Fibery Adventures and the "Bunny Tour"

Yesterday, my friend Lisa and I trekked off to Westminster, Md. to pick up the loom that I purchased from Susan....the hostess of the Spin-In that I had missed. We also checked out her fiber bunnies....and the new babies while we were there.

It was a lovely drive, though I wish it wasn't so hazy....the countryside and mountains in the background would have been stunning! The drought really showed as well - instead of the expected green rolling hills and lush corn fields, we saw brown fields and very sad looking corn fields - the corn stalks were quite small....and they're already starting to dry up. It looked like harvest-time corn stalks on a severe diet!

We were greeted by Susan's "herd" of border collies. They are so sweet and definitely like to be the center of attention! Being a dog lover, I was in heaven - totally surrounded and "welcomed" by these friendly canines. Susan even got them to pose for a photo op!

Susan was also in the middle of dying a bunch of roving in a HUGE stainless steel kettle. The purple "goodness" has been simmering away all morning. It looks "good enough to eat"! The mordant she's using is vinegar....I don't remember what dye stock she used......I just focused on the fact that it was a deep rich purple and didn't hear anything else!

On to the baby bunnies. These guys are just adorable! I can't believe how cute and TINY they are! These are baby angora bunnies....the smallest one is the runt, but is doing great because of the extra care and attention that Susan gave the baby during the early days. They're only 11 days old....soooooo cute!
























Here's the mom (left)- her name escapes me right now. And the dad (right, Harry Potter.



Some of the other bunnies are absolutely adorable as well.....this one has already been partially sheared, so she looks a bit "funny"....but much cooler! The grey ones are only 11 weeks old, so they're pretty young as well.



The bunny with the most personality (and the wildest ears) was Peter Pan. He's so full of energy! On the left, he's trying to "climb out of his cage". On the right is a more "poised" picture of the "feisty boy".



Here's the beauty that I went to pick up - the gently used Kromski Harp Rigid Heddle Loom with stand. It's the 32" wide one, so it has a fairly wide weaving area. The really cool part is that it folds up and you can tote it almost anywhere! You don't have to use it with the stand, you can angle against a table, or whatever is comfortable for you.


There are special "bags" that are made to carry the loom, so you can easily take it to a workshop, any fiber get together, or even on vacation! (I'm thinking that there may be an addition to my Christmas Wish List this year.) There was a sample warp and a bit of sample weaving already on the loom.....I'll try my hand at weaving with that, and then warp it for real. I've made a binder with the instructions for the warping and weaving with the Kromski....I'm hoping it will become my "weaving log" as well!

While I was at Susan's, I checked to see if she had any more of the luscious angora/wool blend roving that she had last year. I was thrilled to discover that she did indeed have some and I bought about 10 oz. more. The fiber is soooo soft! The wool is from two of Susan's sheep, Mary Sue and Tess and the angora is from some of the bunnies you saw in the photos above. The sheep are Border Leicester (medium grade wool) crossed with Blue Faced Leicester (the soft wool that I love to spin!). The angora blended in makes it absolutely heavenly! She's currently working on a sweater out of her hand spun using the angora/wool roving - it's wonderful to touch...and has a bit of the "angora halo" as well - the finished sweater will definitely be "cuddle worthy"!

Susan has more of the blended fiber, so if you'd like to purchase some of this fabulous stuff, check out Ewesful Fiber Arts - NOTE: I don't see the angora/wool blend on her website, so you may want to send her an e-mail if you're interested in purchasing some of the angora/wool blend fiber (see the "Contact" info on her website). The fiber was $25.00 for a 5 oz bag - not cheap, but definitely worth every penny! And.....as an added bonus....it comes from named sheep and named bunnies! Definitely well-loved fiber animals!

On a final note, DH found a couple of rather funny comics - a cross between the superhero comics and fiber fanatics.....check it out: Useless Mutants - first one and Useless Mutants - second one.