{Updated Nov 2016} On Sale. We have a great selection of alpaca slippers, available in the store and online.  Now reduced 20%.  These beautiful slippers are hand crafted with alpaca fleece on one side and alpaca fabric on the other. They are wonderfully warm and soft.  You choose whether to wear them with either the alpaca fleece or alpaca fabric next to your feet.  A removable insert provides extra padding in the alpaca slipper.

The slippers are made in Peru by a fair trade certified company, and are hand washable.  We have them in sizes from extra small to extra large, which will fit everyone from children’s large/ladies size 3 to men’s size 12 1/2.  All of the slippers are lined with a dark alpaca fabric, and come in a great variety of fleece colors.  You select your slippers, choose your size and then look through the pictured slippers to pick your favorite one.

Alpaca Slippers Reversed

We invite you to come by the store and try on a pair if you’re in the area.  We also ship alpaca slippers all over the country, so take a look at them online and pick out a pair for yourself.  They make great gifts!

We have some exciting wet felting classes coming up on July 21!  Reserve your space today!

In the morning, we will be repeating our felted wall hanging class. This is an opportunity to let your imagination run free and create an incredible piece of felted art. We will have several examples to get your creative juices flowing, then you can choose from alpaca and wool fibers, stones, beads, or whatever else you want to include in your piece. Feel free to bring anything you might like to include in your wall hanging. Pictured here are several hangings created in class last year and by our class instructor, local felt artist Karen Simpson. You can also see pictures of the works in progress on our Facebook page.

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. In the afternoon, we will be doing an all new class for Peaceful Heart Alpacas. Karen Simpson will be teaching us some new techniques for creating dyed and felted scarves. You will take 2 white silk scarves and transfer the patterns and colors from mens’ silk neckties to the scarves to create wonderful designs and end up with fabulous one of a kind scarves. (If you have some silk ties you would like to recycle in this creative way, please bring them. If not, there will be plenty to choose from provided in the class.) Next you will take a predyed silk scarf OR one of the previously mentioned scarves and “needle felt” wool or alpaca fiber to the scarf and then wet felt the fiber to cause shrinkage and create another unique scarf. This class promises to become another farm favorite.

Join us on July 21 for a fun and creative day. Take one or both classes. The felted wall hanging class will meet from 8am-12pm. The dyed and felted scarf class meets from 1-5pm. Lunch will be provided between the classes for those attending both. Class sizes are limited (particularly for the wall hanging class, we can accommodate more in the scarf class.) A $25 deposit will reserve your space in either or both classes. You can register online, by phone, or at the farm.

Ribbons won at 2011 VAOBA Expo

2011 has been a good year for the alpacas of Peaceful Heart at alpaca shows.  We started the year with multiple first place ribbons from the Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association (MAPACA) Alpaca Jubilee and Alpaca Owner and Breeder Association (AOBA) National Conference Spin-Offs.  We were particularly pleased with Asa Lee’s ribbons for Highest Scoring Brown Alpaca in both of these large alpaca shows.

Regal Copper competing in Bred & Owned Yearling class

We ended the year with Asa Lee’s younger brother Regal Copper continuing his family’s winning tradition at the Virginia Alpaca Owner and Breeder Association (VAOBA) Expo.  Regal won a First Place in the Fleece Show.  Hyppogryff and J Dubs 40 (Dubbie) both won ribbons in the halter and fleece show as well.

Six of our alpacas won ribbons without ever leaving the farm.  We entered 2 ounce samples of fleece from each alpaca in the VAOBA Expo Spin-Off.  All the alpacas we entered did well, but we are especially proud of our consistently fabulous herdsire Powergrid and our lovely Bonnie Alice.  Both won First Place ribbons yet again, eliciting great feedback from the judge on the quality and spinability of their fleece.  You can see pictures and a video of the boys at the VAOBA Expo alpaca show on our Facebook page.

We just got in stock some beautiful new alpaca blankets.  The blankets are available in a wide range of colors and designs.  They are all approximately 54″ by 72″ including the fringe.

Alpaca blankets make great Christmas gifts.  They are perfect for curling up under on the sofa on a cold winter day.

Visit our website to see our selection of alpaca sofa throws.  Our alpaca blankets all come from a fair trade certified company which has worked in Peru since 1979.

I have posted pictures of our last weaving class of 2011 on our Facebook page.  Yet again we had a fun class filled with creative people.  Their alpaca shawls turned out beautifully.

We had a knitting loom class yesterday at the farm.  We got so involved with the class that I forgot to take pictures to share, but once again the yarns were beginning to become lovely scarves by the end of class.  There is one more opportunity this year to learn to create an alpaca scarf using a knitting loom on December 18.

Our last wet felting classes are also coming up soon. We hope you can join us.

Congratulations to Sharon Wilson on her purchase of two beautiful alpaca maidens.  She will be boarding them here on the farm as she prepares her farm and fiber studio.  We’re excited to be working with Sharon as she starts raising her own alpacas and working with their incredible fiber.

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The Black Pearl is a two year old, true black alpaca who has a sweet and friendly personality.  She was bred this month to our lovely gray herdsire Gryffyn for a fall 2012 cria.

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Ashley Warren is a lovely one year old alpaca with a beautiful fleece in a unique shade of fawn; it has an almost pink tint to it.  She is a sweetly shy girl who will be ready to breed next year.

The first of our 2011 alpaca yarns have arrived!  The white, fawn and gray yarns are now in stock, and I must say they are our best yarns ever.  All of these, Virginia grown, Tennessee spun (at a small fiber mill), 100% undyed, alpaca yarns have been spun in a 3 ply worsted weight and have an incredible feel.

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You can see these beautiful alpaca yarns at the farm or in our online store.  Have fun knitting, crocheting and weaving.  I think you’ll love them.

Our 2011 dark alpaca yarns will be arriving soon.

Wet Felted Scarves and Lariets

We had two great wet felting classes today.  We created lovely grid style scarves in the morning using alpaca fiber and accented with beautiful novelty yarns.

After a tasty lunch, we learned a completely new felting technique to make beautiful felted and beaded lariats which can be worn as necklace/scarf accent pieces or as belts.

Scarf and Lariat from Vesta's fiber

Vesta

The picture to the left shows pieces felted from the fiber of Vesta (pictured at right).

Next Saturday, October 1, we will be felting again.  In the morning, we will be designing and creating one of a kind purses.   You can see pictures of purses made in previous classes on our facebook page or on our webpage.  We just have a couple of spaces left, so contact us today if you would like to join the class.

After lunch, we will be offering a felted collar/shawl class for the first time.  You can find more information and pictures of next week’s classes here, where you can also sign up online.

This Saturday, Sept 17, 2011, we will have a booth at the Bethabara Apple Festival in Winston-Salem from 10am-4:30pm.  The festival includes a number of artisans, many of whom will be demonstrating their work (we will be spinning and weaving), traditional music and food, particularly apples from local orchards.  There will also be colonial re-enactors, colonial games, and  horse-drawn wagon rides.  You can learn more about this festival at their website.

We hope you can join us for a fun day at the festival, or at the farm.  The farm and store will be open our regular hours, 10am-5pm.  If you are in the area, come on by and see our newest farm member, Lightning Bolt.

I love mornings on the farm. The alpacas like to get out and graze early in the mornings up on the hill in our main pasture.  It is a pretty way to start the day, no matter the season.  I begin each day with a cup a tea and take a moment to look out at the alpacas in each pasture as the day is getting started.

Fall is coming and we are all loving the cooler mornings. I went out yesterday with the alpacas and took pictures of the mist over the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. You can already see some leaves starting to change.  Plan a trip up to our alpaca farm this fall to enjoy this gorgeous time of year.  Right now, there are just hints of color here and there, which are fun to seek out.  The peak leaf season in our section of the parkway is usually around mid-October, but it varies a bit every year.  We’ll be putting up posts occasionally to let you know how the leaf changing is coming along this month and next.

If you want to see more pictures of our alpacas in the morning, visit our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/Peaceful.Heart.Alpacas.  You can also see the pictures through the following link.