handspun llama!

i always knew growing up that georgi otis, a lady i knew from church from back home, owned some sheep and llamas, but that didn't quite register as much as it does now as a knitter! i got back in touch with her (her kids are about my generation, out of school and working / marrying / the like), and she excitedly sent me a bunch of her handspun sheep wool and llama. she doesn't knit, though she just got a loom off ebay (ha!) and i promised to whip up some things to show off her yarn potential!

in a package from last week she sent some chunky (think size 13/15 needles) gray/black finn/shetland wool, and worsted llama in plain camel- llama-colored and also a chocolate brown striped yarn. all of it is hand-dyed, and the natural colors are super! i also like her 'novice' spinning since it makes it nicely thick-thin and textured. and look at her card! she is truly a llama mama.


here are pictures of her sheep (almost too cute):
http://www.gloenterprises.com/sheep.htm

so i did an earflapped hat (pattern on interweave.com/knit) in the beige llama and trimmed with the brown (moliné?). size 7 needles, in the round, and kind of whimsical fluffs here and there.

i'm sending it out in the mail to her today, though for the curious, the llama is very soft, probably between the texture of wool and alpaca. i imagine it is as warm as alpaca (in terms of warmth versus thickness) and i love how it smells, the natural oils in the fiber. all of the yarn smelled so nice -- no vinegary dyes, of course, but very clean. you can almost smell the smiling animals!

an interesting tidbit: the yarn is from an llama 'no longer with us.' interesting to muse upon that when you are knitting it into an object that may last much longer, and loved.