was from Kudzu and the darker was from Knight...I love connecting with my 'fleece' by knowing their names. This 4-ounces of fiber needs to washed and carded and I look forward to the process as I have never prepared Alpaca fiber.

So now I have llama and alpaca to spin along with the pounds and pounds of Border Leicester and Dorset AND all the other rovings I bought at Maryland Sheep & Wool and Rhinebeck last year - I had best chain myself to my spinning wheel and spin and spin and spin and ply and ply and ply and then knit and knit and knit and, oh yes, throw in some carding. I was under the impression that I became involved in all of this because I didn't want a job?!? I had better brew some of the China White Mint tea and sit back and relax before I tackle all this fiber - there is always tomorrow...and tomorrow...and tomorow and.....