Skip to content

About our Momma Llama

Sue from the Critter Ranch sent me Eboney’s bio and some pictures this morning. Guys, we picked a winner! Here’s what Sue had to say about Eboney:

Hi Everyone!

First, let me introduce you to Angel’s Eboney, her registered name.

She was born at D& D Llama Farm a small back yard farm in Angola, NY; daughter to Payton’s Angel and unknown father on September 4, 2002.  She stayed with her mom, grandmother and some other friends until the owner of D&D Llama Farm passed away suddenly from a heart attack. All the llamas had to be sold and that’s when Eboney was purchased with her pregnant mom, Angel, by The Critter Ranch, Eboney was ten months old.

Eboney and her sister, who was born just after they arrived at The Critter Ranch, competed in a lot of llama shows in 2004. Eboney won Reserve Grand Champion in her heavy wool class right behind her little sister, BabyDoll.

And that was to be the story of Eboney’s show life forever in her little sister’s shadow. But Eboney caught a break when she became an adult; BabyDoll’s wool changed and they were no longer in the same division and boy did Eboney shine! She took Grand Champion Heavy Wool Female at the NY State Fair, two years running, and at the Regional Championship and the Eastern States Expo in Massachusetts.

Eboney was then retired to have babies for us, this was problematic. Finally, Eboney was pregnant after two yeas of trying. The father of Eboney’s first baby cria was CCLF Midnight Tuxedo. Eboney was so large when she was pregnant I thought she may literally pop.  Finally, on September 27, 2008, on my sister’s birthday, Eboney gave birth to a black, fuzzy, beautiful girl cria. I missed it; I was away at a fiber show, never fails.  Ebony’s first baby was named Sweet Bon-Bon, after my sister, Bonny.

Eboney is a larger llama, has a sweet personality, and loves giving kisses. Her fiber is very soft, lustrous, and wispy in a salt and pepper grey. Her first cria, Bon-Bon, won a Grand Champion ribbon for her fiber last year at the NY State Fair.  The new baby’s father is our National Grand Champion Herd Sire, BAL Steuben.  A very large and regal guy with calm laid back, personality.

Eboney is due April 29, 2010; since llamas carry their babies for 11.5 to 12 months and the exact time of conception is hard to pin point; there is sometimes a two week window on either side of the estimated date. She delivered on her expected due date last year.  I will send some more photos of what she looks like now, in her current, very pregnant state as soon as possible or perhaps along with this. Please do not hesitate to ask questions about her or llamas in general.

Thank you for your interest and participation in this.

Sincerely,

Sue

I’m excited there is a 2 week window on that due date because my birthday is April 20th and I will just be absolutely delighted if the cria is born on my birthday! You think if we all squeeze our eyes shut and think on it real hard we can get Eboney to have her baby on my birthday? I think we can, let the power of group think be with us!

Are you ready for some pictures?

Baby Eboney

'Me, Mom and Sis'

That first one is my favorite, it’s from the listing to adopt her from the Critter Ranch shop. Such a sweet sweet face! The 2nd one is one that Sue sent me of Eboney and her very own Momma Llama and sister. Sue sent me some other pictures and periodically I’ll post some up here whenever I feel like we could all use a little daily dose of Momma Llama!

Posted in Our Momma Llama.

No comments

By craftydani – March 16, 2010

Meet Eboney!

Well dear listeners you guys are awesome, we raised $65 towards adopting a Momma Llama! I just bought the listing for Eboney. I think she’s quite stunning. Look at this face:

Is that a sweet face or what? I think we made a good choice. I can’t wait to see her cria! As soon as I get photos from Sue at the Critter Ranch I’ll post them here and when the fleece comes in we’ll do a drawing with all of you who donated to see who gets Eboney’s lovely fluff!

Now, we raised over $50 so we can either put the remainder towards adopting another Momma Llama in the future (or sponsoring Eboney again after our 6 months is up.) or we can put it towards another project. Some of my favorite organizations to donate to are Kiva.org (which would be really cool because your donation gets repaid and you can donate it again and again!) and Heifer International. I’m thinking we could raise enough money to donate a whole sheep! Or we can raise money for a certain amount of time and if we’ve raised enough for a whole sheep, great! If not than we can buy how ever many shares we can afford.

What do you guys think? I’d like to keep doing these kinds of projects continuously. Group giving is a lot easier than doing everything all on your own, and it’s a lot more fun! Of course if any of you know of a local farm or ranch that is offering up programs like The Critter Ranch I’d love to donate to someone like that again.

What does everyone think? Where would you like to see your money go next?

Posted in Uncategorized.

2 comments

By craftydani – March 15, 2010

Episode 6: Chat with KT

This week my co-host was KT Vaughan of Katherine Vaughan Designs/Knit With KT.

Housekeeping: help us adopt a Momma Llama!, visit the DaniDo Crafty Designs group on Ravelry and check out the contest I’m running in conjunction with Jennifer of Desert Garden Farm, and lastly the Phat Fiber box drops this weekend! Check out the site for the exact dates/times.

KT has been published in Knotions, Yarn Forward, Black Purl Magazine, Magknits (defunct) and Knit Circus magazines. She has patterns in Knitting in the Sun and Luxury One Skein Wonder books and a variety of patterns self published on her own site and through her Ravelry, Patternfish and Etsy shops.

In case you want to check out my teensy tiny design catalog you can do that here or here.

It’s Adopt a Designer Month! Though I have a hard time saying her name out loud Jesh is really a fabulous designer.

Other designers we mentioned: Norah Gaughn,  Marnie MacLean, Wooly Wormhead and Cat Bordhi.

Resources for indie designers: Free Pattern Tester group, Budding Designers group, Self Publishing Knitters group, Indie Pattern Designers Resource Group (a great thread about tech editors on this group.)

Have Second Sock Syndrome? Check out the Second Sock Swap!

Want to wish KT a happy birthday? Why don’t you pick up one of her patterns on March 20th and send her a little note telling her happy birthday!

I didn’t mention a discussion question this episode, but I have one for you anyways: what subset of knitter (if you knit) would you describe yourself as? Are you a pattern follower or a pattern destroyer? Are you a yarn lover first and a pattern lover second or the other way around? Are you the type of knitter who wants a pattern to look exactly like the pattern sample? Process vs. product knitter?

 
icon for podpress  Episode 6 - Chat with KT [1:05:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Posted in Uncategorized.

1 comment

By craftydani – March 12, 2010

Group Project: Adopt a Momma Llama

I have incredible respect for the people who operate farms and take care of the animals who produce the fiber I love to spin and knit. We all know the economy is rough right now, but imagine how rough it is to do something as hard, time consuming and thankless as caring for animals. On a good day daily finances must be uncertain, in times like this it’s got to be downright terrifying. Which is why when I see a farmer/rancher and fiber artist that I respect asking for help, I want to help.

So here’s what I’d like to do: The Critter Ranch is offering up listings to ‘Adopt A Momma Llama‘.  The listings are $50 and go towards the care and feeding of a Momma Llama (a pregnant llama) for 6 months.  You get pictures and updates about how the Momma Llama is doing, pictures and updates on the cria (baby) when it’s born and 6 oz. of raw fleece once Momma is sheared.  I unfortunately can’t swing $50 all on my own, but I thought if we all chipped in a buck or two it wouldn’t take long or many of the over 600 subscribers Craft Culture currently has to sponsor a Momma Llama for 6 months. In return I’ll post all the pictures that come in about the Momma and cria and when the 6 oz. of fiber comes we’ll have a contest and one of the listeners who donates will win it!

If you’d like to make a donation towards adopting a Momma Llama you can do so by clicking on that nifty little ‘donate’ button in the sidebar. When you donate leave a note on the donation that you’d like it to go towards a Momma Llama and when we get close to $50 I’ll purchase the listing and let you all know! (If we get over $40 I’ll cover the rest.)

Posted in Uncategorized.

1 comment

By craftydani – March 8, 2010

Episode 5 – Phat Fiber Love

We have a Ravelry group! (you may know that already) Please join and let me know what you think of the show!

A very special thanks to Greg & Lori Bean (mostly Lori, thanks dollface.) for donating to the podcast this last week! Lori, you can have that spare kidney any time you need it.

Jessie Booth is my co-host this week, she created and currently runs the Phat Fiber Sampler Box.

Show Notes:

  • You can buy the box here, but it is only released once a month on a certain day. You can visit the main Phat Fiber site to sign up for the mailing list which will notify you when the box goes on sale.
  • There is a great group on Ravelry for the Phat Fiber box, contributors and customers alike post there and there is a lot of great information shared over there.
  • There are several articles about the treatment of sheep for the production of wool. I can’t find the specific one I read several years ago, however there are lots online currently. Please keep in mind however that some of these articles are graphic and very upsetting to read. Also keep in mind that not ALL manufacturers of yarn use the wool that come from these sheep farms, I highly recommend researching the brands you use and finding out where they get their wool.
  • Phat Fiber contributors that we mentioned this podcast include NatchWoolie, Moonwood Farm, eXtreme spinning, Critter Ranch, Desert Garden Farm (who I am collaborating on knit alongs with), Bohemian Knitter Chic and WC Mercantile (I bought my Majacraft Pioneer wheel from them.)
  • Also, I lied. I do have friends here who own their own fiber businesses, I just don’t see them one on one very often.
  • Interested in participating in a Spin-Along (SAL)? Here’s a few I highly recommend: Murder Mystery SAL (from Desert Garden Farm), Semi Precious Stone SAL (from Serendipity Fiber Art) and Alice in Wonderland SAL (from Bohemian Knitter Chic) – I desperately want to join all three of these but unfortunately can’t afford any of them right now. Join so I can spin vicariously through you!
  • The knit along (KAL) that Desert Garden Farm and I are collaborating on is for the Mother Earth Felted bag, you can buy the kit here
  • You can get gorgeous hand beaded orifice hooks from Dawning Dreams (she also makes lovely shawl pins, of which I own four.)
  • One last plug: you can get Dyed by DaniDo yarns in the Phat Fiber shop here.
  • BUY THE BUN BUN PATTERN! (really it’s called the Tiny Toys set and the bunny is Bartlett the Bunny)

This weeks discussion question: at what point do you feel accomplishment with your craft? (starting it? finishing it? getting to the half way mark?) Hop on over to the Raverly group and let us know!

 
icon for podpress  Episode 5 - Phat Fiber Love [01:03:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (79)

Posted in Uncategorized.

No comments

By craftydani – March 5, 2010

Craft Culture Wants YOU!

So a couple of things that might be interesting to you, my loyal listeners.

First of all I created a Ravelry group for Craft Culture so there is an actual forum to discuss the podcast, give any feedback you may have, ask questions or give responses to the discussion questions, etc. All the normal message board stuff. I hope you pop over and join the group and let me know what you think!

Secondly I need co-hosts! Below I’ve listed some topics that I’d like to talk about in the not so distant future. If you have any expertise, knowledge or just a really good opinion about any of these topics please let me know!

  • A Hierarchy of Crafts: Why do some crafters look down on other crafts? For example, the knitters who think crochet isn’t a legitimate craft. Or hand knitters vs. machine knitters. What are the distinctions even in a single craft (the old natural fibers vs. synthetic fibers or LYS vs. Michaels/JoAnnes/Hobby Lobby arguments)? Why do we see this kind of stratification in the crafting community? Aren’t the techniques all the same regardless of what the fiber content is in your yarn?
  • Sub-genre’s in Crafting: People who find a niche within their craft and ‘live’ there permanently or semi-permanently.  Example: Steampunk crafters, sewers who only make aprons, non-stop sock knitters, amigurumi, etc. What draws people to craft in a theme or style to the exclusion of other things? Conversely why do some crafters go the other direction and make a little of everything without ever finding any kind of niche?\
  • Things You Wouldn’t Think of being Handmade: Like perfume, makeup, food, shoes, etc. What inspires people to go beyond even traditional crafts and get into things like these? What kind of market is there for these sorts of things? Are these things you would make as a hobby or for profit? Or both? Are there some crafts that can only really be a hobby or only be for profit?
  • On Pattern Writing: From the writers perspective how hard is it to come up with something original? What does the creative process look like for you? How do you deal with negative feedback? What about errata? How do you handle making edits or corrections? (I would love to talk to someone who has published professionally and can offer insights on writing proposals, what the publication process is like, has it been worth it, etc?)
  • Building an Empire: Starting with one thing and over the course of time ending up with many more things. Do some people just have a natural affinity for creating an ‘empire’? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being multi-faceted? How do you decide when to add things to your empire?
  • Going Brick & Mortar: Either from the shop owners perspective or for those indie businesses that have done wholesale with brick and mortars. How do you decide where to put your store or who/what to stock (if you are the owner)? If you are the vendor, what terms do you look for when considering wholesale orders? What is your minimum order? Do you operate at a loss with these kinds of orders? Are they still helpful in getting your name out into the world and you product into customers hands?
  • ‘Get a Real Job’: Do you get pressure from your friends and family to ‘get a real job?’ If you have a ‘real’ job how do you balance the time between your craft and your job? If you are not a crafty biz owner, how do you feel about those who are? Do you admire them or think they’re reckless to be a ‘creative’ in a down economy? If you do own your own crafty biz, what factors led you to starting your business and how do you handle the pressure to ‘get a real job’? How has owning your own business affected your life in other ways?

If any of these seem interesting to you or seems like something you could talk about on air comfortably please send me an email to craftculturepodcast@gmail.com with which topic seems interesting, a brief description of why you want to talk about it and maybe even quick/short answers to some of the questions I posed. A lot of these topics can be broken down into more than one show so if more than one person wants to talk about a particular subject that’s okay too, everyone has their own take on things!

To record you will need a Skype account, a decent microphone for your computer and at least an hour free on a Friday sometime between 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. PST.

Thanks! I look forward to hearing from some of you!

Posted in upcoming.

1 comment

By craftydani – March 2, 2010

Episode 4 – Yarn Snobbery

Trying something a little different this time and I’m going to attempt to do show notes on the same blog post that the episode is posted. Trying to get my act together a little bit better. :)

I almost forgot! This episode has an official drinking game! Every time you hear Christina say ‘bananas’ or ‘Ira Glass’ you drink, every time you hear me say ‘So Anyway…’ you drink!

My Exploding Co-Host this week is my bestie Christina Marie (some of you may know here as ‘girlnevergoesout’ on Ravelry and/or Plurk.) This episode is heavy with f-bombs, so if that is offensive to you I apologize ahead of time and/or recommend you skip this week’s episode and join us again next week when I’m not as foul mouthed.

Notes:

This week’s discussion question: What makes people flip out and decide to go on a personal vendetta against a crafting personality and/or small business owner?

This goat wants you to donate to Craft Culture so we can keep putting out new episodes. (Check the sidebar for the ‘donate’ button.)

 
icon for podpress  Episode 4 - Yarn Snobbery: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (28)

Posted in knitting, podcast.

2 comments

By craftydani – February 27, 2010

Episode 3 Show Notes

There’s not a whole lot in the way of show notes this time around, but if you have specific questions about anything mentioned in the podcast that you would like more information about please just let me know!

Title: Quit Telling People I Made That!

Co-Host: Mike, my partner in crime and love of my life

Notes:

  • This is the Ravelry forum posting that started the thought process on this shows theme
  • If you live in the southwest (NV, AZ, NM, TX or CO) you may be interested in the delicious snacks at Sunflower Market

The cat who thinks she can fit on anything, including teetering piles of yarn:

  • The Braided Cable Pullover OF DOOM is the Braided Pullover from Fall 2008.  I WAS RIGHT! Muahaha.

What mine looks like, even today, over a year after starting it.

The Official List of Things I’ve Made for Mike (whether he wears them or not is not my problem) is as follows:

  1. A red horrible Red Heart Super Saver scarf
  2. A grey less horrible but still not awesome acrylic scarf
  3. The First Socks – my first knit socks
  4. A nose warmer
  5. A cozy for the metal gear shift in his car
  6. The Love For His Feet Socks – knit for him when he went on a trip to NYC
  7. The Love Blanket (which is the one that was felted that I almost cried about on air)
  8. Alpaca Loafers/Slippers

So, do not let him convince you that he doesn’t have any knit wear. Also Laura and Christina have knit for him as well. He has a hat and mittens courtesy of his Loud and Mouthy friends.

  • We talked about FourSquare and GoWalla which are both social network sites. Go sign up and start getting your fake points!
  • People mentioned: Chelsea/YarnGeek, Miss Violet of Lime & Violet and Laura of The Unique Sheep . As well as my friends in real life; Laura, Christina, Suz and Greg.

This week’s discussion question: At what point do stop delving into a craft? For example, are you happy to simply know how to knit or do you want to know how to spin yarn, dye yarn, shear sheep, etc. At what point in that process do you stop?

Also, I promise, again, that I won’t dig up any long dead knitters to learn more from them.

So, how does everyone feel about having Mike back on the show? Any thoughts? Any questions for him for next time?

Posted in knitting, podcast.

No comments

By craftydani – February 22, 2010

Episode 3 – Quit Telling People I Made That

My boyfriend Mike tells us all about what it’s like living with someone who is obsessed with crafting.

Show notes coming soon!

 
icon for podpress  Episode 3 - Quit Telling People I Made That: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (62)

Posted in Uncategorized.

1 comment

By craftydani – February 19, 2010

Upcoming Episode – Call for Comments

For Episode 3 I will be talking to the love of my life and adept social commentator Mikey Vegas (or as I call him, Honey Bunny.) Mike is not a crafter strictly speaking (though he is a wonderful cook, pretty good carpenter and has been attempting to do something involving rope and knot tying.) but he has lived with me for the last 6 years and has watched me go from non-crafter to owning every possible knitting/fiber related tool under the sun.

So this weeks episode will be devoted to talking about what it’s like to live with a craft obsessed partner and his general observations on topics such as knitting, spinning, yarn stash, my ever growing desire to own a farm full of wool bearing animals and what it’s like to sleep in a bed that may or may not contain DPN’s, scissors and metal gauge checkers at any given point in time.

The reason I’m posting this a head of time is that I would love to get some feedback from other Partners of the Obsessed (support group coming soon). So if you live or love a crafter and would like to share your observations, thoughts or tips on how to survive such a relationship please leave a comment and I will refer to them on the show this week. Be sure to leave your name or pseudonym if you don’t want to be identified and the name/fake name of your crafty counterpart.

In specific I am looking for things that you have ‘learned’ about the craft your partner practices. By ‘learned’ I mean if a friend of yours where to ask you what your partner did in his/her spare time how would you describe it? Are there any specifics that you would feel compelled to mention? Are there ‘rules’ or ‘customs’ that you have observed about this craft?

Example: Mike knows that anything that even looks remotely hand knit stays out of the washing machine and is put aside for me to wash. This is a rule in our house. (One that occasionally gets overlooked and results in the felting of something near and dear to me, and then subsequently tears and/or anger.)

Crafty folks if you are reading this force your loved ones to give me their insights! I’ll be recording in the next day or so so get your comments in quickly, please. Thank you!

Posted in Uncategorized.

1 comment

By craftydani – February 15, 2010