IxCHeL Fibres, Yarns & Art: October 2016

Friday, October 28, 2016

Great Racka

This update is a special one, actually a request after I put the last rare sheep breed adventure up: Pure Hungarian Racka sheep tops !

I will just run through the details again just in case ;-) It is a very rare breed especially known for its unusual spiral shaped horns that are unlike any other domestic sheep horns and can grow to be 2 ft/0.61meters long ! The smallest standard size of the horns is about 51 cm for rams and 38cm for ewes. Whatever the size , you wouldn’t want to get caught on the end of one!

Lucky this breed of sheep is very gentle and very shy and not blood thirsty..lol.

HISTORY

The Racka Sheep originally come from Hungary and have existed at least since the 1800s when there was a first registry established. Their history goes further back than that though : In South-West Asia have been found skulls and bones of Racka-like sheep dating from about 11.000 years ago. About 8.000 years ago, in Mesopotamia, the ancient Iraq, and in the ancient Egypt lived long-tailed sheep with the same drill-shaped horns as the Racka, as can be seen on wall-paintings found in local caves. Possibly, the Racka is originating from the wild Middle-Eastern sheep: the Ovis ammon arkal.

The Racka left his original area during the Great Migrations . The Avars, Petschenegs, Jazygs and Huns brought them to Central- and East-Europe. In 1750, half of the total flock of seven million Hungarian sheep were Rackas! Somewhere around that time, about 50.000 lambs and sheep were traded on the market near the Hortobâgy Bridge. Economically, in these days the Racka was very interesting: they managed to survive quite well on the open, dry and poor plains of Hungary, the Puszta. The fleece of 2-3 day old lambs were sold to make very fine bonnets and collars for the richer Hungarians.

The farmers used the fleece of the old sheep to make their coats. When the weather was dry, the coats were turned with the wool inside, when it was raining the coats were turned inside out, the water dripping from the wool. Clipped wool was used to make coats for the poorer people. The in the 18th century imported Merino, now 95% of the total Hungarian flock, almost drove the Racka to total extinction. In 1939 the Hungarian government had to interfere and centralized the lasting 4000 Rackasheep on a State farm in Hortobâgy, on the puszta east of Budapest.

Wrong methods of reproducing and far-going consanguinity made that during the Second World War, there were only 1450 Rackas left. In the 50's the flock was decimated till about 200 ewes! The state farm of Hortobâgy was ordered from the Hungarian government to save the Racka .

In 1973, the Hortobâgy area was installed asthe first National Park of Hungary and the Racka was saved; Now there are about 5000 ewes again. Other rare Puszta-breeds were also saved as the Grey Puszta cattle, the Noniusz and the Mezöhegyes horse, the Hungarian water buffalo, the Mangalica pig and the typical Hungarian sheepdogs: the Komondor, the Kuvasz, the Puli, and the Pumi. In 1983 the organisation of Hungarian Racka breeders was founded in Debrecen. Now the exceding part of Racka ewes may be exported again, though a number of minimum 750 ewes has to be kept in the National Park of Hortobâgy, thus creating a genetic bank for the Magyar Racka.

DESCRIPTION

The Racka is a relatively small sheep with large horns, a mixed fleece (hair/underwool = 1/2), a long body and fine bone-structure. The rams are circa 70cm and weigh about 50 Kg, the ewes are circa 65 cm and weigh 40 Kg. The horns of the rams are ± 52 cm long and have 3 windings. The distance between the points of the horns is almost 80 cm. Ewes have ± 25 cm long horns with 2 windings. The distance between the points of the horns should be 41 cm. The peculiar shape of these horns is the result of the interaction between the length-growth of the horn and the circular-growth.

If these two kinds of growth are in balance, then the sheep get horns like the Merino, the Drenth Heath sheep, Dorset Horn, Black Welsh Mountain and the presumed ancestor of the Racka: the Argali. If the length-growth is much more important than the circular-growth, then we get the typical shape of a corkscrew as we see with the Racka.

The fleece can have two colours: black and cream-white. In the Hortobâgy flock, ± of the sheep are black, with a black skin, the other half is cream-white with a light brown-yellow skin. Some sheep are white or have spots on head and legs. The wool is very long and curly (staple-length 25-30 cm with a fibre diameter of 15-60 micron). Legs and head are unwooled, except for a little tuff on the forehead. The position of the ears is almost horizontal, the shells downwards. The tail is very long with very long wool.

The horns of white and cream animals are yellow, sometimes with black stripes, the horns of the black are black. Lambs of the cream variety are born with a yellowish to darkbrown fleece, getting lighter with growing. When cross-breeding with white and black animals, the white is dominant, but in the F-1 generation can appear also white sheep with dark brown or black spots.

PROPERTIES

The Racka is a relatively shy and very resistant breed, that can have a reasonably production under harsh climatological conditions. The flock-instinct is extremely developed, they are grazing as if they are tied shoulder to shoulder, they can live on dry hay, and remind us a little bit of deer.

What's typical is the somewhat over-developed hind-quarters, the equal standing under and upper jaw, And the deep laying and relatively few muscles in the neck, so the sheep can lift his head very high to watch out on the plains. Fertility is low: about 100%, twins birth is 5 to 15%. Some of the ewes don't reproduce for one or maybe more years. The average weight of the lambs is 10 Kg after 30 days, 14 Kg after 60 days. Wool production is 3 to 4 Kg for the rams, 2-3 Kg for the ewes. The wool was used to make traditional coats, carpets and the typical Cserge blankets.

Ewes produce 50 to 70 l of milk during 100 days of lactation (producing about 10 Kg of cheese). The Racka was mainly kept for as well the meat, the milk and the wool.

VARIETIES

The Racka belongs to the large group of Zackel-sheep, living in South and East-Europe, as the Vlach in Greece, the Karakachan in Bulgary, the Pramenkain Yugoslavia, Walachian in Czechia and Slovakia, the Volochian in Russia and so on. The large group of Zackel -sheep can be divided in breeds of the plains and the mountains, possessing all a mixed fleece, a long body, a fine bone-structure, and straight horns for the rams.

With the Turcana, the Transsylvanian Racka of Roumania, only the rams have horns. They are mainly light brown skinned with a white fleece. The Moldavian Racka has not V-shaped horns, but these grow somewhat more to the exterior, the spiral growth is not so strict .

Other Racka varieties are the Walaschka, the Zigaja, the Zikta and the Zurcana. It is a very tough breed and use for milking, meat and WOOL!

Their wool is long with a gentle lock definition and is similar in handle to other longwool breeds. The staple length can be 12”/20cms and can vary from 12micron to 40 micron. The long locks have some really nice luster. I found it to be crunchy and crispy. Not for a next to skin wear but it would be wonderful or for outerwear.

And that , my friends, Is where I always take the challenge on. First there is a selection of the best fleeces, then it is all about preparation and blending. And blending it with bunny and cashmere fibres in a special blending process, makes it that this rare breed Racka sheep , in my humble opinion, can be close to skin wear. I loved the feel and airyness of it in the blend. I find the lustre amazing and most of all, I felt very privileged to be able to put together a blend with this magical fleece.

Here you can see some photos of the herd, their cute behaviour, their fleeces and ...
their magical horns ;-) Enjoy !

hmmmm food !!

Hungarian Racka Rare Sheep sheep breed tops SOLD OUT

100g of pure undyed Hungarian Racka sheep tops

100g AU$21

Only a very limited quantity available

New IxCHeL Club sign ups are open !

for the months : January, February and March 2017

(til quotas are reached or until December 31st)

For all our international club fans there is a possibility to ship all three clubs together to save on postage if you want :-) Just pm me and enquire about the options available.

IxCHeL Fibre Club January, February, March 2017

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed top/roving per month to the value of AU$24 or more

All the tops will be hand dyed and will be especially made for the members of Ixchel Fibre Club ! Price to join the IxCHel Fibre Club #31 and receive your special hand dyed top :)) for three months (January, February and March 2017) is AU$72 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND there are good value double serves available !!!

For Australia : single serve $72+$28 postage (parcel post), double serve $136+$28 (save $8) or triple serves $204 (save $12!) + postage

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$72+AU$56 (Airmail) double serve AU$136+AU$56

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$72+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve AU$136+AU$69

For Asia: Single serve AU$72+AU$50 (airmail) Double serve AU$136+AU$50

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #31 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The January 2017 Club is going to be shipped out end of January. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

The IxCHeL Sock Yarn Clubs January, February, March 2017

Every month for three months (January, February and March 2017) you will receive: enough hand dyed luscious yummy yarn to make a pair of socks or a lush shawl or scarf ofcourse! (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); 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 extra long !

For Australia : single serve $78+$28 postage (parcel post) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +$28

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$78+AU$56 (Airmail) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$56

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$78+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$69

For Asia: Single serve AU$78+AU$45 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$45

Numbers are strictly limited !

Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal . 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 Clubs January, February, March 2017

Here are all the details and just pm me when you have any questions or want to be part of the funky bunny batt club Movement ;-) Welcome to the blingy dark side ;-D

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed funky bunny batt per month to the value of AU$40 or more .

The batts will range in weight from 140grams to 180grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even wolf and bison and rare sheep breeds !!!! 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 !

Sign up now and you will receive an Ixchel Hand dyed , super luxurious funky bunny batt for January, February and March 2017.

Price to join the Ixchel Funky bunny for three months is :

For Australia : $108+$28 postage (parcel post)

For USA + Canada: AU$108+AU$56 (Airmail)

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$108+AU$69 (airmail)

For Asia: AU$108+AU$45 (airmail)

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FUNKY BUNNY BATT CLUB now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The first installment is going to be shipped out end of January Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me

Dates to put in your Calendar !!

DECEMBER

Spindling Workshops in Warburton at the Pea Green Boat !: more info to come soon !

Landscape dyes

100g tubs AU$11

Want to dye your own with easy to use acid dyes? I have been selling these Landscape dyes at my workshops and shows for a long time : They are extremely easy to use and come in great shades.
Just contact me with the name of the colour you are after and I will get right back to you.

Have a creative week!

Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? : Always happy to enable.

All my contact details are here:

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
3. Message me on www.ravelry.com 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

Friday, October 21, 2016

Almost Halloween Time and ... style

After the whole storm and the huge tree that fell down on half of our yard, not to mention the no electricity thing, I have been trying my best to get back on top of things because , well, you know, lots of things needed doing: rare sheep breed adventures dyed, blended and dried and spun, the October sock club dyed and dried and skeined and patterns to be made, the huge amount of batts that needed to be carded and all the tops to be dyed, dried, braided and labelled and then…..all needed to be parcelled up and shipped. Yep, no rest for the wicked…it was a huge amount of work, but! Happy to say that all the parcels went out early this week on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday AND I can start on the next things on my seemingly never ending list.

In the midst of it all I try to keep my sanity by watching politics and comedy (hard to separate the two at the moment) and preparing for the workshops I am doing next week at a retreat. People may not be aware but I really, really am a shy, introvert kind of person (I’m sure I told you this before but I am just reminding myself more than anything..lol) . I love learning new things, being creative and no, I can honestly say, I am not a social butterfly. Maybe it stems from being a single child without any siblings and then having to take care of my parents at a very early age, which may have attributed to the fact that partying and socialising was not among my key pass times. You wonder where this is going, I’m sure..lol Well, the thing is , I have been in this fibre business , professionally (meaning I have to survive from what I make and do myself, no, here is no other income) for over 12 years. And as with everything, I have always kept a very open mind. I have always been very welcoming and ALWAYS shared information and processes. Why? Because I am a firm believer of the fact that everybody , whatever they do, whether they are a painter, a designer, a dyer, a spinner or a weaver or a writer: EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT! You can hand 5 people the same skein or top of naked yarn or fibre and you will, at the end of the day, get 5 different variations of a theme. That is my belief. Even, and there are a lot of people out there that do not share my positive enthusiasm, if you think that evil forces will come and plagiarise your work, or try and imitate what you are doing, please, I beg of you, do not let it get to you. It will stifle you and cramp your own development. The thing what I am trying to say is, everybody is trying to find their own image, their own voice, their own style. It takes time and unfortunately copying other peoples work is not entirely how to go about it BUT there may be tiny elements that you take on board and grow it into something that connects with who you are.

You may, or may not know, that I started out this whole art craft journey when I arrived in Australia, trying to sell my art and my paintings. So I have a very big affinity with painting and drawing. I love design and colour. Lucky for me, what I do now, applying colour and pigments to yarn and fibre, is less far assay from what I have started with long ago, than what you may think.
In the end it is all about who you are and how you translate your personality onto canvas or fibre or yarn! And like I said earlier, everybody is inherently different. There is no easy road to do craft or art and finding “your style”, but at the same time, just being YOU is all you need to make it happen. Try and learn from good people and make it yours, something different, something special. Not only will it feel absolutely right what you are doing then, but also it will enable you to grow more and more and find a huge amount of energy, which you will need to keep going. So don’t stress, don’t copy the whole apple, but take bits and pieces you like about it and add it to make something that reflects you. You will be amazed how good it feels and how less stressful it is to achieve your own style. And , most importantly, share and have fun ! Please have a look at a great artist, Bobby Chiu, who runs Schoolism and does some awesome podcasts as well. I know it is not fibre related but I am sure you will get it. Here’s the linkie:

Tonight’s update is all about a Halloweeny special: Cashmere fling !

Have a fun weekend and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions! You know me: I always love to enable! Custom spinning and dyeing and creating blends Please contact me: I am here to help .

All my contact details are to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry. Have fun and stay warm!!

Cashmere Fling Tops

100grams AU$23

Cashmere, Tencel, Bamboo, Glitz

This fibre blend is like spinning butter ! It has an amazing drape and is smooth and soft as !

Body Snatchers-1left-

Creature from the Black Lagoon-sold-

Frankenstein-1 left-

Godzilla-sold-

Halloween-sold-

Here’s Johnny !-2left-

Ice Monster-sold-

Sally from Nightmare before Christmas-1left-

Scary Clowns-sold-

Silence of the Lambs-sold-

Werewolf in London-sold-

Timelords and Pumpkins-sold-

New IxCHeL Club sign ups are open !

for the months : January, February and March 2017

(til quotas are reached or until December 31st)

For all our international club fans there is a possibility to ship all three clubs together to save on postage if you want :-) Just pm me and enquire about the options available.

IxCHeL Fibre Club January, February, March 2017

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed top/roving per month to the value of AU$24 or more

All the tops will be hand dyed and will be especially made for the members of Ixchel Fibre Club ! Price to join the IxCHel Fibre Club #31 and receive your special hand dyed top :)) for three months (January, February and March 2017) is AU$72 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND there are good value double serves available !!!

For Australia : single serve $72+$28 postage (parcel post), double serve $136+$28 (save $8) or triple serves $204 (save $12!) + postage

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$72+AU$56 (Airmail) double serve AU$136+AU$56

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$72+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve AU$136+AU$69

For Asia: Single serve AU$72+AU$50 (airmail) Double serve AU$136+AU$50

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #31 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The January 2017 Club is going to be shipped out end of January. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

The IxCHeL Sock Yarn Clubs January, February, March 2017

Every month for three months (January, February and March 2017) you will receive: enough hand dyed luscious yummy yarn to make a pair of socks or a lush shawl or scarf ofcourse! (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); 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 extra long !

For Australia : single serve $78+$28 postage (parcel post) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +$28

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$78+AU$56 (Airmail) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$56

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$78+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$69

For Asia: Single serve AU$78+AU$45 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$45

Numbers are strictly limited !

Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal . 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 Clubs January, February, March 2017

Here are all the details and just pm me when you have any questions or want to be part of the funky bunny batt club Movement ;-) Welcome to the blingy dark side ;-D

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed funky bunny batt per month to the value of AU$40 or more .

The batts will range in weight from 140grams to 180grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even wolf and bison and rare sheep breeds !!!! 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 !

Sign up now and you will receive an Ixchel Hand dyed , super luxurious funky bunny batt for January, February and March 2017.

Price to join the Ixchel Funky bunny for three months is :

For Australia : $108+$28 postage (parcel post)

For USA + Canada: AU$108+AU$56 (Airmail)

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$108+AU$69 (airmail)

For Asia: AU$108+AU$45 (airmail)

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FUNKY BUNNY BATT CLUB now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The first installment is going to be shipped out end of January Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me

Dates to put in your Calendar !!

DECEMBER

Spindling Workshops in Warburton at the Pea Green Boat !: more info to come soon !

Landscape dyes

100g tubs AU$11

Want to dye your own with easy to use acid dyes? I have been selling these Landscape dyes at my workshops and shows for a long time : They are extremely easy to use and come in great shades.
Just contact me with the name of the colour you are after and I will get right back to you.

Have a creative week!

Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? : Always happy to enable.

All my contact details are here:

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
3. Message me on www.ravelry.com 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

Friday, October 14, 2016

Windy Weather

A very windy Spring!!!!

October always seems to be full of surprises on the weather front. So called Spring normally should be mild getting us all ready for Summer, but here for the last two years in a row, October has been, to say the least, extremely volatile! Last year, almost on the same day !! it was hailing so badly with hailstones the size of a baby fist , the roof of the verandah got badly damaged and the studio flooded. This year, there were such gale force gusts of wind, that it was not just “windy” and “hold on to your hat” kinda weather, oh no! it was so “windy” it almost blew me down the hill when Paul and I were inspecting what damage was done and then suddenly : the wind direction changed like we were in the periphery of a cyclone and BANG! CRASH! SHUDDER!: a huge messmate (a type of Eucalypt tree) that had stood there for ages, didn’t just crack or lost a limb, NO! it was totally uprooted !!!

To think we were almost there walking around the property, because we wanted to see what fabulous work Paul had done to get the big branches that had been torn off the wattle tree not too long ago! We could’ve been under that huge pile of branches and huge tree. I shudder to think about it. We were very lucky but just over the hill, there was a woman who was crushed in her living room! When a huge tree fell on her house and the house of her neighbours.

We went back to our house to see if anything had fallen in or off there , but to our surprise even the power was still on!!! So strange! Well, as soon as that came out of my mouth of course the power went off and it didn’t come back on til Wednesday very late in the afternoon. 4 days no electricity, wreaks a bit of havoc if you do not have a back up….We have been very blessed not to be hurt or have any real damage and also blessed because we do have a tiny generator so we could hook up the fridge and the wifi, which was essential, well the wifi that is, because the mobile tower was off grid most of the time. A lot of people did not have that little back up system. When you are living here in the hills I can only say please get powerpack, batteries, candles and please invest in a generator or something if the power goes (which is ofcourse of the enough without the wild phenomena of last sunday).

There are things you cannot possibly hook up to a tiny generator: anything that is hard wired is a no no of course, but also anything that needs heating up like a heating plate, heater or even a simple thing like a coffee machine or my dye set ups (not on gas….yet !) or anything that uses a big amount of power, like lathes and big machinery. So the whole week was basically spent cleaning up, dealing with other things while the dyeing and blending and carding ahd to be put on the back burner. I did start the clubs and the rare sheep breed adventure earlier than usual but I still had heaps to do. Unfortunately, some things just had to wait. When the power came back on after 4 days, I immediately spent lots of time at the carders trying to get all the batts and blending done and then after that, I spent lots of time finishing the dyeing for the clubs. So all in all, although not quite finished yet, I estimate that the Racka rare sheep breed adventure AND the October Clubs will be ready to send on Monday or Tuesday ! Yeah !!! What a week !!! Here is a view of Paul with the huge Messmate !