Already addicted to llamas' yarn, Janette Buckingham thought she'd give farming the animals a spin.That was over 30 years ago and in that time her herd of camelids has grown to include a few ovine cousins - Gotland sheep - also raised for their fibre which she spins and sells from her home studio in Southland's Waikawa Valley."For me, I like just being able to turn fibres over to people who will use them, and certainly the money's good too," she told Country Life.It was a high school friend who first got her wheels spinning - literally.Follow Country Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts.Buckingham has been spinning since 1973 when she was first introduced to the craft."I was terribly uncoordinated, but I just stuck with it," she said."Nobody showed me what to do. I just felt my way sitting up 'til God knows what time at night, trying too hard, but eventually ... I got the hang of it and could even spin a lumpy yarn. Anyone will tell you that's the breakthrough."Since then she's taught a few people to spin herself. The trick is in knowing how to coordinate one's hands and feet.Janette Buckingham at her home in the Waikawa Valley.RNZ / Gianina SchwaneckeIt was a high school friend that got her interested in spinning in the 1970s.RNZ / Gianina SchwaneckeShe looked quite at ease, tucked up by the fire on a squally afternoon, working away on her electric spinning wheel - a massive timesaver which helps when she's trying to rapidly replenish her stock of yarns.Her love of spinning is what got her started on the llama farming. She'd bought a packet of caramel-coloured alpaca fibre in the 1980s which she "fell in love with"."It was absolutely beautiful, like nothing I'd ever spun before, just sort of buttery smooth. I became addicted to it."It was a time when many farmers were looking to diversify their farming operations, and the llama's cousin, the alpaca, was starting to become more well-known.A love of fibres saw a Southland woman build her own herd of llama, Guanaco and Gotland sheep.RNZ / Gianina SchwaneckeHowever, it was a herd off llamas near Canterbury that caught her eye."We managed to get three, and one was a guanaco male. The fine-fibred guanaco is also a cousin to the llama."They weren't as popular then because people just wanted alpacas or llamas. The guanaco was something else again."The Gotland sheep came later, a breed popular for their dark and grey-toned wool.RNZ / Gianina SchwaneckeCrossed with a llama, she said they can produce "very fine fibre"."They're a bit more of a challenge to handle, but they're something that perhaps make my business a little bit different from a lot of other people's."Today she has about 40 llama and guanaco which she runs alongside the Gotland sheep on her 25-acres in the Catlins.The Gotland sheep came later, a breed popular for their dark and grey-toned wool and originally from the Gotland Islands off the coast of Sweden."There seemed to be a lot of interest in the Gotland wool because of its lustre, its colour, not much crimp in it, but it's just got certain characteristics that appeal to people."The studio is stocked with a range of finished products.RNZ / Gianina SchwaneckeShe sells the skeins from her home studio.RNZ / Gianina SchwaneckeJanette prefers the natural tones.RNZ / Gianina Schwanecke