Hendrix

Why Yes! I am one of those crazy people who dresses her animals!

this is Hendrix, my English Angora Rabbit. He's almost 6 months old and he's a chocolate tort color. He just malted, or whatever you call it, basically his coat replaces itself every 3 months or so, so the old stuff has to come off and the new stuff comes in. His old coat just came off so he's a little on the short haired size, so I figured I'd take this opportunity to dress him up haha.
This is his "Blue Steel" face ------------------------------->


He's actually wearing an arm warmer that I bought, but was wayyyyy too big for any normal person, it was handmade I got it at a craft show. So, I turned it into a Bunny Sweater. The matching arm warmer is a Dog Sweater :)

I think he looks rather adorable.





Here he is peeking up over the back of the couch, to try and see out the window. More pics on my flickr, if you're interested :) Search Hendrix, or Angora. He also goes by "Hendrixson" which is what I call him when he's being naughty, and "Hendi-Poo" which is what I call him when he's so sickeningly cute that you just can't stand it! Which is always! Hehe.

I'm so dizzy, my head is SPINNING

My First Adventure in Hand Spun Yarn!! ----------->

For Christmas, my MIL got me a spinning wheel! Now, I know not so much about spinning. Actually, I don't even know how to knit besides on those Knifty Knitter Loom thingies. The idea is fascinating though, and back in September my MIL and I got three angora rabbits, Hendrix (mine) Cash, & Elvis (Pola's / MIL) They are all brothers and they are completely overwhelming cuteness. Their wool, which comes out naturally during mandatory grooming (if you don't groom them regularly, they'll swallow their own wool and get wool block which is fatal). Their wool is so soft and warm. It's warmer than sheep or alpaca wool, and it's about 10,000 times softer. We have built up quite a collection of angora wool since September!

Today Pola & I went to a meeting with the South Jersey Spinners Guild and everyone was incredibly helpful. One of the members and my MIL's friend, April, taught me how to work my wheel. It was a bit frustrating to learn and I don't have the best patience with things haha, but I am picking it up and I understood the basic fundamentals.

When I got home I carded some sheep wool (practicing with sheep rather than angora, April gave me a whole sheeps worth!) I carded a bunch of sheeps wool, which is basically brushing it so it all faces the same direction. Then I gave it another shot. It was easier at home because I didn't feel like I had a bunch of eyes watching me! I get way too nervous haha. So, I gave it another shot and it really started working better. I'm by no means good at it, but getting better.

So, here are some pictures of my wheel, and the wool I spun today! Not bad for a beginner!

And the Art / Craft ADD continues!!!!

Hare Brained Idea...

So my MIL, Pola - aka WebmavenNJ and I have talked for a while about having angora rabbits, and spinning their wool to make yarn. Years ago I had an angora rabbit, Commander Bun Buns, but we never spun her wool, the cafe took up a majority of our time then, whereas now, I have a lot more time to focus on art and craft, even if it's an ADD version of it sometimes, with my son Neil getting my attention hehe.
So, these bunnies happen to be hard to come by, but we did end up finding bunnies! We picked them up yesterday. Pola is keeping 2 of them, and I'm keeping one. They are three brothers, born July 8, 2008.
So - meet the bunnies. They are a musical bunch of English Angora's. First, introducing the bunny that will be staying with me:
Meet: Hendrix
Born: July 8, 2008
Buck (male)
Chocolate Tort in color
likes: This boy is a mushy little love - he loves being groomed, snuggled, and exploring on and off the leash. Loves leafy greens, oddly not into carrots - yet. He likes exploring and playing, but is also happy to sit quietly and just be pet. He engages Neil a lot when Neil looks into the cage, hopping up on the edge to see him closer, etc. He was also first to snuggle on the frozen bottle that I put in their cage when we came in from outside, he really enjoyed that!




Meet: Cash (as in Johnny)
Born: July 8, 2008
Buck (boy)
Lilac Tort in color
Likes: This is the big boy of the group. His face is in the food dish quite often, and you can tell he's got more meat on his bones than the other two. He is also the most curious, and a great escaper. He manages to compress his body, to fit through small spaces in order to see what's on the other side of barriers I set up in failed attempts to contain all three at once. Cash will be living with Pola in a few days when his cage is ready.


Meet: Elvis
born July 8, 2008
Buck (boy)
R.E.W - Ruby Eyed White
Likes: What doesn't this little cutie like? He is so docile and happy. He will lay on his back on my legs and let me groom his belly and feet! When I took them outside, he would just plop down and eat whatever grass was in front of him. He clearly enjoys green food, as upon close inspection you can see some of his lip fur is green from eatting spinach, romain, grass, etc. He is quick to clean himself up though! He also enjoys siting on the perch in the cage and looking down at his brothers. We're calling it his throne - he *is* The King afterall. He will also be living with Pola.

These little guys are sure to keep us busy. Don't mind the green in their ears, if you can see it (I think only the pic of Elvis is viewable) the green will fade - they were tattooed with their pedigree #'s in their ears before coming home to us, so the green will ware off shortly.

So, our plan is to harvest their wool as we groom them - it's not harmful at all to harvest their wool. It's actually harmful not to harvest it, as they will ingest it and get woodblock which could kill them. Their wool just brushes out, and we're saving it. Once the wool is harvested it will be cleaned, carded, and made into roving which can then be dyed and spun. Angora wool is the warmest wool available - warmer than even sheep and alpaca! It's a lot softer and less itchy than sheep and alpaca is too, which makes it very luxurious.

I'll be bringing Hendrix with me to the Kirby's Mill Flea Market on September 13 in Medford, NJ if you want to see him in person. I will be at the Beach Plum Festival on Sept 7th too - in Island Beach State Park, but it's a bit of a long drive for Hendrix, so he's staying home.

I have more fantastic news, but I'm going to save it for tomorrow :)

Abbie