Seaweed Mythical Creature Adventure and Yarrrrn!

Hectic: Adjective

1. 1.

   full of incessant or frantic activity.

   "a hectic  schedule"

   frantic, frenetic, frenzied, feverish, manic, restless, very busy, very active, fast and furious; More lively, brisk, bustling, buzzing, vibrant, crowded

Yes, all of this applies to me at the moment.. the studio is more than over crowded with new blends, club fibres, batt making supplies and heaps and heaps of new exciting adventures!

I received a lot of requests for yarn, especially the long repeat yarns , so I have been more than busy to get that ready for you. More on that later in this blog.

But!!! tonight is also the announcement of another awesome fibery adventure , waiting for you to sign up!
Last time it was the Smaug adventure featuring the gorgeous Valois Blacknose Sheep and the North Ronaldsay sheep in a magical blend with gold…this time I am offering you something amazing and super special . And because there were quite a few people who wanted to sign up for the Smaug but were not particularly enthused by the fact that every option had gold bling in it, this time I have a bling and a blingless option!

There will however be silver in each and every one! No, there will be no bling that is, if you don’t want to, but the seaweed that the rare sheep are blended with has been infused in a silver solution to make it extra beneficial.
Seaweed has beautiful qualities also as a fibre: it has skin protective and healing qualities; The brown algae (ascophyllum nodosum or knotted wrack) of SeaCell® fiber come from the cold, pure fjords of Iceland. The slopes of these sea arms are sparsely settled, and their untouched nature is a paradise for wildlife. The seaweed are full of minerals that they draw from the geothermal sea water – enriched with vital substances, free of contaminants and of the highest quality.

Among other things, these brown algae offer a large quantity of vitamins and minerals, such as magnesium and calcium as well as the active ingredient fucoidan, which constrains the growth of tumor cells.
It is effective against influenza viruses and high cholesterol levels, relieves skin diseases, and contributes to the skin’s healing process.
Antioxidants are also a defense against free radicals, protecting against skin damage. Your skin needs nutrients to stay healthy and beautiful. Mineral substances and trace elements are important, for example, since they invigorate your metabolism and have an impact on cell renewal, water balance, the healing of wounds, and protection from the sun. On the other hand, amino acids have a smoothing effect, while vitamins support the natural protective role of the skin and protect it from free radicals.

All these nutrients are present in the select brown algae in SeaCell® to a high degree. Your skin benefits from their health-promoting effects: Due to the natural moisture of the skin, the vital substances in the seaweed are set free when the fibers are worn.
The main nutrients in this special Seaweed fibre that is part of the new Fiber adventure blend I am very proud to offer you are:
• Minerals: e.g. magnesium, calcium, potassium and phosphorus
• Trace elements: mainly iron and iodine
• Amino acids: e.g. glutamic acid, histidine and alanine
• Vitamin: B, A, and E
Their beneficial effect can be absorbed in your skin over time while wearing your magical Seaweed blend– even after many washing cycles!

No wonder the sheep of North Ronaldsay love Seaweed!

The North Ronaldsay Sheep are the only animals in the world, aside from a certain Galapagon lizard, to be able to subsist entirely on seaweed, leading to its nickname ‘seaweed sheep’. The breed is thought to be over 5000 years old. The breed is farmed within the Northern Ronaldsay Islands, Orkney and kept nearby the seashore for most of the year. In 1832 the Laird of North Ronaldsay decided that his pastureland should not be wasted on native sheep and a dyke was built round the island to keep them on the shore and off the land. It was most probably this separation that resulted in the preservation of the North Ronaldsay, as it prevented cross breeding which had been the downfall of other Orkney sheep.

 

The North Ronaldsay is one of the Northern Shorttailed primitive group of breeds that also includes the Manx Loghtan, Soay, Shetland and Icelandic . The North Ronaldsay is still mainly found on its native island, the northernmost of the Orkneys. The sheep keeping system on North Ronaldsay is unique and involves a stone wall which keeps the sheep on the seashore and away from the cultivated land for most of the year. This wall was built in 1832 and since then the breed has evolved to survive primarily on seaweed. The sheep live on the seashore most of the year around and are only brought onto the better land for lambing.

The North Ronaldsay is one of group of primitive Northern Short-tailed sheep and represents a very early stage in the evolution of domestic sheep. DNA studies have shown a close relationship to sheep found in the Stone Age village of Skara Brae on mainland Orkney, which dates from 3000 BC. In 1832 a wall was built around their native island to confine the animals to the foreshore for most of the year in order to conserve the inland grazing. Since then the breed has developed its distinctive metabolism due to its diet of seaweed, which also renders it susceptible to copper poisoning under standard sheep management systems. North Ronaldsays are very sensitive to copper and will die of copper toxicity if put on the wrong type of grazing. This is due to their seaweed diet and the unique metabolism they have evolved. They should not be fed commercial sheep mixes as despite the label saying “No Added Copper” the normal ingredients used will often have a background level high enough to be toxic (ten parts per million is too high). The North Ronaldsay is capable of surving on less than larger breeds and is an active browser, used to ranging over long distances in search of food.

Colours of their fleece are variable: including white, various shades of grey, black and moorit (deep brown). The double fleece has coarse outer guard hairs and a fine soft inner coat. I have never ever felt and dyed something as extraordinary as this sheeps fleece. It is springy, almost feels moist even after its scouring and washing. It almost feels lkike it resists the dye when you pour the pigments on and everything immediately flows to the bottom, leaving the top layer of the fibre springy and almost without dye. At least, that is what appears to happen…it takes the dye beautifully and retains its springy texture and openness.

 

It is a dream to spin and work with. You can make a yarn that is strong and still soft to wear. It is very very special ! There are only about 600 of these seaweed sheep left in the world. Only through our effort of conservation of the environment and conservation through appreciation of this rare breed by spinning and knitting its fleece, can we hold on to one of the oldest and most special breeds in the world alive today.

 

There is a documentary about the island with its seaweed eating sheep on youtube for you to see.  It shows you what the island looks like, the important wild life : Seals ! (warning ! Cute overload !) bird populations and ofcourse its most famous inhabitants:" the seaweed sheep ! (another cute overload ! @ 16:50 mins in) :  

 

Enjoy!

 

So, here it is the New Fibre Blend adventure Sign up starting tonight:

IxCHeL Fibre Adventure Sign up----SOLD OUT IN UNDER 48 HOURS---

Loch Ness Seaweed Batts and matching Loch Ness Tops!

Sign in to receive your Loch Ness batts and tops, Shipping date: mid December !! in a very special super limited release !

 

Here’s your chance to spin some amazingly special batts and tops with a blend of :

two very RARE SHEEP BREEDS !!:

North Ronaldsay!(seaweed sheep)
Valois blacknose sheep +

Silver infused Seaweed Fibre!!!!!!

plus
 

Cashmere +
English Angora Bunny

The Loch Ness batts will be inspired by the mystery and magic of sea creatures and seaweed ! and I will ONLY make enough batts for those who sign in. Same thing goes for the tops!

Sign in on the Loch Ness batts and tops will close November 28th or until the amount that I can make runs out, whichever comes first !!!

Only the ones who sign up for the Loch Ness Adventure will have these exclusive IxCHeL Loch Ness Batts and tops!

the batts will each weigh appr 150grams each!  AU$32
the tops are a 100g + each ! AU$24
There will only be a very very VERY limited supply!!

You will have to sign in before November 28! Pm on Ravelry or facebook or email me :-) 

Single double or combined serves will be available ! and please make sure you mention if you want the silver holographic extra special Angelina bling or no bling option for the batts.

All the tops have NO bling.

All the batts and the tops have the silver infused seaweed fibre.

All the tops and batts will be in the same colourway inspired by the environment the North Ronaldsay sheep live in.

I have added “inspiration photos” below. Enjoy !

 

North Ronaldsay Sheep enjoying magical seaweed

Valois Blacknose sheep, a mythical sheep in its own right (plus super cute !)

 

If you are not a spinner of yarns but would love to participate in this new fiber adventure, please let me know and I can spin the yarn for you !

Long Colour Repeat Yarns   

100% pure wool 
 
4 ply comes in skeins of 140-160grams , 400m/100g, suggested needles 3-4.5mm …. AU$35

Lace yarn comes in skeins of +/-290-310grams That is enough to make a gorgeous huge lace shawl !, 700meters/100g !! suggested needles 3mm AU$60
 

knit these amazingly cute mitts with the rainbow 4ply ,
 just starting from the opposite scale of the colour spectrum when doing the intarsia !

Citron Shawl in 4 ply

Long Colour Repeat Lace Yarn Rainbow  290-310grams AU$60
 

 

Long Colour repeat 4ply yarn Rainbow
140-160grams  AU$35
 

 

Lanesplitter skirt (sunset and heather combined)

 

Long Colour Repeat Lace yarn Sunset
250-270 grams AU$50
 

 

Long Colour Repeat 4 ply Yarn Sunset
140-160grams  AU$35
 

 

Knee high socks made with Sunset 4ply

 

How To Order:

1. You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or ixchelbunny at yahoo dot com dot au
2. 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? Any custom orders for yarn or dyeing fibre? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

Thank you so much for your help and support !

 

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly