Purl Alpaca Designs

Knitted fun at Unravel

2012-02-26T12:51:00.000-08:00

I am almost lost for word - how amazing was Unravel this weekend? Let me tell you all about it!

This unique festival of knitting takes place in picturesque Farnham, a lovely little town with charming houses, shops and people. We traveled to Farnham on Friday, I came by train from London and Tracy drove down from Cambridge. I think my journey might have been the least stressful of the two... But we got there, got the stand set up and then checked in to our cute hotel, the Bishops Table. Even got a free upgrade and got treated to a lovely double room each! What luxury!
The hotel and its back garden provided a lovely calm base for our weekend of hard work!

Saturday morning we made our way to the show and was met by all sorts of knitted fun! Lamp posts, bins and bridges were all decorated with knitted stuff - also called yarnbombing! Great fun!

The knitted fun kept on coming inside the Farnham Maltings where the festival was taking place.
Knitted art, tea cosies, farm animals and loo roll covers - there was no stopping the organisers of this event!

We thoroughly enjoyed the weekend spent in Farnham. We met lots of lovely people, including the woman who knitted the jumper worn by Miles Jupp on Let's Dance for Sport Relief, had some great cake, saw some beautiful yarn stalls and spread the Purl Alpaca message to lots of new customers. Can we come back again next weekend, please?

Unravel - this weekend!

2012-02-23T05:11:00.000-08:00

Fashionable ladies at work!

2012-02-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

Today - one of the coldest days of the year - Tracy and Kari-Helene have decided to work outside(!) skirting alpaca fleeces. We are running low on yarn - you lot have been knitting away this winter - and we are having to make some more! Not that we are complaining, this is what we love doing after all. But could somebody please turn the heating on?

Tracy has got bags of gorgeous fleece in her garage and we are working our way through them one by one. Opening a bag is sort of like opening a Christmas present, you're not quite sure what is going to be inside or how much you are going to like it! Of course we do know it will be alpaca fibre, that much is a given, but what quality will it be and how much of the edges will have to be taken off? When skirting a fleece (it really has nothing to do with skirts, ladies, believe us!) you remove all the edges, all the debris and any fibre over 25 microns. This means only the very best of the best will go into the mix to make the yarn. So when you open a bag to find a lovely, soft baby alpaca fleece, your first thought is Hurrah! - then you realise this little one has been rolling around in the brambles for a year and the joy vanishes. You have no idea how much stuff can stick to an alpaca! They are like little balls of velcro! So the next time (not that it happens very often) you find a little bit of grass or hay in your yarn think about it as a little piece of joy from the field, a present from a happy little cria bouncing around in the sunset without a worry in it's young life.

Geronimo!

2012-01-22T04:47:00.000-08:00

Although we do not have many menswear designs in the Purl Alpaca Designs collections, the ones we have are proving increasingly popular. Geronimo especially. Geronimo is a lovely, chunky cable knit jumper inspired by traditional Aran knits. When made in alpaca yarn this makes an incredibly warm and lightweight jumper.
Reg Edwards wrote us this lovely email to tell us about his Christmas present knitted by his wife, Cath. Cath chose to knit the jumper in Alpaca Rain (taupe) and we think it looks stunning!

"My wife and I visited the Harrogate Stitch and Knit show and bought the Geronimo pattern with the taupe wool to make me a cosy jumper for Christmas. I am over the moon with my new jumper, I couldn't believe how stylish it is. The warmth is incredible and itch free, what a bonus!! The left over wool is being used up on baby cardi's now. We'll be sure to be buying more of your fabulous designs."

Here is Reg modelling his jumper AND decorating the Christmas tree. Incredible multitasking!

The second version was made by Colin Strange. Colin attended one of our workshops last year and he came to the Knitting and Stitching show in October to show us the finished jumper. Colin is a very experienced knitter and chose to do a few changes to the design. The V-neck works really well, and it looks great knitted in the grey colour. Nice work!

Keep the photos coming, we love hearing from you! And more than anything - we love seeing you in your scrumptious alpaca knitwear!

Our Survey winner has been chosen!

2012-01-04T04:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone, and may we at the same time apologise for the lack of posts over the last few months of 2011. Might have been slightly busy at the Purl Alpaca headquarters... Which is of course a brilliant thing! We will however try over very hardest at being a bit better at updating the blog more frequently in 2012. We do have a lot to say as you may know if you have met us!

Firstly - we asked you towards the end of 2011 to complete a survey for us, and many of you did. We got some very interesting answers and hope to implement many of them in the future. We promised that we would draw a winner from everyone who entered and when we went to Create and Craft in December we asked Suzanne Williamson, our contact there, to draw a name out of a (no, not a hat as we didn't have one to hand) bowl!

Congratulations, Angela Hollis, you have won a Happy Cuffs Knitting Kit!

Knit and Natter

2011-10-20T01:15:00.000-07:00

The wonderful weather was perfect for our second workshop at Anglesey Abbey. As well as our lovely ladies, we were joined by Colin, a highly accomplished knitter who is working his way through both Geronimo and Drambuie. Other projects included kits for Duchess, Bonnie, Olivia, and Allegro. Marianne and Heather are established friends and were sharing tips for the basket weave of Duchess, then Marianne showed us her expertise with dyeing and spinning natural fibre by presenting Heather with two beautifully made balls of teal/blue/green yarn with gold thread. (Her full range can be seen on her Etsy shop ##). Diane was returning to knitting after a long break and so she spent the day relearning the basics, ready to embark on making Allegro. Everyone had accomplished a huge amount of knitting before it was time for us to finish, but the prize had to go to Helen, who had nearly finished the feather and fan pattern on the back of her Olivia! Lyn (who was also making Duchess), was delighted to be able to make something for herself. Debbie and her sister, Sam, had booked their workshop last year and were extremely patient in waiting for us to actually arrange a venue! Their projects of Bonnie and Allegro were progressing well despite their extremely different knitting styles although both were taught by their mother.

It was a really lovely day and as usual, the sumptuous lunch and continuous refreshments meant no one was left feeling hungry.

Liz had brought two alpacas, Springtime who was so gentle and beautifully behaved and Dusty. Now whether Dusty was depressed from losing her cria, or maybe she was having a bad-hair day, but grumpy? Well yes she was and, bearing in mind she's usually really friendly, it was a bit disconcerting! As this was the second recommendation of Tracy to Liz, Tracy will now shush and leave it to Liz's judgment!

Don't forget we only have two more workshops at Anglesey Abbey,

12th November and 14th December: book now to reserve your place.

Fashion in the Fields of Houghton Hall Alpaca Farm

2011-09-18T05:07:00.000-07:00

September the 1st had been booked for months for the annual Purl Alpaca photoshoot. For weeks before the big day the weather was not very good to say the least, and Kari-Helene was keeping a close eye on the forecast. With one week to go, it was not looking very promising and when the day arrived the Purl Alpaca team could not believe their luck! Not a cloud in the sky! The farm looked its absolute best and the scene was set for a fabulous shoot! Here are a few snaps, taken by Tiffany Mumford and Kari-Helene, Tracy wants to know who put the bow on?

Open Day on the alpaca farm 29/08/11

2011-09-13T13:32:00.000-07:00

On the bank holiday Monday in August we packed all the Purl Alpaca exhibition equipment and set of to Houghton Hall in Huntingdon to participate on their open day. Tracy had taken the initiative to the day and was feeling a bit nervous about the outcome... Turned out there was no need to! The sun was shining, and although it was bitterly cold we managed to keep warm using some of the Purl Alpaca knitwear.

Tracy is unpacking the different yarn colours.

Kari-Helene is labeling the Purl Alpaca cotton canvas kit bags. And here is also a sneak preview of one of the items from the new collection, the stripy headband. It kept Kari-Helene's ears very warm all day!

Alison from Yarnscape setting up her stand.

Here is her wonderful blogpost from the day with lots of cute alpaca photos!

The Purl Girls were coming up from London to join us, and detour included, they got to the farm with 5 min to spare! Good thing they made it as they had all the samples in their car! So with everything finally in place we got the stand ready in time.

Fiona is modelling her beautiful Balboa knitted in Fawn and Tracy is wearing her Olivia in White.

A massive thank you to everyone who cam along to demonstrate their skills. Bronwen and Pauline were knitting. Showing magic loop, basket weave and cabling. In the photo Pauline is modelling Fantasia. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of Marianne and Heather spinning. They tried using Suri fleece as well as Huacaya. Incredible skills, ladies! Alyson was demonstrating weaving and people could also try their hand at one of her looms. These are all wonderful skills and we thank you all for coming to show us your talents!

Huacaya alpacas in tones of dark brown and black.

Funny looking Suri alpacas. Don't you think they look like rastafarians?

At the moment Purl Alpaca Designs is using Huacaya fleece in our yarn. These alpacas are fluffier and have the traditional teddy bear look. The yarn is lightweight, fluffy and warm. Suri fleece has very different qualities, it is much heavier and have a lot more drape. The yarn is a lot silkier, although still very warm. There might be some developments with using Suri fleece in the future. Watch this space!

Purl Alpaca Designs - back on the small screen

2011-08-24T04:15:00.000-07:00

We are very happy that we are building a strong relationship with Create and Craft TV and we are very lucky to be having a regular monthly show now. It is proving a great way to meet new customers and we are loving all the correspondence and feedback we are getting! Thank you to everyone who has been watching and thank you for all your lovely comments. We are back again on Create and Craft tomorrow, this time we will be presenting Cleo, our skirt/poncho/dress multi garment, as well as Adie and Charlie, the pom pom hat and scarf set. We came to think of these photos of Laura from Purl About Town modelling Cleo, and she has allowed us to use them on the show tomorrow!

During the show we will show you how to do short row shaping, one of Kari-Helene's favourite techniques, and a vital technique in many of Purl Alpaca's designs. Adie is a perfect kit for a beginner to learn this technique as it keeps focus solely on the short row shaping. Cleo will then be the next step, introducing cabling as well as multiple short row shapings. A good challenge!

We will also be demonstrating how to join the yarn using the felting/splicing method. This is a great technique to use when knitting with alpaca or wool as you create seamless joins and avoid sewing in ends. It is especially a handy technique to use when knitting something like Charlie as you have no seams or inside to hide your joins and ends. Watch us on Thursday 25th of August at 5pm online on www.createandcraft.tv or on the following channels Sky 671, Freeview 36 or Freesat 813

The 'Ahhhh' Factor

2011-07-30T02:03:00.000-07:00

Here is Duchess with her new cria, Havanna - the title says it all!

Fun at Fibre East

2011-07-30T01:30:00.000-07:00

The Purl Team had the opportunity to exhibit at Fibre East in Bedfordshire, at a festival to celebrate fibre and crafts in East Anglia. The faithful Bessie (the van), was loaded with all our stuff, plus some extras. Tracy packed sacks full of different coloured alpaca fibre that, although good quality, was too short to process into our yarn. 'Might be handy for spinners' she thought. Well she was right and lots of new contacts were made!

Our stand was on the edge of the marquee but wasn't high enough for us to display the designs and yarn in our usual way. After trying to build a trellis pyramid and other interesting but impractical ideas, horizontal thinking came into play and we were pleased with the way the stand looked after removing the knitted pockets and resewing them on to the trellis.

We had just set everything out when we noticed we were being dripped on - yes the children had left school for their summer holidays and so it had started to rain, and rain, and rain! We had the leaky corner! So we removed everything from the trellis after the show and put it all back each morning. We needn't have worried though, the weather was perfect all weekend.

During the well organised and absolutely lovely show, we had a chance to catch up with some familiar faces, Katie modelling her Misty Turban

and Marianne wearing her much loved Duchess. Here she is with husband Barry, with their display of products on the Picperfic stand.

So many thanks to Pauline, Sarah and Belinda for popping in to say "Hello", to the people who recognised Tracy from the TV and to everyone who helped us enjoy this lovely show and make it a special weekend. Kari-Helene, slaving over the hot new designs wasn't in Bedfordshire with us, but we talked of her often (so she was there in spirit). Special thanks go to Fiona, without whom Tracy wouldn't have coped!

Finally, a handy tip - if ever you need to stop or stay near the Black Cat Roundabout on the A1, try The Little Chef there. It's adopted Heston's recommendations and not only is the food lovely and affordable, the staff are helpful and polite (and not one greasy spoon in sight)!

Purl Alpaca at Knit Nation

2011-07-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Purl team attended Knit Nation at Imperial College, London. It was only the second year of Knit Nation and we had heard good stuff about the first, so we wanted to be part of the fun!
So Tracy packed up Bessie Thursday night to drive down to London on Friday morning; Bessie - if you didn't know it - is Purl's new van (Kari-Helene is very excited to be part owner of a van without knowing how to drive!). The intention was at least to leave Friday morning, but you know what they say about best intentions and Bessie is known for throwing a few tantrums!

So Friday morning when Tracy wanted to add the last few bits before heading down to London, do you think Bessie wanted to open her door? Oh no she didn't! So Tracy had to drive all the way to where she bought Bessie, the mechanic had to sweet talk her into opening the door and then have the lock seriously attended to. Tracy drove back to finish loading and only then could she head off. By this time it was afternoon and Tracy decided to rely on the GPS Navigation App on her phone. It was brilliant until the battery became low and the GPS signal disappeared when she got to East London. Eventually Tracy arrived at Imperial College at 15.30 and in an hour and a half Tracy and Kari-Helene had unloaded the van and put the whole stand together, stocked and ready to go! It was a real race against time as the previews opened at 17.00!!

The rest of the weekend went really well and with the help of Fiona and Bronwen aka the Purl girls we sold, chatted, demonstrated and made new friends. We also met Marie Goodwin who has knitted Duchess and with strong encouragement from her friend modeled it beautifully for us! Doesn't she look good?!

OPEN DAY - COME AND MEET THE ALPACAS

2011-07-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

We invite you to join us for our first event of this kind!

AT THE AWARD WINNING HOUGHTON HALL ALPACA FARM

A FIELD TO FASHION EXPERIENCE

29th August 2011 (Bank Holiday Monday)

10.00 a.m. until 4.00 p.m.

Meet the alpacas who have given their names to our designs

See the twins, Cagney and Lacey

Follow the Field to Fashion story from shearing and spinning to finished garments

try your hand at spinning, weaving, knitting and crochet

crafts people demonstrating and available to give help and advice.

Alpacas and products for sale

This event could seriously excite your imagination!!!

http://www.houghtonhallalpacas.co.uk/

Houghton Hall,

St Ives Road (Mere Way),

Houghton, Cambridgeshire

PE28 2BL

(No dogs allowed except guide dogs)

We look forward to seeing you there

Rare Indeed - Alpaca Twins!

2011-06-30T01:55:00.000-07:00

Alpacas rarely have twins and when they do, the survival rate is extremely low. So, although they're only 2 weeks old, Cagney and Lacey are beautiful exceptions to this rule. There's not much space in the womb, so initially they were a bit tangled up, ears turned inside out, legs a bit bent, but gradually over the days, everything has straightened out and here they are looking like perfect minatures. Houghton Hall Alpacas has had over 80 births so far this year and whereas a normal cria weighs about 8 kilos when born, these two little beauties popped out, weighing only 3.5 and 4.5 kilos! Initially needing to be topped up with extra milk, Candy, the mum is now producing enough for both. We're not sure who was more surprised about the twins, Candy, or Mick when he helped with the births and found 3 front legs!

Cute Crias

2011-06-30T01:51:00.000-07:00

Yes it's that time of year again when all our hopes for new crias start to be realised! Dusty was first to give birth but unfortunately, her little cria was severly disabled and so had to be euthanised. This is why the names for our next two make sense. So we are proud to introduce you to Hope and Happy, born to Cleo and Beauty respectively.

First Hope, playing 'Peek-a-Boo' with the camera whilst Cleo takes a well earned rest...

And here's Happy...

Dirty pleasures!

2011-06-21T00:14:00.000-07:00

The lovely Purl Girls Fiona and Bronwen volunteered to come up to the farm to help Tracy skirt a few of our new alpaca fleeces over the last lovely, sunny weekend. There they were, stuck in a barn, watching the building work outside as the new hay store and tractor shed was being built at Houghton Hall. Instead of a chance to work on their tan (as well as savour the delights of grading the fleeces) they became so covered in dust and physically exhausted, that Bronwen sat on a newly completed bag of skirted fibre, to relax and rest, when she fell backwards into the stack of bags, all of which loudly released air! Now Bronwen firmly declares the noise came from the bags, but Fiona and Tracy were crying with laughter and really didn't care! In fact they were laughing so much, they didn't help Bronwen get out of the situation she found herself in! It was, however, extremely soft and comfortable so there Bron stayed, until a small enough amount of concern, allowed Tracy and Fiona to pull her back up to her feet.

Bron then decided to make some tea, but because Alex didn't realise she was in the kitchen, she got locked in and was found, peering out of the top stable door, waiting to be released; she does look a lovely shade of grey though!

Skirting fleeces is a very important part of making our soft alpaca yarn. An alpaca has a very large fleece, but only a small percentage of it is good enough to be used in our yarn production. We do this selection by hand to make sure we only get the very best quality fibre in our yarn and we are starting to see great results from it! We are learning all the time and put all this knowledge into producing the highest quality yarn for you to knit with and wear!

The Purl Girls' day out

2011-06-16T02:04:00.000-07:00

Fiona and Bronwen Richards are part of our team of knitters and whilst Tracy and Kari-Helene were busy with a workshop they took the Purl Alpaca concept on a little outing to the Environmental Curriculum Centre Open Day on the 21st of May. Two days before the show they decided they needed a banner for the stand and made the fabulous Purl Girl hand embroidered one above!

In the run up to the event they had been knitting a selection of the Purl Alpaca accessories, Misty, Fantasia and Alexis in a selection of colours to sell on the day, but had not accounted for the weather being so glorious. It seemed people were more keen on ice cream then alpaca knitwear!

After much deliberation on how to get all the hand made products, boxes of yarn, tailors dummie and garden umbrella in a Smart car, they wisely opted for two cars on the day.

The selection of stalls on the day was varied and interesting. The Purl Girl stand was between a lady selling homemade fabric designs and Bronwen’s partner, Ian, who had been coerced into manning the second-hand book stall. Other exhibitors at the open day ranged from homemade Kent cheeses to hand-made cards.
A big thanks to Bronwen and Fiona for spreading the Purl love!

Knitting Workshop 21st of May

2011-06-06T03:41:00.000-07:00

On Saturday the 21st of May it was time for Purl Alpaca Designs to debut their workshops at Angelsey Abbey. We had been looking forward to this day for a long time and were excited to welcome everyone to a nicely decked out Robinson Room in the new Visitors Centre. The sun had really come out for us, stunning weather all day. It was almost a shame to be inside knitting... but then again, the tea, coffee and scrumptious biscuits were inside!

After greetings, our lovely ladies tried on the samples and chose what they wanted to make. A good range of garments were chosen, a Balboa, an Olivia, a Drambuie and an Adie and Charlie set were all started on the day. Everyone got a good start on their garments before we broke up for lunch. The restaurant at Angelsey Abbey is known for their fresh and local produce and we were served some delicious food. We had a Ploughmans Pie for mains and the vegetarians had a tomato crumble thing, both of which were accompanied by some yummy veg. This was followed by a choice of strawberries and cream or a delicious Bakewell Tart for dessert. We were served red or white wine with the food, but everone were a bit careful with the wine as we didn't want it to interfer with our afternoon's knitting!

After lunch we went through the beautiful gardens (where we had our Woodlands photoshoot) to visit the alpacas. Liz gave us a talk on the little cuties and Virginia was brave enough to get properly acquainted with the two beauties. Alpacas are usually shorn in May, and these ones had just had their annual haircut. Trendsetting styles!

On the way back we visited the the antique water powered mill and were given a demonstration on flour making. Then it was back to the Robinson Room where we knitted a bit more, exchanged some handy knitting tips and drank some more tea - funnily enough, no one wanted more biscuits which were the size of a wagon wheel! At about 4 pm it was time to head home. Everyone came away with a good start to their project and we are very curious to see the results! Photos, ladies?

We were also very lucky to get a visit from Karen Jinks from UK Handmade and Cambridge Creative Network who wrote this great review of the day.

Walking through the birch trees where we shot some of the accessories from the Woodlands collection.

Visting the alpacas. Laurie (to the left) paying close attention. Usually they live at Houghton Hall with Liz and Mick George.

Virginia meeting the alpacas.

Visiting the mill.

And testing the goods...

Tracy's secret talent

2011-05-23T04:21:00.000-07:00

Alpacas and knitting seem to take up all of Tracy's time at the moment, so you will be surprised to know that it wasn't always like this! In what seems like a previous life, Tracy used to run a very successful candle making business. And if you take a few minutes to watch this video, you will understand why!
I wonder if we can make candles from alpaca fleece...

You may applaud!

Workshop at Angelsey Abbey 21st of May!

2011-05-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Finally, after a long time without a place to host our workshops the time has again come! This time we have been so lucky to get a room at the National Trust property, Angelsey Abbey. This is a lovely stately home with acres of parkland and a modern visitors centre, perfect for hosting our days out.

As usual our workshops include a good mix of knitting, friendly chatting, lovely lunch and a visit to feed the alpacas! When you arrive at Angelsey Abbey you will be greeted by Tracy and Kari-Helene and a cup of tea or coffee. You will get the chance to look at all the option there are for you to knit, try them on to decide which size is right for you and then choose between all the available colours. You can also have a look at the website beforehand to have an idea of what you would like to make so you can bring the right needles! Then we get going. Kari-Helene and Tracy are both available for help and advice all day so that you can get the most out of your workshop.

Knitting will only get interrupted by a lovely lunch prepared by the kitchen at Angelsey Abbey. They source almost everything locally, and if it isn't made on site it will have been made very close by! It all tastes amazing (yes, we have sampled... especially the cakes!).

The highlight of the day is to meet the alpacas. They will be in a paddock a little way from the visitors centre, but it is a lovely little stroll through the wonderful park and we will point out a few locations on the way from our photoshoot last year! Alpacas love apples and we will provide you with some to feed them with. Within minutes you will have made lots of new friends. Bring your camera, this makes for great photos!

We'll have time for a bit more knitting before the day comes to an end around 4pm.

Let us know if you are interested in attending a workshop, we have several dates throughout the year and would love to see you there! Have a look at the website for prices and dates and to reserve your spot.

Drum roll please ......

2011-04-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

Purl Alpaca is excited to be presenting, in her newly knitted Allegro, only her second EVER knitted garment:

CLAUDIA!!

Claudia modeled her first knitted garment (Breeze) for our customer gallery and now is excited by efforts to make Allegro - only her second project. We think she has done a great job and hope she is justifiably proud! By the way, Claudia, loving the new hair colour!

Claudia will be tackling Cleo next, can't wait for the images...

Spring colours

2011-04-18T03:16:00.000-07:00

Alpacas are amazing animals. Not only are they cute and adorable to look at, they produce one of the worlds most fantastic fibre. Alpaca yarn is very lightweight and extremely insulating. Each fibre works in a similar way to a duvet, trapping air and keeping the heat in when it is cold, but also working with you if it gets hot and letting some of the heat out. Because alpacas live in such changing conditions and temperatures this is an important ability for them to keep their body heat constant. This unique quality is transferred into our yarn and then into the alpaca garments, keeping you warm on the cold days and comfortable when it is a bit hotter. Now that the summer is coming up, why not make some of the lighter pieces like Bonnie, Beauty, Allegro or Balboa?

New for this spring is the introduction of two new colours! Through a bit of testing and trying we have come up with two lovely shades. Hope you like them!
Spring Mist is a light grey colour, amazingly soft to touch (most of the Purl Alpaca herd have contributed to this batch!). This colour is very on trend at the moment and works really well with this summer's oranges and corals.

Spring Rain is more of a taupe, a unique mix of red, grey and white fleece. The result is a very wearable and fashionable colour. This colour works really well with other natural colours such as khaki, browns and sand.

Something else that is new is that Kari-Helene now offers one-on-one knitting tuition at £25 an hour. Send her an email on kari-helene@purlalpacadesigns.com if you are interested.

Alpaca Futurity 2011

2011-03-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we were very privileged to be invited by Houghton Hall Alpacas to display our designs on their stand at the Alpaca Futurity Show held at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. This is a highly prestigious event and because Houghton Hall Alpacas are gold sponsors, the stand was right by the show ring. The temperature was not exactly tropical, so alpaca knitwear comes in handy and many of our samples were loaned out!

We just love the 'Stop Alpaca' sign!!!

The standard of alpacas being shown was exceptionally high and we met some new breeders to buy fleeces from. Having a high standard of raw fleece is essential to our manufacturing process so that the quality of our yarn increases year on year!

Once again Liz and Mick George came away with Champion and Reserve Champion sashes, plus over twenty rosettes for animals placed between 1st and 4th place. They are also the proud owners of Magenta, The Judge's Choice, a separate category for the alpaca the judge would most like to take home. Magenta is the first of their home-bred animals to be awarded this honour and Liz proudly received their trophy, presented at the Gala Dinner.

The Purl Alpacas are very lucky to call Houghton Hall
their home. Liz and Mick are lovely people and look after their animals very well. They have created an idyllic alpaca farm, set within gentle hills and apple orchards and this is where they have over 500 alpacas leisurely grazing in the morning, resting in the afternoon and playing in the evenings.

Our 10 have fitted in well and whilst we are excited about our 6 pregnancies, Liz and Mick are expecting over 200 new crias!

Purl Alpaca Designs participated in the Gala Dinner Fashion show which was held during the Champagne Reception on the Saturday night. Our collection launched the show, promoting garments made from alpaca fibre and the outfits were very well received. We decided to mix some of yours and our favourite garments (from all our collections to date), to create a few new and interesting looks. Here are some images taken by Liz.

Balboa Waistcoat, Alexis Gloves and Fantasia Cowl

Bjelle Top, Adie Hat and Charlie Scarf

Cleo Skirt, Beauty Cardigan and Diana Headband

Duchess Cardigan, Alexis Gloves and Diana Headband

Olivia Coat

Back on the screen!

2011-03-14T03:05:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months we have been very lucky to build a good relationship with everyone at the Ideal House in Peterborough. We have been on the Create and Craft channel twice and on Ideal World once. We have loved it and the people at Ideal House have asked us to do several shows over the next months. We are starting with a show this Wednesday at 4pm on Create and Craft.

Featured in this show will be Allegro Shawl, a great confidence builder for novice knitters. Allegro is knitted on big needles and with DK yarn and grows really fast. The shawl-like shape keeps your shoulders warm and the attached waistband keeps it in place!

Balboa Waistcoat is also perfect for the spring weather. It is suitable for the intermediate knitter because of the way the design works and its interesting detailing. Balboa is a fairly quick project finish and the elegant shaping creates a really flattering fit.

We chose to include Misty Turban and Wristwarmers again as it has been so popular with the Create and Craft viewers. The wristwarmers and the turban style headband are easy and quick to make and are perfect for beginner knitters. Worked only in garter stitch and with no shapings it is a great project to get to grips with the knit stitch and gives a fashionable and useful end result. Much more fun than just knitting squares!

We are looking forward to being on Create and Craft again on Wednesday the 16th of March at 4pm and then on Ideal World on Thursday the 24th at 10am.

On Wednesday the 16th you can watch us online here

Or on the following TV channels Sky 671 | Freeview 36 | Freesat 813

On Thursday the 24th you can watch us online here
Or on the following TV channels Sky 644 | Freeview 22 | Virgin 747 | Freesat 812

Sun is shining and love is in the air!

2011-03-07T07:34:00.000-08:00

It really feels like spring out there today, and with spring comes love and with love comes weddings - naturally! In this spirit we would like to share with you a few knitted ideas for wedding outfits. Alpaca works a treat with wedding dresses, don't you know? Angelsey Abbey provided the perfect setting for a wedding photoshoot!

The Bonnie Bolero looks stunning knitted in the natural cream colour. It really makes the cable edge stand out. The classic bolero shape is really flattering and easily works with any style of dress!

Duchess Cardigan has a lovely draped front and a real statement look. With a short fitted back it works really well with fishtail dresses, but also with fuller skirts. This cardigan has great stitch details that shows beautifully when knitted in cream. Basketweave at the front and cable detailing at the back makes this a stand out piece!

The Beauty short sleeved cardigan also works really well in cream. It has lots of lovely stitch details, seed stitch along the hem, blackberry stitch collar and a really interesting puff sleeve. The flared back is really cute and works well with most dresses.

All of the above pieces can also be made to order. Send us an email at info@purlalpacadesigns.com and we will help you create your dream knitted piece to go with your wedding dress!

Purl Alpaca Designs were also very grateful to receive some love in shape of the Liebster Award!

Liebster translates roughly as "dearest" in German and it is passed on to blogs you like with fewer than 300 followers. The lovely Laura of Purl about town gave this award to us and we feel very honoured! So in the spirit of love we would like to pass this award on to:

Wellies and Vogue - The talented Tori takes some amazing photographs and tells about life in the stunning Norfolk countryside. Always inspiring!

Huseby Living - Now, I know this is in Norwegian and all you English speaking people might find it frustrating not to be able to read everything. But - look at the amazing photos! Mostly from Hanne Mette's own house. This girl has got such a flair for interior design and photography!

a Friend to knit with - a great blog mainly about knitting but with hints of other crafts too. Loving the quirky self portrait photographs in the mirror. Another inspiring creative mind, we could all do with a friend like her to knit with!

Hope you all will enjoy these blogs as much as we do!

Behind the scenes...

2011-02-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

On our latest trip to The Ideal World House in Peterborough we remembered to take a few behind the scenes shots that we thought we should share with you. Somehow Kari-Helene managed to avoid being in front of the camera. But Tracy cuts a good enough figure for the both of us! Another fun day!!

Floor manager Sam, and Tracy on the set. Pretty much ready to go at this point. Al the alpaca watching on the left hand side.

Here are Tracy and Denise, our wonderful presenter, only minutes before we go live! Denise is holding Bonnie Bolero in fawn, knitted by Bronwen Richards (and beautifully so!). Kari-Helene might have been a bit nervous at this point as she can't keep the camera still!

The sound and camera crew discussing last minute details.

And this is Kevin the cameraman. According to Denise, the best cameraman there is!

Create and Craft

2011-02-01T04:31:00.000-08:00

On the 12th of January Kari-Helene and Tracy made the journey to Peterborough, another city ticked off the map for Norwegian girl Kari-Helene. The reason for our visit? We had been invited to appear on the Create and Craft shopping channel. This is a new venture for the Ideal World Shopping Television Company, to develop an unusual collecting of knitting and yarn suppliers so that their customers can tune in for new ideas not available on the high street. Both Kari-Helene and Tracy were very nervous and excited at the same time, but with the help of Nigel, their presenter on the day, they somehow managed to get through the experience without any major slip ups.

Our friend, Michael, observed that when Kari-Helene demonstrated her knitting techniques, her hands were steady as a rock, but when Tracy pointed out the beneficial attributes of an alpaca fleece, her hands shook! Tracy firmly states this is because her vitamin B levels were low and had nothing to do with nerves!

Afterwards, Kari-Helene has realised she called mattress stitch blanket stitch, but hey - they both have to do with bedding! If anyone has been confused about this, she profoundly apologises. You can find out how to do mattress stitch here!

Another dear friend, Abdul, kindly took a few screenshots for us to share! We are now booked for two more shows in February and this time we will take some of our own photos too!

Alpaca adventure

2011-01-24T05:32:00.000-08:00

On Thursday Kari-Helene made the journey to Cambridge to hang out with some favourite friends, the alpacas! Oh, and Tracy, of course! Along came Ste, Kari-Helene's boyfriend, to meet these wonderful business partners of hers, that is both Tracy and the alpacas!

It was a terribly cold and rainy day, the fields were muddy and we were badly prepared. Kari-Helene's wellies (yes, the city girl does own wellies, but they are what you can call fashion-wellies) even had a big hole in them, so she ended up hopping across the muddy patches! Ste has an impressive natural skill with animals, be it alpacas or dogs, and Kari-Helene has finally gotten over her slight fear of feeding the alpacas. Her fear of muddy, eager dogs was however confirmed...

All together it was a great day that included a lovely lunch at the Plough and a very organised session of packing the orders from our latest appearance on the Ideal World shopping channel. Looks like we will be back on TV again in February. And this time we promise to take some photos and let you all know what goes on behind the cameras too!

Till then we hope you will enjoy these photos from the alpaca visit!

Hello there, what is your name then? (you decide who says this)

A natural Beatuy! (that is her name, although you wouldn't guess from this photo!)

Tracy knows the magic words, the alpacas come from far away when she calls! (magic words = apples)

Harrogate

2011-01-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

For the second year running, Purl Alpaca Designs exhibited at Harrogate for the Knitting and Stitching show.

We enjoyed the show immensely and were lucky enough to be staying in The Old Swan Hotel (only 300 yards from the exhibition hall), a beautiful old building where apparently Agatha Christie hid from the world for a few weeks. Well, if it is good enough for her...

We were promised a big celebrity presence at the show, and true to word - the one and only fairy Gokmother was there! Gok Wan visited the show over a two day period doing a few short presentations quite close to our stand, and one recording of his TV show. (When walking past our stand he clocked the Bjelle/Adie/Charlie dressed mannequin).

We met so many lovely people over the four days we were there, both returning customers, new customers and other exhibitors. Some stopped by to show us what they had knitted since they were at the show last year, like this lady, who had made Geronimo in all fawn and looked stunning wearing it! Thank you to everyone who came by to see us!

All was going well until 2.00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, when it started snowing... and snowing... and snow some more! The show closed early at 4.45 instead of 5 o'clock and Tracy went to get the van from the hotel. Now for anyone who doesn't know Harrogate, it is a beautiful Victorian Town built on hills and the International Conference Centre is at the bottom of these. (Ask anyone in Harrogate for directions and they always say: "go up the hill" but never say which one!)

And we all know what snow means (no, not pretty snow covered hills or snowball fights) - traffic chaos! The traffic had all managed to get down the hill, but all were struggling to get back up! Tracy joined the queue, but very little was moving and after 20 minutes of going nowhere Tracy decided she'd had enough of it and turned round. Well fishtailed round really and blocked the road! So, now we had the problem of directing traffic and unblocking the road on top of how to get our dismantled stand into the van and get home. With help from the hotel staff and wheelbarrows full of grit, Tracy managed to get the van back to a safe parking spot in front of the hotel and then she went to tell Kari-Helene the news.

The good thing about owning your own company is the ability to adapt. Not so much think outside the box as not having a box at all! Between us, we dismantled the stand, took it all to the entrance of the exhibition centre and then made sleighs out of the yarn boxes, rail and wooden crates. We then either carried or dragged everything back up the hill, across the road of stationary traffic, up another hill and loaded it into the van (no yarn was hurt in the process). Sisters are most definitely doing it for themselves!

Kari-Helene was meeting people in Liverpool that night and managed to catch the train from Harrogate, to Leeds and then to Liverpool (most impressed with all the trains being on time!), whereas Tracy was stuck. The M1 and A1 were closed and so she checked into the hotel for an additional night, had a lovely meal in the dining room and an early night.

On the Monday, the roads were cleared and, after driving through the blizzards of Lincolnshire, Tracy arrived home safely. Just as well really because they haven't had the thaw since!

Here is a selection of photos from our stay in Harrogate:

Kari-Helene modeling Allegro and Misty wristwarmers

Tracy showing off Balboa and Diana Headband

Felted Snowmen

2011-01-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

This is Frosty, a prototype Tracy made to show to Rachel Stock at Anglesey Abbey. The idea was for Purl Alpaca Designs to be involved with their lantern lit procession through the winter gardens, culminating in the paddock area for food, music and Christmas cheer. Rachel liked Frosty and so we were booked to be an added attraction on the 4th December 2010. However, at a second meeting with Rachel and Liz Morgan, the slots to make a snowman were 5-10 children every 20 minutes. This was not enough time to make the whole thing and so Tracy agreed to make 100 bodies for the children to decorate.

Now felting is a new venture for us, so after asking advice from Elizabeth Kendrick (a fabulous spinner and avid felt maker), Tracy embarked on making her 200 balls! This really is when friends come in handy. Lorinda King popped in for a visit and ended up standing at the sink, wearing Marigolds and up to her elbows in soap suds. We both rubbed, rolled and coaxed the raw alpaca fleece into shape and left them on the draining board to dry. Then they were put into the leg of a pair of tights and hung in the airing cupboard. After this they were put in the tumble dryer (to firm up) and finally, they were washed in the machine and put back in the airing cupboard. Once dry, Tracy sewed the head and body together with a hanging tab (using our white DK yarn).

100 snowmen later, we were ready for 4th, but the weather was dreadful with massive snow mountains peppering the landscape everywhere, that is with the exception of Cambridge! Kari-Helene was stuck in London and so Tracy roped in her friend Andriani as a willing volunteer. We loaded up the car and arrived at the Abbey by midday. After setting up and a light lunch, we were ready...

Well, 'ready' became a subjective term!. It is really hard to judge how long things take to make, particularly when teaching children how to felt when they haven't done it before, by a teacher who hasn't taught how to felt before and with 8-10 children every 20 minutes!

Andriani set up the new group of people with their tools on one table while Tracy taught on the other. Then they swapped over, with Andriani showing the finishing techniques of glueing on the googly eyes and dipping the finished snowman in glitter. Individual attention to each child was important and the parents were fantastic, understanding the concepts straight away and helping their offspring to make a treasured tree decoration.

The event was a great success and it was only towards the end that Tracy remembered to take some photographs of the finished projects. So here they are...

The joys of having a daughter

2010-11-12T04:31:00.000-08:00

Victoria Hopper met us at the Knitting and Stitching Show and bought the Misty Knitting Kit. Within a couple of weeks, she immediately ordered 8 more balls! I wrote asking if she wanted any designs and this is what she said:

"Thank you for your email. I don't think I want any patterns at the moment. I am planning on using the lovely yarn for more of the fab Misty turbans and wrist warmers, which I am knitting for Christmas presents.

I came across you at the Knitting and Stitching Show and bought some yarn. I have already knitted one turban and a pair of wrist warmers, which my eighteen year old daughter immediately 'stole'!
I am absolutely loving the yarn and the gorgeous colours. I don't think I will be able to use sheep wool again!"

Here is her daughter modelling the stolen items and, wow, doesn't she look good!!!!

Thanks to you all

2010-10-21T02:50:00.000-07:00

Our new Woodlands Collection was launched at The Knitting and Stitching Show, Alexandra Palace in October 2010. We would like to thank all those who visited us and who bought from us. It was our best show yet and next year, we've booked a bigger stand! We promise, there will be more room, more products and even new yarn! Fen Oswin took some great photos and you can check out his portfolio here.

We had so much fun the whole weekend, including the mad rush to get the stand set up in time (we do have a weird sense of humour sometimes...). We loved meeting lots of existing customers and making lots of new friends. We appreciate all your comments and feedback and would love it if you send us photos of your end results!

Here are some images taken by Kari-Helene:

Another Bright Idea?

2010-10-21T02:49:00.000-07:00

The Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace is a permanent fixture in the Purl Calendar. Preparations for our new collection were well under way, the printers' were typesetting our designs, the alpaca biographies were written, but we couldn't find a commercially produced display that reflected our company ethos and had a low environmental impact. Ten days before the show, Tracy had one of her 'ideas'! She made a mock up of knitted pockets with a top band and sewed them onto the twisted willow trellis we use to hold the yarn. You noticed the display, not the designs on display! With some adjustment, Tracy decided this would work. Problem - we now needed 24 pockets for the designs and 24 for the biographies, but we only had nine days to make them, we also needed something to attach the pockets to. Kari-Helene frantically was knitting new samples for the show and so outside assistance was urgently required.

In the summer, Tracy had taught four girls to knit, so asked for their help, Shada and Norhan were free, as was a neighbour, Julia. Tracy then took part of her display (work in progress) to join her local knitting group (meets every Thursday at the Empress Pub (off Mill Road), in Cambridge http://www.knit-ting.co.uk/). Here she met the lovely Katie and between them, these four fabulous volunteers made 18 of the biography holders with Norhan making one of the top holding bands.

In the meantime, Tracy decided it was too time consuming to make 24 design pockets and so decided to knit four really long, big ones. It is far too ordinary to have the proper equipment; so without circular needles of the right size, or the time to go shopping, this four needle contraption was inspired by one of the fellow knitters at the knit-ting group and was quite hilarious to work with!

Next came the idea of attaching the pockets to an expanding twisted willow trellis, Tracy decided to attach the back part of the pocket to the willow then catch the front to the back with a couple of stitches. This didn't work, neither did the other four ideas for putting the display together! The biggest problem was that the trellis is not uniform, whereas the designs are. Wednesday morning, the day before the show, the day we were supposed to setting up the stand, Tracy took it all apart and did it again. This time, the twisted willow layout became much more integral, with the white pockets woven in between the wood. So, after 'Much Ado About Nothing' (to quote Shakespeare), we finally ended up with a display.

Thanks to our fabulous four...

Julia

Katie

Shada

Norhan

Charlie and the plastic bag

2010-09-24T01:03:00.000-07:00

Charlie has a new trick; when he was younger, he would either lay on, or roll on the plastic bag holding the apples brought into the field. Now, at the ripe old age of 4 months, he is big enough and strong enough to tip the bag upside down, release all the apples and run off with the bag in his mouth!

Coming to see the 'Apple Lady'

Making sure she's not looking

Look Nonchalant

Tried once, but was told off

Try again

Ha!

Pictures of our Purl Apparel

2010-09-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

Kari-Helene models her grey Duchess:

Tracy loves her white Olivia, but this is the only photo of her wearing it!

Claudia is proud of knitting her first jumper - Breeze in Black

Pauline feels cuddled in her Allegro shawl

Laura models the three versions of Cleo

Jude loves her white Duchess - she learned how to elongate the back at one of our knitting workshops

Dorothy bought fleece from us at a show and the Bonnie pattern

Grow your Own

2010-09-24T00:52:00.000-07:00

Tracy was contacted by a freelance journalist named Sally Nex who wanted to write an article about people who own livestock but don't have premises! She found Tracy through her advert on AlpacaSeller.co.uk and, apparently, Tracy's situation is quite unique! The interview took place over the telephone and the photograph supplied from our collection. Although published in the July issue both article and image were before we left Dry Drayton.

A visit to Houghton Hall

2010-09-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

So, yesterday I got on the train from Finsbury Park early in the morning heading for Cambridge. The reason being that BBC Cambridgeshire radio wanted to interview Purl Alpaca Designs, and that is worth getting up early for! However, we arrived at the farm, only to find out that the women interviewing us had gone to Tracy's house in the middle of Cambridge (wonder how you'd keep alpacas in between the houses there?) and not to the farm... So, the show was supposed to air at 12.30 and she didn't have time to come to the farm after all, so no interview for us. Ah well, those 15 minutes can wait I guess!

But - it turned out to be quite a magical day for London-girl me. Let alone spending a day in gorgeous sunshine on the beautiful land of Houghton Hall, having never seen anything being born before, I got to witness the birth of a baby alpaca - or cria as they are more correctly called. The sight of an alpaca in a field with a head sticking out at the back, kind of reminded me of Zaphod Beeblebrox from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I half expected the little head to start talking...

With expert help of Elizabeth George the little lady was pulled to this world, and within an hour she was on her feet and feeding off her mum. Magical! I also got to meet chickens, kittens, a three legged alpaca as well as lots and lots of beautiful alpacas of all ages and colours.
I hope you'll enjoy some of my photos from this stunning day!

I'll sign off now, one experience richer, and with even more respect and admiration for these amazing animals! Kari-Helene

This alpaca had a ghastly accident;
losing her leg, saved her life,
so she's now affectionately called Tripod!

Website of the Month

2010-09-16T04:51:00.000-07:00

Let's Knit Magazine is promoting us as 'Website of the Month' for October!

George

2010-09-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

George was the last of our cria to be born in 2010 and whereas the other two were premature, George decided to be late! He was born on the 9th July and was a text book birth. He was sitting in the cush position in 15 minutes, standing within 30 and feeding within one hour. Within two hours, he was playing with Charlie and Gaia and although they are two months older, George was the same size. It was enchanting to see them all play together and charge about the field without a care in the world. George's mother is Duchess and she is proving to be an excellent mother; so good in fact, that Tracy and the team at Houghton Hall Alpacas, can't get near him. The whole herd has to be rounded up and put into a holding pen so that George can be caught. Duchess isn't keen on people touching her baby and has developed an ear-piercing scream when anyone goes near him. As she's usually standing next to you when she does this, it creates the audible version of seeing stars!!!

Here he is, only one week old and still very shy.

"catch me if you can..."

Champagne Charlie

2010-09-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

Champagne Charlie was born two months prematurely and was so weak, his poor little legs couldn't hold him up; they kept crossing at the knees, making an X shape instead of II! Tracy bottle fed him hourly for the first few days, much to the chagrin of his mother, Beauty. Now Beauty is a confident and competent mother, Charlie is her third cria and she thinks she knows what she's doing. When Tracy first tried to feed Charlie, Beauty growled, spat and generally made herself a bit of a nuisance, but once she realised that Charlie couldn't stand and feed from her, she understood what was happening and let Tracy feed him. She did however continuously growl and put her mouth on top of Tracy's head so that there was no question of who was in charge! Within three days, Charlie was strong enough to feed from Beauty and so human intervention was no longer needed. He is now three months old, big for his age and extremely rambunctious!

This is Charlie at less than one hour old. Beauty is on the right and his sister, Fantasia, is on the left.

Once he'd dried off and had something to eat, it is much easier to see his colouring, very pale fawn with slightly darker patches.

Gaia

2010-09-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

Gaia was born prematurely during the early hours of the 20th May 2010. It is usual for a new-born alpaca (called cria) to suddenly acquire a lot a ‘aunties’. The other female alpacas click and hum at the baby whilst the mother nudges it, encouraging it to sit up in the cush position (usually within 15 minutes) and then to be standing, feeding within 1 hour. It is very unusual for them to ignore a new born. Whether it was because her mother, Dusty Diamond wasn’t interested, or perhaps they tried but didn’t think Gaia would live, but for whatever reason, Gaia was left whilst the herd moved off to graze elsewhere.

Gaia was found lying alone, concealed in the long grass at 8 o’clock in the morning, already dry from the sun and looking like a rag-doll. She was weak and dehydrated; she didn’t have the strength to sit or even hold her head up and so the vet was called immediately. While waiting for her to arrive, Gaia was bottle fed artificial Colostrum, a vitamin enriched supplement she would normally get from her mother’s milk and which is essential for the well being of any cria. This started to take effect and Gaia began to rally.

Joy, the vet, arrived. Tracy sat, holding Gaia in a position which exposed her tummy, so that Joy had access to her abdomen. After being shaved and sterilised, Joy placed a catheter into the peritoneum and slowly injected Gaia with 100ml of plasma which would be absorbed into the stomach via the stomach lining. We waited nervously to see what would happen. It was incredible, Gaia started to get better almost immediately. Within 20 minutes, she could sit in the cush position and hold her head up for the first time. Then she needed to be bottle feed every hour; her little system only managing 10-15ml each time.

We used sheep hurdles to make a safe, enclosed space within the paddock and put Dusty and Gaia into it. Dusty was not happy! She wore a pained expression and looked like she thought she was being punished. Tracy returned to the paddock with the 6 o’clock feed only to find that Dusty had managed to break out of the pen. Two of the sides had collapsed inwards; luckily each stopping the descent of the other and firmly locking together only inches above Gaia who was happily snoozing in the sunshine! Dusty was off, grazing with her friends, she didn’t understand why I kept shutting her in with a little bundle of fluff that was no fun at all. She also didn’t care for being milked!

It was a balmy evening, but Gaia’s temperature started to drop. She and Dusty were brought in and put in a birthing cubicle at Houghton Hall Alpaca farm. Vigorous rubbing didn’t seem to work, so Tracy used the warm setting on a hair dryer to raise Gaia’s body temperature. Within 30 minutes, she was better and then wrapped in a pre-warmed cria coat and tucked up with her reluctant mother.

For the following five days, Gaia had to continue to be bottle fed because Dusty didn’t want anything to do with her. We stretched the distance between feeds and the quantities got bigger. Gradually, the quantities lessened because, at last, Dusty started to take an interest and let Gaia feed from her. They were both constantly monitored and we still brought them in at night. On 31st May when Gaia refused all the bottles and didn’t need our intervention any more, she was able to run with the herd and be fed by her mother.

On being reintroduced to the herd, Gaia gained her collection of ‘aunties’ who made a great fuss of her. They were so noisy, the alpacas in the adjoining field came up to the fence to see what was happening, then they too, clicked and hummed, accepting the new arrival.

Everything was proceeding as it should until Gaia was three months old, then suddenly, for no apparent reason, she died. Tracy was devastated! Her beautiful, honey-coloured, brown female, with a fabulous fleece just wasn’t strong enough to survive. We had already named our new skirt after her and through having Gaia as part of our new collection, she will never be forgotten.

Knitting comission

2010-09-10T01:14:00.000-07:00

In October last year Kari-Helene started talking to the editor of Knitting magazine about doing some patterns for them. The work started, and after a long and windy process with drawings and ideas emailed between the two, the final result was published in the September issue. A lot of work went into it but the satisfaction of having something published in a national magazine makes it all worthwhile! Here you can see the whole process from design idea to how it appeared in the Knitting magazine, and finally how we styled it at our photoshoot a couple of weeks ago!

Behind the scenes

2010-09-08T03:49:00.000-07:00

On the 24th of August Purl Alpaca Designs ventured to Angelsey Abbey for our annual photoshoot. In addition to Tracy and Kari-Helene, the team consisted off Tiffany - photographer, Jade - model, Charlotte - make-up artist and Dusty and Cleo - natural beauties and superb posers!

Dusty and Cleo are, for those of you not having been to one of our knitting workshops, two of our amazing alpacas! They were transported by van to the location, and let loose in a little paddock where they were running around, a little bewildered at first with their new surroundings. After a couple of shots taken with the alpacas running free, we decided to take them for a little wander around the beautiful grounds to find some good locations. That was when things went wrong for poor Dusty...

Cleo and Dusty had grown accustomed to their new grassy surroundings, and weren't too keen on moving again, so they put up their best resistance when Tracy tried to catch them and put their head collars back on. After roping in help from the gardeners of the Abbey grounds and from Wendy and her family (who were just visiting), they almost had them cornered when Dusty, looking in another direction, ran into a tree!! She cracked her lip open and started to bleed, poor thing.

But, being a professional model, she soldiered on, and joined us on location in the park. Cleo was happily posing for some amazing shots, walking down a path lined with lush and leafy trees, when a wasp stung Dusty on one of her nipples! Seriously, how unlucky can you be??? Even the hardiest of models must agree, that was more than anyone can be expected to put up with in one day, so Tracy took the alpacas back to their herd.

But we did get some good shots though! Here are some of Kari-Helene's own snaps of the day; kind of behind the scenes shots...

Welcome to Purl Alpaca Designs

2010-09-03T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a little of what we're about.
Come and find us over at our online shop: www.purlalpacadesigns.com