Along with my husband I own an Alpaca Farm in Geneva Ohio. We moved here to the country after living our whole life in Cleveland. He still has a daytime job so managing the farm & the alpacas is mostly up to me. I have learned much about the alpaca s & their fiber. My first visit to an alpaca farm was in the dead of an Ohio winter. 11 degrees! I stood there, with these graceful creatures who I had only read about, totally enchanted & completely unaware of the cold. Today, I'm able to proccess the fiber from shearing , to washing, to picking & skirting & carding into batts.The batts are then ready for several things. First would be spinning it into yarn. I'm not there yet but spinners have bought my batts and enjoy spinning them into yarn. Next might be felting, which is what I love to do most. I love feeling the fiber come alive in my hands. I love that when it is finished, the fibers are a seamless fabric which no longer resemble their beginings. I love that this art is 6000 years old and a sewing machine or knitting needles can't accomplish what felting does. My felting projects have won ribbons in fiber art competition. The scarves I've made have recently been in a fashion show. Two of the three scarves I entered were purchased right off the runway! Any type of fiber artist is able to make use of alpaca fiber. I also dye the fiber & blend it with other fibers such as silk or angora. I find it rewarding to teach someone a new skill. So teaching people to felt is a lot of fun. Watching them go from "I don't know how." to "I did it!" always makes it worth it at the end of the day.

As farm owner I'm resposible for the daily care of our 7 alpacas. Cleaning up, feeding them hay & grain, giving them fresh water. I keep a very close eye on them because as animals of prey they have no defencess. They don't show their vulnerability when they aren't feeling well. Doing so woould make them easier prey. In the heat of Summer I hose them down. I keep their records straight, set up dates for shearing, and grooming of teeth and toenails. Even in the rain or snow getting out in the fresh air is mood changing. The alpacas are very good listeners thus saving me money for therapy.:)

As a fiber processor, I wash, pick, and card the fiber. Sometimes I dye it. I blend in various types of fibers such as fine Marino, silk roving and Angelina for sparkle. As an artist I primarily like to felt the fiber. I don't knit or crochet and felting offers me creative freedom I enjoy. Nuno felting is taking the blended fibers and felting or "embedding" them into silk. The silk can then be used as a wearable art piece or a wallhanging.