Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
You never know where the inspirational spark for a new hobby will hit. Some of us took up hobbies handed down by family members, while others picked them up from watching online videos.
For Teresa Hammons, of Edray, her interest in raising alpacas and using their fiber to make art was sparked at the Vandalia Gathering in Charleston.
“Somebody was there with a brochure that had alpacas on it, and I took that brochure and read about it and I decided, ‘I’m going to get some of those,’” she said.
In 2013, Hammons had five alpacas, which joined her two horses and a donkey on her farm. Things were going well until two years later, when Hammons was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She had to focus on her health, so she sold her animals and prepared for surgery and recovery.
After a successful healing period, Hammons was ready to rebuild her alpaca farm. Last August, she got three males and more recently added two females to the mix.
“They’re more for companionship and fiber making, but they’re registered in the National Alpaca Registry,” she said. “I’m not into the breeding and boarding, and all that. When I first got them –when we did the shearing – that’s when I started making homemade soap and I make a washcloth that goes around the soap.”
The three boys are named Banjo, Yankee Doodle – because he was born on the Fourth of July – and Bud Light. The last goes by Buddy to be more kid friendly. The two girls are named Moon Crystal Maggie May and Rapturous Nellie Gray. The latter is named after a song Hammons’ son, Trevor, loves to play on his banjo.
“It was some old song that was in westerns,” she said. “Trevor heard it when he was young and liked it, so he learned how to play it on his banjo.”
The male alpacas are a mix of colors with one tan, one gray with maroon legs and another gray. The females are mostly white, which will give Hammons the opportunity to dye the fiber for more colorful projects.
When it came time to learn how to tame the fiber and create art, Hammons enlisted the help of her neighbor, Ann Turner, who has since passed away.
“She was showing me how to do the knitting and spinning,” Hammons said. “She ended up giving me her travel spinning wheel. We made some of our own yarn.”
In addition to making her own crafts, Hammons opens the farm to visitors and local groups such as the girl scouts. The girls met the alpacas and learned how they were sheared when their fiber was long enough. Then Hammons showed the girls how to needle-felt with the wool and other projects she has done.
Hammons also does farm tours on National Alpaca Farms Day.
From the fiber, Hammons makes felted soap, animal figures such as owls and alpacas and kits for people to learn how to make their own crafts. But the fiber isn’t the only alpaca product she sells.
“I sell a lot of alpaca poop to people for their outdoor plants,” she said. “Then we have days, you can bring your own bucket and you can fill it up as high as you want. I stuff little teabags and make alpaca poo teabags that you actually put in water, let it set for awhile and then you put that on your flowers.
“I sell a lot of those at Christmastime for gag gifts,” she added, laughing.
Although she is not in the business to breed alpacas, Hammons said that she does plan to breed her two females in October and see what happens. She is happy about the prospects of adding to the herd.
Hammons plans to open a shop at the farm for her fiber art and is considering the possibility of having more tours and allowing visitors to stay overnight on the farm. She’s keeping her options open, and, above all, she is just happy to have her alpacas back.
For more information on visiting Back Mountain Alpaca Farm, call 304-799-4076.
