DMAR Alpaca and Maremma Blog

Star Crossed Slouchy Beret:

 This is Karen Christian. She is one our customers. She is a wonderful kitter and this is a hat she recently made out of alpaca yarn. Last year for her birthday her husband had her pick out some fleeces from our alpacas before they were even shorn. Karen selected DMAR Valentino and DMAR Versace. This hat is made from DMAR Valentino’s fiber.

DMAR Valentino is a rose grey. He was only 4 mths at the time of shearing. His staple length was 4 inches and it was baby alpaca quality.

Karen and her husband helped us to shear. This picture is of Karen and myself (I’m bent over the fiber) just about the roll the blanket up.  This was Karen’s first time shearing and gave her a whole new perspective on the whole fiber process.  

I’m thrilled Karen let me share this with you all. I am so happy to see what my customers end up making out of alpaca yarn. Last year I entered some of Karen’s hand knitted alpaca items into the fiber contest at SWRAS. She won 1st place and a ribbon for her other item. Karen plans on entering this slouchy hat and matching scarf in this  year’s fiber contest. I can’t wait to see how it places!

Click Here for the pattern. You must be a ravelry member in order to access it.

Sweater Made from Shasta:

This is Shasta. Her fiber is baby alpaca quality and simply beautiful. I sold 15 ounces of her sport weight yarn to Barbara Hays approximately 2 months ago. Today she came over to show me her finished product. Take a look below:

Isn’t this gorgeous? Best of all Barbara simply designed this knitted sweater from her head. Barbara has been knitting since she was very young and with so much experience it came to her with no problem at all.

I love it Barbara and thanks for sharing!

You too can purchase alpaca yarn at my store at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com.

DMAR Update for Weekending 5/9/09:

Gianna is finally home. She is our newest maremma. Tom and I imported her directly from Italy and I flew to NY last week to pick her up. She is only 9 weeks old, but she is a big girl. Probably weighing around 25 lbs. She has made our ranch her own and gets along great with all the other maremmas. She shows no fear of the alpacas and has already started guarding the property with her barking. Of course not to the same extent as the older dogs, but still she is trying. Gianna will be Santino’s new girlfriend as we had to spay Bianca earlier this year. She has already taken over Santino’s spot laying next to the dog house. Tom wets it down each morning and night making the dirt cool. As you can see she is already dirty.

 Armani with Vincenzo - People are constantly asking us how the alpacas get along with the maremmas. I think this picture says it all. Armani is literally laying his head over Vincenzo’s head while napping. Unfortunately I could only get one picture because Santino started barking at me, because I was sneaking up to the fence trying to be quiet. He gave me away which made both boys lift their heads. However it is obvious that they get along great. Both boys are yearlings in this picture taken just yesterday. Cute, cute, cute.

Update on Michelle Rose: Well we sheared her on April 22nd. Her wool was 3 lbs. Then the next day I left for NY for 6 days. Tom could feed her in the morning and night, but mid-day she wasn’t given any grain as he works. When I got back Michelle looked noticeably skinnier. We weighed her and she was only 144 lbs. She lost about 15 pounds in the 6 days I was gone. Now I am starting all over again in making sure she eats. I may have to change her medication back to ketoconozole. Not sure yet.

 DMAR Store: Have you been in our online store yet at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com? We have sweaters that are 100% baby alpaca, teddy bears and cats, scarf sets, coats, ponchos, yarn, and plenty more. It’s never too soon to purchase your holiday gifts.  

 

Knitting:I made this scarf from my 100% alpaca skein in color rose grey. You can purchase the skein online at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com. It took a little less than the 250 yds that come in each skein. Using size 9 knitting needles the pattern is as follows on a multiple of six stitches:

row 1: *k3, p3, repeat from *

row 2: *k1, p1, repeat from *

That’s it. This is a real simple knitting project for any beginner. Pattern was found online at http://fuzzygalore.biz/patterns/reversible.shtml.

DMAR Update for Week Ending 4/25/09:

Michelle Rose had a slight weight loss last week of 2 pounds. I was concerned and so I stepped up her feedings with extra alfalfa and beet pulp. This past Friday we weighed her and she is now 162 pounds. I continue to give her Doxicyclene, but have now switched over to Fluconazole. It is a little cheaper than ketoconozole and is supposed to be less harmful. Michelle looks good and is responding well. She totally enjoys the one on one attention as it is mostly made up of me bringing in her grain. She looks forward to seeing me now.

 I wanted to share with you all a pair of mittens made by one of my customers, Karen Christian. I believe the fiber is of Electra II when she was a cria. They came out beautifully and look cuddly soft. Great job Karen!

Shearing takes place this Wednesday. This past weekend we did herd management which included weighing, toe nail trimming, and giving needed vaccinations or worming paste. To add to our load we also took a shop vac and blew out the coats. Unfortunately it doesn’t clean the alpacas completely, but it does make my job of cleaning the shorn fleeces a lot easier. With this week of us being in the upper 80’s the alpacas will sure be happy to take their coats off.

 Meet Gianna. Gianna is the newest member of our maremma family. She is being imported directly from Italy. I pick her up on Monday. I can’t wait. We have needed another breeding female ever since Bianca had to be spayed and my sister purchased Donatella. Don’t worry as Donatella will remain on the ranch only that my sister will be responsible for her needs. Gianna will be Santino’s new girlfriend.