Fiber Arts Friday: A Quick Baby Hat

I whipped up a baby hat on Saturday. 

Seriously, I started and finished on the same day.  I think that's a first for me.

It's small.  It's cute.  It's soft.  I guess I'm getting excited for that nephew to show up.

Please head over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder, because it's Fiber Arts Friday.  :-)

Alpacamundo's Big Thompson

Today, our cria watch came to an end.

For the second time, we were home and completely missed the birth.

I had just finished a conference call and got up to look out at the girls corral and saw a small, very dark alpaca walking around.

I yelled to Hubba that we had a cria and that I thought it was black.

He and the dog went out to the corral, while I told my coworkers I would not make the next conference call.  I changed into grubby clothes, grabbed the camera and a couple of towels to join them outside.

The cria was up, dry, walking around and interested in nursing.  We made sure the milk was coming out, dipped the umbilical cord in betadyne and weighed the cria, then searched for body parts to find out we had a boy.

Alpacamundo's Big Thompson is the son of Enchanted Sky's Kocoa Moon and BRCR's Peruvian Ricochet.  Which makes him part of both the Augusto and Caligula lines.

We have big plans for Big Thompson.

Real Job?

Earlier today I read a blog post where the author mentioned his first Real Job and that it had something to do with developing computer games.

The term, Real Job, put be off.

I assume he meant his first Professional Job, since I can't imagine what a Fake or Pretend Job would be.  Personally, I have had lots of jobs before my first Professional Job.  All of them met Real Requirements, took Real Time and paid Real Money.

I suppose though, there is the scenario where a person's First Job is a Professional Job.

What does the term Real Job mean to you?

Ravelry Rocks

I joined Ravelry about 18 months ago.  Soon after, I ran into my first Ravelry friend at the Airport in Albuquerque.  She was knitting while waiting for her luggage at baggage claim.

I was waiting for my luggage at baggage claim, because my knitting was in my suitcase.  I was interested to know if she had any issues bringing her knitting on the plane.  So I walked over and asked.

I had been travelling for a couple of months and had just started bringing my knitting.  I was certain TSA would not be keen on knitting needles passing through security, so I never bothered to check if they were allowed.  So this idea of knitting while on the plane and waiting at the airport would improve the quality of my life tremendously.

Since then, I have realized there is a wealth of patterns available on Ravelry, both for free and for purchase.  There is a tool inventory that you can print in pocket size.  There are groups, including the Tour de Fleece which I participated in earlier this year.

Like other networks, you can make friends on Ravelry and see what projects they are working on, or what projects they like.  You can make your own list of favorite patterns and designers which have been helpful when looking for something "just right." 

I understand there are groups where you can ask for help and groups that will de-tangle a skein for you, though I haven't used these yet.  I have also heard there are people willing to de-stash their yarn... aka unload some of the stuff that is taking over their space.

So when Hubba asked for a specific hat out of a specific yarn, I decided to look to Ravelry.

A short search turned up someone wanting to de-stash a few skeins of exactly the yarn I was looking for.  I sent her a note offering to pay for shipping, and within a few days the yarn was on it's way.

Yep, Ravelry Rocks!

If you're on Ravelry (join if you're not, it's free) look me up under Alpacamundo.

The World Wide Moment is Coming

The World Wide Moment is a moment in time where people around the globe take a photo for peace at the exact same time.

This year the World Wide Moment is 10/10/10 at 10:10 GMT.  That means when it's 10:10 am Greenwich Mean Time on October 10th, people all around the world will be taking photos at the same time.

After the moment passes, photographers can upload their photos to the World Wide Moment site.  The photos from 2009 are here.

For me, it's a tremendous moment of peace and purpose.  I participated for the first time last year...

WWM 09/09/09 09:09+09GMT

For me, in the Mountain Time Zone, The World Wide Moment occurs on Sunday, October 10th at 4:10 am.  It will be dark, so I'm thinking about what to photograph and how best to capture it.

Please consider joining me and more than 1400 other people from 72 countries in taking a photo for peace.

Anniversaries are Fun

One year ago today, Hubba and I ceased being virtual farmers and closed on our very own, actual, physical farm.

This makes me very happy.

Fiber Arts Friday: My BFF Hat is Finished!

My Best Girl Friend stopped by a couple of weeks ago with her daughter to meet Apple and Bruce.  Bruce was hiding in the alfalfa, but they did get to meet Apple and a few of the other alpacas.

When we took a break from the sun, I made her try on her in-progress-BFF Hat.  I was feeling that it might be a little big, so I wanted to be certain before I started decreasing.

Turns out she loves it and the sizing is right.  So I finished the section and began decreasing... and now I am done.

The combination of this pattern, color and shimmer reminds me of moving water... like the ocean, but I'm afraid that I'm not skilled enough with a camera to show the true effect.

I really liked working with this yarn.  I will have to get some more merino/bamboo soon.  Since it has very little halo, I think it would be good for knitting a lacy pattern.

The idea for this project was born in June, yarn spun in July, knitting began in August and the hat was finished this week, in September.  It was quite fun going through a product development process for my own personal fiber project.  I have always been a product developer and love that I was able to use this process for my personal work too.

This post was prepared as part of Fiber Arts Friday.  Please take a look at the other wonderfulness going on via The Wonder Why Gal blog.