The Woolen Rabbit

Welcome Home!........May 31, 2005

The actual
Is only actual
In one place
And one time.
What we do only has meaning in the here and now.  It will not remain in the next instant.  Just do what you can for the present, and leave everything else to happen naturally.  Be born again each morning.
Deng Ming~Dao

I have mentioned over the last few weeks about a difficult journey that I had to undertake.  This weekend our trip had a much better result.

Two years ago, a big fat singleton puppy was born here.  He was doted on and much loved.  Such a fat little puppy, he was dubbed "Bubba Louie" and it was a name that stuck, although the Bubba part was dropped.

Louie went to live with a very dear older breeder friend of mine, who owned Louie's father.  Due to some unforeseen and difficult circumstances beyond his owner's control, we decided that it would be best for Louie to come back home.  This is one of the dearest and sweetest dogs ever.........he encompasses everything a true "Cavalier" should be.
~Welcome Home my little traveler~

Will the rain EVER end??
You guessed.........it is STILL raining!  There must be a huge rain cloud hanging over New England, that just does not want to go away.  May has been a complete wash-out! 

Being stuck in the house away from my flowers, I have had to bring the colors inside.  Working on the carder again, I dyed this angora blend with the soft pastel colors that I love in the garden, with a splash of brightness here and there.  This is a 20% angora blend, for those that do not like all of the bloom from my usual higher angora percentage blends.

Staying with that pastel theme, I picked up the sock needles again to finish the mate to the Folk Sock sock that I started back in March.

I always whip thru the first sock as the excitement of a new project always keeps me interested........but somehow that second sock, seems to languish a bit.

The pattern is Latvian socks, done on size one needles in Lorna Laces sock weight yarn. This is a great lace pattern for beginner's......very easy to remember and very easy to pick up any mistakes right away.

I hope to get these finished up this week.

Red......I LOVE that color!
Years ago, I went to a Color Me Beautiful party, where they told you which "season" you were, dependent on your hair, skin and eye colors.  I was told that I was an "Autumn".  I guess it is no wonder then, that I am perpetually attracted to various shades of red.  Paprika, Russet, Apricot.  When I try to steer away from those shades, it then is green, gold or brown that I choose.

I guess it is no surprise that this little guy will be staying in my rabbitry.  Even though, I really don't need another buck here........who can resist such a lovely redhead??  Not me...........

~Enjoy your week!~

Rain, Rain.....Go Away! .... May 27, 2005

        Candy Apple Angora Batts

What a long and dreary week it has been up here in the mountains!  I believe that it has rained something like 17 out of the last 25 days and we have not had a rain free weekend in 5 weeks!  YUK!!!

To keep myself busy, I have been playing with my new carding machine and the above Angora blend batts are the result.  So incredibly soft these batts are!  I have a bunch more to work on, then I will have to snag one or two for myself, this time.  My Spring  Angora Rovings and Batts will be up on this website next week.

Having played with Angora on the carding machine all week, my fingers were itching to knit up some of that softness.

This lace hat, is patterned after the one on Fall 04 Spin Off cover and is going to a well deserving friend, who could use a lift.

There is nothing quite like the softness of angora, especially in a hat or a scarf.

Puppies

Needless to say, with all of this rain, you can well imagine what my back yard looks like........pools of water and Mud.........great if you are a duck.....or a puppy.  The puppies love getting dirty......YUK!!!

Last night, the puppies and Hannah, all freshly bathed, sat for a few photos.  I thought I would share a few with you, before the last of the bunch started heading off to their new homes.

This is Nellie, she will be going to her new home in a few weeks.  Her new parents are school teachers and asked if we could keep her here until school gets out in a few weeks, which we were happy to do. 

Little Miss Mouse, is finally big enough, that I am feeling comfortable enough to contemplate letting her go to a new home.

She maybe small in size, but she lacks in size, she has in spirit.  This is one happy and busy little girl, who doesn't let the other puppies get the best of her.

How can you not love a face like that?

Lastly, our boy, Kai.  Remember when I wrote that I would not be keeping a puppy from this litter?  Famous last words......LOL. 

Keeping a boy in a household with girls, is always a challenge, but this little boy is just as quiet and as sweet as they come.  Not only is he such a dear boy........but he has a fabulous  little body and a lovely head.  These are the assets that a breeder is looking for when continuing forward in a breeding program, soooooooooooo................this little guy is staying...at least for now :-)

I am heading out once again, this weekend, on the same trek that I made last week, but this time I believe it is going to be a better trip.  I will post more about it when we come home.

I want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you who offered such kind words of support this week.  It is so nice to know that there are so many caring people out there.  Thanks!!

~Enjoy your weekend.......and keep dry~

A Tribute to Dandy......May 23, 2005

          Farewell my Dear Little One
                  ISeeSpots Dandy

There are no ancients before me,
No followers behind:
Only the vastness of heaven and earth
On this mountain terrace
Though heaven may know the ultimate
Joy or Sorrow is our own will.
Deng Ming Dao

Today I will be sad........for my sorrow is great.  My oldest and dearest rabbit passed over the bridge today.  I knew that the time was nearing, as I could sense the changes that were happening with her.  I hated to leave her this weekend, as I feared that she would be gone before I came home.  Thankfully she waited for me to come back.

Dandy was my dearest girl.  A gentle, gentle soul, who would sit quietly and patiently as I groomed her or when the children and grandchildren pet her.  Always a perfect lady and a wonderful mother, my dear tailess bunny.

While I will be sad for today.....tomorrow, I will remember all that she has given to me.  Most of the rabbits in my rabbitry go back to this Grand Dame and I will have joy again thru those that will remind me of her gentle ways.

Sleep well my little one

I want to take a moment to thank everyone that emailed me this week.  My weekend was as difficult as I had anticipated and to lose this dear bunny on top of it was a bitter pill to swallow.  The support of friends in the fiber world is so uplifting........thank you!

What a Week :(.......May 20, 2005

Grrrrrrr...............some days I HATE typepad!!  I had a long post all ready to be published and poof, it was gone, when I hit the wrong button..........gggrrrrrrrrr.  Being that I am heading out of town on a difficult mission, I will leave you with some pictures of what my week has been like..........

  Not great stuck on the sink

.............................eeek!!!

lovely on the angora though

................hehe

Fiber on the bunny......................

They are getting so busy and cute!

and fiber, hot off the wheels.

I hope you enjoy the few pictures from my hell week....LOL

Losing my blog post, was the frosting on the cake.  Haha

~I hope that you all have a great weekend in  your corner of the world, and keep me in your thoughts, as I take off on a difficult journey this weekend.~

Fun, Fun, Fun.......May 14, 2005

New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival!!

Today, my youngest daughter, Hannah and I made our way down to the NH Sheep and Wool festival.  What a FUN time we had!

Who IS that behind that camera........and.......who or what is she snapping a photo of??

Why that is our Helen of NETA (New England Textile Arts) and she is snapping a picture of none other than
Stephanie.........that Harlot.

What I didn't realize until after we took this picture, that not only was Stephanie there, but Norma, Cassie and Theresa.

We had a nice time, visiting and it was especially nice to spend time chatting with Cassie in person, as we have come to know each other a bit thru emails.  I love how blogging has opened up our big world and made it a bit smaller for each of us.  That common bond that connects all of us, truly has made the world a smaller and friendlier place.  Cassie's shawl is more beautiful in person than in pictures, if that is possible.  I was too darn busy chatting to get all of the pictures that I wanted to take, so you will have to take my word for it here.

Next it was lunch with another blogger from New England, Judy of Smatterings, and her friend, Cindy.  I am always a wee bit nervous, when it comes to putting myself out there with people that I don't know but what I have found with most fiber people is that the bond that connects us, also makes it so easy to become friends.  Judy is a very talented spinner and dyer.......check out her fabulous yarns for sale!!

Now, as I started out today, with the mindset of behaving myself at this fiber festival, as I have so much blessed fiber.  However, the one vendor that I missed out on in Rhinebeck this fall, my regular first stop..........who was almost completely sold out at 9:15 am......Spinners Hill, also comes to this NH festival.  My first visit was to her booth and I picked up this incredible wool/ mohair batt.  As you probably guessed........yup........there are those rusty, reddish, paprika colors that I always seem to bring home.

So..........I thought......hey,  why not break out and be crazy?  Get something different for a change?  So.....into my basket landed this yummy grass green mohair/wool blend.  The different shades in the batt are so pretty, blended together.  This will be slated for this year's vest.  I try to make one every year with this vendor's wool.

Nestled in all that luscious fiber is a pin.......a handpainted bunny of course!

How could a Woolen Rabbit pass that one up?

Now, that was all I had planned to purchase, as the Good Lord knows, that I do NOT need any more fiber and I am really trying to be mindful of that fact and to simplify............however, there was one temptation that I just could not avoid, no matter how hard I tried.

To self, I said
........No.........No.........BAD.......NO.............NO........Nooooo

YES!!!

This gorgeous Cherry Vermont Wheel came home with me.

Truly, I did try to resist, but the temptation was just too strong.  I had tried a Vermont Wheel a few times, when a local spinner purchased one a few years ago and I just fell in love with it.

Pat Russo, has made mention a few times that he is contemplating retiring from the fiber show scene, so I thought that it would be foolish for me to pass this lovely wheel up now, if I truly wanted one.........and I did!

As a concession to my DH, who sometimes feels completely overwhelmed with the fiber and fiber tools in this old wool house.  I have decided to sell my antique Canadian Wheel.  It is another lovely wheel, made of cherry, with the typical iron treadle, footman and flyer adjustment......which spins like a dream.  I will list it in a photo album this week with all of the particulars.

I truly believe in keeping all wheels happily spinning and I like to pass the ones that are collecting a bit more dust than it should to another happy spinner.

So there you have it...................

Hannah snapped this picture of a bunch of cute, cute, cute angora goats as we were getting ready to head back up to the Mountains.

We had a lovely day in Contoocook, NH, visiting with old friends, new friends and incredible fiber.

I hope that all of you in your corner of the world, enjoyed your day, as much as we did ours!

To Every Season, There Is A Purpose....May 10, 2005

Wellspring of energy
Rises in the body's core
Tap it and be sustained
Channel it, and it will speak.
Den Ming Dao

.

It is hard to believe that just a month ago, we were lamenting for Spring, and then all of a sudden, here it is, in all it's glory!

Spring is a busy season for me.  So much to do........so little time.  I have so enjoyed reading the stories of the Maryland S&W festival and I wish that I had time to read them all.............but bunnies need to be sheared, soap and hand cremes need to be made, angora needs to be dyed and the yard is begging for attention.............busy, busy, busy!!!  But isn't it a wonderful kind of busy?

The highlight of my weekend, was receiving this incredible yarn from Judy. One is her handspun singles, in her flowerbasket colorway and the other is a scrumptious green merino/silk colorway.  I fell in love with Judy's beaded yarn and she offered to duplicate it for me.  Judy was concerned that it did not come out exactly as the beaded yarn, but as a dyer, I know just how hard it is to duplicate a dye job and how can you not love this green??  Judy, I LOVE it!!!

Last week, I asked if anyone could explain the difference between the 2 bunnies in the picture.  Leslie, guessed correctly.  One is a fawn and the other is a lilac.  Lilac is the dilute of chocolate, but it is a very subtle difference at this young age.  Our little lilac girl is peeking out from behind the yarn in the above picture.  If you have time, go and visit Leslie's website.  It is a little slice of life in Virginia and it is one of my favorites!.  Her style of writing is reminiscent of John Boy Walton's narrations.  I so enjoy it!

Lilac is one of my favorite colors in the rabbitry.  Being a dilute, it is subtle.....but oh so pretty.  The little girl in the basket above, is a full sister to this girl, as this was a repeat breeding here.  Truffles was one of the 4 bunnies who received a haircut today. As you can see......she has scrumptious fiber!

Tomorrow, I will start dyeing all of this angora, in preparation for the June Fiber Frolic, in Windsor, Maine.  It is a fun fiber event and this year, Alden Amos is visiting and teaching a workshop.  It promises to be a fun filled weekend and I look forward to seeing familiar faces.  Stop by and say hello!!!

Housebound in a Wool House....May 7, 2005

Housebound in a Wool House........Sadly,I am one of the few, not making the pilgrimage to Maryland Sheep and Wool festival this year, so joining Julia and Margene's gathering of the housebound, I thought that I would break out of my weekly post for a Saturday Blogger's Festival post...<grin>.

As you can see, I have been working on the Faux Russian Stole for the Lace KAL....  (whoops....In spreading the lace out, I see an error!)

I still have to add my name to that list and get a button up,  However, I have been having so much fun knitting this pattern, that I just haven't taken the time to do so.  I have to spin up some more Shetland, so this should give me a little time...............or ............will it?  A new little toy made a stop over at this house of wool............

To Buy or Not to Buy
That is the question.  I am giving this wonderful Pat Green Super Carding machine a test drive to see if it would like a permanent home here.  As many of my friends know......carding is my LEAST favorite part of fiber preparation, but unfortunately, it is a necessity for me.

This machine has been touted as a one pass machine, meaning that you shouldn't have to process the batt more than once, unless you are doing some color blending.

Although, I send out a lot of my hand- dyed angora/wool blends to a professional carder, frequently after a show, I will need to re-card the angora roving to fluff it up again.  Angora is almost impossible not to touch, so my little roving balls, usually need some tender loving care when we get home.  (now that should bring some interesting hits...) As you can see from the picture, this carder did a lovely job on one of the few balls I have remaining.

So to those of you out there in blog land........what do you think?  Of these 2 machines,  a 16" Duncan electric carder that can fit a bit more on the drum.......or this Supercarder, which do you prefer?  I would love to hear from those of you who have used either machine.

My try at Lace Singles
Last night as I was playing with the carding machine, I threw in some freshly washed Shetland wool and some angora from one of my fellow bunnies and tried my hand at spinning lace singles.

I got some lovely yarn from Judy this week (look for pictures later in the week) and I thought that I would see if I could spin as nicely as she does.  Not as nice, for sure............but I think I got the right weight.  It is fun to challenge ourselves now and then.  As a spinner, I tend to get caught in that happy, mindless spinning mode, which almost always produces a dk weight yarn.  It was fun to try something new :-).  I definitely need a wee bit more practice though.......

I am looking forward to hearing the fun stories about Maryland next week!  I hope that everyone had a safe and wonderful trip~

Lacing Along.......May3, 2005

From a bud, only a promise.
Then a gentle opening:
Rich blooming, bursting fragrance,
The fulfillment of the center.

True beauty comes from within.  Our glory has nothing to do with our appearance or our occupation.  Our special qualities come from an inner source.  We must take care to open and bloom naturally and leisurely and keep to the center.
Deng Ming Dao.

I want to apologize for a lack of responding to comments.  My dislocated finger has been a "pain" when it comes to typing.  After a trip to the doctors today, it will be taped up.........which is slowing me down tremendously.  Thanks for your support!!

After joining a few KAL's, I have found that I am not really not good at them.....<grin>.  I am not a fast knitter and can't always keep up, but hearing about the Gathering of Lace knit along from Margene's page, my interest was peaked.

Even though I have not done a ton of it, lace is my favorite type of knitting.  I love to watch the patterns evolve with each yarn over and knit 2 together.

I am choosing the "Faux Russian Stole".  I like the fact that it has a little more weight behind it, then some of the finer laces.  I want to be able to wear it without fear of tearing it.

Not knowing exactly what "Jumper Weight" is, I was excited to give a batch of Shetland that I spun and actually won a first place at Fryeburg Fair a few years ago, a chance.

However, after working a few repeats of the beginning pattern, I was questioning my choice.  It felt a wee bit bulky and just not what I had envisioned for this project.

So........I pulled out a stash of yarn that someone sent me earlier this year for Norwegian mittens and I discovered that Jumper Weight and Fingering Weight are one and the same.

Because I want this shawl to be made with handspun yarn.....deep into the stash I delved and came up with this lovely Shetland from Lynne Luker.  I worked slow and steady and I think that I came pretty close to the weight of the skein of commercial yarn.

You may not be able to see the difference in the 2 samples that I knit up, as they look somewhat similar in size, but if you handle the samples, you can tell there is a distinct difference in the weights and feel in each sample.  You can also see that the darker sample lays flatter as the yarn is more suited for this project.
All in all, I am looking forward to this KAL!

It's Finished!!

Yesterday, my DH and I headed down to Concord, as he had a business meeting to attend and I had fibering business to attend to..<grin>.  Of course, I also had to find a bathing suit for my 14 year old........no easy feat........trust me!!
I did manage to find buttons though for Paprika and here she is in all her Finished Glory.  I LOVE this sweater!

Pattern: Casual Cables, Michelle Wymann
Yarn:  Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool
Buttons:  Thistle, Jo-ann's Fabric Store

YIKES!! OH No.............she's trying to take a picture.....eekkk!!!

The baby buns are growing fast.  Eyes are open and they are on their feet and running.

Where as puppies need a lot of care and assistance, baby bunnies are wonderfully, amazingly, self sufficient.  As soon as those eye open up, they are exploring every inch of Mom's cage, including the water bottle and food.  I LOVE baby bunnies....<VBG>

One of the challenges of bunnies it figuring out what their colors are.  If you look quickly at these 2 babies, they look pretty similar...........but they are not..........can you guess what the difference is?

I will tell you next week :-))

I hope that you have a great week and that it is a wee bit drier in your part of the country~