the Secret Blanket of Love

Don't you just love secrets? Especially when you have no idea whatsoever that anybody is hiding something BIG from you!

Last friday when I was setting up at the insubordiknit workshop (that Mandie EGMTK was organising with the funky JC Boggs), Tara -fiestywench- and Ali -Wooliewombat- , had me totally flabbergastidly fooled...or should I say :I was totally BLOWN AWAY!

On the friday of the workshop I was very busy setting up shop and getting everything ready and there were Ali and Tara on the other side of the table looking at me sternly…Then Tara fiestywench said to me “Come over here Charly!” in a very serious voice and not a smile on her face! I thought “Oh my God! have I done something wrong?” …lol and then she gave me this pink bag filled with a huge amount of cards and the Blanket of Love ! it was truly amazing !!!! yeah yeah ...ofcourse I cried! (happy tears) and I was totally lost for words :)

It Seems that when I "came out and told my friends at RV that I had been diagnosed with uterine cancer and had to have surgery and what have you, Diana -Chewiedox- sent Tara a PM wondering if they could organise something to show me I was loved and to aid my recovery a little. Everyone in the group at the time was PM’ed with what they were trying to do, and not long after, the squares started pouring in from all around the world, for my big blanket of love. In the end this beautiful blanket of many colours and much love poured into it from all of you, contains 100 squares.

The blanket itself measures 6 foot by 6 foot ! and Tara and Ali must have spent a LOT of time seaming all the squares together coz it is massive! Not to mention Susan -catsmum- who edged the blanket with gorgeous crochet ! in under 24 hours as I was told !

The blanket of Love came at a very good time: it was the first time since my op that I was out there involved in such a BIG thing like a workshop and surrounded by heaps and heaps of fibrefanatics but also lots of mums and an extremely pregnant JC :). I had a very hard time coping every now and again, especially when there were numerous talks going on about babies, pregnancies and breastfeeding and being asked if I had any kids. I guess it was a harsh reality hitting me as a childless person after cancer and I admit that the recovery after the operation and everything after that to treat the uterine cancer has taken some of my energy, so it was all very emotional. Every time it was getting too much for me I retreated to my shared cabin and held the blanket of Love and read your notes. It transformed the tears of Pain, Sadness and Loss into Tears of Joy, Love and Healing. All of you you have thought of me, given your time and your love to make this blanket : you have done more to help me heal than you will ever know! Thank you from the bottom of my heart !!!!

Here are some photos (thanks to Tara for the gorgeous photos of the blanket of Love) :

yes that is the new me

with a new haircut and splashes of

RED, Purple and orange in my hair :) wrapped in Love :)

It is friday and as usual I am late like th e white rabbit holding the watch in Alice in Wonderland...:)...

I did do some dyeing again after the workshop last weekend so, for all of you waiting to get their hands on some more fluffy stuff: here is this weeks fibre fun! Inspiration for the names was launched by the question : words that start with a Q! and yes, they all exist .(check http://www.phrontistery.info/ for lists of unusual words) ..:)

Hand dyed Organic Angorino

(95%merino 18micron, 5% angora) 150g AU$22

Quadrupedibus (he who stamps with 4 feet...) -sold-

Quidditch (you know from Harry Potter..) -sold-

Quicksilver (old name for Mercury)

Quiddity (Eccentricity)

Quokka (short tailed Wallaby) -only 2 left-

Quol (cat like Australian marsupial)

Quoz (absurd person or thing..

**making mental note to use this word more often!!) -SOLD-

Hand dyed pure angora fibre with glitz and angelina fibres

25grams AU$10

Green Wizard

Blue Moon

Bushland Glitter

Purple Haze

Heather Shine

Raspberry Party

Orange Crush

Just email me ixchel@rabbit.com.au or PM me on http://www.ravelry.com/ if you would like to give these fibres a good fibre loving home :)

Have a wonderful week and don't forget to contact me if you want to become a member of the fibre club, sock club or batt club (see info on last weeks update) spots are filling very quickly ! Email me if you do not wish to miss out on any fibre surprises sent to you every month :)

((hugs)) Charly

PS-yes yes :) I am still working on getting the on line shop/website http://www.ixchel.com.au/ up and running.......:-)

workshops, Bunny Spin ins & Ixchel Club Sign ups!

O-oh did she really get a hot chilli hairdo? aaaagh!

I am packing the car full of fibre, my wheel and other instruments up to go to the insubordiknit workshop market this afternoon and there are still lots of batts waiting to be made :) Last minute things that I should have done ages ago if it wasn't for the fact that ages ago I had other last minute things ....lol...How I wish I had a time machine...:) I did take some tome out yesterday to go to the hairdresser! I had to ! Mind you for me it is a BIG thing since I do not go to get my hair cut at all ! but now after all the trauma of the last few months and being in recovery from cancer, my thyroid decided it had enough and went on a holiday. Making my hair fall out and brittle among other things so, I decided if the hair wants to go, it might as well go with a bang! So, here I am sitting at the computer with purple haze, hot chilli and orange twist colours in my hair and a medium length cut with a side fringe. no, no pics yet...later...promise.Or, if you do want tto see my hot chilli head please visit me at the insubordiknit market tonight at 7pm :) Here's more infor about it all :)

The Insubordiknit Fibre Market

Friday , March 19th, there is a fabulous Mini Fibre Market and get together. The Insubordiknit Workshop that Mandie EGMTK is organising runs from friday march 19th til Sunday 21st at the Mt Morton Conference Centre in Belgrave in the gorgeous Dandenongs.

Jacey Boggs who is responsible for the wonderful Sit and Spin DVD will be showing all of the workshop participants on Saturday and Sunday what beehives and coils and lots more are all about !

There is a fabulous Fibre Market on the friday as well open for all fibre fans! The doors open at 7pm ,so if you want to see what it is all about, meet some fibre nuts like us and you can also cuddle and adopt some luscious fibre: Please come and visit ! it will be worth the beautiful trip :)

What’s on offer? Well apart from briging lots of bunny fibre , felted bunny bits that do great in funky art spinning, I will also have kid mohair hand dyed luscious locks, Yak, English Leicester, lots of funky bunny batts and heaps of tops ofcourse (yes yes, silk, camelbunny and yakety camel will be there as well :) ) etc etc !! oh and some new stuff like fine threads variegated! and single coloured as well on balls to ply with !!! at awesome prices ! did I mention YARNS? no??? well, they will be there too:)

Here’s the address: Fairmont Ave, Belgrave Heights. 3160 melway ref 84d3 Hope to see you there !!!!!!

Ixchel Fibre Club

The subscription is for a period of three months (April, May and June 2010) 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 April , May and June!

Price to join the **Ixchel Fibre Club #5** 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+$13.95 postage (parcel post)
double serve $120+$17
triple serve $155+$17

For USA + Canada:
single serve AU$60+AU$28 (Airmail)
double serve AU$120+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$120+AU$56.10
triple serve AU$155+AU$56.10

For Asia:
Single serve AU$60+AU$26 (airmail)
Double serve AU$120+AU$39
triple serve AU$155+AU$39

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #5 now. **Numbers are strictly limited** ! Deadline for signing up for fibre club #5 is April8 ! And the first installment is going to be shipped out in the last week of April:)

Payment via direct deposit or credit card. Just PM or email me your details :))

Ixchel sock it to me yarn club

The **Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB! nr3 !!!! sign ups are open now! ** :-)

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:

1. 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);

2. some very nice tea or coffee blends to make your sock knitting even more yummy :)

and last but not least:

3. Every month a new sock pattern, tips and instructions ! and a competition ! :)
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+$13.95 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 April 8! And the first installment is going to be shipped out in the last week of April, last week of May and mid June :)

Payment via direct deposit or credit card. Just PM or email me your details :))

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 :)

Ixchel Funky Bunny Batt Club

The subscription is for a period of three months (April, May and June!) 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 150grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even buffalo and QUIVIUT ! 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 April, May and June 2010!

Price to join the **Ixchel Funky bunny #5** :)) for three months is AU$96 + postage (parcel post or airmail). So in short:

For Australia : $96+$13.95 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#5 now. **Numbers are strictly limited** ! Deadline for signing up for the funky bunny batt club #5 is April8! And the first installment is going to be shipped out in the last week of April 2010:)

Payment via direct deposit or credit card. Just PM or email me. Thanks heaps for your support and have fun!

Bunny Spin Ins here at the Ixchel Fibre farm

Dates are set for the bunny spin ins! as promised there will be two per month: once during the week on a Thursday and once on a weekend on a Saturday :)

To make it easy to remember for everybody it is always going to be on the THIRD SATURDAY of the month and the FOURTH THURSDAY of the month from 11am til +/- 4pm…

Here are the exact dates to put in your calender:

April Saturday 17th, Thursday 22nd
May Saturday 15th, Thursday 27th
June Saturday 19th, Thursday 24th
JULY NO BUNNY SPIN INS due to Bendigo Sheep and wool show and the Queensland Spin In Camp :)
August Saturday 21st, Thursday 26th
September Saturday 18th, Thursday 23rd
October Saturday 16th, Thursday 28th
November Saturday 20th, Thursday 25th
December Saturday 18th, Thursday 23rd (Xmas special !!!!!)

The Bunny Spin ins are held at the Ixchel Fibre Farm. parking spots and spinning chairs are limited so bookings are essential for every spin in so I know how many people to cater for :)

Donations for the ixchel Fibre farm Bunny Spin Ins are welcomed. Bring a platter to share with your spinning friends. Bring a wheel or spindle , plenty of fluffy fibre here at the farm to spin with but stash is welcome too :) If you cannot bring your wheel because you are carpooling: I have three wheels available and lots of spindles , just let me know when you book in that you will be needing a wheel :)

You will be able to enjoy a wonderful day here in the Yarra Valley surrounded by gorgeous trees and birds (including our chooks and always visiting parrots and other wild life), fibre, bunnies and other animals (including Fibre Hagrid..lol).

It is going to be FUN !!!

All Boxed Up and other Surreal Tales

Flopsy in her favorite Jack Rabbit Box

Has it ever occured to you that this world we are living in has several dimensions, realities, whatever you may call it...? Does it sound crazy? Well according to physicists there are numerous dimensions and never the twain shall meet..or? do they continuously interact? I'm no physicist but I can tell you one thing: my world last week was a "funny" one. and come to think of it: I always seem to be surrounded by that quirky, surreal or unreal and yes dramatically "funny" stuff...Welcome to my world ! :)

Reflections of Reality (trees reflected in the dam:) )

Here are just some little stories to illustrate it:

The missing Chook
As you may well know we have some lovely chickens running around. In the morning and at night they are in their safe enclosure and around noon I open the door and let them free range all around our property. They are free spirited chooks:)
Anyway, once the dusk sets in I make sure that all of them get back in their enclosure for "bedtime" So I call out, clap my hands, chant "chook chook chook bedtime!" 'til all the girls come speeding, jumping, part-flying and looking like some prehistoric dinosaurs in the way they speed walk to the enclosure to get some goodies just before bedtime.
Then there is a headcount a la chickenrun movie to make sure all are in and then the dorm closes for the night. They hop on their perch and within minutes this enchanting sound of chook snoring fills the air.
Well not this particular night! It was the night there were hailstones the size of golfballs thundering down, it was cold, there was lightning ofcourse and it all made for a very eerie and ofcourse wet "chook roundup". I called, they came..all but one..okay, were is she? I closed the run so the other girls would stay safe and went for a chook search...I looked everywhere! I called out, I called her name "missy!"choook chook chook "Missy"! but Missy was missing......
Normally when you call out and they happen to be somewhere in hiding they return your call by a certain purrrr. Well no purr was to be heard. I was soaking wet, it was dark and here I was calling out for a chook not only on our property but also across the road in the Forest. Paul and I searched all over...no chook. By this time is was pitch black and still very wet...we had to wait til morning. Paul went out at first light and looked everywhere again....
Near the bunny run he stumbled across a big empty veggie box that had toppled over and thought: hmm I'd better take that box to recycling, picked it up and lo and behold there Missy was! She had just woken up ! The Scenario probably went like this: Missy stepped into the box with some left over veggie scraps, tipped it over and it fell on top of her..instant darkness.."Okay", she must have thought "It must be be bedtime coz it's dark all of a sudden. Let's just hunch down and fall asleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz". Sometimes things you look for are just underneath a box :) Welcome to my world :)

The Life of a sleeping working Dog
Jazz as you know is our bunny dog. She is a working dog but I have to admit, she is in that fase in her life that she loves to ....sleep. She will sleep on anything. leave her alone for a minute..she will seek out that spot that is the most comfy and zzzzzzzzzzzzzz falls asleep in an instant. If you ever want to find an excellent sleeping spot..call Jazz..she will find it for you.
In the studio I have a huge huge bag looking like a bean bag really, filled with bunny clippings. Everytime I have to make a batt, dye or spin some bunny..I open the Bunny Bag and take a handful of our finest bunny fluff out. This bag is as I said huge:) all in all I think there must be about 20kilos of bunny fluff in there collected over the years and all the new super fibre collected every time gets sorted and put in the bag :)
With me being "off line"so to speak for a period of time after the holiday in the hospital late last year and the recovery afterwards, I haven't looked at the bag or put new fibres in it. Paul clipped the bunnies and put it in another bag ready for us to sort it out later since I was still recovering. Jazz on the other hand thought that the bunny bag was the best sleeping spot ever! We both did not think about the whole thing at all until...I went into the studio and wanted to grab a tub full of bunny fluff preparing for shows and what have you. I opened the big huge Bunny Bean Bag...my hand went in expecting to find loose wonderful handfulls of bunny fluff..instead it hit a wall of bunny felt! Jazz had felted the top layer of the bunny fibre in the bag in her sleep !!!!! Hows that for a working dog! I could not stop laughing at the whole situation....typical!
We since moved the big bunny bag out of the studio in a spare room and now I will have to think what to do with a layer of felted bunny fluff....... Welcome to my world:) .........

I have been busy this week with preparing the last installment of the sock it to me yarn club which is a very special yarnn this month! and the pattern is awesome as well :0 All is ready an dry and offto be shipped out this weekend :) Same goes for the Fibre club and batt club last installment: they are looking amazing and are almost ready for shipping on Monday :) Next week I will start the signing up for all the clubs again for April-may and June installments. It is going to be awesome ! Promise :)

This weeks update is a special one as well: with some yarn, curl blends and ....some very special camelbunny silk! I won't keep you much longer ..have a look...a drool and , as usual, contact me anytime if you want to give these new fibre babies a good home :)

Hand Dyed Kid Mohair Curl Colour Blends

AU$11/50grams

Radiation Blend Wild State Blend Enchanted Evening Blend Moss Sea Blend Daintree Blues blend Happy Smile Blend

Hand dyed Camelbunny Silk

(AU$19/50grams)

8 Little Piggies Galapagos Turtles Pool of Possibilities Punctuated Equilibrium SuperNormal Stimuli Giant Panda

Hand dyed Lace Weight Mulberry Silk Yarn

(AU$32/100grams, +/- 1250meters/100g)

Dream Vision-1left- Burgess Shale-sold- Ladder of Life Jumping Genes

The Insubordiknit Fibre Market

Next Friday , March 19th, there is a fabulous Mini Fibre Market and get together. The Insubordiknit Workshop that Mandie EGMTK is organising runs from friday march 19th til Sunday 21st at the Mt Morton Conference Centre in Belgrave in the gorgeous Dandenongs.

Jacey Boggs who is responsible for the wonderful Sit and Spin DVD will be showing all of the workshop participants on Saturday and Sunday what beehives and coils and lots more are all about !

There is a fabulous Fibre Market on the friday as well open for all fibre fans! The doors open at 7pm ,so if you want to see what it is all about, meet some fibre nuts like us and you can also cuddle and adopt some luscious fibre: Please come and visit ! it will be worth the beautiful trip :)

What’s on offer? Well apart from briging lots of bunny fibre , felted bunny bits that do great in funky art spinning, I will also have kid mohair hand dyed luscious locks, Yak, English Leicester, lots of funky bunny batts and heaps of tops ofcourse (yes yes, silk, camelbunny and yakety camel will be there as well :) ) etc etc !! oh and some new stuff like fine threads variegated! and single coloured as well on balls to ply with !!! at awesome prices ! did I mention YARNS? no??? well, they will be there too:)

Here’s the address: Fairmont Ave, Belgrave Heights. 3160 melway ref 84d3 Please let me know beforehand if you are coming to the insubordiknit market: so we can organise some “platters”and other yummy stuff as well :) Hope to see you there !!!!!!

Down the Rabbit Hole

You may have noticed this before, but I love bunnies, anything adorned with bunnies or ofcourse any movies or art featuring bunnies. And, as a Tim Burton (okay, and a Johnny Depp fan...) I was really looking forward to the new adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. You also might notice the names of this weeks update are inspired by this surreal tale of wonder :) The artwork and design of the Tim Burton adaptation is fabulous as usual. So, I couldn't help but adorn Flopsy our bunny with the mad hatter outfit :)

Flopsy as the Mad Hatter Flopsy without the outfit

By the way, Flopsy is luxuriously living in my studio and loving it:) She is slowly but surely getting better again from a bout of dandruff. Also I have had to put her on a diet...she is a girl that likes relaxing and eating lots of food and unfortunately that means that she was putting on too much weight. She was the smallest of the litter and now she weighs more than 4 kilos! too much for a little bunny munchkin so I am giving her a bit more exercise (meaning I am taking her out to walk more !) and lo and behold she was doing bunny binkies in the studio this afternoon! AND she lost 300grams! yeah!

It has been a busy week with fibre preperations and finally finding a wonderful GP that listened and offered lots of help after I had been so ungraciously dumped down the rabbit hole after my cancer ordeal and the hysterectomy that followed. If I have learnt one thing it is that it is so important to speak up and perservere (oh that is 2 things...sorry..lol).

I was also blessed by the fact that my good friend Veronica asked me to go to a QiGong retreat day by Open Sky QiGong in Warranwood last Sunday. It was an amazing day filled with lots of meditation, practices and healing. Thank you so much for everything Veronica, Marg and Andy ! Healing has so much to do with strengthening the spirit and the mind as well. The simple and easy QiGong exercises that I did before going to hospital helped me so much and now it is really energising and healing as well. All I have to do is remember to practice...and just like I forget to eat or drink sometimes because I am too busy doing "stuff", it is really worth it to just stop for 5 minutes and reflect and practice.

Anyway, I am slowly but surely getting better and seeing a light at the end of the rabbit hole. So, this weeks update is quite special.

The Churro bunny tops that I am offering you this week are unique, just like the history they have : The Navajo call them "the Old Ones" and see the Churro sheep as a gift from the Gods. The wool from these sheep are the basis of the Navajo Weaving and also is a wonderful fibre to make socks and ponchos. The sheep were nearly wiped out during the tribe's forced relocation in the 1860s and again in the stock reductions of the 1930s: federal agents just went from hogan to hogan and shot a large percentage of the livestock and horses, more than 250.000 animals were killed and the Churro sheep were almost extinct with fewer than 700 head by 1990! But they are making a comeback, due to the efforts of the Navajo Sheep Project so they can return to their historic place and purpose among the Navajos so that they can benefit the Navajo People.

Ray Swanstons beautiful painting of the shearing of the Navajo Sheep -1993-

These hand dyed tops that I am offering you here are blends of soft white Churro fleece with Angora Bunny: it makes for a wonderful mix and will make the most wonderful yarn, suited for socks and outerwear as well as sweaters. The Bunny added to the Churro makes it softer to handle and easy to spin. Help in the fight against Extinction of this rare breed. It is extra special that these tops have been cleansed and blessed with some beautiful Grandfather White sage as well:-)


Also on offer this week is a yarn blend that I have never offered before except to those in my sock it to me yarn club: the bamboo bunny sock weight yarn. An awesome blend of silk, bamboo, bunny and nylon with an amazing yardage ! All hand dyed ofcourse and so silky soft and shiny it makes my mouth water.


Are you ready for the mad hatters Yarn Party? ready? Set? GO!
Remember : stalk me anytime if you want some of these special fibres or yarns: email me or message me on rav anytime :) you know me: happy to enable !



Hand dyed bamboo bunny yarn
(100grams, AU$26, +/- 450meters, silk 20%, Bamboo 60%,Bunny 10%, nylon 10%)

Flamingos and croquet

beautiful Soup

Gryphon-sold-

Dodo Doodle

Timeless Clock

A Grin without a Cat -sold-

A cuddle session with a Navajo Churro sheep

Hand dyed Churro Bunny Tops
(100grams AU$20, churro wool 95%, angora bunny 5%)

Down the Rabbit Hole

Mat Hatter -1left-

Queen of Hearts

Mad tea Party

Cheshire Cat

Mock turtle -sold-

Pool of tears

Blue Caterpillar

At the end of this update I just wanted to share a painting with you I did of a bald eagle. I found just the skeleton head in Wisconsin where I lived for a bit a long long time ago now....and sketched it a lot. Maybe finding it had something to do with the fact that later on I studied Anthropology and am still fascinated by bones :) The painting is in Gouache, acrylic, watercolour and some gold specks.

In the eye of the Bald eagle