What a busy weekend! It was the perfect weekend – full of family, friends and crafty pursuits. I couldn’t have asked for a better thanksgiving.
On Saturday Tito and I drove to a an alpaca farm that he found online – Alpaca Acres in Stratford Ontario. Yes, he sleuthed out an alpaca farm for me and drove me there as a treat. I tell ya, the man is a keeper ;)
While there we were treated to a tour by the owners Ann and Dan. They are amazing, friendly folk who really love their animals and have raised award winning Alpacas. After speaking with them I had a whole new appreciation for what it takes to raise healthy, happy alpacas.
We learned lots of interesting things about how to care for Alpacas, and got to feed them some treats. They are friendly, inquisitive animals with the softest wool.
This gossipy looking Alpaca with the white stripe on her head is named Sandy. Ann sells her yarn with the name of the animal it came from (how cool is that?) so instead of matching up dye lots you match up who the wool came from. I treated myself to a sweaters worth of ‘Sandy’.
This beautiful design by Erin Harper (Ravelry ID, Project Page) is called the New York Cardigan, and I think it’s the perfect pattern for all this gorgeous Alpaca. I already swatched for it and I think it’ll be a perfect match!
We enjoyed ourselves immensely and will definitely be coming back for more yarn. I love that I can get high quality yarn that’s soft as anything, from amazing people, while supporting an Ontario farm and knowing that I’m buying sustainable yarn with a low carbon footprint. I foresee many visits to Stratford in our future :)