Shearing time again and the fleece is already in the mill.

It's that time of year again where the herd get a short back and sides and the whole team get a chance to be hands-on with these gorgeous animals and their fleece. 

The process is very labour intensive as we skirt, grade and sort every fleece as it comes off the animal. An initial separation of the coarser leg and tummy hairs from the premium 'blanket' fibre is done on the shearing table as the fibre is coming off. The fleece is then carried across to a wire mesh table upon which the really important job begins. Handful by handful we separate and marginally coarser fibres out to ensure that only the finest fleeces go into our yarn bactches. All fleeces are also checked for strength and condition (but I am proud to say every fleece from our herd passed this one with flying colours, so the animals are obviously in tip-top condition). Any foliage contamination is also removed by hand at this stage and lots of care is taken to ensure that all fibre is over 5cm in length as shorter fibres can cause inconsistency in the yarn. Following all of this fibre is weighed into one of four grades which will determine the yarn weight that he becomes. Until now most of this process has been relatively scientific, but the colour blending now required can only be described as artistic. 

As TOFT do not use dyes on their alpaca yarns the ten shades we offer need to be achieved through colour blending. Greys are made of black and white fleeces combined (there are not enough grey alpacas to go round), an our most complex colours are mushroom and stone as these involve every colour combined together. 

Thrilled to say that the first three batches of yarn are already in production down at The Natural Fibre Company. Back on the shelves soon. 

It's birthing season again and we're already two down (forty eight to go!)

It's a very good sign that out first cria of the season is a gorgeous dark brown little girl. 

Her mum is a first-timer and so was a little shocked by her new baby, but within a few hours mum and baby were doing well and feeding perfectly. 

Then the following day this similarly coloured handsome boy arrived on the scene. What a gorgeous pair! 

You can come and view or maternity paddocks here at Toft anytime were open 10am-5pm Wednesday and 10am-4pm Sunday. There's plenty more cria to come. 

The sunshine, alpacas and the countdown to shearing.

It used to be that my job here at TOFT was very seasonal. Generally we did the majority of our sales September-February and the summer months were quieter times for designing and planning the next season. 

With the growth and popularity of our workshops, the coffee shop and the Studio in general, this has all now changed. With the sunshine of the last few weeks people have visited the farm in droves to come and enjoy seeing the alpacas at their best. 

Photo by Ella Harlow. 

We shear for three days from the 20th May, and we'll see the herd transform from the cuddly teddy-bears currently standing in the fields to skinny creatures bounding round the paddocks with renewed energy. It is an exciting time of year for me as we grade our fleeces and send them off to the mill. Nine years ago the fibre from the TOFT herd sustained the sales of the whole business throughout that busy winter sales period. Over time the level of business has massively expanded and we now not only buy fleeces in from other alpaca farms, but process several tonnes of wool too. This year our TOFT fleeces are going to be spun into our FINE yarn range, and we hope to have these in stock by September. 

So if you've got the chance over the next few weeks then come over to see the alpacas in their full glorious fleeces. You can even join us at shearing for a farm tour and cream tea if you would really like to experience this process yourself.  It's where it all starts, and a great reminder to all knitters about where the yarn on their needles comes from. 

Another wonderful Wonderwool Wales with the whole family in tow...

For the last eight years I have spent at least 15 weekends a year on the road hawking Toft wares across the UK and beyond. The last year before Ed I wracked up a record 32 events in a year! 

I have always enjoyed shows, fairs and exhibitions- there's something about building a small shop for a few days and then taking it all down again that appeals.  In 2014 Toft is only attending 12 shows, having handpicked only the best events and streamlined the season. 

Wonderwool Wales is one of my favourites, and was made even better this year with the addition of the little man. The first year I exhibited I had one dog (Harvey) with me. Year two I upgraded to two dogs (Harvey and Pete). Year three and we take two alpacas along with us too, then finally this year I decide that perhaps both dogs, two alpacas and a toddler might be a little hard going! 

We loaded Lady Gaga and Byzantius onto the trailer at 4.30am on the Saturday morning and headed through Malvern and into Wales. Due to some slow moving traffic we just about managed to throw the stand up in under an hour and got ready to trade. 

Thank you to all those customers who came to squeeze our yarn and pap our alpacas. They were very 'strawy' by Sunday afternoon, but still very well behaved. 

See you next year Wonderwool. 

Gearing up for another Open Day Easter Monday.

Toft Open Days have become somewhat legendary. Every year we open up our doors for knitters and non-knitters alike to come and give the alpacas a hug on Easter Monday, the first Saturday in August and the last Saturday before Christmas. 

Ordinarily our workshop programme isn't geared towards families and children (but this may be about to change-more later), so our farm Open Days are the only real chance to come and get hands-on with our herd on the obstacle course and we offer drop-in craft sessions for children all day. The days are designed for everyone to get involved with what we do here at Toft and learn to speak 'alpaca' and perhaps learn a new skill in knitting or crochet. 

This Easter Open Day 2014 is a particularly special one as for the first time our Studio will be hosting The Cornflower pop-up cafe, which will then return every Thursday- Saturday through May, June, July and August. The ladies behind this new venture are extremely talented bakers, baristas and hostesses, and this we are guaranteed to get a but fatter this summer as we enjoy cream teas and rocky roads all round! 

So next Monday 21st April we will be open 10am-4pm for you to come and get at taste of Toft Alpaca at its best. Hope to see you there and bring the sunshine with you! 

www.thetoftalpacashop.co.uk/Article_Pages_OpenDays.aspx

'Pacas get nekkid! Ed's first shearing week at Toft.

The highlight of the year here at Toft is shearing week. Tonnes of gorgeous fleece comes rolling out of the field and into the Studio ready to head off to the mill. 

Everyone is roped in to help, and this year was a particular challenge due to the less than kind weather. It was both Claire and Harriet's first year in the shed and they certainly stepped up to the mark. 

Our knit night attendees joined us late Tuesday to see the beginning forge yarn process themselves- I think many began quite shocked but left with a far greater understanding of where their knitwear comes from. 

This year was a hard task juggling an increasingly toddling baby with one of the most demanding work weeks of the year.   Still. It was worth the bags under my eyes to see pure Toft batches head off to be spun into yarn. 

 

 

Back up and writing again, but with a few changes for a New Year.

It looks like 2013 is going to be another one of those years where it's all change again and TOFT undergoes a growth spurt. Already in the few weeks of this new year we have rebranded the company to a much shorter, sharper TOFT.

In line with this (and the ever- expanding number of social media channels we are now managing) this blog will become Kerry Lord's words and thoughts from behind the scenes.

It may sometimes be about alpacas, occasionally about knitting, perhaps about being a new working mum, but most often it is likely to be vary varied and all about life at the helm of the TOFT empire.

Kerry

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A Round up of this Year's New Additions to the Toft Herd

It has been quite a short birthing season here this year at Toft- with the first one kicking off in mid May, and the last one waiting to go any day.  So now we have just short of 50 cria on the ground- and what a spectacular line up.

So make sure you have the Farm Open Day in your diary and come and meet them all on Saturday 4th August 2012 10am-3pm. 

Ready to POP!

  

Toft's Open Farm Craft Day - Roll On Summer!

 
Today at Toft we finally got some sunshine after a week of high winds and heavy rain. It got us all excited for summer's arrival, and doubly keen for the 4th of August to swing round - because we're having a party!





Between 10am and 4pm Toft Alpaca farm will open its doors for a summer open day where visitors can meet our beautiful alpacas, tour the farm and enjoy taster sessions in an incredible variety of crafts. 






You can try your hand at knitting, felt-making and crochet under the supervision of our expert tutors, and talk the hind leg off an alpaca about all things crafty. The best part is it's completely FREE. We'll even be laying on one of our scrumptious cream teas.



Activities will be suitable for all ages and all levels of experience - we're all about passing skills between people of every background and every generation.








You'll get a chance to find out exactly what goes on here and meet the entire team (including some of our hairier members).



Make sure you save the date in your diary: August 4th. Come and soak up the sunshine - even as I write this, the ladies from today's crochet workshop are standing on Toft Manor's terrace with bulging bags of newly purchased yarn, looking out over our rolling fields at Draycote Water shining in the distance. I can't think of a better way to spend a day - hurry up August!  

A Wonderwool weekend

Following a late night packing our van to the roof with yarn, fleece and buttons we made a very early start off to Bulith Wells on Saturday morning. Far more important than our usual stock, this time we had two pet boy alpacas onboard.

It's been a while since we took alpacas into an exhibition with us (they're not too keen on it in central London!).

Linda the Toft Alpaca Stud herdswoman selected 'Orsino' and 'Qel-Droma' for this mission into rural Wales. We wanted to take both a Suri and a Huacaya with us to allow all the spinners and knitters to see and feel the difference between the two alpaca breeds.

The boys went down a storm, and attracted fans of all ages- especially these alpaca superfans who helped us load them on for the trip back on Sunday evening.

We had a wet and cold but very enjoyable weekend at this great show with everything you could possibly want to see and buy that's 'woolly'.

It's great to be at an event that reminds people where yarn and wool comes from- and lovely to meet so many sheep and craftspeople working with British fibre.

We will certainly be back next year and we hope to see you there.