Baby blanket made from 100% Olive - 23" by 48" White Swedish Lace. It came first!

It looks just like any old skein of wool, but it is more than that to me! It is 80% Walter (for his lustre, fineness and creamy colour) and 20% Olive (for her crimp and whiteness). The combination gives the yarn strength and a lovely colour depth

Swedish Lace is a favourite weaving pattern of mine - it has a very 'blanketty' feel about it and is ideal for alpaca which can be overwhelmingly warm in a dense weave structure. The little holes make the structure loose, light and airy. This particular blanket is incredibly soft and cosy as I chose my softest fluffiest yarns!

Actually I won three! I’m so excited and surprised by it that it has got me back onto our sadly neglected blog so I can share it with the world.

Susan from Alpacas of Wales encouraged me to enter the British Alpaca Futurity’s Fibre Craft competition – its for anybody who makes things out of alpaca fibre, so … spinners and weavers like us here at Pistyll Gwyn and also knitters, felters, crocheters, and dyers … I entered some yarn in the handspun category and a baby blanket in the handspun handwoven category.

Susan rang yesterday morning from the Birmingham NEC to tell me that my yarn had got second place in its category and my blanket had got first place in its category and also first place in the whole Fibre Craft competition. I was well chuffed!

The Alpaca Futurity show is one of the UK’s largest annual alpaca events and is a celebration all things alpaca. Although the main focus is on the animals themselves there is ever more space being given to fibre artists and crafts people to display their wares and show their skills.

Next year, hopefully, we should be in a position to attend ourselves and have a stall. I certainly feel a bit more encouraged and inspired!

Just beautiful

Well, we’re dead proud of our Olive. She was the first alpaca born here at Pistyll Gwyn, and last year we mated her with Dylan, who was born here a couple of months after her.

Her first cria arrived yesterday, in typical alpaca style – no fuss, lots of interest from the rest of the herd, and everything carrying on as normal within a few hours.

He is a gorgeous light fawn colour, but as yet has no name …

Well, after an extended stay here at Pistyll  Gwyn, Susan’s two lads, Dreamcatcher and Tomas have gone back home to Alpacas of Wales, 16 miles further into deepest West Wales.

From their point of view, I reckon they’ve had a great time – the chance to hang out (and more) with some lovely alpaca gals, lots of space, comfy field shelters and water troughs to climb into.

For us it has been a partial success. Dreamcatcher, who is an old hand at all this, got straight down to business with Lavender, who also knows her way around the mating pen, but poor old Tomas and Molly – they certainly didn’t turn out to be love’s young dream! After much fumbling and falling about we gave it up as a bad job – Tomas just wasn’t assertive enough, and despite spending the whole winter flirting outrageously, our Molly just didn’t want to go down.

So Tomas goes back to get a bit more experience with the local girls, and we’ll give Molly a bit more time. Maybe next month …

So now, we just sit back and wait for Lavender to do her stuff. In the meantime, the Diamond Clan aren’t too far off, so new cria shortly! Watch this space …

It’s never been as issue before this year, but as everything else around them does get eaten, they are flourishing …

So … at one end of the farming spectrum there are tractors, herbicides, sprays, soil analysis, government grants and mountains of red tape, and at the other end there is me, bimbling about the paddock on a summers morning, reaching into the cool dew to pull up the unwanted flowers, surrounded by alpacas and occasionally throwing a stick for Gwen.

I’m sure my neighbours think I’m mad, and when I look at my bank balance I’m inclined to agree, but as I move from one buttercup to the next …. hmmmm …. that one there …. and this one ….. oops nearly missed this one … I really don’t care whether I am or not!

I am the buttercup-grazing alpaca!

bracken waiting for the shredder

A little late, but I always say that. At least our newly planted coppices, lower and upper, have been cleared so the young trees can actually see some sunlight.

Not for long though – the one thing with bracken is it is so relentless. It will soon be time to start again …

It’s a good thing I enjoy it, I suppose. Another early morning job for me: everything is waking up, the air ranges from slightly damp to welsh sodden. It always feels good and reminds me why I am here.

Once it is picked, it is a bit more laborious – carting it across the hillside in a wheelbarrow to the barn, and then shredding it. I have a n electric shredder for that – all mod cons.

Finally, it is bagged up and sits in a pile waiting to be mixed in with the waste alpaca fleece, and alpaca poo … and from there, it is magically transformed into amazing compost!

How satisfying. Meanwhile the second crop is just about ready to be pulled, … just time for a few buttercups and brambles in between …

Looking over the valley with the big hawthorn in blossom by the wood dryer. Dylan and Walter are in the foreground.

So it’s looking a bit splendid here at the moment. The alpacas too are in fine form, well-fleeced and soon to be sheared.

Heulwen 2 years old, pregnant and very gorgeous

Heulwen, pictured here, is up for sale at the moment, and is a splendid 2 year old pregnant female. Her parents, Diamond and Orion are both from Bozedown stock, so this is a good chance to get top quality Bozedown genetics at the somewhat lower Welsh prices!

www.pistyll-gwyn.co.uk/sale/heulwen.php

With shearing on the horizon, it is a mad race here to get as much done beforehand as possible – after we have sheared our lot, we will be shearing some small herds in West Wales.

Whilst it’s not something that we  want to turn into a full time profession, there is a need around here, particularly for people with just a few animals, so we are pleased to help.

If you are interested ring Caerthan on 01994 484488, or email him at caerthan@pistyll-gwyn.co.uk.

]]> http://pistyll-gwyn.co.uk/blog/?feed=rss2&p=177 0 http://pistyll-gwyn.co.uk/blog/?p=163 http://pistyll-gwyn.co.uk/blog/?p=163#comments Sat, 27 Nov 2010 09:24:58 +0000 Rick http://pistyll-gwyn.co.uk/blog/?p=163 Well, the snow arrived yesterday, and we are all adjusting to a slightly different daily life.

For the alpacas it means there is no grass, but hey, there’s always hay! And alfalfa … and peas … and speedybeet …  and the hedge. Nevertheless, they still miss the grass.

Dylan and Walter, at home in their field shelter, and receiving guests

For me it means  providing the above foodstuffs in the right order and at the right time, (not that the alpacas are fussy about that, but I am), and marching about with a hammer looking purposeful. That’s not unusual of course, but instead of looking for a nail to hit, I’m out bashing the ice so there is something to drink (they drink more when they’re eating more hay). Poo patrol happens more frequently – once frozen it is very hard to get up.

For Gwen, the snow is nothing but good news. More traipsing about following me, lots of charging around trying to find buried sticks and throwing up as much snow as possible, and it’s easier keeping tabs on the alpacas as they don’t go so far afield.

Caerthan looks after the fire, and Herbert sits in front of it!

One very big difference to earlier in the year is that we (alpacas, humans and dog and cat)  can now get to and from the field without risking life and limb on the Icy Slope – there are steps from the Secret Garden! We do still have to traverse the Icy Slope to get to the Secret Garden, of course, but that’s not quite as perilous.

The Secret Garden is a sheltered area behind the barn. Prior to the alpaca-friendly steps the way down from the field was an icy muddy slide. There was no way up without crampons.

It took a lot of time and effort back in the summer, and money that we could scarce afford, but right now we are seeing just how worthwhile that was. The alpacas are enjoying easy access to the warmth, comfort and endless hay in the barn, and that means we’re all sleeping well at night.

Alpacas in the barn (well ... most of them - Dylan and Walter have to make do with the field shelter)

So at Pistyll Gwyn we’re reasonably prepared, but I’m a bit saddened that we didn’t make it to Brecon today for my dad’s 80th. Cars are sliding about on Talog Hill …

Dylan is the light fawn offspring of Jolimont Lavender and Bozedown Patriot – the Huacaya Supreme Champion at the British Alpaca Society show 2007, so he has an impressive bloodline, and we’re hoping he will produce some equally impressive cria in the future.

We’ll be putting him over our girls this year, and once we have seen his cria, we’ll be deciding whether to offer him for stud services at market rates in 2012. In the meantime, if you have any girls you would like to try him on while he is untested, we can offer you a special bargain rate! Get in touch …

But back at Pistyll Gwyn … having an entire male here has meant a lot of changes and a lot of work. We now have four paddocks – which means we can keep the girls and boys separate. This has caused some grief – we have effectively split the herd. Dylan has integrated very well with the boys, and has made particular friends with Walter, but in general it looks like the boys – particularly Sillky – are missing the girls company. The girls don’t look too fussed!

Hopefully they will soon acclimatise.

Iolo and Lavender

Concern was expressed that such a frivolous name might not be befitting the rather grand super-stud and herd-sire that Rabbit – sorry Iolo – may one day become. (I think it’s something like rock stars naming their kids Peaches, Zowie, or Dweezil … )

And so, from this moment on the alpaca formerly know as Rabbit is known as Iolo, following on in our tradition of welsh alpacas with welsh names.

He’s doing splendidly by the way, if a little adventurous …

After a late, but lovely slow spring we now find ourselves past the summer solstice and relishing some well-ealanced british weather for a change – some rain, some sun, some rain, some sun. So refreshing!

We’ve  had loads of bluebells in the hedgerows and at the fairydell, and lambs in Huw’s field. Wolf and Ceri next door now have cows, and we have one new alpaca … so far!

His name is Rabbit and he was born on the 3rd July to Lavender. Hit the ground running, as they say!

Meanwhile, our three guests, Dora, Hurricane and Jet have headed off for pastures new. They are missed (particularly Dora!), but we do need the grass which has been a bit slow this year, so it’s a good thing really.

Elsewhere I have been busy with Wolf, my neighbour cleaning up the wood by the road, which for some years had been used for fly-tipping. We’ve both earned some serious brownie points in the village for this, and I reckon we deserve them – the amount of rubbish that came out was astounding. The whole place feels and looks so much better of course, and means that as you approach Talog you are greeted by trees and greenery rather than bits of old washing machines and a broken toilet.

Long may it last!

If it weren’t for the freezing nights (-6 on Sunday night) you would think that spring was here already. I’ve had a couple of pretty idyllic afternoons in the wood bundling faggotts from last years sticks. Gwen has had an equally good time trying to undo them all again of course, but it’s been really lovely just working quietly in the wood, with the sun coming through the bare trees. A good reminder of why we are here.  All of the trees that are coming down this year are now down, so the wood looks like a real hive of activity. We’ve felled a couple into the lower wood, which was necessary, but has forced me to address the challenge of how to get the logs out of there – it is so steep and there is no easy path. A welcome break from  logic and databases, nevertheless!

Another sign of spring is the yearly incursions of the sheep. Today there was a little gang wandering down the road, down our track, into Wolf’s field and then heading back up the road through the wood. By evening they were back in Wolf’s field. They’re not Wolf’s sheep, by the way.

Yesterday one particularly stupid sheep found it’s way into our field via a dodgy hedge, and all the farmers on the surrounding hillsides were treated to the sight of two men, a dog, and a herd of alpacas all trying to get the wretched thing out. Actually the alpacas were more bemused than bothered and stood there gawping at us, along with half of Talog … one of the drawbacks of being highly visible on a hillside.

Speaking of the alpacas – they’re all doing well. Well fleeced now, so we’re not at all bothered by the cold temperatures. As it’s dry they don’t bother with the field shelter and are now hanging out at the top of the field again. A favourite spot, generally, and right now the place where there is the most grass. I shall be glad when it starts growing again. We do have enough, but with very little to spare. The two cria are both very impressive as quality animals and as characters to spend time with.

But back to the wood …. the ravens have returned. Not as many as last year, but then there are fewer lambs in Huw’s field. Maybe more will come (both ravens and lambs). There’s still enough (ravens, not lambs) to make you very aware in the wood – amazing cronking and vocalisations that really do sound like a conversation. Thankfully there’s been no carnage yet, but I doubt if it will be long before we’re stepping over the remains of their dinner …

At the house, I’ve done a few more jobs, but there is only so much energy. (I’m feeling it at 51!) Finally though, I’m getting the stones cleared up!

Temperatures are low as well, which means that the alpacas have had to put with being brought in at night. Actually they could probably cope with this quite easily, but I need my sleep – I don’t want to lay in bed at night worrying about Lavender catching a chill, or Molly getting buried in the snow.

So they’re in the barn! Twelve of them in there is quite snug, and they do seem quite happy. During the day, of course, they’re free to wander about and try and entertain themselves – hard when the main pleasure is munching the meadow, which is now buried 6 inches below. Hay is good, but after a while ….. you can tell they’re missing the grass.

As for the rest of us. It’s harder work for me and Caerthan, and harder play for Gwen, who can’t get enough of it. She likes finding a deep bit and then sticking her nose right in. Herbert prefers to stay in!

Last week Hurricane, Jet, and Dora arrived from a nearby farm. They’ll be staying here until the spring while their owner moves home and gets settled. We were keen to help out and absolutely delighted to have them – for one thing it has brought a refreshing bit of colour into our herd!

Dora and Jet

For the most part, our lot were welcoming. Walter especially seemed to recognise Jet and be very pleased to see him. (They last saw each other about 18 months ago when they were both at Susan’s.) But then …. Our Silky got territorial, eiter about the land or the girls, or something else alpaca that we don’t know about and set about poor Hurricane and Jet. Dora got off lightly – being an ‘open’ female Silky had other designs on her!

Thus started two days of Silky muttering under his breath, like Steptoe,  and chasing Hurricane round the field, spitting at every opportunity. We were very glad at this point that we had Silky’s fighting teeth removed a few weeks previously, although to be honest there wasn’t much fighting going on – Hurricane just wanted to get out of the way. Hurricane bore the brunt of it. Jet would get little blasts of disgruntlement coming his way, but by and large it was Hurricane, for some reason, who was really not welcome.

On the other hand, there were some other voices to be heard … On that first day, the three newcomers had sought a bit of peace and quiet, away from Silky and the herd, down in the corner at Wolf’s Gate. I was watching and feeling slightly relieved that for the moment at least Silky had backed down. From across the field, all by herself, came Olive. She just went and joined the three, sniffed them, and started eating. This seemed to relax Jet and Dora, and they started eating too, and I just stood there feeling dead proud of Olive. Meanwhile, Silky, back at the field shelter was glowering and muttering ….

There was no long-lasting peace though, and soon enough Silky got one on him and came charging down the field to chase Hurricane off. Dora and Jet would stand and watch and once Silky had had emough they would go and give Hurricane a bit of moral support.

The other very obvious peacekeeper that day was Tyler. In the evening he pointedly went over and sat with the new alpacas who based themselves under the Beech Tree at the top of the field. This was the start of the herd fragmenting and re-integrating itself, although we were unsure at that stage what would happen.

The next morning I was just happy that all 12 alpacas were still there and still alive. It was still obvious that no-one was particularly happy, although they were all roughly in the same part of the field together. Hurricane had got himself in a little nook at the very top, (which I now call Hurricane’s Corner), and seemed quite miserable, prefering to lie there and keep an eye out for the dreaded Silky.

Caerthan fed them, and we were heartened that even Hurricane came down, although he kept his distance.

At this stage we noticed that although Dora would keep going back to be with Hurricane and Jet, she was clearly happy hanging around with the girls and Blanco, who was keeping a very low profile in all of this.

Walter, on the other hand … it was like he had just had enough of it all, and he decided that he would much rather be with slightly exotic and mysterious newcomers than pussy-footing (if an alpaca can do such a thing) around the petulant Silky. He switched camps.

On that second day, petulant was probably the right word for Silky. He had the odd flare up, but mostly he just kept his distance. The rest of the herd were a bit more miserable, unsure about where they should be. Hurricane, Jet, Dora and Walter would be at the top of the field. Silky and the girls would be at the bottom. Jet seemed quite stressed – humming constantly.

Tyler and Blanco would be spaced between the two groups.

Although it was better we still went to bed with heavy hearts.

The next morning we saw an immediate improvement. Silky and Hurricane were both eating in fairly close proximity to each other. Jet and Dora seemed more integrated, and there was much less visible division into two herds.

Now it was Hurricane’s turn to sulk a bit. Understandably, I think, after his less than warm welcome, but he did start to play it – huffing and puffing, and looking remarkably like a cross between Windsor Davies and a giant sheep (Neither he nor Dora had been sheared this year).

But this was the end of it. We relaxed, as it was obvious it was all going to be okay, and that alpaca business-as-normal would soon be resumed.

Looking back, I am wondering if we shouldn’t have put the newcomers in the Naughty Paddock for a bit – so they could all see each other, and maybe get a bit of that old alpaca curiosity going,  before being asked to actually integrate.

One thing that it has shown us is how much we project onto the animals and how much we don’t know about what is really going on in the world of the alpaca herd.

After all – our mild mannered Silky …. who’d have thought it?

Gwen had a great time of course – all over them.

We seemed to spend a long time talking about astronomy and stars and stuff. It’s a good place for that sort of thing here, and we stood in the field and took in the night sky, on a beautiful clear Pistyll Gwyn night.

With shooting stars too.

It seems like ages since we had the delivery of the thermal store and the solar panel. Well … it was over a month ago. Still, it’s pretty well all done now, although I’m hoping Peter will be able to help us getting the pump to quieten down a bit.

I finally got my wits about me to go onto the roof last Wednesday, and after endless trips up and down the ladder, even more trips to B&Q, and various rants about instruction manuals, it all actually works.

Luckily we have had some sunny days since to give it a good try out and it is quite impressive, although not so good as I had hoped on cloudier days.

The best thing about the job was perched up on the roof looking at the alpacas in the field, who were probably wondering what I was doing up there ….. daft humans!

Really nice to see Charlotte again – first time since New Year 2008 at Haldon Road for me. It’s always a pleasure showing people round Pistyll Gwyn, and getting to see it through their eyes a bit. Because it is still so … undeveloped here (some might say messy), people tend to pitch in with ideas, and Charlottes ideas were pretty much all around ‘growing’.

Whilst we have had a journey of indecision and postponement on the veg plot, it was inspiring to talk to Charlotte who would clearly have got that sorted long before now!

As well as the veg she had other growing advice too ….

Me, I just want my plum trees and gooseberry bushes (rhubarb is already in hand thankfully).

Anyway, great time chatting and wandering about the fields. Gwen really took to her, and got loads of walks, which is always a good thing.

Another one I’m pleased with, that’s just a slight variation on the ‘Sandalwood’ colourway – two mid-fawns with some dark fawn added.

It’s much cooler than all the other blends in tone, and it makes the yarn appear extraordinarily sleek. Again, I tried it as a ‘Heartwood Fine’ yarn, and it works well.  It halos a little more on blocking than the ‘Hawthorn’ colourway, but I think that’s because it’s got the fantastically fluffy Tyler’s fleece in it. And it’s the colour of my teddy, Arthur, which is ace. And his secret life will stay a secret, too.

It’s another blend, this time some of the warmer browns with a touch of black. You can see the makeup of the singles in this shot:

This one’s going to become one of the ’standard’ blends, I’m pretty pleased with it.

The yarn itself is a worsted-spun 3-ply with a firm twist. I say 3-ply, it could be argued that it’s 2-ply as it’s right on the ‘official’ border at 20 wpi. However, the yarn has a heartiness and solidity that really don’t go with the whole laceweight thang, so I’m billing it as one of the 3-ply ‘Heartwood Fine’ yarns. I tried blocking some, and was very pleased with the result: it haloed slightly, and went very slinky and drapey.

Barinthus was present in my head when I was spinning it, hence the post title. Barinthus always has a comforting feel to me, friendly and warm, and the yarn evoked in me a feel of the wood of his boat on night-time waters. Barinthus the navigator, singing to the Great Bear at night.

The inspiration took a more embodied tone to it recently, when I was playing with suri base yarns. The Wensleydale root of the base yarn lends it a translucency, like ice, that indicates the qualities of the yarn I’m after. The colour presented more of a challenge, as I’m only interested (at present) in natural alpaca colours and indigo, and indigo is too clear a blue – I needed the blue to be slightly on the green side. Not a greenish blue, but a blue with that watery ‘edge’ to it. It occurred to me that, if I took some of Silky’s fleece (a very light, creamy fawn) that maybe I’d get that edge, and I was right. I vat-dyed the locks of fleece but intentionally didn’t fully expose all the fibre to the air to oxidise. What I got was a mixture of clear mid-blues on the outside of the locks, and a greenish-blue tone on the inner unexposed fibres:

You can’t quite see the green tone in this picture, but the blue is accurate. When the dyed suri locks were then flick-carded out, this was the result:

You can just get a hint of the green edge here. As I said, it’s not an obvious greenish-blue, just the merest hint. Absolutely bloody perfect. Blended with the Wensleydale fleece to my suri base yarn specification, and the result was gorgeous. Skaði’s yarn is coming to life:

Skaði was there all the time I was blending and carding. Nudging and indicating – a nod, a frown, a glint of the eye, guiding my hand, holding it back. Yarn construction is often a profoundly devotional practice.

So now I’m contemplating the weight and style of Skaði’s yarn. The finished artefact is going to be a stole, or a large scarf, and I’ve provisionally pencilled in a pattern. If you like lace knitting, check out Anna Dalvi’s website: Knit and Knag. She produces some incredibly beautiful stuff. So beautiful that I’ve invested in her “South For the Winter” scarf pattern. I’m pretty sure Skaði would like it, although I think I’ll name her scarf “North For the Winter”.

The colours are a little warmer than in the above picture, but close enough. There’s certainly enough prepared to do around 500 metres of 2-ply, so I’ll be able to either use it for a large project or put it on Etsy. Can’t decide yet.

Things I learnt: knitting; lace knitting; basic lace structures, increases, decreases, etc.; lifelines are my friend; ordinary pins aren’t good enough for blocking; neither is my ironing board; my casting off is extraordinarily clunky compared to my actual knitting.

And, ssk is a strangely satisfying stitch. Who knew?

So, I’m spinning up another two or three in various huacaya blends so that, when she comes back online, she’ll have a choice. Currently, the choice stands at Sandalwood, Yew and a new one I’ve been developing. I’m toying with calling it ‘Ebony’.

The problem was which wool fibre to blend it with. I didn’t want to lose the lustre, so seriously considered Wensleydale. However, Wensleydale doesn’t have the crimp I’m looking for. As luck would have it, searching through my store of fleeces, I came across a Merino x Wensleydale fleece from a farmer in Gloucestershire. It’s pretty damn perfect for what I want: six inch staple, very lustrous, very crimpy.

A lot of different blends later, I have an optimal mix that still looks like suri, but has some spring and structure. And takes indigo extraordinarily well. So, I now have a stock suri yarn base that I’ll be using mostly for dyed yarn, with an eye on producing a ’standard’ range of 2-ply/laceweight yarns. Better get carding and spinning, then…

Because of a recessive lower lip and big teeth, Silky has always had a slightly comical air – something Fu Manchu-ish about him!

For the last couple of months the teeth have been overshot – a common alpaca problem and so we had Egbert the vet in to grind them down.

Silky is still looking comical – an alpaca with a big smile, but at least his teeth now DO fit in his mouth.

I can’t say I enjoyed the week, but the satisfaction at the end of it all when it didn’t leak (nearly) was enormous. Endless trips to B&Q; endless re-routing of flow and return, hot and cold;  bits of wire wool getting to places where wire wool really shouldn’t get, and poor Gwen taking refuge in the car to get away from the chaos.

Caerthan, wisely, just shut himself in the spinning room and made spectacular things with alpaca fleece.

I say nearly didn’t leak, because it did a bit, through the immersion heater socket, which I had plumbed incorrectly. Thankfully, for this, and other problems I had phone support from Cinnabar Stoves Peter who aside from practical advice has been very enouraging.

So, the joys of the thermal store are just opening up for us, the first immediate benefit being mains pressure hot water in our shower, aside from the more economical fuel usage. Stay tuned for more critical appraisal as the weeks go by.

But what does it look like?!? This mass of tangled pipes. Well … they all DO go somewhere, and they all do DO something, I promise. The big question now though is: “Do I box it in, shutting it out of sight like some menial in the attic, or do I celebrate its pipey-ness and watch the looks of horror on our guests faces when I show them to our already crowded guest-room …. ?”

Hmmm … well I know what the devil is saying ….

I never knew there were other ways of knitting. Having found out this fact, I investigated the technique on the Knitting Help site, and found out that knitting was actually quite easy. And purling? I love it! I’m a better purler than knitter, and ribbing just flies along when I’m using continental techniques.

Armed with my new-found mad knitting skillz (yup, I’m anticipating falling on my face at some point), I had a poke around Ravelry for some nice and easy patterns to hone said skills. Still being under the fanboy glow after project-stalking Bryony, I decided that I was going to try some lace. Uh huh. No sad baby jackets and mishapen bootees for me, baby, I’m going to just dive right on in at the holey end. I’ve picked out my pattern – the “Wavey Eyelet Scarf” by Kat Oliver (see it here, if you don’t have Ravelry access) – and I’m going to use the “Yew Bark” yarn I made a couple of weeks ago.

It’s a fairly straightforward lace pattern. I think. This could be the part where I go splat, of course. Hold me?

The other choice was a pale cream (classed as light fawn) from Silky, one of my suri boys:

Recently, a Ravelry friend who specialises in knitted lace had been reading this blog, and messaged me to ask if I ever had any handspun laceweight available. After looking in awe at Bryony’s lace projects, I asked her if she’d like to try some out. It’d be a bit of a risk: I don’t knit, so I’m unable to test my laceweight yarns with the stresses of the lace knitting process – the finished artefact could snap and unravel during the eventual blocking out. Horror. However, she’s said she’s willing to take the risk, and I’m now in the process of planning the yarn. Laceweight suri is on the cards.