Mmmm... bunny

If you aren't familiar with the business of spinning, you might be worried that there are dead bunnies everywhere when I say that I've just hauled home a good stash. But please, set your minds at ease, one plucks the fiber from the lovely bunnies, or trims the fiber off with scissors, which isn't quite as nice as plucking in terms of the quality of the fiber, but still, it is nice, and it is bunny, and it is soft. No bunnies part with their lives to becomes part of a handspun scarf or a sweater.

I like to dye bunny, because the colors come out very vibrant. And I like to use bunny with my nuno felted scarves, because the bunnie is very cozy. Warmer than wool, and snugglier.

Pre-Small Business Saturday: What'ja Get?

The plan: go to the bank, take out a wee bit of money to cover an angora transaction with my friend Cheryl, go to the Genesee Valley Hand Spinner's Guild meeting, make the exchange, take a brief glance around, and then leave. It was all... so... simple.

So, I get there, and Cheryl says, "So, did you want all of it, or part of it?" And I said, "All, of course", and rolled my eyes expressively. We met out in the parking lot, did the exchange, and I put the goods in my car. If spinning was illegal, we'd be arrested by now, as I parked right in front of the Victor police.

With my car full of soft stuff, you would have thought I'd have been done, but then I spotted Pat Gesler of Firefly Farms, and by the time I was done with her, I was down to $6 and some loose change. And even then, I thought about spending the last $6, but I figured that after you go back to someone's table three times, you really need to stop. I don't want to look like a fiber stalker, after all.

So what'd I get? Plenty.

First, I bought soap. Pat makes this super nice soap that has luffa inside. What an invention! I buy some soap every time I see her, and highly recommend it.

And then there was some roving. I'd been trolling the websites lately looking for maroon roving, and there it was, sitting within range of sight. So I bought some. And then some more after I found some money in my pockets. I stopped short of buying it all, but that's only because I ran out of money. There are 7 more balls waiting for me. I've got my eye on them too.

Well, of course I dragged it all home and started spinning. What a rich maroon color! And this is cashgora and pygora blended together. Both are rather rare goats with very soft coats. I looked Pat in the eye and said, "Now, let's just keep this between you and me: please don't tell my husband." And she said that until you came home with an animal, instead of just fiber, there really wasn't much to talk about. Apparently she's acquired a few goats that way.

Now, what to make with my treasure? I looked outside and couldn't help but notice that my brother's truck was a perfect match for my new maroon cashgora/pygora blend:

I'd make my brother something, or find someone to make him something, but somehow he doesn't seem the type to want to own luxury fiber scarves or mittens that match his truck. So I'll have to think about it. In the meantime, if you have any ideas, let me know. I'm spinning very thin this time, motivated by my fellow guildmembers, who spin very nicely thin all the time.

HOT Pink Nuno Felted Scarf... Who's With Me?

My mother, a conservative sort, noted that my newest scarf is "very nice, dear, but... well, the color is... well..." Say it ain't so, Grandma! What kind of attitude is this?

Do I look gaudy?

Friends, I ask you, does this scarf make me look like a tart? I wore it to a restaurant yesterday, and can assure you that not even one seedy character gave me the eyeball. I wore it to a parent-teacher conference... is it possible that my son's teacher is secretly thinking, "Goodness, look at that brazen woman. That explains a lot."

Nonetheless, I'll let you get a closer look so you can decide for yourself:

It is two-sided. My son says the other side looks like cotton candy. The amount of angora in this scarf is plentiful. All that pink... and I used white... and then there's even some light peach.



For my next project, I'm going to try embedding flower leaves that I cut out of an angora sweater I purchased at a thrift store. I theorize that I need to lightly baste the flower petals onto the silk, then add all the other fiber, and then pound away to make it all stick together. Stay tuned...