Alpaca shows draw some highly passionate alpaca enthusiasts to their venues. Sirius Alpacas attended last weekend’s Pacific Northwest Alpaca Association’s Show in Pasco, Washington, and JR Weber had the pleasure of meeting several breeders as well as fiber artists who love working with alpaca fleece for their projects.
Lori (that’s me) stayed home to take care of Sirius Alpacas’ animals and get the kids to their baseball and softball commitments, but JR enjoyed a weekend in Washington State, which he said was an absolutely gorgeous area with big skies, mountains – and several impressive baseball complexes. He only saw the fields from a distance as he was driving by. Most of his time was spent inside the TRAC facility where approximately 500 alpacas came to compete in the ring.
The following photos show some of the breeders with their animals as well as a some seasoned spinners.
White huacaya alpacas wait in the staging area before entering the ring. The lighter the class, the tougher the competition usually is. White alpacas produce some of the brightest, crimpiest, most dense fleeces available.
Ribbons - that's what everyone wants to take home from these shows. These ribbons were awarded in the 2 oz. fiber sample competition.
Anyone wanting to create a fiber-arts masterpiece would have had a hard time controlling their spending here!
Ladies spin alpaca rovings at the PNWA Show. Lori (the writer of the blog, and poop patrol foreman at Sirius Alpacas) has been trying to learn to spin for more than 2 years. She still sucks. Luckily, she was able to pick up knitting and salvage her domestic arts ego.
These ladies make spinning look so easy. I wonder how good are they at mucking pastures.
Spinning - It isn't just for the ladies. This guy knows where to hang out with talented women. In fact, I think more men should try spinning.
Linda Gouge, spinner. During the day, she's an attorney specializing in family and criminal defense, but keeps her sanity by spinning fleece during her off hours. She uses an Ashford wheel and dyes her fleeces with McKinley's Magical Dye. Her website, www.stareaglefiber.com, is in development.
Alpacas wait to be led to their show pens. Some alpacas are more patient than others.
Here is JR's display on behalf of Classic Alpacas. We love the high-quality apparel and accessories they import from Peru.
Pre-show meeting. Here is where the show director discusses the classes, the show order, introduces the judges and helps people understand what they can expect prior to entering the ring.
The virgin sod at an alpaca show - before any alpacas had yet to poop on it.
An alpaca and handler enjoy a few moments in the sun between classes.
Is it possible to find anything cuter and softer than a baby in alpaca beret? We didn't think so.
Alpacas move from their trailers into the arena.
I’ve got a slew of fiber arts photos from the Pacific Northwest Alpaca Association show to share in our next blog post. Stay tuned!
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Sirius Alpacas is a family farm in Chardon, Ohio that raises and boards alpacas for fun, therapy and profit. The farm uses its fleeces in the production of high-quality yarns and felted goods. Sirius Alpacas also imports fair-trade Andean items including socks, scarves, hats, gloves and more from Peru and Bolivia, offering the style and culture of South American goods while helping the farmers, artists and craftsmen of that region. Lori Weber, co-owner of Sirius Alpacas, is the creator and writer of this alpaca blog. You may reach her at Lori@SiriusAlpacas.com.
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