Whidbey Island FiberQuest With a Twist 4

Hello!

By my opening photo, you can see I am back to posting about my day at the Whidbey Island FiberQuest With a Twist.  Today I will write about the last two farms we visited, and tomorrow (or Sunday) wrap up the day with the last two stops.

Map of our trip:

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F. Fern Ridge Alpacas
7343 Holst Road
Clinton, WA
206.778.9619
 
This farm seems tucked away in the woods.

 

We drove up a narrow lane through the Pacific Northwest's signature tall evergreens to find ourselves in a cross between South America and Central Asia.

By Central Asia, I mean the Yurt, which is the Farm Store.  And, of course, by South America, I mean ALPACAS!  Honestly, Skeinherder and I squealed just as loudly at the sight of the lovelies on this farm as we had at the first farm we visited.

One of the things that was so lovely about this farm tour is how friendly all of the owners are.  

They can't wait to show you their animals.  They love to explain what their farm is about (alpacas!).  They are eager to answer any questions.

We got to go inside the alpaca pen here, to greet and photograph the animals up close.

When we were back at our Wednesday night Eastside Stitchers Group, someone asked if the farms smelled... well, like.. Farms.  The amazing thing is that none of them did.  They are all kept so clean.  You can see how healthy and happy the animals are.

This farm offers knitting classes.  The farm store, or farm YURT, was so open and light, and full of goodies.

Of course there are all kinds of yarns and fibers from their own herd,

but also crafts for sale from local crafters:

These pieces were made by kids in the local 4-H group, as well as the owner's wife.  We are talking really local here.

G. Paradise Found Fiber Farm
4081 Springwater Lane
Clinton, WA
360.579.1906

The last farm we visited on the tour was Paradise Found Fiber Farm.
This farm really seemed like a FARM.

O!  I didn't get a photo of the chickens.  Ratz.  Well, they had farm produce, including eggs, for sale, as well as their wonderful yarns and fibers for spinning.  But more on that in a minute.

Mary, the owner of this delightful farm, is the whole reason we came on the FiberQuest.  She contacted me on Ravelry through the Eastside Stitchers, to let me know about the event. 

Her farm is a bit different from the others we visited, not only for the chickens and produce, but because they don't just focus on alpacas.  They actually started with llamas.

About a third of their animals are llamas.  They branched into alpacas as a rescue operation mainly, not for the fiber.  But of course, if you are going to rescue alpacas, might as well use their fiber.  So another third are the alpacas.  The final third are their goats.

They run a small herd of Pygora Goats.  These goats were originally a cross of pygmy goats and angora goats.  They now are recognized as their own official breed.  

So, when you enter the small but well stocked shop,

 you see yarn and fiber from all three types of animals.

Mary has her wheel set up in the corner, and offers a great selection of her own handspun yarns, as well as millspun.  For people looking for crafted items, there was a wonderful display of her knitting, as well.

Of course, we had to buy some of the llama fiber.

Stay safe and well.
Yours,

f1bercat
shaping the planet with llama yarn.

Whidbey Island FiberQuest with a Twist 2

Hello:

I am going to continue posting about the stops on the Whidbey Island FiberQuest from last Friday, November 2.

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I went on the day trip with Skeinherder, from the Eastside Stitchers.

Pronkin' Pastures
2582 North Bluff Rd
Greenbank, WA

 Our second stop was another farm, Pronkin' Pastures Alpaca Farm.  Pronkin' by the way, means to jump straight up, something young alpacas love to do for fun.  And we did see some young ones here, super cute babies in the fields with their moms.

The owner was another very friendly lady, sorry, I did not get her name... Not only does she raise alpacas, and sell their fiber and mill spun yarn, but she spins and dyes her own yarn from her animals.

The store was really cute, 

and full of fiber, yarn, toys, knitwear, and other fun things.

We found it impossible to resist yarn that had the name of the animal on the lable!

There was fiber from the two kinds of Alpacas:

Huacaya:

and Suri:

It was fun to be able to feel both types, relatively un-processed.  Some of the yarns were blended with other fibers.  One gorgeous offering was black undyed alpaca and red silk:

We both came away with a few ounces of undyed alpaca fiber to practice spinning on our spindles.

I wish I had needed yarn, because the yarns were absolutely lovely.  A really nice farm and shop.

Only  portable toilets here.

More on the FiberQuest tomorrow.

Stay safe and well.
Yours,

f1bercat
shaping the planet with new alpaca fiber.

Whidbey Island FiberQuest With a Twist 1

Hello,

Yesterday, Skeinherder and I drove up to Whidbey Island, WA for their Whidbey Island FiberQuest with a Twist.  This fiber crawl involved 4 alpaca farms, 1 yarn shop, and the twist:  2 wineries/vineyards, 1 deli, and 1 chocolate shop. 

It was an amazing day.  Of course, Skeinherder and I both fell in love with the animals, and had to repeat to each other, "We are not bringing home an alpaca."  We did bring home alpaca FIBER, yarn, information, and... chocolates.  I am going to break up the day, because there are a lot of photos of alpacas, and I love them all.  Also, today is the KnitFit! Convention at the Ballard Community Center in Seattle, so I will have posts in the next few days about my experiences there.  Lots of newsy posts ahead.  Anyway, this post will be about our first stop on the FiberQuest.


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Island Bliss Alpacas
2839 Taylor Road, Oak Harbor, WA

We left Bellevue a little bit before 8 am and drove north to Anacortes where we then turned south and crossed over the Deception Pass Bridge onto Whidbey Island (which is the largest island in the contiguous United States).  It was a wonderful day.  The sun peeked out through cloud dotted skies, and the temperature stayed in the mid 50's.  Crisp air, no rain (until we were on the freeway headed home).  Whidbey Island is heavily wooded in many places, and it felt like we were in a movie as we drove down some of the side lanes, but not Twilight, definitely not Twilight.

We arrived at the first stop, Island Bliss Alpacas, a bit before 10, but decided to get out of the car and take photos because there were ALPACAS.

Even though we were early, the owner of this delightful farm and shop, Tracy Quinten, came right out to greet us.

This was the perfect first stop for us.  Not only because we wanted to go North to South, and not only because Tracy was welcoming and very friendly, but because she was a fount of information about alpacas and alpaca farming.  She told us about the two breeds of alpacas, Suri (pronounced Sur-ree) and Huacaya (pronounced wah-KI-yah).  She raises huacayas. Alpacas come in 22 to 24 natural colors from pure white to black.  In the eastern United States, the farms have more spotted or Apaloosa Alpacas, the western breeders seem to prefer solid colors.  Huacaya fiber is the type that keeps you warm in winter.  It is naturally water repellant, and because it doesn't have lanolin like wool, is naturally hypo-allergenic.  It is also very light, which makes it a perfect fiber for yarn.  Less is needed to keep you warm.

She has a delightful shop with yarn and fiber from her herd for sale.

There is no mill on Whidbey Island, but a new fiber mill, Crimping River Fiber Mill and Farm, has started on a near-by island, Camano Island, where she is now getting her fiber processed.  This is truly local fiber.

Only portable toilets here.


Stay safe and well.
Yours,

f1bercat
shaping the planet with new alpaca fiber to spin.