The Bunny that cried Wolf !

Millie

Once upon a time there was this bunny that tried and tried its best to do the right thing: it worked very hard to get more bunnies together for a show and they all spun and knitted up a very very big scarf made of beautiful bunny fibre. And it was special and long and warm . It was so special that it even won the world record ! All the bunnies wanted the special scarf to bring joy and happiness even more than just being a scarf so they wanted to auction the scarf off for a good cause: to help the cancer council . Every week after the world record scarf event at the Sydney Royal Show this bunny mentioned on her blog that the world record scarf was going to be auctioned off…and every week she had to say, sorry, but it is definitely next week!
Well, people, I still haven’t heard back from the Cancer Council I’m afraid to say so this is yet another week that the auction is not going live. A brilliant example how a good idea can be sabotaged and delayed by rules and regulations , and that in a lot of cases it is much better to be small, do your thing and make it happen. So to make it short: no auction again this week and I am not going to cry out Wolf again by saying hopefully next week. I’m at the mercy of the Cancer Councils event planners so I guess I will just have to be patient….Patience is not really what I am good at though. Which is strange because most people that see me spinning or doing what I do, say to me “oh you are so patient! Look how much patience you must have to do these crafty things!”

Anyway, Talking about patience ..I have been madly dyeing and spinning up a storm this week again not only for todays update but more for the Handknitters guild Victoria Mini Wool Show on the Saturday the 28th of April: TOMORROW!!! I so wanted to do lots more but you can only do so much in so little time. It is super CHAOS here ! with wool, fleeces, yarn, spinning wheels and fluff flying everywhere, waiting to be packed up for the big event !
The whole house looks like a laundry at the moment as well, because it just has not stopped raining ! at all! I was even thinking about ordering Noah’s Ark the way the rain was belting down. Luckily it was cold as well so the wood heater was put to action ! there are clothes horses everywhere and people who come to our bunny  spin ins and see our house, know that we do not have curtains but we do have curtain rods, for obvious reasons: to hang rovings and tops and yarns to dry !
I must admit it actually looks pretty good when you are looking at a window full of colourful tops. Who needs curtains eh?

This weeks inspiration of names was Pauls Footy adventure: while playing Australian Rules Football with his Woori Yallock Team last Saturday he had a bad headclash. Just below his eyebrow there was a gash and so everything started to display these gorgeous colours …He’s fine now, but the bruise and scar are still pretty much there .... So here’s to boys playing sports ! lol

Pauls Footy Purples (don't try this at home!) and no I did not hit him! lol

Have fun snaffling and creating ! Enjoy!

How To Order:You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or message me on facebook or ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny. I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods. Any questions? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

Thank you so much for your help and support !

(((HUGS)))

Charly

Camel Bunny Silk Tops

Ingredients: Baby Camel 40%, Mulberry Silk 50% and angora bunny 10%

50+ grams AU$19

A wonderful luscious top to spin and felt. Hand dyed , this blend is amazing to work with!

Burgundy Bruise

Earth Calling

Bruise Cruise (SOLD)

Fields of Honour

And the rain comes down

Kapow !

Dizzy


Evolution of a Bruise SOLD


Head Clash


Footy Purples

Dates to Remember:

Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm (11am-4pm)
Every Third Saturday and every fourth Thursday of the month!
Saturday May 19th, 11am-4pm and
Thursday May 26th, 11am – 4pm

Bring a plate to share your wheel or spindle, knitting or crochet, yourself and a smile and have a fun day out amongst bunnies and friends ! Please contact me to secure a spot ! Bunny food like cabbage, bok choi or broccoli is always welcome as well ! : the bunnies will cuddle you more for it ;D


Saturday April 28th, 10am-3pm
Mini Wool Show of the Hand knitters Guild Victoria

Brunswick Town Hall !!!
 Don’t miss it! It’s going to be Fabulous Fibre Fun !
New yarns, blends and fibres and BADGES ! Exciting !!!!! And there's more! A super special yarn bin (come early!) and ....when you spend over $100 you have a huge chance to win yourself a $200 value fibre or yarn Stash Prize !

May 31st
IxCHeL Yarn and Bunny Show
the Hand knitters Guild Warragul
Uniting Church Hall, Waragul.
A big fibre and yarn display and some bunny fun ! Please join us !

The Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show 2012
Friday 20th-Sunday 22nd of July
I will be in the Flower (bunny) shed again this year with heaps of new fluffy stuff and in full bunny regalia !!
This year it is even going to BIGGER and more HUGE than ever !!!
Join me in the fun !
The woolcraft schedule is published and the IxCHeL Fibre farm is sponsoring a catergory this year in the handspun yarn classes in Natural Animal Fibres class 23 and 24 !!! We feel it is very important to get the word out . Angora fibre and cashmere and mohair and alpaca and baby camel is amazing to spin, felt, weave, embellish and crochet with! Start planning and working on your entry for the show and get your art work out there for everybody tot admire and win prizes !! yeah ! What could be better eh?
Check out the website here for more details : www.sheepshow.com and for questions relating to the woolcraft schedule and more contact Dot Vallence at Dotv5 at optusnet dot com dot au

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

RABBIT ON !
((hugs))
Charly

Magic Bunnies and Colour your Spirit

The Flower Power Spin in at Grandvalley Spinners in Montrose was absolutely fantastic! It was so good to see everybody again and chat about fibre, yarns and spin. The fact that their hall is amongst some amazingly nice bushland just adds to the magic. Thanks so much Judy James inviting me to this great event! Can’t wait for next time !
I knew April was going to be full on and crazy, ranging from the Sydney Royal Show and the Back to Back bunny world record show to loads of events taking place in that month. Right now I am full on preparing as much as I possibly can for the always fabulous Mini Wool Show of the Handknitters Guild Victoria at the Brunswick Town Hall on the 28th of April. Still lods to do and because the weather is getting more and more cold and chilly and wet, needless to say that the whole house is filled with wool, yarn and tops trying to get dry on time! Pau is pretty relaxed about it, as long as he can watch the footy on tv through all the colourful tops and yarns hanging everywhere…lol

At the Sydney Royal Show the wonderfully talented Siobhan Colley of http://www.soulcraftingbyshevi.com gave me an amazing hand knitted lace shawl that is HUGE! and absolutely gorgeous ! It took her 2 months to knit it (it would take me 2 years for sure !) Thank you so much for so much cashmere yumminess! I will treasure it forever!

Here it is :

I know I promised the Back to Back Bunny World Record Scarf to be auctioned off today with all proceeds going to the Cancer Council. However, I can not do the actual auction myself here on this blog due to certain rules and regulations to do with non profit, auctioning, donations and all that jazz, so I am working together with the Cancer Council to do all this is Style on a separate page on the Cancer Council website. I will be able to give you the necessary information on next weeks blog with the link to the website that will happily take your donation for such a good and worthy cause !
It is so easy to forget that so many people and families are suffering from the devastation this terrible disease causes. I know, I have been there and not a moment goes by , that I feel blessed that I am still here to experience the beauty of this earth, friendship and the love that surrounds me. Once anybody has been touched by cancer, it changes you in ways you cannot imagine. When you are healthy it is easy to take everything for granted, from little to big things. Once you have experienced loss though, you recognise that it all can change in a heartbeat. Ofcourse it is easy to only see doom and gloom, it takes strength and willpower to see the silver lining and open doors you just never even thought were there for you. Life becomes simpler in a way when you let it. However, you can only be in that place when you have people that can offer you the support and love you need in those times. The Cancer Council put me in contact with people going through similar ordeals with uterine cancer and loss, let me talk to oncology nurses and support staff in ways that unfortunately the hospitals and local services could not. It helped me tremendously and every day they continue to help others. So not only for this kind of support but also for the research they fund and get off the ground they have my full support. So , next week , think how your donation can change lives and win the word record angora super scarf !

This week has been filled with spinning spinning SPINNING –more spinning, trying to get as many yarns ready for the Hand knitters guild Mini Wool Show on the 28th of April! custom orders-, and dyeing heaps of tops, just to name a few things..lol So have fun snaffling and creating ! Enjoy!

How To Order:You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or message me on facebook or ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny. I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods. Any questions? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

Thank you so much for your help and support !
(((HUGS)))
Charly

Magic Bunny TopsIngredients: 18micron merino 70%, angora 5%, 25% glitz
100+ grams AU$22

A wonderful luscious top to spin and felt. Hand dyed glitz blended thoroughly with the angorino to create an amazing fibre to play with.Enjoy !

Magic Bunny Tops Black berry

Magic Bunny Tops Black Berry close up

Wensleydale Tops
Hand dyed with love . Wensleydale sheep are amazing and what I call the Bob Marley of sheep with its gorgeous locks : shine , lustre, enormous staple length and wonderful to spin and felt!100+ grams AU$21

Wensleydale Sheep in all its glory

Jeepers Creepers

Daleks in Manhattan

Blue Moon

Love Affair

Ghost of Yesterday

Sun Showers


Stormy Blues


Moon glow


Just Friends

Cover the waterfront

Fine and Mellow


Ain’t Misbehaving

April in Paris

Body and Soul

Dates to Remember:

Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm (11am-4pm)
Every Third Saturday and every fourth Thursday of the month!
Saturday April 21st, 11am-4pm and Thursday April 26th, 11am – 4pmBring a plate to share your wheel or spindle, knitting or crochet, yourself and a smile and have a fun day out amongst bunnies and friends ! Please contact me to secure a spot ! Bunny food like cabbage, bok choi or broccoli is always welcome as well ! : the bunnies will cuddle you more for it ;D


April 28th
Mini Wool Show of the Hand knitters GuildBrunswick Town Hall !!! Don’t miss it! It’s going to be Fabulous Fibre Fun !
I am preparing heaps of new yarns for that event that will be amazing !!!!!

May 31st
IxCHeL Yarn and Bunny Show of the Hand knitters Guild WarragulUniting Church Hall, Waragul.

The Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show 2012
Friday 20th-Sunday 22nd of JulyI will be in the Flower (bunny) shed again this year with heaps of new fluffy stuff and in full bunny regalia !!
This year it is even going to BIGGER and more HUGE than ever !!!
Join me in the fun !
The woolcraft schedule is published and the IxCHeL Fibre farm is sponsoring a catergory this year in the handspun yarn classes in Natural Animal Fibres class 23 and 24 !!! We feel it is very important to get the word out . Angora fibre and cashmere and mohair and alpaca and baby camel is amazing to spin, felt, weave, embellish and crochet with! Start planning and working on your entry for the show and get your art work out there for everybody tot admire and win prizes !! yeah ! What could be better eh?
Check out the website here for more details : www.sheepshow.com and for questions relating to the woolcraft schedule and more contact Dot Vallence at Dotv5 at optusnet dot com dot au

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

RABBIT ON !((hugs))
Charly

Back to Back Bunny World Record !!! a Frabjous day it was !

Still a fluffy bunny but not for long ! the soon the get naked bunny Mobeau for the world record Back to Back bunny adventure

The preparations were done, my Tardis car packed, hotel booked, all I had to do is drive to Sydney ! Which , by the way, is lots closer than driving to Queensland, as my Canadian uncle would put it ït’s just around the corner”. Well a days drive around the corner anyway. Setting up at the Sydney Showground and actually getting there was the hardest bit, especially since the sky decided to open up and dump bucketloads of water on us just when we had to unpack the car and get all the goods into the Wynne pavilion..but with the help of amazing friends, it all went great! And super fast! Emma , thank you so much for your super setting up ! I think everybody was getting more and more excited by the minute for the big day: Monday the 9th of April: the day that we would set the world record. The Back to Back Bunny team with team members: Emma Brien (who also is the first ever official judge to judge the angora fleece competition at the Royal Show!), Siobhan Colley of Soulcrafting, Sheridan Femia, Christina Heaphy from Rivkah Stud, Louise Stephens and me. The bunnies that were going to get naked at the show were Gumnut, Hermione, Larrikin and MoBeau !

Just as I was setting up and getting all the stuff ready and showing the team where to set up their wheels, I was tackled by Channel 9 news (whose cameraman actually was very interested in the angora and yarn ! so I gave him and the interviewer a badge saying “real men love bunnies” and “I love Bunnies” lol

Channel 9 interviewing MoBeau and me

Bunny Talk ?

The interview took quite a while and when you see the actual footage that has been aired by Channel 9 we are on air for about 5 seconds…lost of fluff obviously ended up on the editing floor…lol



the Sydney Royal Show team did a fantastic job and actually filmed the whole process and then edited it on fast speed so you get a great idea about the whole event in 53seconds. Mind you, in real life the Back to Back Bunny world record attempt was done in 2 hours, 26minutes and 55 seconds !

Sydney Royal camera crew interviewing Elisheba, who is responsible for all the gorgeous photos you see here! Thank you Elisheba!

It took 2 hours, 26mins and 55 secs for Louise, Christina and me , to clip the four bunnies, then all that wonderful fibre was carded or spun immediately as is and then knitted into a scarf by the rest of the team and me. The scarf measures 3.6meters and weighs 195 grams ! It could possibly have weighed and measured a bit more but in our enthusiasm, heavy breathing (thank heavens the fans were not on!) a lot of fine angora fleece drifted up in the air and stuck to our clothes instead of our wheel…lol

The Back to Back bunny scarf shows the amazingly soft texture and all the different colours of the bunnies: it is a very exclusive, wonderful garment that will keep somebody very warm and looks absolutely stunning ! You will see the difference in texture and spinning and knitting ofcourse and that all adds to the super special quality of this piece.
The World Record Back to Back Bunny Scarf will be auctioned off on Friday the 20th of April and all proceeds will go to the Cancer Council Australia. World Record Angora Fluff for a Cure !

Here are some photos of the day, but you can see more on http://www.flickr.com/photos/ixchelbunny/sets/72157629803357883/

Cmon Mobeau this is your spot to get naked ..lol

cárding , spinning and clipping its all happening !

Look at al that gorgeous angora waiting to be spun!

Siobhan and me spinning like mad women and having fun

the team spinning and knitting with lots of people in the background looking at what wonderful things bunnies can produce ! Hi Harriet (was great meeting you at the show) !!!

Emma plying the last bit and Sheridan knitting fast!

Gumnut seems to be very interested in MoBeaus bits and totally ignores the crowd ..lol

knitting from both ends ! Siobhan Colley and Sheridan Femia

somebody (ahem ahem cough cough) forgot their darning needle so Sheridan did a magical three needle bind off !

the Back to back bunny team with the world record angora scarf !

a table full of world record back to back bunny scarf ! waiting to be auctioned off next Friday!

I drove back to Melbourne with a huge smile on my face and was so happy to have been able to do this wonderful feat with an amazing bunch of people! Thank you so so much everybody in the Back to Back Bunny Team for your awesomeness, the organisers of the Sydney Royal Show and the Australian Show Rabbit Association (thank you Gen Hughes for this opportunity to showcase bunnies in all their beautiful and different facets!), thank you Channel 9 and the Sydney Royal Camera Team for your time and effort to showcase our back to back bunny world record adventure !

Here is this weeks update! Enjoy! Next week the World Record Scarf will be auctioned off so stay tuned ! It’s for a very good cause: the Cancer Council Australia, so dig deep and let the fluff help find a cure for this awful, devastating disease!


How To Order:
You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or message me on facebook or ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny. I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods. Any questions? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

Thank you so much for your help and support !
(((HUGS)))
Charly

IxCHeL Black Bunny Tops 100+grams AU$21
60% Blue faced Leicester, 10% angora, 10% cashmere, 20% black “gold”bamboo (this bamboo has not been stretched out of recognition and processed to death, meaning it will spin very nicely together with all the other fibres in this blend!)
Excellent for spinning the most luscious yarns and felts beautifully!

MischMasch
Borogrove

(according to Lewis Caroll this is an extinct Parrot

with an upturned beak, professed to make nests under sundials) SOLD Unicorn

I have more Black bunny tops in the making but I ran out of time…I will have a full Tardis car filled to the brim with new tops and yarns again when I go to the Montrose spinners Flower Power Spin in on Monday the 16th of April (see Dates to remember secion in this blog for more information )


IxCHeL merino/silk 4 ply , 100+grams +/- 425meters !!! AU$28
An amazing hand dyed yarn with a huge amount of meterage, super soft , with a nice shine!
1 skein will do a a scarf or a lush pair of socks ! There are more than one skeins per colour available !

Through the Looking glass

Queen of Hearts

Gumnut


Flamingo

Tweedledee

Dodo Magic

Dormouse Teaparty

Humpty Dumpty

Cheshire Cat in the tree

Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat

Lobster Quadrille

Alice in Wonderland

Mad Hatter

Wonderland

Rocking Horse Butterfly

Dates to Remember:
Bunny Spin in at the Ixchel Fibre Farm (11am-4pm)
Every Third Saturday and every fourth Thursday of the month!

Saturday April 21st, 11am-4pm
Bring a plate to share your wheel or spindle, knitting or crochet, yourself and a smile and have a fun day out amongst bunnies and friends ! Please contact me to secure a spot ! Bunny food like cabbage, bok choi or broccoli is always welcome as well ! : the bunnies will cuddle you more for it ;D

Thursday April 26th, 11am – 4pm

April 16th, 10am-4pm
Flower Power Spin in
Grand Valley Spinner & Weavers
Tapscott-Milbourne centre, Cambridge road, Montrose (melways ref 52 C5)
10am-4pm
It is going to be heaps of fun with lots of new fibres and yarns !!! and lot s of spinning

April 28th
Mini Wool Show of the Hand knitters Guild
Brunswick Town Hall !
I am preparing heaps of new yarns for that event that will be amazing !!!!! a NOT TO BE MISSED EVENT !!!

The Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show 2012
Friday 20th-Sunday 22nd of July
I will be in the Flower (bunny) shed again this year with heaps of new fluffy stuff and in full bunny regalia
This year it is even going to BIGGER and more HUGE than ever !!!
Join me in the fun !
The woolcraft schedule is published and the IxCHeL Fibre farm is sponsoring a catergory this year in the handspun yarn classes in Natural Animal Fibres class 23 and 24 !!! We feel it is very important to get the word out . Angora fibre and cashmere and mohair and alpaca and baby camel is amazing to spin, felt, weave, embellish and crochet with! Start planning and working on your entry for the show and get your art work out there for everybody tot admire and win prizes !! yeah ! What could be better eh?
Check out the website here for more details : www.sheepshow.com and for questions relating to the woolcraft schedule and ore contact Dot Vallence at Dotv5 at optusnet dot com dot au

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


RABBIT ON !
((hugs))
Charly