I had an hour of bunny bonding time today as I got the fuzzy little critters out and brushed them thoroughly. All three of them are doing quite well! Poor Tinkerbell threw a huge fit when I got her out of her cage. She's perfectly calm when she is already out of her cage, but she gets aggressive when I try to pick her up while she's in her cage. If you have insight into this, I'd love to hear it!
Anyway, the three of them were brushed and cuddled and then given their favorite treat, yogurt treats. Yogurt treats = happy bunnies!
Please share your stories about your rabbits! I'd love to hear stories from other angora rabbit enthusiasts! Please leave a comment below.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Friday, January 2, 2015
Traveling with the Buns
We had some excitement over the holidays! I decided to take the three rabbits "back home" with me over my winter break. Due to the nature of the rabbit cages we have (very large, stacking, and not foldable), I had to improvise travel cages. I took three cages we had laying around (similar to this), three cookie racks from a big box store (per cage), and 1 inch plastic pipe connectors for PVC pipe and started building. I assembled the cage, put a little shredded newspaper in the bottom, tied the three cookie racks together with twist ties, and set eight pipe connectors in a rectangular formation in the bedding, resting the cookie racks on top. It worked perfectly! The rabbits were happy and healthy the entire time we were gone, and even seemed to be a little less territorial, probably because they weren't in their regular cages. I had to clean the cages more often because they were smaller and things got smelly quickly, but it worked great for a short-term situation. So, remember when you want to travel with your rabbits that a small animal cage, cookie racks, and pipe connectors can rig you up a great travel set-up. :-)
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
Friday, May 2, 2014
New Pics!
All three rabbits have had their spring shearing! They are at various levels of regrowth right now.
The tort was sheared the most recently:
She's grown back just enough to make her look scruffy.
The broken tort was sheared nearly a month ago now:
She looks "lightly fluffy" right now.
The buck was sheared about two months ago:
He is adorably furry. He'll be ready to shear again in a little over a month. I'm going to have to trim up his face a bit early, however, because he's gotten it wet from his water bottle and the side of his face is starting to mat.
Here are all three together:
I love them! Aren't they cute?
I have the most beautiful fiber from all three of them. Don't you wish you could buy some?
Oh wait, you can!! :-)
seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com
The tort was sheared the most recently:
The broken tort was sheared nearly a month ago now:
The buck was sheared about two months ago:
Here are all three together:
I have the most beautiful fiber from all three of them. Don't you wish you could buy some?
Oh wait, you can!! :-)
seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Fresh fiber, anyone?
Today my mother was visiting and we were able to shear the broken tort. It was about time! Now we need to get to the other doe. She looks like a puff ball right now!
My mother also took a large amount of the raw fiber from previous shearings home with her. She plans to card them using our Louet Junior drum carder and create some nice batts. She also took home several bags of alpaca fiber that our friend/business partner gave to us last fall so she can get those carded up. We might card some alpaca/angora-mix batts! They should be soft, warm, and wonderful.
I recently made a beautiful cowl from a merino/silk blend of yarn that has a bit of a halo to it, and I thought, "I bet this pattern would look beautiful made from angora! The pattern is called Lava Flow Cowl by Laura J Bellows. Here is my merino/silk version:
I can't wait to get some of the black angora spun up and transformed into this beautiful cowl!
So, things to do this month:
1. Shear the tort doe.
2. Card up some angora and angora/alpaca batts.
3. Get those batts spun up and start making beautiful things!
Want some raw angora to card or spin straight from the lock? Want some angora or angora/alpaca batts? Want some angora or angora-blend yarn? Maybe you even want to request a special project made from the yarn? Let us know! Email us at seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com or you can always comment on our blog!
My mother also took a large amount of the raw fiber from previous shearings home with her. She plans to card them using our Louet Junior drum carder and create some nice batts. She also took home several bags of alpaca fiber that our friend/business partner gave to us last fall so she can get those carded up. We might card some alpaca/angora-mix batts! They should be soft, warm, and wonderful.
I recently made a beautiful cowl from a merino/silk blend of yarn that has a bit of a halo to it, and I thought, "I bet this pattern would look beautiful made from angora! The pattern is called Lava Flow Cowl by Laura J Bellows. Here is my merino/silk version:
So, things to do this month:
1. Shear the tort doe.
2. Card up some angora and angora/alpaca batts.
3. Get those batts spun up and start making beautiful things!
Want some raw angora to card or spin straight from the lock? Want some angora or angora/alpaca batts? Want some angora or angora-blend yarn? Maybe you even want to request a special project made from the yarn? Let us know! Email us at seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com or you can always comment on our blog!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
New Blog!
I've started a new blog! I plan to still write in this one when we have specific Angora news, but I've started the blog FuzzyDorff Creations to showcase the myriad crafts in which I like to dabble. Come on over and check it out!
While I'm here, the "buns" (as I like to call them) are doing well. I just trimmed the black buck a few weeks ago so I have another pile of blue/black fluff! Let us know if you'd like some: $6 per ounce, which is a sandwich baggie stuffed full of the softest, warmest fiber you could want.
Send me a comment! Want to see new pictures of the rabbits? Pictures of the fluff? Want a specific yarn that we can spin up for you? Let me know! We'd be happy to oblige.
While I'm here, the "buns" (as I like to call them) are doing well. I just trimmed the black buck a few weeks ago so I have another pile of blue/black fluff! Let us know if you'd like some: $6 per ounce, which is a sandwich baggie stuffed full of the softest, warmest fiber you could want.
Send me a comment! Want to see new pictures of the rabbits? Pictures of the fluff? Want a specific yarn that we can spin up for you? Let me know! We'd be happy to oblige.
Friday, October 25, 2013
I'm Terrible at Writing Posts
I'm sorry I've been silent so long!
Life is just so busy when you're trying to supplement a living with fiber and working another full-time job on top of that!
Updates:
The rabbits are all well. We've started to shear them rather than pluck them, because we discovered that they were getting more coarse guard hairs. Since we started shearing them they have been less day-to-day work (less brushing) and the product has been softer.
We obtained a large amount of free(!) alpaca fiber recently, and we have been busily processing it into batts. We plan to blend some of the batts with angora. We also might blend the alpaca with some cashmere I got at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool this year.
We're busily spinning away! In the last month I have employed my wheel, my heavy low-whorl spindle, and my teeny high whorl spindle. I ended up with a beautiful bulky thick-and-thin wool/bamboo blend from the wheel, a thick and rugged Lincoln/fabric strip art yarn from the low-whorl, and a sportweight and super-sleek silk yarn.
I've been working on knitting a scarf out of my handspun llama. It's so exciting to be working with my own handspun!
We're always learning new techniques. We've been delving into needle felting and nålbinding this fall. I really enjoy nålbinding with fabric strips for trivets and rugs. I hope to learn to do it with yarn for mittens and hats as well.
The website is slow-going. A friend is making it for us and she leads a very busy life, so we're patiently awaiting the day when you can find our products online! If you're interested in angora fiber or yarn, please let me know by emailing us at:
seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com
We hope you are all busily crafting away at whatever fiber art you choose. We are currently employed with Christmas knitting. Only 8 more shopping weekends until Christmas! If you are of the Christmas-crafting persuasion, I hope you aren't as far behind as I am. :-)
Life is just so busy when you're trying to supplement a living with fiber and working another full-time job on top of that!
Updates:
The rabbits are all well. We've started to shear them rather than pluck them, because we discovered that they were getting more coarse guard hairs. Since we started shearing them they have been less day-to-day work (less brushing) and the product has been softer.
We obtained a large amount of free(!) alpaca fiber recently, and we have been busily processing it into batts. We plan to blend some of the batts with angora. We also might blend the alpaca with some cashmere I got at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool this year.
We're busily spinning away! In the last month I have employed my wheel, my heavy low-whorl spindle, and my teeny high whorl spindle. I ended up with a beautiful bulky thick-and-thin wool/bamboo blend from the wheel, a thick and rugged Lincoln/fabric strip art yarn from the low-whorl, and a sportweight and super-sleek silk yarn.
I've been working on knitting a scarf out of my handspun llama. It's so exciting to be working with my own handspun!
We're always learning new techniques. We've been delving into needle felting and nålbinding this fall. I really enjoy nålbinding with fabric strips for trivets and rugs. I hope to learn to do it with yarn for mittens and hats as well.
The website is slow-going. A friend is making it for us and she leads a very busy life, so we're patiently awaiting the day when you can find our products online! If you're interested in angora fiber or yarn, please let me know by emailing us at:
seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com
We hope you are all busily crafting away at whatever fiber art you choose. We are currently employed with Christmas knitting. Only 8 more shopping weekends until Christmas! If you are of the Christmas-crafting persuasion, I hope you aren't as far behind as I am. :-)
Saturday, October 13, 2012
The Trouble With Being Too Busy
Oh, how real life interferes with fibery pursuits!
Here are some updates with Seedorff Family Farms:
Website: We have a professional website in the works that will have pictures and information about the products that we have for sale. We will soon be opening an Etsy site that will be linked to our website where we will be selling raw angora fiber, hand-carded angora and angora-mix batts, angora and angora-mix yarns, and handmade stitch markers. We also hope to carry handmade shawl pins and angora hand-knits in the future.
WI S&W: Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival was a blast this year! I really enjoyed my two classes. Beginning spinning taught me both what I was already doing great and where I was failing. I discovered that the reason my yarn wasn't as lofty and soft as I wanted was because of the draft I was using. I had been spinning with a short forward draw and smoothing the yarn with my non-fiber hand. During my class I learned to spin with a short backward draw, and later in the day my teacher said I was doing so well that she taught me long draw. Here's the yarn that I made:
It's 100 yards of wool (lighter color spun with a short backward draw, darker color with a long draw) and it measures at 7 wraps per inch (bulky weight).
In my handcarding class I learned how to card beautiful rolags. We started with wool and then progressed to mohair, cashmere, silk, and even cotton! I really enjoyed carding the cotton punis (small rolags rolled on sticks). Here's a picture of what I did during class:
While at the Festival I also made some fabulous purchases, including a teensy drop spindle (to use with my angora) and a tahkli spindle so I can spin more cotton (although my "excuse" was to try it with angora, too). I actually used both of those spindles to spin the rolags above into an interesting yarn:
Spinning Wheel: I have been using my pretty new spinning wheel! I spun the yarn from my Beginning Spinning class you can see in the first picture above, as well as a skein of angora that I mentioned in my last post. Here's a pic:
I ended up with just over 100 yards at 9 wraps per inch (worsted weight). I've also just started spinning some llama fiber that a family friend gave to me. I'm planning to use it to weave a scarf to give to her as a gift, so I'm currently spinning a singles that is about laceweight to fingering weight with a short forward draw. I'll be finishing it with a two-ply. I'm not sure if I'll have enough for an entire scarf, but I think if I can't stretch the yarn far enough I'll use some border leicester fiber I have laying around for weft.
That's it for updates right now. Hopefully I'll be linking you to our website or our Etsy site next time I update! Don't forget, we have angora fiber for sale! Email us for details: seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com
Here are some updates with Seedorff Family Farms:
Website: We have a professional website in the works that will have pictures and information about the products that we have for sale. We will soon be opening an Etsy site that will be linked to our website where we will be selling raw angora fiber, hand-carded angora and angora-mix batts, angora and angora-mix yarns, and handmade stitch markers. We also hope to carry handmade shawl pins and angora hand-knits in the future.
WI S&W: Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival was a blast this year! I really enjoyed my two classes. Beginning spinning taught me both what I was already doing great and where I was failing. I discovered that the reason my yarn wasn't as lofty and soft as I wanted was because of the draft I was using. I had been spinning with a short forward draw and smoothing the yarn with my non-fiber hand. During my class I learned to spin with a short backward draw, and later in the day my teacher said I was doing so well that she taught me long draw. Here's the yarn that I made:
In my handcarding class I learned how to card beautiful rolags. We started with wool and then progressed to mohair, cashmere, silk, and even cotton! I really enjoyed carding the cotton punis (small rolags rolled on sticks). Here's a picture of what I did during class:
Spinning Wheel: I have been using my pretty new spinning wheel! I spun the yarn from my Beginning Spinning class you can see in the first picture above, as well as a skein of angora that I mentioned in my last post. Here's a pic:
I ended up with just over 100 yards at 9 wraps per inch (worsted weight). I've also just started spinning some llama fiber that a family friend gave to me. I'm planning to use it to weave a scarf to give to her as a gift, so I'm currently spinning a singles that is about laceweight to fingering weight with a short forward draw. I'll be finishing it with a two-ply. I'm not sure if I'll have enough for an entire scarf, but I think if I can't stretch the yarn far enough I'll use some border leicester fiber I have laying around for weft.
That's it for updates right now. Hopefully I'll be linking you to our website or our Etsy site next time I update! Don't forget, we have angora fiber for sale! Email us for details: seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com
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