Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Oddly enough in the busy aftermath of STITCHES South, I managed to keep focus on a little project. I started the Blue Shimmer/Blå Skimmer cuffs during Susanna Hansson's "Bohus Stickning" class. Partly because I wanted the picot edging to match on both cuffs, I was motivated to get the second cuff cast on before I misplaced the scrap of paper reminding me of what I had knit. These are still on the needles because I'd like to expand them into gloves. I plan to acquire some nice indigo-dyed cashmere. When I knit the gloves, I'll just knit plain. I don't want to detract from the fabulous Bohus pattern. I did not buy the cashmere when I saw it in the Market at STITCHES South because I felt that buying cashmere would be motivation for finishing the cuffs. It is! I'm sure not all Bohus patterns are similar to this one, but I do have a few observations. While you do have to strand colors across the back -- and sometimes carry more than two colors in a round -...

Alpacas, some sheared and some not sheared. On Saturday I drove up to Thunder River Suri Alpacas to see the alpacas being sheared. Rose has been a wonderful supporter and member of North Georgia Knitting Guild and Atlanta Knitting Guild. Her alpaca farm produces animals for other people who would like to start a farm, as well as a range of alpaca products from raw fleece to yarn to dyed yarn to finished garments. Suri alpaca has a lovely sheen and drape similar to silk. It is soft and warm. For spinners, alpaca doesn't need to be scoured before spinning because it contains very little lanolin. This also means that when you buy raw alpaca fleece, very little weight is lost after washing and spinning. If I recall correctly, Rose has her herd divided up into several groups and keeps them in separate but adjacent pastures. She has a bachelor group of males, a bachelorette group of females, and a group of mommies with babies. Like other camelids, alpacas will spit to express disp...