I was about 11 years old when I first saw a Sheep to Shawl demonstration. I was at a downtown arts festival with other people, so I didn't get to stay to see the whole process (which would have taken a few hours), but I remember watching a lady demonstrate hand carders, while a newly shorn sheep stood nearby. I can only imagine what happened after I left--the carded batts being spun into yarn, the yarn being woven into cloth--but those freshly carded batts of wool fascinate

After we sheared the alpacas this spring, they looked different. Who wouldn't, after instantaneously losing seven or eight pounds? And yet, there was something oddly familiar about their new appearance... their skinny necks... their jowly cheeks... their whiskery chins... Where have I seen these creatures before? It finally hit me: