{"id":17724,"date":"2017-04-18T08:18:08","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T12:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/?p=17724"},"modified":"2017-04-18T08:18:08","modified_gmt":"2017-04-18T12:18:08","slug":"alpaca-loom-farm-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/alpaca-loom-farm-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Alpaca Loom farm visit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At the weekend Dave and I took a trip to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.alpacas.co.za\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alpaca Loom<\/a>, a local working fibre farm near Paarl, with a herd of hundreds of alpacas (and a few rogue llamas, camels, horses and donkeys in the mix too!)<\/p>\n<p>We got to handfeed the beautiful alpacas and see all the adorable newborn crias (babies) playing. There&#8217;s nothing like looking into an alpaca&#8217;s huge dark eyes and feeling its hot breath on your hand as it delicately snuffles up grains with its soft mouth&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/june_alpaca_feeding.jpg\" alt=\"June handfeeding an alpaca\" \/><\/p>\n<p>At the Alpaca Loom, they process the alpaca fibre from start to finish on site in the traditional way, from shearing, to hand-spinning the fibre into yarn, to weaving the yarn into fabric using floor and table looms.<\/p>\n<p>Take a look at a few more of my photos in the gallery below:<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-17724 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom01.jpg\" title=\"a beautiful setting for an alpaca farrm, near Paarl, Western Cape\" data-rl_title=\"a beautiful setting for an alpaca farrm, near Paarl, Western Cape\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\" data-rl_><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom01-150x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"a beautiful setting for an alpaca farrm, near Paarl, Western Cape\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom01-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom01-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom01-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom01.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom02.jpg\" title=\"crias (baby alpacas) are so cute on their long wobbly legs!\" data-rl_title=\"crias (baby alpacas) are so cute on their long wobbly legs!\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\" data-rl_><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom02-150x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"crias (baby alpacas) are so cute on their long wobbly legs!\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom02-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom02-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom02-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom02.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom03.jpg\" title=\"alpaca family\" data-rl_title=\"alpaca family\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\" data-rl_><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom03-150x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"alpaca family\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom03-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom03-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom03-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom03.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom04.jpg\" title=\"in the workshop, they spin the alpaca fibre...\" data-rl_title=\"in the workshop, they spin the alpaca fibre...\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\" data-rl_><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom04-150x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"in the workshop, they spin the alpaca fibre...\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom04-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom04-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom04-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom04.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom05.jpg\" title=\"...and then they weave it into beautiful scarves etc\" data-rl_title=\"...and then they weave it into beautiful scarves etc\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\" data-rl_><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom05-150x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"...and then they weave it into beautiful scarves etc\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom05-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom05-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom05-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom05.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom06.jpg\" title=\"Yes, there are also some camels at the Alpaca Loom!\" data-rl_title=\"Yes, there are also some camels at the Alpaca Loom!\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\" data-rl_><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom06-150x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"Yes, there are also some camels at the Alpaca Loom!\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom06-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom06-500x334.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom06-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/images\/sa_images\/alpacaloom06.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>I also couldn&#8217;t resist buying some (unprocessed) silky soft fine alpaca fleece for&#8230; spinning? needlefelting? art weaving? I&#8217;m not sure yet, but I&#8217;m looking forward to making something with this gorgeous fibre &#8211; you can definitely expect some alpaca-fibre craft posts from me in the coming months \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>And, if you&#8217;d like to make your own gorgeous Alpaca, try my bestselling <a href=\"\/shop\/index.php?main_page=product_info&#038;cPath=14&#038;products_id=55\">Alpaca crochet pattern<\/a>! (I made my dark brown alpaca with real alpaca yarn and it&#8217;s so soft and snuggly!)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/shop\/index.php?main_page=product_info&#038;cPath=14&#038;products_id=55\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/images\/alpaca3.jpg\" alt=\"alpaca crochet pattern by planetjune\" width=\"450\" height=\"394\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the weekend Dave and I took a trip to Alpaca Loom, a local working fibre farm near Paarl, with a herd of hundreds of alpacas (and a few rogue llamas, camels, horses and donkeys in the mix too!) We got to handfeed the beautiful alpacas and see all the adorable newborn crias (babies) playing. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wildlife"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17724\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.planetjune.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}