National Splurge Weekend 2018

The National Splurge weekend aka the Bendigo show is over for another year! It was a fabulous celebration of fibres, yarns and all things fluffy!!! It was amazing to see so many friends and make new ones ! It was exhausting, super fun, exhilarating, non-stop excitement and amazing ! I was semi incognito, meaning I was wearing jeans and jumpers, not my usual hellbunny dresses with complimentary petticoats. I did wear my fluffy neon green bunny ears so I was not totally invivible…LOL My knee gave me some serious trouble but also a super power: I had to hop (not walk) everywhere , which added to the whole bunny thing. LOL

It was amazing how many people were there to give me a hand! Too many to mention but a special thank you to Fiona my fellow bunny addicted bestie, Erika and Barbara, Chrys and Emma. All helped me unpack and make life a lot easier with my “hopping” affliction and also helped me set up , so it did not take me til midnight to get the displays up and all the fluffy stuff set up ! I cannot thank you enough !

Here are some photos of the display and what was on offer :

I ran out of time to take more photos of the stall (I muissed out on showing you the handspun yarns: angora, bunny wallaby and himalayan marmot yarns) because it was getting a bit late and the organisers wanted to shut the doors ..but it is giving you an idea of what goodies I had on offer. 

I did not have a chance to organize everything yet after the show. I am getting there but I need more time, especially since I am doing the clubs now , which will be shipped out start of next week! Busy Busy busy! I am also going to dye the sexy scientist yarn range which you can still sign up for below. The yarns all sold out at the show but here is your chance to get your sexy hunk …eh..hank , LOL, sent to your home .

Also, there is something special to announce!! The winner of the Bendigo show raffle! 
Everybody who spent over $150 went into a raffle to win a big fluffy prize worth over $150 !! 
So start the drumroll!!! 


 The winner of the 2018 Bendigo show raffle is 


Ticket nr 1868 !!!!!


 Congratulations Leah Tapper !! 
Your prize will be hopping your way on Monday !!! 

 A big thank you to all of you who visited my stall at the show and showed your enthusiasm wearing your bunny ears and supporting small farms and small producers and dyers! I love you all lots !

Since I did not have a chance yet to get anything ready for the update I will re issue the possibility to Pre Order the Sexy Scientist Yarns.

So here are all the sexy scientist yarns in their full glory again. You can order them now and I will be dyeing and shipping them out start to mid of August.

I dyed every Sexy Scientist colourways on two yarn bases: The IxCHeL Sock yarn with superfine merino, silk and nylon (4ply or fingering weight, 100g/$29, 410meters) and the other is the Silver Star Sock yarn (Superfine merino, Cashmere, Nylon, Silver stellina. 100g, $32, 423meters).

You can put your order in by messaging me on facebook, Instagram or email me (see all the order details on the bottom of this blog).

I better get back to the dye room to get all the clubs ready !

Have a fun week Creating your Dreams!

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 also to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry.

Have a Creative and Fun week!

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.
4. message me on Instagram 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.

Dates to put in your Calendar

Sunday September 30th

Sheep and Woolcraft Field day
Pakenham Hall
Corner Henry and John Street , Pakenham
9.30 - 3.00pm

This awesome event is hosted by the Black & Coloured Sheep Breeders of South East Victoria
There will be craft demos, wonderful fleeces, a petting farm from the Elisabeth Murdoch College, Raffle prizes and of course a huge amount of stall holders offering fantastic fluffy fibres and yarns. I will be there again as well of course (would not miss it for the world) and I will have some new products again that could not be ready for the Bendigo Show like, natural dyes, plant seeds to grow your own dye garden, natural dye kits, new yarn and design kits as well as my usual range of super fluffy yarns and blends. I will give you a nice list closer to the date to help you prepare your shopping list  ;-)

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly

Sexy Scientist Yarns SPECIAL UPDATE !

This is an extra update just prior to the Bendigo Show coming up to give you an idea of the latest yarns in the Sexy Scientist range to be getting their first outing at the Bendigo Show and the latest news on what’s going on here. Well, so many things still need to be done ! almost everything is ready but the mad race is still on. I say mad race, because there are so many things to think of, kinda like going on a holiday for months and you need to be extra organized , so you won’t forget anything vital. So while I was hopping around , trying to get all those last minute things ready, I got into our van and …….. as soon as I climbed in with a spring in my step, I heard a PING! And yep…it’s either my hamstring or Knee as in, my ACL.  how lame (pardon the pun) is that?! I mean, i cant even say i was injured doing something cool, like climbing mt Everest.....no, it was getting in the van!!!

anyway, It hurts like hell and I can’t really walk,  I hobble, and I am currently splattered on the couch with an icepack. Paul is telling me ..no demanding…that I do not move. 

I dread getting up and down, or sitting down in general, but I hope my immobility this evening will make sure that setting up at the Bendigo show on Thursday will be easier and less painful ! I live in hope !!! I also cannot put my fav Bendigo boots on (lots of laces!!) nor do I think my normal get up (hell bunny dresses ) will be best for me at this time. So YOU may see me at the show not wearing my outfit as usual, but jeans and jumpers, coupled with , of course, the bunny ears ! so all is not lost… One thing is for sure! I will not be hopping around as usual…lol But, the show must go on as they say !!
So why this special Tuesday Update? Pre Order possibilities for the Sexy Scientist Yarns: There are a lot of people who cannot make it to Bendigo though and for those of you who can’t I would like to give you all the opportunity to still be able to get some of this sexiness.

So here are all the sexy scientist yarns in their full glory. You can order them now and I will be dyeing and shipping them out, after I get back from the Bendigo show.

I dyed every Sexy Scientist colourways on two yarn bases: The IxCHeL Sock yarn with superfine merino, silk and nylon (4ply or fingering weight, 100g/$29, 410meters) and the other is the Silver Star Sock yarn (Superfine merino, Cashmere, Nylon, Silver stellina. 100g, $32, 423meters).

You can put your order in by messaging me on facebook, Instagram or email me (see all the order details on the bottom of this blog).

If you can make it to the Bendigo Show I would LOVE to see you there. I will be in the Flower Shed in the Craft shed area of the show grounds. Here is a photo so you can find me : just go to the red circle...or ...follow the bunny ears and bunny foot prints :

Have a fun week Creating your Dreams!

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 also to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry.

Have a Creative and Fun week!

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.
4. message me on Instagram 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.

Dates to put in your Calendar

Friday July 20th to Sunday July 22nd 

Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo.
Go to http://www.sheepshow.com to see what is happening and book your tickets. The Bendigo Sheep and Wool show is the biggest wool show in Australia ! with an amazing amount of woolcraft, indie dyers, a huge amount of tops, yarn, craft, felt and spindles, spinning wheels and anything you need for your knitting,crocheting and crafting.
I will be there with an amazing amount of new exclusive wool blends and yarns, batts, felt and landscape and botanical natural dyes and so much more !!!
I will also have spindles by the amazing Bearded Dragon and lots of fibre tools as well from darning mushrooms to noste pinne and needle cases to distaffs. And, there will also be some wonderful Turkish spindles from my friend Scott Snyder available again !

Get ready for a fabulous weekend filled with lots of craft and fun !!!

Sunday September 30th

Sheep and Woolcraft Field day
Pakenham Hall
Corner Henry and John Street , Pakenham
9.30 - 3.00pm

This awesome event is hosted by the Black & Coloured Sheep Breeders of South East Victoria
There will be craft demos, wonderful fleeces, a petting farm from the Elisabeth Murdoch College, Raffle prizes and of course a huge amount of stall holders offering fantastic fluffy fibres and yarns. I will be there again as well of course (would not miss it for the world) and I will have some new products again that could not be ready for the Bendigo Show like, natural dyes, plant seeds to grow your own dye garden, natural dye kits, new yarn and design kits as well as my usual range of super fluffy yarns and blends. I will give you a nice list closer to the date to help you prepare your shopping list  ;-)

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly

Bendigo Show Last Minute Showdown !

It’s All happening …all the dyeing, braiding, labelling, packing, badge making, posters, vouchers (yes Bendigo vouchers) , packing the “thank you for being a superbunny for wearing bunny ears at the show!”-bags with pressies for everybody..all the last minute kind of things to get organized to make the Bendigo Show a wonderful experience for everybody. 
Now, here’s a newsflash: I prepare for the Bendigo show for at least a year. Yes, at least a year! Just like my rare breed adventures can take up to 2 even 3 years, all the things for the Bendigo show start the day after the last Bendigo show is done…. I know I should just take it easy for a while after, but that’s not how , as a small farm and small craft business work: There is always so much work to be done and lots of things to take into account. This year however, may be the last year I will be able to do it in that way. I have been quite ill for the last two months now and on orders of my doctor/husband, I need to take some time out. Don’t Panic though! My body may let me down but my brain is still going…for now..lol 
 I am especially very happy to announce a special “Sexy Scientist Yarn Range” for the Bendigo Show. I believe it is of the utmost importance to recognize the awesome combination of Yarn and Science, because without science there would be less yarn and less colour. You may think you are not a scientist, but in effect, we are all at least yarn scientists !
 You already have seen my “Sexy Weatherman” yarn and I have dyed up some other Scientist yarns for the Bendigo show. Some are still drying and getting ready , so photos are coming soon, but to keep you all updated!!!! Lots more is going on so please keep an eye on this space… Here are some Sexy Scientists on their way to the Bendigo Show next week:

Every decision, every plan, every spark of imagination or should I say the “vulcanic idea eruptions” that I have, however creative and exciting, they have to be assessed and thought about because of the super limited funds available. 
 Running a small fibre farm and a small craft business is just that: an almost impossible – or should I say implausible..lol- clash between chaotic anarchistic creativity with the need of an almost scientific calculations of risk/ non existant availability of funds…. 
 Safe to say: I go with my gut feelings and take it from there, dive in and then ……. After incessantly working almost 24/7 …..fear sets in …soon replaced by my motto of “keep swimming!” or “if you go through hell, keep going!” attitude. So yeah, a pretty normal week…  

Here are some views of the Sexy Scientists planned for the show. There are LOTS of other fields and scientists under consideration of course and please do not hesitate to contact me to suggest your fav scientist to become part of the “Sexy Scientist Yarns” ! and do not forget: the sexy scientist range will be available at the Bendigo Show next weekend !!!! 

I will be in the Flower Shed in the Craft shed area of the show grounds. Here is a photo so you can find me : just go to the red circle...or ...follow the bunny ears and bunny foot prints :

This week’s update is all about a rare sheep breed from a small farm of this amazing breed. Please understand that everytime you buy a rare sheep breed, you support farmers and their well cared for flock of sheep ! Also, please appreciate the research that has gone into this. I am not buying off the shelf here. This is all about support, scientific research of history and breed specifics that can give all of us yarn spinners an insight of the special fibres that make up our yarns. Nothing is easy, or fast in making yarn, and neither is taking care of keeping a rare breed alive and thriving !

So what rare sheep breed is on offer tonight? : It is the Manx Loaghtan ! 

The Manx Loaghtan conjures up images of the movie “Hell Boy” but these sheep are the epitome of gentle awesomeness ! Here are photos illustrating the flow from little lamb to adult heroism:

The origins of these primitive sheep are not fully understood but their ancestors are thought to go back to the Iron Age.

They share many characteristics with other primitive sheep and are part of the Northern Short Tail group of sheep.
These related primitive sheep were spread round Scandinavia, Iceland, the Scottish Islands and the Isle of Man by the Vikings.
The Manx Loaghtan is still one of the rarest of breeds in the British Isles and since 1973 the Rare Breeds Survival Trust has helped promote these wonderful sheep.
Up to the 18th century these sheep covered the Manx hills in their thousands. Gradually they were replaced by modern sheep that mature quicker and are heavier. Obviously modern economics are far from romantic..lol
In the last 120 years the Manx Loaghtan came close to extinction 3 times and was only saved by the dedication and foresight of a few people.
In the 1950s numbers were down to less than a 100!!!
Happily today there are just over a thousand and their future seems much brighter as people have come again to appreciate the wool which is naturally a dark tan colour, soft, light yet very warm.

The first thing that you notice about Manx Loaghtan sheep is their impressive set of horns. Both sexes have 2, 4 or even 6 horns!

As the name suggests, the Manx Loaghtan originated on the Isle Of Man. It is a small, ancient hill breed. Originally white with some grey and black sheep but few of the reddish-brown colour we see today (the word 'Loaghtan' comes from the Manx for 'mouse brown').

Like many other heritage breeds, the Loaghtan was once popular but declined in the early 20th century. The breed was rescued by enthusiasts both on the Isle of Man and in Scotland (where I got these beauties from) , and is now popular as a conservation grazer that will eat almost anything!

The breed is considered 'at risk' by the Rare Breed Survival Trust, with fewer than 1,500 registered breeding ewes.

Most Loaghtans have a medium staple length fleece, which in varying shades of brown getting paler with age, although they bleach to cream in the sun. The lambs are born black and generally achieve their particular shade of brown during the first year.

The fleece is very nice and soft witjh a staple length of between 70mm-100mm with around 22-28micron. It is great to spin for close to skin wear or for outerwear as well. I love this sheep. It has such an old world feel to it and so ancient in a way and ofcourse the fleece itself is just magic to spin up.

Please understand that I do not have a lot of stock of this exceptional rare breed fibre. Do not wait too long to pounce on this week’s update to avoid disappointment. I am offering you this all scoured and cleaned and pulled into luscious tops ready to spin in its natural colour. I will always be tempted to overdye grey fleeces (like you will see in later updates with the grey merino and silk blend I am working on as well) but there is no way I am tempted to overdye this luscious honey brown caramel coloured Manx Loughtan fibre. It is amazing just the way it is !

Have a fun weekend with lots of giggles!!

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 to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry. Have fun !!!

Manx Loughtan
Rare Sheep breed Tops 

A rare sheep breed that is a magical addition to your stash !

100grams (+/-3.5Oz); AU$22  FREE POST (for all in Australia and IxCHeL Club Members)

Manx Loaghtan top

Have a fun weekend Creating your Dreams!

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 also to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry.

Have a Creative and Fun week!

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.
4. message me on Instagram 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.

Dates to put in your Calendar

Friday July 20th to Sunday July 22nd 

Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo.
Go to http://www.sheepshow.com to see what is happening and book your tickets. The Bendigo Sheep and Wool show is the biggest wool show in Australia ! with an amazing amount of woolcraft, indie dyers, a huge amount of tops, yarn, craft, felt and spindles, spinning wheels and anything you need for your knitting,crocheting and crafting.
I will be there with an amazing amount of new exclusive wool blends and yarns, batts, felt and landscape and botanical natural dyes and so much more !!!
I will also have spindles by the amazing Bearded Dragon and lots of fibre tools as well from darning mushrooms to noste pinne and needle cases to distaffs. And, there will also be some wonderful Turkish spindles from my friend Scott Snyder available again !

Get ready for a fabulous weekend filled with lots of craft and fun !!!

Sunday September 30th

Sheep and Woolcraft Field day
Pakenham Hall
Corner Henry and John Street , Pakenham
9.30 - 3.00pm

This awesome event is hosted by the Black & Coloured Sheep Breeders of South East Victoria
There will be craft demos, wonderful fleeces, a petting farm from the Elisabeth Murdoch College, Raffle prizes and of course a huge amount of stall holders offering fantastic fluffy fibres and yarns. I will be there again as well of course (would not miss it for the world) and I will have some new products again that could not be ready for the Bendigo Show like, natural dyes, plant seeds to grow your own dye garden, natural dye kits, new yarn and design kits as well as my usual range of super fluffy yarns and blends. I will give you a nice list closer to the date to help you prepare your shopping list  ;-)

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly

It's the Journey, not the Destination...

ONLY TWO WEEKS TO GO TO THE BENDIGO SHOW! yes…the all caps are intentional and are a pretty accurate description how my thoughts are translated in my brain: in a screaming semi panic…..will I get things done, will it be enough?, will people like it? Will I be able to set up in time? How will I set up? Am I forgetting something? And then that feeling calmly goes into a seemingly tranquil state of “ooh well, too late to worry now”….lol but still staying up til 3am anyway…there is always so much I still want to do I guess.
So many more items to make, so many ideas to create…and I guess that is a good thing! Not the panic as such of course, but the fact I get up wanting to do nothing more than create, dye, paint, come up with new things and having all these fantastic (or sometimes not so fantastic ideas..lol) running through my head, waiting to explode out into the world.

 A LOT of people ask me about how to do “business as an artist” and I guess the ultimate answer to that question is : Get up, be there, do your OWN thing, create your OWN vision and stick to it! If you want to be in “business” and think it is easy, get a real job.
If you just want to “do what other people do” you will lack passion in the long run (especially since craft or art is not the money making machine you thought it would be,,,hahahaha) BUT to all of you passionate about your craft and art, DO IT! Go FOR IT! Be YOU! Create to your hearts content! Get up in the morning and do your thing and stick to it for at least two or three years. By that time you will have created something that people will identify as being you: Being authentic ! and most of all: enjoy the process!
If you do not enjoy the process and just want to get to the destination, it will disappoint you most likely… There are no riches beyond belief at the end of the artist rainbow, if you want that, become an investment banker …lol

 On another note: Also, the Tour de France and therefore the Tour de Fleece starts TOMORROW !!! yes!!! Not only do I love to watch that race! But it is also the best time to sit in front of your wheel pretending you are sprinting down the French country side in a peleton, spinning yarn…so if you want to have some fun and be part of a team, there is an ixchelbunny team on Ravelry, led by the amazing Juleen and Em on my group (linkie is here: https://www.ravelry.com/groups/ixchelbunny-fibre-and-yarn) )

It’s been one of those weeks again…filled with at least 12 hours of dyeing, 10 hours of fibre prep and 2 hours of sleep…lol
To top it off , our woodfire died as in cracked because of old age and lots of use so not heat AND no drying of the gargantuan mountains of fibre , tops and yarn drying. Being the winter season here with a fair amount of cold and rain, I hope I can blow off enough steam to get the stuff dry in time for the show. LOL Paul has already jumped to the rescue and cemented the crack, that resembled the crack in time from Dr Who!, and we wait for it to dry (2 days normally) and add some protective firebricks so we can go ahead and light the fire again. Safe to say, it’s been a bit nippy here !! Brrrrrr but, again, I am grateful for my sense of humour and I am overwhelmed (as in heart warming !) by the messages I received from people offering their help and allerting me to woodfires they have seen advertised or they have. To pull the ten tonne thing out we have will require some work so because of it being so close to Bendigo show, a patch up job was best now, but after that we definitely need to get a new fire! (add to note: …hope I do well at the show so we can buy a heatsource….lol)

 For tonights update I offer you not a rare breed blend like last week, but I am able to “serve” you a pretty awesome blend I have been doing now for about 10 years and is still one of my all time favourites: Lush Bunny. The Tencel in the blend is so shiny and pearlescent and soft! You just have to feel it to believe it. Ofcourse the fact that the Tencel is blended with a superfine merino (17 micron no less!!) and suri alpaca, cashmere and angora bunny , together with a yummy suri alpaca and silk, it is a true recipe for luxuriousness.

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 to be found at the end of this weeks blog entry. Have fun !!!

Lush Bunny Tops Superfine Merino 17micron, Tencel, Cashmere, Suri Alpaca, Silk, Angora bunny  

100 gram tops $24

Zen

Wuthering Heights

Storm Clouds

Rust Bucket

Rose

Rose Velvet

Redrum

Leafy Forest

Lady and the Unicorn

Heather

Happy Peacock

Green Fairy

FairyFloss

Exploding Tardis

Autumn Fairy

Absinthe Dream

Have a fun weekend Creating your Dreams!

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 also to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry.

Have a Creative and Fun week!

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.
4. message me on Instagram 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.

Dates to put in your Calendar

Friday July 20th to Sunday July 22nd 

Australian Sheep and Wool Show, Bendigo.
Go to http://www.sheepshow.com to see what is happening and book your tickets. The Bendigo Sheep and Wool show is the biggest wool show in Australia ! with an amazing amount of woolcraft, indie dyers, a huge amount of tops, yarn, craft, felt and spindles, spinning wheels and anything you need for your knitting,crocheting and crafting.
I will be there with an amazing amount of new exclusive wool blends and yarns, batts, felt and landscape and botanical natural dyes and so much more !!!
I will also have spindles by the amazing Bearded Dragon and lots of fibre tools as well from darning mushrooms to noste pinne and needle cases to distaffs. And, there will also be some wonderful Turkish spindles from my friend Scott Snyder available again !

Get ready for a fabulous weekend filled with lots of craft and fun !!!

Sunday September 30th

Sheep and Woolcraft Field day
Pakenham Hall
Corner Henry and John Street , Pakenham
9.30 - 3.00pm

This awesome event is hosted by the Black & Coloured Sheep Breeders of South East Victoria
There will be craft demos, wonderful fleeces, a petting farm from the Elisabeth Murdoch College, Raffle prizes and of course a huge amount of stall holders offering fantastic fluffy fibres and yarns. I will be there again as well of course (would not miss it for the world) and I will have some new products again that could not be ready for the Bendigo Show like, natural dyes, plant seeds to grow your own dye garden, natural dye kits, new yarn and design kits as well as my usual range of super fluffy yarns and blends. I will give you a nice list closer to the date to help you prepare your shopping list  ;-)

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly