Wayne and I lived 20 km Northeast of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta on a 4-acre parcel of land.We bought our first Alpacas in March of 2000 when Wayne attended an auction.He came home with 3 pregnant females and no hay, fencing or shelter!Needless to say, we were scrambling!Our neighbour supplied us with a large bale of hay and we build a small crude shelter out of scrap lumber!We immediately fell in love with these incredible animals.They each had their own personality and soon became pets!With a few more purchases, including our incredible herd sire Cinnamon, we were showing our Alpacas by the summer of 2001.Over the next few years we won numerous ribbons and really enjoyed showing our Alpacas. My studio on the acreage, Zelda’s Studio, displayed all my fibre fashions, and was open to the public year-round by appointment! In February of 2022 we retired, sold our acreage after 32 years, found homes for our alpacas and have now moved to Calgary, Alberta.I am spending my retirement continuing to work with their amazing fiber and attending shows.
I estimate I have 10 years worth of our own fibre that all my fashions will be made from.Each price tag has a picture of the animal and their name that the fiber comes from.Some of the fashions I make are from 100% alpaca and others have a blend.I use natural fibers to blend with as much as possible. Our fiber is sorted and sent to a small exotic fiber mill in Alberta to ensure we get our own fiber back.I have also kept some of the raw fiber to clean, card and spin. As we have just moved I still have to set up space in our new home for my studio.I own a loom, 3 knitting machines, 1920’s sock machine, spinning wheel and also hand knit certain fashions.I work on my own with my sister helping with some of the hand knitting.
My biggest sellers are my felted mitts, shawls, ponchos, and our Alpaca socks.The socks are the only item I don’t hand knit myself.We shear and sort the fiber which is then taken to the Exotic fiber mill in Innisfail where they blend it with 20% nylon and 10% bamboo for the wear ability.The processed yarn is then sent to a mill in Calgary where they make the socks.
My product price range is from $20.00 (headbands) to $200.00 (some shawls).All prices are based on the weight of the Alpaca fiber in each item.
Linda Tarney Ravenscrag Alpacas Calgary, Alberta Check out pictures on Our Animals page as well as our Fashions/Fibre page for information on their fibre and all the items I make with this amazing fibre!
-Linda Tarney, Owner and Artisan of Ravenscrag Alpacas