Red Dust, Waterfalls and other phenomena

It's been a while since I blogged. tweeted or been on the www. I am very sorry for keeping you waiting so long. Cause: unwilling internet connections combined with a computer having tantric fits and ofcourse the ever present power failures that accompany the rainstorms and the high winds we have been having here in the hills. All is well though ...at the moment, fingers crossed...and I will do my utmost to deliver a super huge update on recent events, upcoming events and , ofcourse, a HUGE enormous NEW fibre and yarn update !

My internet connection and other dramas kind of disappear in the recent Red Dust storm Sydney and Queensland has had. It was almost like being on Mars! Here in the hills there was no dust whatsoever probably because it has not stopped bucketing down. Apparently red Dust doesn't go that well with terrential rainfall (we even had a mini waterfall going in the carport yesterday! What was that again about Global Warming? eh....)

I just have to tell you that I have a new "toy" (that doesn't need electrical power! yeah!) a Petlyn Picker (for more info or to order go to http://www.petlyn.com.au/. The Picker is a medieval dangerous looking gorgeous piece of machinery that will transform any fleece into easy to card or spin fibre! You can either spin it as it comes out of the picker (I do that with my Angora goat fleeces or my Suri fleeces so the curls stay a bit in tact so it can become a very funky curly yarn!) or you use the Picker to make it easier to drum card it all into a fluffy funky batt ! It also makes an awesome Salad! lol,,naah just kidding....:-) Here are some photos and as you can see:

beware of the teeth!

Petlyn Picker

Now I hear you all thinking: "where is the on line shop? where is www.ixchel.com.au?" well? well...eh...I know it is not fair letting you wait so long but this time it is really not far off to being propelled into the ether! Really! I am working on it and it will be soon ! promise (holding fingers crossed behind back....;-) )

Bunny News

All the bunnies are happily hopping along although we did have to separate some of the boys from the fold because they were getting a bit too eh..frisky...lol. Mum Topping now shares the big Studio nursery enclosure with Skye, Kabookie, Ookie and last but not least Elvis (more about Elvis later..lol). Mandie (from EGMTK) and Georgia came over for a visit last week and adopted Wookie, who now is on his way to become the worlds best educated Angora (he is being read bed time stories as I have been told) and according to Mandie he is the most gorgeous angora bunny in the whole world :) Georgia came up with a name for the only bunny without a name: Elvis. And I can tell you this: the name is very appropriate! He has the most amazing floppy hairdo and most of all: he is the most talkative bunny I have ever had! I swear he says "a-huh" lots and lots and I am just waiting to see the first "hip wiggle" and then I know for sure: Elvis is Back :)

Ixchelbunny Club info !

I am very excited to announce that there are now THREE Ixchel clubs that can help you get your fibre and yarn fix! Here is all the info:

The Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB!

What is the deal? hmmm it is sooo good and fun and sockaliscious you just will HAVE to join :) Here are the details:

Every month for three months you will receive: enough hand dyed luscious yummy yarn to make a pair of socks; (the hand dyed yarn will be exclusive for the Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB and will range from a sockweight yarn or a 3ply or a 4 ply); some yummy extras to make your socks extra sockaliscious :) some very nice tea or coffee blends to make your sock knitting even more yummy :) and last but not least: Every month a new sock pattern, tips and instructions !

Now is that GOOD or is that GOOD ??! :)

I will even offer a double serve for those of you who like their socks long :)

Here is the nitty gritty:

For Australia : single serve $78+$13.05 postage (parcel post) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +$17

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$78+AU$28 (Airmail) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$47

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$78+AU$33 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$56.10

For Asia: Single serve AU$78+AU$26 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$39

Numbers are strictly limited ! Deadline for signing up for the Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB! is October 10! And the first installment is going to be shipped out in the last week of October, last week of November and the start of December so you can have your sock club yarn in your Xmas stocking :) Payment via direct deposit or credit card.

By the way: you don’t HAVE to knit socks if you don’t want to.. the hand dyed yarn is amazingly nice for scarves, cowls, beanies and even tops ! Anything goes :)

The Ixchel Fibre Club#3

The subscription is for a period of three months (October, November, December!) and you will receive one special hand dyed top/roving per month to the value of AU$20 !All the tops will be hand dyed and will be especially made for the members of Ixchel Fibre Club ! Every month you will receive a surprise blend of hand dyed tops and an extra surprise ! Sign up now and you will receive an Ixchel Hand dyed special top in October, November and December! Price to join the Ixchel Fibre Club #3 and receive your special hand dyed top + surprise :)) for three months is AU$60 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND double and triple serves are available !!!

So in short:

For Australia : single serve $60+$13.05 postage (parcel post) double serve $105+$17 triple serve $155+$17

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$60+AU$28 (Airmail) double serve AU$105+AU$47 triple serve AU$155+AU$47

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$60+AU$33 (airmail) Double serve AU$105+AU$56.10 triple serve AU$155+AU$56.10

For Asia: Single serve AU$60+AU$26 (airmail) Double serve AU$105+AU$39 triple serve AU$155+AU$39

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #3 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! Deadline for signing up for fibre club #3 is September 30! And the first installment is going to be shipped out in the second week of October :) Payment via direct deposit or credit card.

The Ixchel Funky Bunny Batt Club#3

The subscription is for a period of three months (October, November, December!) and you will receive one special hand dyed top/roving per month to the value of AU$32 . The batts will range in weight from 100grams to 150/160grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even buffalo and wolf ! is on the cards for the next funky bunny club!! ) All the batts will be hand dyed and will be especially made for the members of Ixchel funky bunny Club ! Every month you will receive a HUGE luxury funky bunny batt and an extra surprise !

Sign up now and you will receive an Ixchel Hand dyed , super luxurious funky bunny batt in October, November and December! Price to join the Ixchel Funky bunny #3 :)) for three months is AU$96 + postage (parcel post or airmail).

So in short:

For Australia : $96+$13.05 postage (parcel post)

For USA + Canada: AU$96+AU$28 (Airmail)

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$96+AU$33 (airmail)

For Asia: AU$96+AU$26 (airmail)

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FUNKY BUNNY Batt CLUB#3 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! Deadline for signing up for the funky bunny batt club #3 is September 30! And the first installment is going to be shipped out in the second week of October :)

NEW YARN UPDATE

Hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester Bunny 4 ply sockweight yarn (300-340m/100g, 90-100g/AU$26)

Gridlock sold

Angels (sold)

Turn Left (SOLD)

Paradox (sold)

NEW FIBRE UPDATE

Hand dyed Blue faced Leicester Bunny (95/5) tops, 100grams/AU$20

Face of Bo (sold)

Sontaren Strategem (sold)

Yana sold

Hand dyed organic Angorino (17micron merino/angora bunny, 95/5) 150+grams/AU$22

the Doctor (Sold)

Judoon sold

Dalek sold

the Master sold

Tardis sold

Blink sold

Utopia (Sold)

the Globe sold

the Ood (SOLD)

Adipose Nursery sold

Hope you enjoyed looking at what is on offer :) Please contact me anytime if you want to get more information or to order. Just email me ixchel@rabbit.com or pm at http://www.ravelry.com/ where I am ixchelbunny :) While you are there : have a look at my group there as well. Everybody is welcome!

I will leave you with same photos of Elvis..a-huh :-)

Elvis has the most amazing hair-do ! and a wiggle ...lol

Elvis is back :) a-huh

Kabookie after a tumble in the hay ...

Oh , just in case somebody is wondering where the names for the yarns and tops come from this week....have a guess..lol.. and win yourself a surprise gift posted with your order !

A Fibre Fun Filled week & Linguistic Linguini!

This week has been FUN! Sunday at the Arts centre market was FUN as always and then there was the Pascoe Vale Spin into Spring event on Tuesday which was an amazingly FUN day! I did lots of talknig, spindle spinning and ofcourse letting people cuddle my fibres. Everytime I heard someone holding a camelbunny or camelbunny and silk top sigh "aaaaaah!" or "ooooh wow!" I just had to smile. I did tell them it was very addictive but they wouldn't let the tops go and kept cuddling them. Every camelbunny top found a new fibre home to go :) I saw so many friends and ate an amazing array of fabulous homebaked treats..hmmm yum! Please put it on your calendar for next year, let the Pascoe Vale spinners know that you are going to be there because I tell ya: it is defenitely THE Spring event of the year ! fun, fun, FUN! It was also the launch of my new blend : an Angorino Deluxe! A 50/50 blend of 17micron merino with angora bunny: fingerspinning good! But more on that yumminess later coz you can adopt some hand dyed Angorino Deluxe today ! Yeah!

Yesterday I had a great time meeting Chantelle, Tim and their gorgeous daughter Abbie who drove all the way from Brisbane to see bunnies and fibre (well, not just to see bunnies but they made a huge effort to put our little fibre farm on their itenerary) and we had a blast!!!! (Chantelle: I am still dreaming about your Majacraft wheel ..lol..I am tempted! :P ).

Jazz our bunnydog was so excited seeing everybody, that as soon as we started talking -in our excited fibre mode- she wanted to join in and started talking as well ! she is a hilarious talkative dog :P There was lots of fibre and bunny cuddling I can tell you that :P in short: it was FUN!!!

By the way: I made myself a big promise: I will stop saying to myself "There is not enough time", "I HAVE TO do this, HAVE TO do that and that and that". Thinking that way will only make you stress out and REALLY have no time whatsoever. Time is relative they say, so I will make a huge effort and change the way I think about time linguistically..no saying "I have to.." NO! I am starting today saying: HAVING fun, DOING this now and that later, all in GOOD TIME ...and you know what? it really really helps! It feels like I have more time now than before! Amazing isn't it? .......Perception and Reality bound together with a linguistic linguini..okay..okay..and lots of fibre fun !

Here comes your fibre fun now :Angorino Deluxe and some yummy Cashmerino laceweight yarn !

Angorino Deluxe

(50/50 blend of 17micron merino and angora bunny, 50grams/AU$19)

Vivaldi

Boccherini

Haydn

Toscanini

Saint Saens

Cashmerino laceweight yarn

(50+grams/AU$18, 550meters per 50grams!)

Rembrandt

Plum deep

Contact me by email or pm me (ixchelbunny) on http://www.ravelry.com/ if you would like to cuddle and adopt these fibres.

Have a FUN week! and hey, I may see you at the Arts Centre market Melbourne on Sunday :)

I leave you with an overload of bunny cuteness :P Hugs, Charly

Babe doing a big stretch to get that last yummy green bit

Kabookie, the cute chocolate angora

Tunnel hopping

(more cute bunny photos on www.flickr.com/photos/ixchelbunny)

Spring, spin and Hop

Wookie

Skye

Spring is in the air...I know because the trees are showing off their blossom and pretty flowers (see photos on www.flickr.com/photos/ixchelbunny) and the bunnies are happily hopping around..well...as always..lol.

The colours that spring into my mind (pardon the pun) are different too. Mind you it is still cold and wet and we still have the woodfire on but somehow the colours that my brain comes up with are well...."springy".

This year time did not just SLIP through my fingers, the floodgates of time seemed to have fully opened and in the blink of an eye, more than half the year is gone! Amazing. Well you know what they say, time flies when you are having fun ! :) and yes, I know, I know, I KNOW! my website is coming soon!! I guess it is becoming a joke to say it, because I have been promising it for two years now with the latest deadline I set myself (AUGUST09 ) having just rushed by and it is already September!

At times like these I would really like to have a time machine and just stop the world so I can finally get the shop up and running...and then I guess, there will be something else..lol. Like Douglas Adams once said:"I like the sound of deadlines as they come whooshing past"...lol..unfortunately MY deadline has whooshed by so many times now it is not funny. I remember when I sat through my last exam at Uni and thought well, that is it! I will never have this "exam feeling again".

All that is left for me to do here is to quote an extensive passage from one of the "top observers of human behaviourisms, master of Dance and Words" Stephen Fry, that so sums up what I feel about deadlines:

"I have a ten-ton deadline hanging over me suspended by a single human hair. If I don’t stay and stare at my screen all day every day until I have bled out a screenplay (read in my case: on line shop...lol ) I will have my nipples torn from me like medals from the tunic of a disgraced officer and Shame will know me for her own."

Oh Ouch..so without further delay: here is the BLOG update and then..really.....REALLY!!.... I will start staring at my screen, typing HTML codes and uploading fluffy stuff and fluffy Info to my on line shop (for future reference I will mention its name ..again: www.ixchel.com.au. )

Have fun fun stalking !

Hand dyed Camelbunny Silk Tops 50grams/AU$19

Shimmer

Forget-me nots

Clown

Springflower

Rainforest magic

Blue Berries

Uluru

Tulips

Velvet shimmer

Another Rembrandt

Pelican

Hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester Bunny Sock weight yarn

(90-100grams/AU$26, meterage +/- 300-315meters/100grams)

Groovy

Woodstock

Pollock

Sunspots