We displayed a variety of alpaca products such as yarn and alpaca clothing (i.e., sweaters, jackets, gloves, socks, scarves, hats, and stuffed animals).   On Saturday, Carrie Lee demonstrated spinning alpaca fiber into yarn as people watched. Her spinning is absolutely beautiful. Carrie Lee is a member of the award winning Chesapeake Spinners and Weavers.

We had plenty of soft drinks and hot dogs. I don't think anyone left disappointed. Our guests took lots of pictures as we sheared 30 alpacas.  The weather was great all weekend with temperatures around 70 degrees on both days. Overall, I think the weekend was a great success.  

My nephew Thomas is holding alpaca Spartan before shearing.	Joe is holding up Spartan's head so Ben can see if he wants to touch up his shearing. Even though a bad hair cut grows out in a few weeks, Ben still likes to have his work looking good.	My brother Joe is looking over alpaca Spartan after shearing to make sure he looks okay. It is so hard to believe this is the same alpacas. Alpacas always look so much smaller after shearing.
Ruthie leads Monroe into the shearing area. The girls just finished blowing out his fleece to get rid of as much of the hay and vegetable matter as possible from the fleece before shearing.	The girls are picking up the fleece as it is cut off the alpaca. They are also sorting the fleece into the "prim" fleece, "seconds", and "trash".	Ben is trimming up the back of Monroe's neck and head and checking to make sure he didn't miss any big chunks of fleece.
Ben is trimming Monroe's tail.	Thomas is holding Monroe after shearing so I can take a picture of the alpaca for the web site.	They are just starting to shear Wednesday. One person holds the alpaca's head and tries to keep him calm by talking softly to him. Another person usually places their hands firmly on the alpaca's body during shearing. The firm hands seem to help keep the alpaca calm and still.
Ben is touching up alpaca Wednesday's shearing job.	Three of my brothers, several of my nieces and my nephew help with shearing every year. This year they are great. Their help made all the difference.	Carrie Lee demonstrated spinning alpaca fleece all day on Saturday. Carrie Lee is a member of the award winning Chesapeake Spinners and Weavers. Her spinning is excellent. definitely something you can't go to a store and buy.
Alpaca SlingShot is nibbling on Barbara's hat. He is just fascinated by it.	Rose B. is holding our 3 week old alpaca cria Prancer. Prancer is so sweet and soft. His fiber is considered to be a rose grey color.	My friend, Patti Mattingly, from Nobella Alpacas, helps us shear alpacas every year. Ruthie and Sara, helped too.