Carson Sierra Spinners and Weavers Guild

(I just went through the drafts I have in the listing of posts.  Most of them belong to Charlotte and Lydia; they have some re-writing to do.  But the following one is mine, and I have no idea why I didn't post it at the time I wrote it.) 

 

About a year after the girls got their first rabbits and I got my first spinning wheel, I joined the local spinning guild.  I had two main purposes in doing so.  First, I wanted to learn how to spin better; and second, I thought it might be a good opportunity for selling the girls' fiber and rabbits. 

And indeed, we have sold fiber and one rabbit so far.  But what has been really great is all that I have learned about spinning.  The ladies are all very helpful and encouraging.  Each month there is a "learning tree" opportunity.  In July we dyed sock blanks.  So I first learned what a sock blank is.  For those as uneducated as I, a sock blank is double-stranded yarn knit into a rectangle.  That rectangle of knitted fabric is then dyed using condiment bottles to squirt on the dye.  The dye is set, the rectangle dried, and then you ravel the rectangle into two balls of identically dyed yarn.  You then knit that up into perfectly matched socks. 

 

 

As I look at the pictures, I think I'm missing summer.  I'm usually great with winter.  I love cold weather and the snow.  And we are so grateful to have so much snow to help alleviate the drought.  But I get to missing blue skies.

Anyway, the spinning guild has been fabulous for learning about different spinning wheels, various spinning techniques, properties of fibers, etc.  This month's learning tree will be on dyeing and color.  Charlotte is thinking about attending as well.

For Our Russian Friends

We've been getting a phenomenal number of hits from Russia this past week.  I mentioned this to my husband and we realized that we should have my son write the next post.  I got my degree in Russian nearly 30 years ago, and while I can still understand Russian, my Cyrillic typing skills were abominable even then, and totally non-existent now. 

Our son and brother, however, is a totally different matter.  He served as a missionary in Ukraine (Russian-speaking) for two years and is currently majoring in Russian (or is when he gets well and returns to school). 

So for our regular readers, don't be alarmed when the next post is in Russian.  And for our Russian reader(s), something just for you is coming up soon!

Bed Socks

I started this post two months ago, but I couldn't publish it because the girls would have seen it, and would have seen what they were getting for Christmas.  I got the idea for making bed socks back in September, when we had a cold snap.  I got in bed one night, and I just couldn't go to sleep because even though the rest of my body was warm enough, my little piggies were about to freeze off.  But it was September, and putting an extra blanket on the bed would mean I was a wuss.  It would also have meant getting out of bed to find another blanket.  So instead I put on a pair of angora/merino socks I had knit the previous summer.  My toes were instantly warm and I was almost as instantly asleep.

I thought the girls might enjoy some angora bed socks this winter.  Now bed socks differ from regular socks in a couple of important ways.  They are knit with heavier yarn on larger needles, so the project goes a lot more quickly.   I used some angora fiber that had little mats and tangles, so the yarn wasn't uniform.  Bed socks are not meant to be worn with shoes.  With the mats and the looser knit, they would be really uncomfortable.

So I chose some merino dyed in a color I didn't like and spun it up.

Merino roving in a color I didn't like.

 

Angora fiber dyed first and then carded on a drum carder.

 

I spun and plied the two together.  They were a really ugly blend.

 

I then over-dyed the yarn with some leftover dye.  I liked this color much better.  

I cast on beginning at the toes so that I could use all of the yarn without worrying about using too much and running out for the next sock. 

  

Charlotte's socks.  I have not been able to figure out how to get this photo centered, but now as I type a longer caption, it is moving.  Weird.



  



I tried captioning the above photo as Lydia's socks, but every time I tried, the photo disappeared.  It's late, and I got tired of playing that game, so here is the photo without the caption. 

Anyway, each sock took about 80 yards of yarn.  I used US4 needles.  And to keep it a surprise, I had to guess as to whether I was getting the size right for each girl.  Lydia's were a perfect fit.  I have to re-do Charlotte's.  :(  Lydia has been wearing hers every night.  Charlotte is getting impatient for me to get moving on hers.



Sage's Kits--Seven Weeks Old

Sage's kits are now seven weeks old and Charlotte is ready to start accepting deposits.  There are five bucks and two does.  Both Sage and Muddy Buddy need to be registered as grand champions.  I better get that paperwork done.  Pictures and other info will be posted on the page "Kits for Sale."

Now, Back to the Rabbits--Litters of Phantom and Fudge

Phantom and Fudge kindled their litters on December 12.  Both were first-time mothers.  Phantom pulled plenty of wool for her litter of six.  Two were stillborn; four survive. 

There are two blacks, a chocolate, and what may turn out to be a sable.  They are now 17 days old.

Fudge was a first-timer like Phantom, but her maternal instinct did not kick in, unfortunately.  She did not pull any wool and kindled her kits all in the front of the nest box and did not cover them at all.  She did not clean them, either.  Lydia was gone for the day, and when I checked the kits, they all looked dead.  I quickly brought them inside.  Jared and I found three of the six still alive.  We cleaned and warmed them and hoped for the best.  One of the kits died about three hours later.  A second was just fine when Charlotte took them out for feeding, but was dead when she brought them back in fifteen minutes later.  We think Phantom may have stepped on him and broken his neck.  The last of the three died a week later, reasons unknown.  Lydia was heartbroken. 

Life Beyond the Blog

This post has nothing to do with bunnies.  It's merely to let those who follow our adventures here know what the heck happened to make me/us drop off the planet. 

All is well with the girls and their rabbits.  They continue to care for them without any hitches whatsoever.

However... life in my world has become a little stressed, and blogging about the rabbits had to take a back seat, and may continue to do so for a while.  Hopefully not too much longer.

Many of you know that my eldest son has been sick for some time.  He's been stumping doctors for a few years, and becoming steadily worse as the pain increases.  We got some lab results back last week.  It appears he is allergic/sensitive to wheat/gluten, milk, and eggs.  That has become something of a challenge for me as I try to prepare foods that he can eat.  And it has been devastating for him become he so loves milk and fresh bread.  Unfortunately, even as we have eliminated all forbidden foods from his diet, the pain continues to increase.  He spends his entire day in bed, because the pain diminishes a little if he is lying down.  He has another appointment on Monday, at which time we will discuss everything with his doctor again and then decide whether to try one more treatment option here, or try getting into the Mayo Clinic. 

Thank you for your patience with us.  I still try to check the email if any of you have questions about French angora rabbits.  If you have bought rabbits from us and have questions you would like to get answered quickly, it's probably best to give a call, as I often don't check the email until late at night.

Apologies

We sincerely apologize for not posting in over two weeks. 

We are still alive here.  All the bunnies are still alive and thriving as well. 

We've just been super busy with multiple family events.  And in addition, I have had multiple doctor appointments to take me oldest son to.  After nearly three years of illness, we think/hope we are figuring out what is wrong. 

Anyway, we hope to post updated pictures of the kits by Friday.

Thank you for your patience.