Alpaca Show

We went to our first alpaca show yesterday!  What beautiful, engaging beings they are!  I am in love with their energy, engagement, apparent intelligence, yes, fleece, too! 

I've never been around them before and was pleasantly surprised, can you tell?  Camelids (relatives of the ships of the desert) have that reputation of spitting, being nasty and mean-tempered, at least the I've heard.  All of the alpacas we met yesterday, aside from youngsters nervous to be at their first shows, were sweet and enjoyed the petting.  We were told that, like all critters, there is the whole range of personality in alpacas.  I talked to many owners and crafters and they all love them as pets.

My son has asthma and has always had allergy attacks at the horse shows we used to go to, didn't sneeze once or even have a runny nose. Alpacas are hypoallergenic!  There are two types of alpacas, Huacaya and Suri, each with a different fleece texture, crimpy and fluffy or long and silky.  We bought and were given some of each to try spinning (my daughter just started spinning!).  One farm is close to us and allows farm visits, I look forward to making friends with the family.

In our future, I can easily see a small herd of alpacas on our dream farm!

I am a Business!

I filed for my Employer Identification Number online today. It's the first step toward making official my yarn business.  I will be able to sell at farmers markets and buy supplies at wholesale prices like wool, wood and other consumable goods that go into making my products.  When I was selling photographs,  I could buy framing supplies, chemistry, printing papers, and film.  Now that I have the tax ID,  I can apply for city business licenses.

Hello World!

Hello, my name is Malinda Welte.  I have been blogging off and on for a fair amount of time (see the connected blogs or Google "SideShowMom").  I craft, create art, garden and take care of my teens and menagerie.

About a year ago I went to a renaissance fair with some friends and learned to spin yarn.  Now I spin way more yarn than I use knitting and crocheting.  This summer you can look for me at local Northland Farmer's Markets selling my yarn and spinning more or teaching someone else (you?) to spin.  You can also find stuff to buy in my Etsy store.

On this blog I'll share some of my fun with you!