We are individually auctioning these super cute mini needle-felted sculptures of the Cottingham Alpacas, which have been hand made in Cottingham from each of The Boy’s own fleece!
There is one of each of The Boys, and each model stands approximately 11cm (4.5 inches) tall. They are made almost entirely of alpaca fleece, apart from the facial features and inner ears, which are made from merino wool. There are no sharp parts, but as pieces can come loose (if pulled hard enough!), they are not recommended for children under the age of 3 years.
All proceeds from the auction will be donated to St Mary Magdalene Church, Cottingham, towards the project to get a toilet installed.
We’re extremely grateful to Jon and Tracey – and of course to Alan, Biscuit, Humphrey, Kuzco and Snowy – for donating their fleece for this fundraising project.
About the auction
Each alpaca is up for auction through Ebay, with a starting price of £10 each (plus Ebay’s buyer protection fee). The auction starts at 2pm on Saturday 29 November and ends at 2pm on Saturday 6 December.
The links below will open a pop up that will take you to the Ebay site, where you can see the current highest bid, and place your own bid if you wish. If you’d like to see all the listings in one place, click here.
Happy bidding, and thank you for your support!
How the sculptures are made
The Boys are shorn once a year to keep them cool during the summer months, and the shorn fleece has been washed, picked and combed through (known as ‘carding’) to separate the fibres and remove any bits of debris (straw, seeds etc).
Pieces of fleece are then rolled and ‘needle-felted’ into shapes to make the body parts, using special barbed needles that are prodded through the fibres to knit them together. The 7 separate pieces (4 legs, 1 body, 1 neck and a nose) are then felted together, before longer combed sections of the fleece are laid over the top to give the mini alpaca his lovely soft coat. Finally, we add the faces (using merino wool), 2 ears, a tail and each alpaca’s characteristic topknot/fringe. And we’re done!
Winning bidders
If yours is the winning bid and you live in Cottingham, Middleton or East Carlton, please select ‘collection’ and I will deliver your mini alpaca to you. If you live outside the area, please choose your delivery method.
Thank you for supporting this fundraising auction.
