Yesterday was a suddenly bunny-rific day! An upcoming show was discovered, some angora clubs were researched, and a new contact was found.
I discovered that there is a NARBC show coming up in April that is nearby where I live! I'm hoping we can make the trek to the show and learn as much as possible, especially about the fiber show, where we could submit fiber entries to be judged. We don't really have interest in showing the rabbits, so a fiber show would be a great outlet for us to get our names out in the rabbiting world. This year we intend to just check it out and see what we can learn from the exhibitors and booths. What a great opportunity to network!
Also, I researched the clubs that are sponsoring the NARBC show. I've known for awhile that we should really be joining professional rabbit associations if we want to get our names out there, and ARBA, NARBC, MAAC, and UMAC are associations on my list of clubs to check out. Unfortunately, after doing a little research yesterday I discovered that some of the websites are very outdated and don't have much useful information. They must still be in existence since they are involved in the show coming up, but there is no updated information on how to become and member and what events they are hosting. One more reminder to myself that I need to keep this blog up to date so you all know what is going on at SFF!
Finally, we got an interesting call last night. A co-worker discovered that we are raising angora rabbits and shared that she, too, raises angoras! A long chat ensued about what breed we raise (she raises Giants, while we have English), how we harvest the fleece (she shears, we pluck), what we feed, where we house them, and all sorts of other things. It was a really interesting conversation, and I hope that we can get together and build a closer relationship in the coming months. It would be great to have an experienced rabbitry so close to us that is willing to help us out with any questions we come across.
Yay for networking! I really hope that we can continue to be in touch with the co-worker, and hopefully the next time I write in here I will have more details about the show coming up. I'm thinking a road trip is in order!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Fiber for Sale and Bun Pics!
Pictures pictures pictures!! Check out our wares first:
Bags of fiber, including tort, broken tort, and black
Close up picture of the tort and broken tort angora
Close up of the black angora and the "felting fiber"
It's been awhile since you've seen the buns, so here is a picture of the broken tort doe:
A picture of the tort doe:
And finally a picture of the black buck:
We currently have broken tort (peachy brown mixed with white) and black (more of a dark grey) angora for sale for $6 an ounce, all hand-plucked from the back of the animal. We also have mixed color "felting fiber", or hand-plucked fiber from the belly, legs, and head, available for $4 an ounce. Please contact us at seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com for more information!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Waiting List Again
We've made our first sale, plus we have a waiting list again!
Last week I was able to deliver the first batch of tort fiber to a local spinner, and she sent me a lovely note along with the payment about how excited she was to spin it and that she knew she wanted more already. How wonderful!!
Once again, we are taking orders for tort (peach/brown), broken tort (tort color with white), and black (more of a dark grey) colored angora fiber. We sell the fiber in one ounce packages for $6 an ounce. We also have "felting fiber" (taken from the belly, face, and legs) that we have available for $4 an ounce. All fleece is hand-plucked from our rabbits. Feel free to comment on this post or to email me at seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com to get your name on the waiting list.
Things are going really great with the rabbits. I'm still maintaining the schedule of brushing twice a week, cleaning cages twice a week, and shredding newspaper once or twice a week. I've really gotten used to the routine, and I think the rabbits have as well. They have really changed in appearance since the first pictures I posted on here! The buck's fleece has filled out beautifully, the broken tort doe's fleece has gotten fuller, and the tort doe's fleece is nearly spent for this harvesting, meaning that her fleece has thinned out and gotten shorter. She'll be building back up before long, and she should be back in full swing in a couple months. I will try to take pictures of them this next week and get them up in the next update.
Does anyone out there have experience dyeing angora fiber? I have no experience dyeing, but I have an interest in trying it some time, so I'm curious how angora will react to dye. If you have any experience, please comment to this posting.
Last week I was able to deliver the first batch of tort fiber to a local spinner, and she sent me a lovely note along with the payment about how excited she was to spin it and that she knew she wanted more already. How wonderful!!
Once again, we are taking orders for tort (peach/brown), broken tort (tort color with white), and black (more of a dark grey) colored angora fiber. We sell the fiber in one ounce packages for $6 an ounce. We also have "felting fiber" (taken from the belly, face, and legs) that we have available for $4 an ounce. All fleece is hand-plucked from our rabbits. Feel free to comment on this post or to email me at seedorff.family.farms@gmail.com to get your name on the waiting list.
Things are going really great with the rabbits. I'm still maintaining the schedule of brushing twice a week, cleaning cages twice a week, and shredding newspaper once or twice a week. I've really gotten used to the routine, and I think the rabbits have as well. They have really changed in appearance since the first pictures I posted on here! The buck's fleece has filled out beautifully, the broken tort doe's fleece has gotten fuller, and the tort doe's fleece is nearly spent for this harvesting, meaning that her fleece has thinned out and gotten shorter. She'll be building back up before long, and she should be back in full swing in a couple months. I will try to take pictures of them this next week and get them up in the next update.
Does anyone out there have experience dyeing angora fiber? I have no experience dyeing, but I have an interest in trying it some time, so I'm curious how angora will react to dye. If you have any experience, please comment to this posting.
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