Have you ever worked with alpaca yarn? I'm told it's some of the best 'fiber' you will ever work with and our first product has finally come back from the mill. We are stoked!!! Frankly, I don't knit but I look forward to learning how. I have no idea how to even hold those pointy needles. I'm a drummer so it's natural for me to purposefully use two sticks but I have a feeling it's way different than jamming out to a rock song - even a gentle rock ballad. At any rate, I didn't start raising alpacas so I could knit. The last thing I need is another hobby. But I know that many people love it and truly enjoy the satisfaction of creating something out of these balls of fleece. I'm in awe of some of the shawls and blankets that I've seen true fiber artists create. They are stunning! And it's probably a good thing I don't knit because I'm not tempted to use all my yarn for myself. All that said, I do love taking care of animals. We took on this venture to breed the alpacas and sell great quality animals. The alpacas have brought so much joy to our family. I love sharing them with people who stop by and taking them out to events when we can. They are gentle, sweet and I love my time in the barn just hanging out with them. I have witnessed 2 of the 3 births here on the farm and I stood by in utter fascination as that little 'cria' got up within 20 minutes to stumble around the pasture like a tipsy sailor, then reconnect with mama and enjoy the fruits of the 'milk-bar'. All the alpaca females gather round to cheer on the new mom and they honestly support each other so well - it's a beautiful thing. Producing fleece is natural for them. We feed them a healthy diet of orchard grass, hay and textured feed each day. We give them fresh water and supplement them with trace minerals so they will be healthy and thereby produce the best fleece they can. Every spring, the shearer comes a callin' and we take off that awesome fleece. They run around very self-conscious at first in their new 'suit', but it relieves them from the hot months ahead. I'm always amazed at how small they really are when that 3 inch covering hits the mat and we put it in bags. Later, we get to picking through the fleeces and decide which ones to 'show', which ones to send to the mill, which ones we'll hand-spin, and which ones will be used for other projects like weaving, felting, making bird houses or landscaping. Bottom line is, we started raising alpacas as a business and have completely fallen in love with them. Their fleece happens to make amazing, hypo-allergenic, super-soft yarn. We are so pleased to be able to offer a product from these animals that yarn enthusiasts, fiber artists and hobbyists seek out and treasure. That's good business!!