Meeting potential alpaca owners

After publishing an ad in a small newspaper, we were contacted by a woman interested in our fiber. She wanted it for felting. We were very surprised when she and her husband revealed the following morning that they were considering buying some alpacas. This was a perfect opportunity for Bob, John, and I to share some of the rewards of this lifestyle.

We talked at length about their specific situation. In these uncertain economic times, we cautioned them to make a business plan and allow for unexpected expenses. John was included in all of the activities. We introduced them to our herd and discussed the benefits of living with and caring for these wonderful animals. They could see John's self-confidence and enjoyment throughout the entire morning.

We have not had the opportunity to interact with prospective owners. We didn't realize how much we had learned about this industry in the past two years. As they loaded their fiber into the car, it was apparent that we would be seeing more of this young couple. Plus, we now have a fiber customer! Hooray!

A Ribbon in the EAA Spin-Off!

What a thrill! We opened the mail yesterday to see a beautiful red ribbon for the fleece we entered in the Spin-Off held at Saratoga, New York by our Empire Alpaca Association. Our yearling, Princess Nomian, has wonderful fawn-colored, soft, silky fiber. The judge who spun our
bag of fleece rated its quality and returned a small sample of the yarn.

This was especially informative to me, because John just loves to help with the spinning as we sit by the television after dinner and the keyboard. Yes, we have a new addition to our routine. I have been practicing carding the fleece and mixing some different colors.

John likes the dog brushes we use for carding and picks out the fleece from our pillowcases. As of this morning, all of Alameda's fleece has been spun! Each skein looks better. There is no doubt that we will market Princess Nomian's fleece as ribbon winning !