Second Wind Farm and llama wool

My friend Tim has created an October tradition called "Chubbs Farm" bringing together friends, pie, llamas, and his family dog, Chubbs. His parents moved to a farm in central New Jersey some years ago and they now have four llamas, six hens, two kittens and the aforementioned pug Chubbs. It's a pretty glorious day for all, especially the "trip to the country" feel about it. The llamas had been shorn in spring and I bought some second-cuts (the fiber cut from the second passing of the shears) from all four llamas. Tim's mom has the first cuts separated out by llama (including photos of each) and it was awesome to know who it came from and to see the color and fiber differences. If anyone is looking for beautiful raw llama wool in first or second cuts, let me know!

Eduardo is a cream color (look at that face!) and a Heavy Wool llama.

Carbon Footprint is a black llama with a white chest (a little tuxedo!). He is a Silkie llama.

Jim-E (Extra Extra Read All About It) is a multi colored fellow- white with a brown/black saddle. He is a Silkie llama.

Clemente is a reddish brown reverse appaloosa. He is a Heavy Wool llama.

I'm planning on felting tea cozies with this wool. (I'm also hoping this inspires me to start felting again.) The new apartment is much much colder than the last, and the tea cools down so fast! We've also gone through an enormous amount of tea already, and have found a favorite tea shop. Premium Steap at 111 North 18th Street in Philadelphia was recommended to us by some dear tea-loving friends, and the woman who runs it is really knowledgeable and helpful.

holiday crafting at Anthropologie

I was called into Anthropologie to help the visual team for two days in November, right before Thanksgiving. If I had an unlimited amount of money and no qualms about spending it on clothing, I'd probably buy all my clothes there- I love the attention to detail and the fabric choices. The store is on 5th Ave near Union Square. The first day I made tweed and felt pine cones for 8 hours! It was an amazing feeling to be hired to work with my hands. On the second day I went down to the SoHo store to work on the banner for the construction staging outside. I cut all the drop cloths to size and they were sewn together to the correct dimensions. We then stenciled the trees onto the cloth as well as the letters. I had to catch my flight to my Thanksgiving with my grandparents at this point, and when I walked by later to take photos, I saw that they had added the snow and crocheted garland.



It was a great way to see how the store windows get created each season, and I'd love to help out again. If I had the patience and extra time, I'd also make some tweed pine cones for myself!





More photos of the windows and a closeup of the banner: