Schrödingers Cat Experiment or Quantum Physics applied to the Fibre Stash Paradox

Flower ..eh..Fibre Power!

Last week it was Dr Who with his Tardis that is so much bigger on the inside and this week, apart from another Futuristic NEW fibre blend on offer!, I give you THE solution to your Fibre Stash Conundrum. Basically I would say, both Tardis and The Stash Paradox need to be investigated on the same philosophical level. Well, at least I can have a stab at it in order to ease your minds and relieve you from the enormous pressure that your fibre stash is conjuring up in your mind: believe me it is not as bad as you think to have stash, better still: the bigger the stash , the better , but I digress. Let me explain.

Stash is good
Many have asked me to start a Fibre holics Anonymous Association or FAA for short. The pressure of family , friends and colleagues, who are blind to the fact that fibre stash is almost THE most important element in this world, becomes too much for some and they seem to succumb to a state of Delusional Destashing. We all know it is delusional, because of the same reason we cannot live without energy from the sun, we will perish if and when our stash will diminish too much.

Destashing is simply a temporary illusion of so called fibre stash insecurity. Truth of the matter is, the spot once held by the fibre now destashed, will almost immediately be filled with different stash. Look upon it as a sate of equilibrium in your fibre universe. And we all know it is not a wise thing to mess with that.

This is also where the Schrödingers cat Experiment comes in: once our amazing stash is in a container and for the untrained eye “organised”, it will not look as intimidating to the untrained non fibre fans’eye. The stash might not even exist ? The beauty of stash lies in the eye of the beholder. The Schrödingers Stash experiment can be interpreted to mean that while the box is closed, the system simultaneously exists in a superposition of the states "non existant stash or as Schrödinger put it “dead cat" and "Beautiful existing Stash or living cat": only when the box is opened and an in depth observation performed does the complexity of our stash collapse into one of the two states. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have a live cat ..lol It is not the stash that has to change, it’s the observer .

So, in short: instead of actively feeling guilty about ones stash, we have to be wise and wear our fibre stash with pride, in plain view of all those non believers who get intimidated by the amount of fibre and yarns that, we, responsible fibre fans, stash in every nook, cranny, corner, under the bed, behind books, in the attic or basement and in those inaccessible places where our relatives will never look for it. And you will forget where you have left that extra special ball of yarn you so desperately need to finish that project you were working on! Believe me!

Fibre stash gets squished, confined in vacuum sealed bags where the oxygen is totally sucked out of so that any fibre or yarn resembles a pancake. I even heard of people hiding bags of yarn in pot plants! Even in shoes, boots, suitcases, empty handbags, yes even vases! We are treating our passion for fibre as if it was Frankensteins Monster that we have to keep hidden away. And so, I have come to the following conclusion:

Flaunt your stash & be proud!
Instead of secretly hiding away your fibre treasure, show it! Invest in storage boxes, glass cabinets, rooms, studios and display the magnitude of colours and textures with Pride! Not only will the guilt of having a fibre stash disappear , even one with proportions that will make Mt Everest look tiny!, but you will actually ENJOY it more and yes, I will say this because it is true: organising your stash be it in colour, or texture, or whatever your logic may be at the time, will make you USE IT and create a magical universe.

Believe me: even your staunchest critics will turn to you in awe and say “wow! This looks amazing! Here, get some more!” Now wouldn’t that make you feel much better than hiding it under the bed or at the back of the closet ? You will feel better and your stash will feel much better as well. It’s a win-win.

hiding yarn creatively ??? I don't think so...

Fibre Stash Installations
Even when you are not ready to commit to organised fibre just yet, you can, as I do, make your stash proud and create so called Fibre Art Installations: why not use the hand dyed tops or yarn as gorgeous curtains? Attach some cedar wood ornaments (so the moths wont get at them) and presto! Your stash has come out of the closet to play and looks fantastic !

Other things you can do is: display the yarn in bowls on the coffee table, hey , why not occasionally drape them over chairs or hang them from chandeliers? Anything goes in my book, just as long as the Stash can be visually enjoyed by all.

If worst comes to worse and your partner is a very practical person, just explain using physics, that the fibre is THE best and THE greenest insulation material on this planet and acquiring even more stash will actually SAVE money! Now that will get attention!

If, by chance, your stash has outgrown a room in your house, just say that you really think it is time for that investment property or a new shed (believe me , Men will LOVE that idea! And shhhh do not tell them you will need ¾ of the new shed) Presto! The space problem is solved. Ofcourse you can always open the first Stash Museum as well.

Dates to Remember:

Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm:

Saturday February 19th
Thursday February 24th
Bring your wheel, spindle, knitting, crocheting and a plate to share with everybody. There is cake and coffee and tea and a lovely bunny to cuddle and lots of fibres and yarn!) very important !
Please, please let me know beforehand by email or message that you would like to come and visit so I can prepare the infrastructure and cake ofcourse !

And now: drumroll!!!!

Here is the super special fibre update of this week ! Enjoy!

Hand dyed IxCHeL Glitz Bunny Tops
100+grams /AU$20
a super lush futuristic blend of Angora Rabbit (5%), Tencel (5%) and Super Bright Trilobal Nylon or so called GLITZ (90%)
it has the handle of light fluffy silky smoothness that will make your mouth water and a Glitzy glamour bunny shine that will that will make your yarn look absolutely DIVINE! Core spin it, spin it laceweight or use it to make your Art Yarns super Special ! Even combine it with other fibres by (hand) carding it to make funky batts: Anything Goes!

Glitz Bunny the Everett Many Worlds Interpretation close up

See! I told you it was SHInEEH!

UNIQUE to IxCHeL !
you will be hooked once you have tried spinning this silky blend!
a generous 100gram braid AU$20

Glitz Bunny Lunar Excitation -sold-

Glitz Bunny the work song nanocluster -2left-

Glitz Bunny the classified materials turbulence-sold-

Glitz Bunny the Roboticus Carpalium -sold-

Glitz Bunny the Love Car displacement -2left-

Glitz Bunny the Everett Many Worlds Interpretation -2left-

Glitz Bunny the large Hadron collision-2 left-

Glitz Bunny the Cornhusker Vortex-2 left-

Glitz Bunny The Berry Benefactor Factor -sold-

Glitz Bunny the adhesive Duck deficiency -2left-

Glitz Bunny the Quantum conundrum -2left-

Glitz Bunny the Thespian Catalyst -2left-

Contact me on Ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny, message me on facebook or email me on ixchel@rabbit.com.au

Thanks heaps for your support and remember be STASH PROUD!

RABBIT ON!!
((hugs))
Charly

YUM !!

close up of the berry factor benefactor

Dr Who and the Time Warp Conundrum, or, the Serendipity Complex

Who wouldn’t want a Tardis ?

Well come to think of it, who wouldn't want anything that is bigger on the inside? lol

And so it came to pass that for no apparent reason or logic, I now am almost about to celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary !

It’s been more than ten years ago that Paul and I have met. That fact on itself is hard to believe, but wait til you hear how it all came about.

Most couples I know have met in the local pub, on campus or at school, on holiday or simply have known one another since childhood and so it was a logical thing to live together and/or get married. For Paul and me, no! ofcourse not!

Ten years ago I was working Belgium and I just acquired a new second hand computer. Ofcourse I worked with computers but in those pre historic times there was no face book or twitter or Ravelry (not that Paul knits but hey, you never know..lol) but I did hear about this thing called chatrooms. Trying out my computers microphone and desperate for some interesting Australian Slang (I was very into linguistics at that time) I thought “well, why not try and get in touch with one of those chat room thingies?” so there I was , totally inept logging on to Yahoo and typing in Australian Slang and presto! There was a conversation going on I could actually hear! I have no recollection what the discussion was about : probably AFL football or cricket , but I was listening and trying to make sense of it all on my first time out LIVE on the world wide web. I was not intending to get to know anybody or find anybody : I was just road testing my computer and my non existing skills of computering at that time. And then, well, then it came to pass (yes I do love that line, much better than Once upon a Time. It’s just so much more Lord of the Rings quality , isn’t it? Lol…BUT I digress)……where was I ?

Oh yes.........And so it came to pass that there was this voice there saying these funny things and I just loved the sound of that voice..call it Love at first sound..lol…we got to talking together and writing to each other for a YEAR ! (yes old fashioned isn’t it? Lol) and we hadn’t even seen one another. I mean he could have been an Axe murderer for all I knew…but he wasn’t: he was sweet and so funny ! and caring and no way that someone could keep this up for more than a year. We started writing each other and telling about our dreams and what we would like out of life. It seemed that we had so much in common and wanted so many of the same things. Serendipity!

I had some long time leave up my sleave and so a year and a bit later I saved what I had to go to Australia for a holiday and meet this nice voice ;-) Paul said he was going to meet me at the airport wearing his cricket outfit and holding balloons. lol We did exchange photos but you know how it is: a photo is not really the real thing. So here I was, on a plane , spending the next 24 hours being very excited and wondering what The Voice would be in real life ;-) The plane landed at 5am, custom checks etc, I was finally out to meet him around 6:30 am.

I was looking around and around but could not see anybody dressed in white and holding balloons….oh well, not to worry, it’s a big place, he’ll be there. I did see a guy leaning against a pilar ..could that be him? but, but...eh...HE’S SO SHORT ! naaah, I thought, that’s not him ! Although I did not seem to recall asking him how tall he actually was.....dumb but true. I could be waiting for a very short axe murderer!

Looked around again: nobody there..almost everybody had left in the arrival hall and there I was standing with my suitcases and my heart nervously beating in my throat.

“Typical”, I said to myself. “Fly half way across the world and get stood up ! the Bastard!”lol

I tried my mobile but it did not work in Australia! Typical! The information desk was open though, so I went to the counter and asked the elderly lady there if I could use the phone to call this guy that supposed to have picked me up …

”not to worry Luv’, he’s probly had a lyin’(=lie-in)…”she said, “here !...giffemacawl”” (give him a call !). and handed me the phone while turning her head towards the back of the room and yeling out:”Hey Rose !..this lurvely goirl is bein stood up by this bastard! Whaddoyareckon?”

By that stage three more employees had gathered around to get the nitty gritty of the whole situation, while I tried to get my nerves under control and dial Pauls number……
RING …..
RING…..
RING!………
silence……

”eh…(yawn) ello? Eh..yawn….”
“Paul?”
“eh..yes….oh …who…oh…..SHIT! what’s the time? Shit…. Wait! I ‘ll be right there. Well, I’ll be there I an hour! Oh shit I only fell asleep 2 hours ago! Damn!”

Apparently he was up all night, nerves and all, while I was flying over numerous puddles to get to Australia and texting him where I was on stopovers and he did not want to miss anything. He couldn’t sleep anyway…so he stayed up…but then…sleep got the better of him and well, the rest you know..lol

He arrived at the airport NOT wearing his white cricket outfit and he did not have any balloons either, but it was fabulous to see one another: like we have always known each other.

We spent the next 5 weeks driving from Melbourne up to Byron Bay and back again in a small campervan and everything just seems , well, RIGHT! Apart from that we had a great time doing the touristy things and spending heaps of time exploring beautiful national parks, camping out and enjoying the amazing Australian nature.

But then I had to go back to my job in Belgium…..sigh….

It did not take long before we were back together again though. Paul called me one day , about two weeks after I left Melbourne on the plane and said “I am coming over! I quit my job, I ordered the plane tickets, I’m coming over ! “ To make a long story short(er): We spent the next 18 months getting my visa application together . We got married in Melbourne at Pauls parents’ home on the 23rd of January 2004. Seven years of marriage this year, but we have known one another for lifetimes it seems.

So, next time you are watching a movie and think to yourself, “naaaah, that could never happen, it is way out of left field”, think again. Life is full of surprises, strange coincidences and Serendipity. Enjoy the ride!

Dates to Remember:

Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm:

Saturday 19th of February + Thursday the 24th of February

Bring your wheel, spindle, knitting, crocheting and a plate to share with everybody. There is cake and coffee and tea and a lovely bunny to cuddle and lots of fibres and yarn!) very important ! Please let me know beforehand by email or message that you would like to come and visit so I can prepare the infrastructure and cake ofcourse !

***

As you may know, I am a confessed SciFi Nerd and just could not help myself making the theme of this futuristic new blend a DR WHO one ! I cannot wait to see the next seasons episodes and I think the new 11th Dr is going to be just fine. Mind you, David Tennant (Dr WHO nr 10) is still my favourite, but the 11th Dr is growing on me. The Xmas special with the floating fish in soggy air was awesome ! So, without any further delays: Here are this weeks new hand dyed Super Special tops!

Hand dyed IxCHeL Cashmere, Tencel, Bamboo and bright trilobal Nylon Tops
100+grams /AU$22
a super lush futuristic blend of cashmere (5), Tencel (15) Bamboo(40) and bright trilobal Nylon (40)
it has the handle of light fluffy silky smoothness that will make your mouth water and just that right amount of shine that will make your yarn look absolutely DIVINE!

UNIQUE to IxCHeL !
you will be hooked once you have tried spinning this smooshy silky blend!

Rise of the Cybermen -1left-

River Song -2left-

Weeping Angels -sold-

Novice Hame -2left-

Tardis Conundrum -sold-

Dalek Supreme -sold-

Planet of the Ood -sold-

Dr Who Returns -sold-

Daleks in MAnhattan -2left-

K9 -2left-

the Pandorica Opens -2left-

Dalek Pattern
a great pattern for a Dalek square or dishcloth or why not repeat the pattern and make a Dalek Scarf!

Contact me on Ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny, message me on facebook or email me on ixchel@rabbit.com.au

Thanks heaps for your support !

RABBIT ON!!
((hugs))
Charly

Water world

Rainbow Blues (oils, acrylic and gold leaf on canvas, Charly McCafferty, 2010)

The worst flood in 35 years threatens millions of people in south east Queensland and the rain keeps coming down in the rest of Australia as well. Instead of drought there is deluge. From sand and cracks in the dried out soils, there is now water almost everywhere.

Paul needs a shed, but at this point I am thinking of suggesting to invest in a boat, or, let's say a “boat shed” ? A bunny ark if need be ;-)

The situation here in the Yarra Valley, where we are, is not at all drastic or dismal, but it is raining all the time (I’d almost say “as usual”…) and our property is now surrounded by two moats that look like rivers now. It is “Sog Central” here and if our bunnies had to graze on the paddocks they would have to put their flippers on. There is so much humidity and heat that I'm afraid the Angora rabbits hairdo will look very frizzled, very soon ! Oh well, nothing better than that 1970's look eh? lol

I was asked days ago what I thought was worst: Water or Fire. Thinking back to the devastation a couple of years ago with so many lives lost in the fires and so many houses, wildlife and trees blackened and gone in Victoria, my first reaction ofcourse was : FIRE! It was so close to home when we were surrounded by fires all around us and it was a very close escape. However, after seeing the sheer violence and strength of the wall of water that hit Toowoomba, I think that fire and water are equally terrible.

All our thoughts are with the people in Queensland who are going through so much.


Dates to Remember:

Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm:

Saturday 15th of January (that’s tomorrow!) and Thursday the 27th of January
Bring your wheel, spindle, knitting, crocheting and a plate to share with everybody. There is cake and coffee and tea and a lovely bunny to cuddle and lots of fibres and yarn!) very important ! Please let me know beforehand by email or message that you would like to come and visit so I can prepare the infrastructure and cake ofcourse !

for this Saturday there is a Harry Potter Cake on the Menu and an angora bunny haircut !


Hand dyed IxCHeL Baby Camel, Angora Rabbit and Silk Tops (50/5/45)
50grams /AU$19

Rainy night in Soho -sold-

Voodoo Child-sold-

Space Weaver -2left-

Skellig -2left-

Moon Cradle -sold-

Six months in a leaky boat -2left-

Ice Age -4left-

Dancing round the Fire-sold-

Want to cuddle the tops in person and have these babies hop to your doorstep? : Contact me on Ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny, message me on facebook or email me on ixchel@rabbit.com.au

Thanks heaps for your support !

RABBIT ON!!
((hugs))
Charly

Sentimental Hygiene

Can you believe it? It’s a new year! 2011 and it has just started ! Time for new beginnings, new dreams, new goals. At least that’s what we are used to, because everybody seems to be pushed into the direction of “This year my goal is to …yada-yada-yada” from losing kilos to gaining money or knowledge.

But do we need a new year to start ? Have we been brainwashed? Even better: Can we just think of a goal or a dream to work towards anytime?

I know! It is revolutionary and a bit chaotic, but I think it might work. Maybe, just maybe, having dreams and wishes ALL the time is the most important thing, no matter when we start or when we want to reach our goal.

The problem I personally am facing, and have faced all my life come to think of it, is having too many dreams and too many wishes. It’s such a long list of things I want to accomplish, do, learn and create that it boggles the mind. Maybe I should declutter my dreams and wishes and focus on just a couple. But then again, it might be a shock to my system to suddenly be subject to some sentimental hygiene or an organising of my dream chaos. Naah, I think I will keep the dream clutter. You never know what will happen anyway. Just as long as the procrastinating bug doesn’t hit too hard…lol

One thing is for sure this year: there will be an awesome amount of new yarns and fibres and also some very nice bubbly fizzy stuff ! In one of my past lives I studied aromatherapy and always made nice relaxing or invigorating bath oils , cream and potions, but over the holiday period I though it would be great to share these with you as well ! So, here come the Bath Bunnies, my variation on the bath bomb. Apart from that I have also been getting the dye post out again playing with a range of natural dyes and pigments. This weeks offerings are an amazingly soft yak baby camel 4ply yarn and as for fibre this week: the super soft lush Angorino tops ! Get your stalking boots on !

Contact me on Ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny, message me on facebook or email me on ixchel@rabbit.com.au

Thanks heaps for your support and have fun!

RABBIT ON!!
((hugs))
Charly


Dates to Remember:

Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm:

Saturday 15th of January and Thursday the 27th of January
Bring your wheel, spindle, knitting, crocheting and a plate to share with everybody. There is cake and coffee and tea and a lovely bunny to cuddle and lots of fibres and yarn!) very important ! Please let me know beforehand by email or message that you would like to come and visit so I can prepare the infrastructure and cake ofcourse !

Hand dyed IxCHeL Baby camel and Yak (50/50)
135 meters per 50grams
4-ply, ndls US6 or 4mm

super soft with an amazing yardage

SPECIAL !! AU$18/50grams (normally RRP $23) + FREE SHIPPING for orders over $100

Crazy mama (197 grams available)

Flyin shoes (196 grams available)

Boom Boom Mancini (201 grams available)

and the rain came down (indigo dyed) (247grams available)

Brainwashed (199grams available) sold

Hand dyed Angorino Tops

(Superfine merino 18micron 95% +Angora rabbit 5%)

AU$20/100+g

SPECIAL: FREE SHIPPING for orders over $100

Caught in the act -sold-

Manic Panic SOLD

Sensitive Kind -sold-

Cha Cha Heels SOLD

Fish on the sand-sold-

Valentine SOLD

Wrong turn on the astral plane SOLD

Honky Tonk SOLD

Hand made Bath Bunny Fizzies AU$8

Bath Bunny Lemon Fizz

(essential oils: lemon, lemon grass, lavender, bergamot, jojoba oil, citric acid, bicarb)

the perfect addition to a fabulous bath !

fizz away your worries with this bath bunny.

Moisterises your skin with the fabulous essential oils and the jojoba oils added to the bath bunny. Refreshing and envigorating!

Bath Bunny Passion Fizz

(essential oils: lavender, ylang ylang, rose, palmarosa, jojoba oil, citric acid, bicarb)

the perfect addition to a fabulous bath ! fizz away your worries with this bath bunny.

Moisterises your skin with the fabulous essential oils and the jojoba oils added to the bath bunny. The magical smells of Rose and Ylang Ylang will stimulate your imagination and Relax your mind and body!



Rabbit On !