Little Survivor

Eden is her name. She is about 50 lbs of spunk and soft brown silky locks. We keep a coat on her because she is so small and has had such a tough time since she was born last June.

Eden’s mother, Carmel Charm is a beauty and Eden is her first cria(baby). Due to a difficult birth…unusual for alpacas…Eden was born with brain damage. At birth, she was blind and kept walking in circles to the right. Because she was blind and neurologically impaired, she couldn’t figure out how to nurse from her mum. So my good friend, Sherren came to the rescue. She babysat and bottle fed her for several days. When Sherren had to leave, I took over. We bottle fed her and worked with her to get her under her mother to nurse. Eventually, Eden improved and now she bounces around the pasture with the other babies and readily nurses from Charm.

She seems to have recovered most of her eyesight. But she is still very small for her age. We don’t know if she will ever be able to have her own babies, but it doesn’t matter. She is special and a survivor and very friendly. She is White Dog farm’s“little Ambassador”, greeting everyone with a little “hum” and a nose nuzzle.

Buddies

Denali, our Great White Pyranees and the little female shown are buddies.

Denali lives with the herd and protects them.

The moms and babies all know that she is their protector.

Up here on White Dog Hill, we have cougar, Canadian lynx, bobcat, bear, and coyotes…BIG coyotes. We have even spotted a wolf. So Denali takes her job very seriously. She is about 150 lbs of lightening-fast aggression when she thinks her herd may be in danger. When things are quiet, she is just a marshmallow...and a buddy for baby alpacas.

Magic wants to play with Denali...or just a kiss?

Alpaca Lopi

Silky Alpaca Lopi is a fantastic blend of 45% Suri alpaca, 45% Huacaya alpaca, and 10% Merino wool. Soft and Lightweight, this single-ply super bulky yarn will give you gorgeous projects that finish quickly.

See our "Shops" page for retail

http://silkyalpaca.blogspot.com/p/stores-list.html

Contact Silky Alpaca for wholesale minimums and pricing
Email to Silky Alpaca

Ravelry Projects

Silky Alpaca is looking for those special projects to feature on our Ravelry link. 

So, any vests, weaving, hats, whatever...just send a photo to Silky Alpaca, along with a description and what yarn you used and how much of it (also needle size and yarn type). We will publish it to Ravelry under Silky Alpaca.

All your yarny friends can see and share those projects!  If you are wanting to get noticed in the yarn world, this is the way to go!!  Let's have some fun with this Ravelry idea! 

Your original designs can be sold on Ravelry!
That is exciting to you, isn't that?

Link to our projects on Ravelry
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/silkyalpaca/

Send us a photo of your project
silkyalpaca@gmail.com

PENDLETON ALPACA BLANKETS AND SCARVES

The Silky Alpaca Farms have a very special relationship with the Alpaca Blanket Project who has contracted with Pendleton Woolen Mills to make fantastic, lightweight and warm alpaca blankets.

You can order these items(first come, first served…folks LOVE these blankets) through Silky Alpaca.  Yup, the alpacas you see here are in each and every one of our Pendleton alpaca blankets!

These blankets are 100%alpaca wool, 52 x 70”, and made in the U.S.A. –warm in winter, lightweight and breathable in summer!!  Once you sleep under an alpaca blanket, you will never want to sleep under any other kind of blanket again!

"PENDLETON 100% ALPACA WOOL BLANKET"

$145.00 + shipping

They also make alpaca scarves for us.   
"PENDLETON 100% ALPACA WOOL SCARF"

$45.00 + shipping

Email us to order!
 

Silky Alpaca at Mother Earth News Fair

Silky Alpaca’s bulky yarn and Lopi, along with some very nice lace weight and hand-spun yarns will be showcased at the Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup, WA June 4-5.  Silky Alpaca yarns will be joining other farms in the Hidden Treasures Group to  offer alpaca socks, sweaters, rugs, etc.  And yes, of course, we’ll have a few of those precious Pendleton blankets and scarves available.  So think about getting your Christmas shopping done in June this year and join us at the Mother Earth News Fair.  We will feature spinning demonstrations, fiber  and yarn tips,  and  alpaca livestock  and lifestyle information.  

See you June 4-5 in Puyallup!

More Details 

"Silky Alpaca Blog Event Page" 

About Colors

All Silky Alpaca yarns are not dyed

With over 20 different colors of alpacas, how do we decide what colors to make?  More white is available, of course.  Because the actual diameter of each alpaca fiber(hair) is finer than even most Merino wool, we have unlimited possibilities.  The Silky Alpaca farms don't have a lot of gray animals, so to make our beautiful gray yarns, we blend white fiber and black fiber together.  The fiber is so fine, that the human eye cannot differentiate the different colors(black and white) in the yarn.  So we see a gray yarn.  That is why the different brown colors(from beige to camel to coffee to maroon and brown/black) are all so unique.  At this time, the Silky Alpaca farms have more browns and white than we have black.  But a limited amount of black yarn is available and it is so soft!  We also have some very nice heather grays, which have not been blended very much, and these make gorgeous unique projects. 

Natural White

Light Grey

Dark Brown

Beige

Cria (baby alpaca) has eye infection

Eureka is at the front of the pack

Poor Eureka!  Her eye is finally getting better, though.  The vet was here last week and lanced the infection just below her right eye.  It has been draining and she has had to be on antibiotics, but she is finally better!  Thank heavens!!  She was our biggest baby last summer and her dam is the smallest breeding female on the farm.  So Eureka was delivered with a little help from the farmer and her neighbors mid-summer 2010.  She is a beautiful light fawn color(almost golden) and has always been healthy.  But maybe in burrowing her head down into the hay bucket, she must have gotten a little microscopic piece of hay in her lower eyelid.   Kids!!  Things happen sometimes no matter how hard we try to prevent them!!

Every one else is good this morning.  I think we will have three or four babies coming this summer.  Yahoo!!

In South America, the Incans used baby alpaca fleece(sheared like sheep) for only the Royalty.  No one but the King and his family were allowed to wear baby alpaca.

Fiber Information

White Dogs Alpacas' Suri Fiber

 Alpaca fiber is 4 times warmer than sheep's wool and as soft as cashmere.  It is very lightweight and “breathes.”  That is why we can wear alpaca sweaters in the spring and summer.   Here in the Pacific Northwest, we can wear it all year long.  Some of our best selling items from the farm co-op  are summer weight socks and heavy duty winter socks for skiers and snowboarders.

The huacaya(teddy-bear) alpaca fiber is hollow in the center of the hair shaft, making it very lightweight and very insulating.  The Suri(dread-locks) alpaca fiber is not hollow, but heavier and drapes like silk.  Both breeds can breed together, but this is not standard practice in North America.  When the two breeds are crossed, they are called “chilis.”  If a llama crosses with an alpaca, it is called a “huarizo.”  By keeping the breeds separate, the fiber is more predictable and we know exactly what to do with it.  Sometimes, we intentionally mix the fibers, like in the Silky Alpaca yarn and the Pendleton Alpaca blankets….but in a planned out process to maximize the best properties of each type of fleece.

Glacier

You would fall in love with him!

This young male alpaca is named "Glacier."  He is owned by my friend Frieda who specializes in extremely fine fibers.  Glacier was born deaf(his light blue eyes are indicative of this recessive trait), but has a very good life with his herd.  The other alpacas seem to understand his disability and take care of him.  They let him eat out of whatever bowl he wants...they just seem to understand that he needs to be looked after.  Did you know that alpacas can learn Sign Language?