Close-knit Business

BY KATHERINE CALOS - Staff Writer
Published: July 22, 2008

Would an alpaca recognize a sweater knitted from its own wool? In Powhatan County, you can find out. And learn to knit while you’re at it.

Just make a visit to Holly Spring Homespun, which offers classes in spinning and knitting as well as yarns for sale, and Buck Ridge Farm, where Lori Sorenson has about 30 alpacas and provides some of the fleece for the spinning classes.

Alpacas are South American members of the camel family but smaller and cuter than their desert cousins. They stand about a yard high at the withers.

They’re grown for their fleece, which needs to be sheared every spring. Their wool can be turned into anything from finger puppets and teddy bears to scarves and socks, all of which Sorenson sells in a small shop at the farm and on her Web site. Knitters can buy yarn spun from a favorite alpaca’s wool. Spinners can buy fleece to make their own yarn.

Family Instincts Strong

With many of the alpaca products, “I can show you which girls they came from,” Sorenson said.

As for the question about the “girls” recognizing their own wool, “I don’t think so,” she said. “It’s put through a washing process. After it’s been through the process, especially when it’s gone through machines that handle other animals’ wool, I don’t think they would recognize it as their own.”

Alpacas do form bonds with each other, she said. “They recognize their offspring into their adult life. They will stay with the family as a group.”

“They dote on each other when they’re sheared,” she said. Especially at first, “They come up, like, what happened to you? ... They’re so happy when they’re sheared. They’re prancing around. It feels so cool. [Alpaca fleece] is warmer than wool.” To cool them down on a hot summer day, Sorenson said she hoses them down with water in the afternoons. “They all line up for that. Zsa Zsa loves the water hose. They are entertaining.”

Knitting Relationships

Hot summer days can also be good days for knitting. Just ask the women who gather for weekly sit-and-knit sessions at Holly Spring Homespun. Co-owner Sheila Bailey leads the group by working on her project while they work on theirs. During a Thursday morning session, Vickie Pickels was making a baby blanket for a grandchild expected in December. Megan Bean was creating a side-to-side cardigan sweater.

“It’s very de-stressing. This is a therapy session. That’s why I’m here,” said Kathy Lloyd, who was learning to crochet from teacher MaLinda Marchetti.

“It’s a sense of community, like a church knitting group” Bean added. “You go to touch base more than knitting.”

“I love these guys, “ Lloyd continued. “If you’re stuck, there’s someone who will help you out. Whether in knitting or in life.”

Shop a Family Affair

The yarn shop opened in the town of Powhatan in 2004. Last year, after the current owners took over, it moved to the “little white house” near the courthouse. The house had been used as a law office by the late Robert G. Cabell Jr., a former president of the Richmond Bar Association. His widow and daughter co-own the shop with Bailey. Daughter Angie Cabell jokes that “it’s all my fault. I started knitting four years ago. My husband gave me a neat leather coat for my birthday. It was a bizarre shade of yellow. I needed to knit a scarf to go with it.

“I was sitting in the carpool line [at school] and realized that I’d never finished the scarf.” She called her mother to ask if she’d pick up another skein of yarn. When Jackie Cabell called back, she said, “I got your ball of yarn and I’m buying the knitting shop.” Angie Cabell brought Bailey into the mix because “she’s the creative talent.” The official opening was Sept. 5.

Their yarns include wool, silk, alpaca, cotton, corn, milk and bamboo. Prices range from $5 for universal cotton to $42.50 for cashmere. They also specialize in spinning wheels, drop spindles and spinning supplies. Knitters knit because “it’s relaxing,” Bean said.

“It’s the whole experience of it,” Bailey added. “It’s inherent with me to do things with my hands.”

“When I sew,” Bean said, “I can still be stressed. When I knit, it all goes away.”

IF YOU GO

Find out more about Holly Spring Homespun at (804) 598-2232 or http://www.hollyspringhomespun.com. Knit Nite on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. Learn about Buck Ridge Farm at (804) 598-0804 or http://www.buckridgealpacas.com.

For more about Powhatan County, go to http://www.discoverpowhatan.com.