Wild and woolly

Even the sheep are putting their wet gear on …

The weather is becoming a bit wild and woolly here...which means the fire will definitely have to be lit to warm the house and make the drying of all the fibres and yarns easier and...quicker.

This week has been all about catching up….or should I say TRYING to catch up! … 

I have done all the April club fibre preparation, the fibre blending and organizing for updates and also busy dyeing all the custom orders. 

Every day I spend hours in the dye room and carding. I am starting to get a bit panicky though because in about a months time (if all goes to plan ! Fingers crossed !) there will be the first big show coming up at the Handknitters guild show at the Coburg Town hall on May 14th and 15th ! More about all the details about that closer to the date.

So, I need to get a LOT more yarns dyed! I have already spun heaps and heaps of angora bunny yarns, guanaco yarns, vampire deer and also wallaby yarns, but now the dyeing more and the new IxCHeL sock weight yarns (4ply, all processed and spun here in Victoria!) and our own organic GAIA 8 ply/DK yarns will have to start soon, well, I mean NOW…well, after all the April Clubs are done !! I have to say, I am excited , nervous and panicked at the same time ...LOL

This week I have a fab blend for you on offer : 

A Ouessant/Blue Faced Leicester/Mulberry Silk blend that is so smoochy and soft and fluffy you have to try it ! The different colours in all the fleeces blended together made a gorgeous base to dye on and resulted in amazing tonal values of the dyed tops. 

I love dyeing tops that have different coloured fleeces in them: it is magical ! 

 Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions or want to order okay? Always happy to enable. All my contact details are to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry.

 Have fun !!!

 
Located 12 miles off the French coast in the Sea of Iroise, the island of Ouessant (or Ushant in English) is the original homeland of Ouessant Sheep. 

 Ouessant sheep are the most primitive of the native French breeds. For centuries, they were raised in isolation on the island where they played an integral part of the self-sufficient closed economy, providing both wool and meat. By the end of the 18th century there were over 6,000 sheep on the island of Ouessant. But economic improvements along with a move toward modernization at the beginning of the 19th century radically changed the future prospects of this small primitive breed. ortunately, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, a number of wealthy families imported small numbers of traditional Ouessant sheep to the French mainland to graze the lands around their estates. 

Ultimately, this seemingly insignificant event insured the survival of the breed. Today, Ouessant sheep are sought after both as companion animals and as “environmentally-friendly lawn mowers”. 

They have also gained a certain amount of popularity in several different European countries : Most notably Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. 

A member of the Northern European Short-Tailed breeds, Ouessant sheep are distant cousins of the Shetland and Icelandic breeds. The two most distinctive features of Ouessant sheep are their size and their color. 

Considered by many to be the smallest breed of sheep in the world, adult ewes measure less than 18″ (46cm) at the shoulders and rams are under 20″ (50cm). 

Additionally, Ouessant sheep come in a number of different colors : Including black, white, brown, and grey. It is true that the small size of Ouessant sheep contributes to the breed’s characteristic charm and appeal. However, their diminutive size also means that the breed is not commercially viable in the modern world of agricultural production. In fact, one of the primary objectives for breeding Ouessant sheep today is the preservation and conservation of the rare genetic resources that are found in the breed. 

Despite their small size, these charming little sheep produce a particularly beautiful and versatile wool. Ouessant sheep have a distinctive double-coated fleece with an average fiber diameter of 25 microns and, on average, fleeces weigh approximately 750 grams (1.5 lbs.). It is important to keep in mind that Ouessant sheep are an unimproved breed, which means that from one sheep to another there is less standardization and more variability in wool type and quality than one would normally find in modern improved breeds. 

For the handspinner, this variation presents a unique opportunity : From one small flock of Ouessant sheep it is possible to produce wool that can be used for a wide variety of projects, ranging from lace shawls to hats, cardigans, and even rugs. 

 I have taken great care to only select the finest of the Ouessant fibre and blending that with the shiny Blue faced Leicester to create a beautiful heathered effect when dyed.

Ouesssant sheep /Blue Faced Leicester Sheep/Mulberry silk Tops

AU$26             100grams

Wild Forest   SOLD

Cosmic Wave     2 left

Gothic Velvet      sold

Ghost Town   SOLD

Dragonfly in Amber   SOLD

Night Sky (Dyed with home grown Japanese Indigo)   SOLD

Girl Power  SOLD

Lost     SOLD

To order: email or message me on facebook or Instagram, quoting the colourway and the quantity you would like, together with your postal address and I will get right back to you with all the payment details.

IxCHeL Tweed Yarn  

Hand dyed

Super soft lambs wool 70% and Kid Mohair 30%

Spun singles, fingering or sock weight yarn

+/- 200meters/218yards

50grams      1.76oz

AU$18

Botanical dyes 

(dyed with Eucalypt, Madder root, Walnut, Elderberry, Indigo,Acorn)

Indigo

Jewels

NEW NEW NEW NEW colours !!! 

 IxCHeL Tweed Yarn 

Super soft lambs wool 70% and Kid Mohair 30%

Spun singles, fingering or sock weight yarn

+/- 200meters/218yards

50grams      1.76oz

AU$16

Nephrite Jade 

 (A beautiful deep sage green colour with fun blue, lime and salmon speckles)

Grevillea + new ! 

 A vibrant raspberry pink tweed with deep purple, lime and soft pink speckles)

To order: email or message me on facebook, Ravelry or Instagram, quoting the colourway and the quantity you would like, together with your postal address and I will get right back to you with all the payment details.

IxCHeL Tweed fingering weight yarn

Super soft lambs wool 70% and Kid Mohair 30%

Spun singles, fingering or sock weight yarn

+/- 200meters/218yards

50grams      1.76oz

AU$16

Great Barrier Reef

Leafy Seadragon

Flying Fox

Airlie Beach

Sea Mist

Amethyst

Wattle
(A beautiful sunshine yellow that goes so well with the kookaburra the silver grey)

Kata Tjuta           BACK IN STOCK !!!
(an intense pure red that goes well with the Kookaburra and the Wattle and the Amethyst colourway and soooooo  many others)

Kookaburra
(a beautiful silver grey with ochre accents that complement the dingo colourway)

Dingo
( A beautiful warm honey ochre with pops of royal bluebell, kingfisher and kangaroo paw)

Dusky Grevillea
(a gorgeous raspberry base with pops of royal bluebell, flowering gum, grey and daintree)

Flowering Gum
( a gorgeous medieval warm red with bright red, kookaburra and fern forest accents)

Fern Forest
( a deep forest green with accents of bright red, dusky purple and daintree) )

Jacarandah 
( a fabulous deep purple with accents of royal bluebell, daintree, grevillea and kingfisher )

Wombat
( a fabulous deep walnut brown with accents of dingo and kookaburra)

Kangaroo Paw 
( a fabulous warm orange with accents of fern forest, royal bluebell and grevillea and dingo )

isn’t it gorgeous how the Kangaroo paw knits up?! )

Royal Bluebell 
( a deep blue with accents of flowering gum, kookaburra and fern forest )

Wallaby
( a warm light brown with accents of soft blue and kookaburra)

Daintree ( a soft green with accents of fern forest and dingo)

Kingfisher 
( a fabulous Turquoise blue with accents of fern forest, kangaroo paw, Jacaranda and Grevillea)

Landscape dyes

 100g tubs   AU$12
250 g tubs AU$27

Want to dye your own with easy to use acid dyes? I have been selling these Landscape dyes at my workshops and shows for a long time :  They are extremely easy to use and come in great shades.

Just contact me with the name of the colour you are after and I will get right back to you.

All my contact details are here:

Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? Always happy to enable. All my contact details are to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry. 
Have a fun weekend !!!

How To Order:

1. You can email me on ixchelbunnyart at gmail dot com  or ixchelbunny at yahoo dot com dot au
2. Message me on facebook or 
3. Message me on www.ravelry.com  where I am ixchelbunny.
4. message me on Instagram where I am @ixchelbunny

I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods.

Any questions? Any custom orders for yarn or dyeing fibre? : Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

Keep your eyes out for any news on the 

ixchelbunny Instagram feed and the IxCHeL facebook page!!

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly