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. 

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!  

Shearing week means Toft is buzzing

Our new team member Helen experiences shearing week and runs her first Felting workshop at Toft.

My first month at Toft has flown by and although I have experienced many great things working here nothing quite prepared me for the buzzzzzz that is shearing week. With over 180 alpacas (plus 1 llama) to shear over 3 days, our shearer Ben and his assistant Ruth had their work cut out, so to speak.

Ben shearing, Ruth holding and Charlie skirting, it's a busy table!

Ben uses a shearing table with foot harnesses to lay the alpaca on its side and hold them steady while he swiftly denudes them with a razor. He starts by shearing a small sample patch from the best quality saddle region which is bagged, tagged and set aside for testing to produce a record of the quality of fleece each animal is producing.

He then proceeds to shave from the back legs up towards the neck end, before rolling them over to complete the other side. Meanwhile Ruth gives them a pedicure and checks their teeth are in good condition. For the most part the alpacas are quite laid back and let us get on with the job, however there were a few drama queens who made high pitched whinnying noises and yes, I got spat on a couple of times whilst I gathered the fleece up. The whole process takes about 10 minutes, before Ben sends them on their way with a little pat on their new skinny rears.

Newly shorn lovelies.

Whilst Ben is shearing we do an initial 'skirting' wherein the coarser fibres from the legs, neck and belly regions are separated from the finer quality saddle region which is passed onto the expert fleece graders for sorting. You can read more about this process in our intern Olivia's previous blog entry. Its a very skillful process to ensure only the finest fibres make it into Toft yarns.  Baby alpaca grade heads straight into Lace, Fine and DK bags, young adult into Aran and adult into Chunky bags.  These will all wing their way to the mill in the next week or two. Fleece that doesn't make the grade is used for duvet and cushion fillings so nothing goes to waste.


On Thursday I led my first felting workshop at Toft. It was quite nerve wracking as I'd seen and experienced Carrie's workshops before and knew I had a lot to live up to, but everyone was really supportive so I knew I'd be ok!

Before the workshop we went on a walk around the farm, so that everyone had the chance to see the shearing and grading process before heading out across the fields. I have never seen the alpacas so lively, the boys especially were prancing about seeming to relish their new found lightness. We were also very fortunate to witness a birth whilst we were walking which just made everyones day.

Getting to grips with felting.

Once back at the studio and  refreshed with tea and biscuits we started making felt using Toft's carded fleece of which we have two oh-so-inviting giant baskets of in the studio.  Several people wished they could just curl up in them for a snooze but instead we lay the fibres out, made them wet and soapy and rubbed until the magic happened and what was once light, airy fluff was turned into lovely sheets of felt. After lunch we made felt beads for pieces of alpaca jewellery and experimented with different bead shapes, sizes and combinations to create necklaces, earrings and bangles.

Just look at all the space we have in our new workshop studio.

I had a great time teaching my first workshop, everyone seemed to enjoy it and left with some lovely pieces and extra fleece for their next projects and I'd like to thank all the participants for making it such fun for me as well!

Just one of our new Cria.

Our new workshop schedule to the end of 2012 will be appearing online very shortly, so look out for lots of newbies, such as an Aran Afternoon, Giant Knitting, Lace Knitting, Sock workshops, Crochet Christmas and lots lots more!

Coming LIVE from Toft Studio...

To top off what's been a really BIG week at Toft we've packed our waxy jackets and wellies ready for Wonderwool this weekend.  Despite the weather we will be taking two of our boys with us to meet the crowds and of course lots of fleece and yarn. So here's a quick update (excuse the phone photos!) before we hit the road...

What a week it has been here.  We have successfully now uprooted the whole company from Toft Manor, and we have moved across the yard into the gorgeous Toft Studio.

Following some very late nights we got the yarn store and workshop area unloaded yesterday.  Complete with antique jewellery making benches and tractor seat stools we think it's looking pretty awesome. 

In the entrance to The Studio we are currently in the process of knitting up two sofas and eight tub chairs to create a realizing chatting area to sit and read the latest knitting magazines, and Albert is busy making us some giant button tables to rest our coffee cups on.

Through to the main workshop room and we are still awaiting a few pieces of furniture, but it is really taking shape.  These old sewing benches we perfect- providing a good height to work at and lots of built in storage too.  Next week they will be finished off with steel tops to give them a new lease of life as the 70s surfaces have seen better days.

We've acquired a few singer sewing machine bases along the way and knocked up some side tables- and a draughtsmans board to hold all our latest design collection ideas on.  The space is very light and airy and perfect for enjoying all craft and textile workshops.  The added luxury of underfloor heating means that we can see it being very cosy this winter and we'll be putting workshop dates in the diary very soon.

So next time you come up to Toft for a workshop, or just for your latest yarn fix, you'll be able to hang your coat on the old iron pegs and take a seat for a while to enjoy this fantastic new space.

The big coffee pot is on in the staff kitchen as all our knitters and regular customers drop in to say hi and look at the new building.  Come over to meet the new team soon.