Friday, November 22, 2019

Keep swimming

Green Sea Turtle

I have been AWOL for a week. I apologise deeply if not hearing a beep from me made some worry if everything was alright. I know some of you did because I received messages and emails and texts. 2019 proved to be a very hard one with one major thing happening after the other and I just could not handle it in my usual happy go lucky way. I was losing myself little by little, which was a long way coming. Paul intervened and told me I had to pack some some clothes for hot weather and he would abduct me. Everything had been organized, I did not have to do a thing. There was a bunny sitte , I just needed to let go. Not worry and let him take the reigns. I did. Last week we got on a plane to Cairns, Far North Queensland, for a holiday. The first one since about 15 years. We stayed on Fitzroy Island that did nt really have internet and you know what? It was great ! I did a lot of snorkeling, saw lots of corals, fish and turtles ! It was amazing ! We went out to the great barrier reef twice to snorkel and dive, saw more turtles, lots of fish like parrot fish and of course Nemo 😉 and lots and lots more. It felt so good to swim and snorkel again. I love being in the water. It’s the one time in my life I actually feel elegant…lol Anyway. I will load up photos of our adventure and post them on my facebook and Instagram later. The day we got back we were welcomed by severe weather conditions, power outages and the mobile network totally off. We are okay. We are strengthened by the short break and ready to face the world again. I have come to the realization that I need a break every now and again. Recharge the batteries. Create more adventures and have the energy to fight, smile and have fibery fun !









At the Butterfly sanctuary in Kuranda


On the Skyrail with its amazing views!


Today it is time to treat yourself to something special ! Treat yourself to something super amazing to spin: the IxCHeL Tundra blend with yes,,,wait for it: Qiviut from the Norwegian Dovrefjell national park!!

Now it is time to give you some more information on this magical ancient animal ! Qiviut is the name of the wool that comes off of the Musk Ox, a gentle giant of a creature often found in Alaska. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, Musk Ox are now considered to have the most precious, softest fiber in the world. Eight times warmer than wool and finer than cashmere, qiviut is rare and it is one of the most luxurious fibres you can choose for a garment.

The softness of Qiviut is something that must be touched to be believed! Qiviut is not only soft, it is also non-irritating to the skin, and is very durable - garments made from it are worn for years and can be hand washed in mild detergent. It retains warmth even when wet.

The lightweight fibre preserves heat in the winter, while also providing cool, breathable comfort in warmer weather. This fibre has been carefully gathered by hand and no animals were harmed in the gentle shedding of it. This fibre generally sells for anywhere between $35-$56/28grams/oz, and skeins of yarn often sell for over $100-200 each!! Fibre count is 100s+ (12-15 micron)!!!

A musk ox mum and her baby

the Qiviut (down of the musk ox)  peeking through the guard hairs

Musk Ox male in Alaska

One of the baby musk ox



The mighty muskox (Ovibos moschatu) is a survivor from the ice age. Possessing powerful curved horns, which hang down like side bangs from a helmet-like skullcap, muskoxen are actually more closely related to sheep and goats than to cattle and oxen (although all of the above are members of the Bovidae family).

Adult muskoxen weigh from 180 to 400 kg (400 to 900 pounds) but they look much larger on account of their thick coats and large heads. Once muskoxen proliferated throughout the northern hemisphere alongside woolly mammoths, but hunting and habitat loss caused them to retreat further and further into the remotest parts of the north until the end of the nineteenth century when the animals could only be found in the unpopulated wilderness and empty islands of northern Canada and deep in the arctic vastness of Greenland. In these remote locations tiny herds of one to two dozen muskoxen still subsist on grasses, willows, lichens and moss while contending with terrible arctic predators and fearsome cold.

Fortunately the muskox is provisioned with fearsome horns and doughty neighbours to fend off polar bears and wolves. The herd is capable of assembling in a ring formation with horns outward to stand off wolves and ice bears (although such a strategy works less well against humans with our projectile weapons). To fight the cold, the muskoxen have fat reserves and one of the most remarkable insulating coats in the animal world.

A muskox’s coat is divided into two layers: a long stringy layer of coarse outer wool and an inner layer of soft warm undercoat called qiviut (this Inuit word now primarily denotes muskox wool but it was once also used to refer to similarly soft warm inner down of arctic birds). Qiviut is one of the world’s premier luxury fibres: it is allegedly 8 times more effective at insulation than sheep’s wool and yet is softer than cashmere.

The Musk Ox survived when the other greats of the Pleistocene – woolly mammoth, mastodon, sabertoothed cats, giant sloth – all went away. And it returned to Alaska by way of New York Harbour. Now, it turns out, the musk ox could again be the great survivor in our new Arctic age of extinction. Ross MacPhee, a curator in the department of mammalogy at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, says the musk ox’s homogenous genetic makeup suggests it has been through population stress before and can survive boom-and-bust cycles.

“What we find with living musk oxen is they’re not exactly clones, but they’re so amazingly similar that there’s only one explanation,” MacPhee says. “And that explanation is that they had to have had a very severe pinch on their populations. We estimate that that happened about ten thousand years ago.” But that doesn’t mean it’s all good news for the cold-weather beast, which is most closely related to goats and sheep and can weigh up to 800 pounds. The pace of these changes could challenge even an animal as resilient as the musk ox, scientists say.

Brendan Kelly, an Arctic ecologist and research scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says all Arctic species are currently endangered by the rapid speed of climate change. “For organisms to adapt – whether it’s changing body size, or changing the timing that they have their calves, and hence can match when the plants are most nutritious – it really depends on the rate of the environmental change relative to the generation time of the organism,” Kelly says. “So if there’s a really, really rapid environmental change, it’s very hard for there to be an adaptive response.”

As I was reading about Musk Ox I found out that all of the muskox at the Myskoxcentrum in Härjedalen, Sweden, came from Ryøya, near Tromsø, Norway. What?!? Muskox on Ryøya? I knew about the Dovrefjell group and an attempt to introduce muskox on Svalbard, but I had never heard of a group in northern Norway. The search was on.

It turns out that there is a flock of more 40+ animals now running around free on a small island named Ryøya off the coast of Tromsø. NRK’s Ut i naturen television program made a 24-minute show about “Moskusøya” (“Muskox Island”) in 2006. Unfortunately the show is in Norwegian, but even if you don’t speak Norwegian, it’s still worth watching for a while if you want to see muskox running around and scientists trying to catch them. In the Ut i naturen program, we also get to see some historic television clips from the 1960s when the muskox first came to Troms.

In 1969, 25 muskox calves arrived in northern Norway via boat from Greenland. The idea was to raise muskox for their wool as domesticated livestock. The University of Fairbanks in Alaska had some kind of research project related to muskox husbandry (I haven’t looked into that yet) and the idea was transferred to Norway.

The undercoat wool of muskox, known as qiviut, is a highly valuable wool: it is warmer than wool, finer than cashmere and hypoallergenic. Sounds like the perfect winter clothing material, except that muskox are pretty rare and not widely domesticated – which makes it a very, very expensive material

In 1969, the herd was established at a farm in Bardu with the hope that eventually every farm in the area could have 2-3 muskox for a meaningful supplementary income. But by 1975, calls for the end of muskox experiment were being made. According to media reports, a hunter was killed by a muskox and the muskox population was being devastated by a virus (hmmm, sounds familiar, right?). So in 1976, the herd was moved to northern Troms, and five years later, the Tromsø University is taking care of them to preserve the species.

The Department of Arctic and Marine Biology took over the herd and moved them to Ryøya to study their behaviour and adaptation as arctic animals. Muskox as livestock in Norway didn’t work out, but who knows what the future holds. The Qiviut are still here.

If you watch the TV program, you’ll see that while the scientists herd the muskox to collect measurements and/or for transportation to the overwintering station on the mainland, they quickly pull out the qiviut, which they sell to support their research. Qiviut is a bonus of having muskox in Norway — if you can catch them.

Well , don’t you worry I caught some of it for you !! to support the musk ox population growing not only on the American continent but also in other habitats that are good for them. This will enable the species to grow, get stronger, adapt and hey, probably outlive us all, since they already did that to the woolly mammoth.

Don’t worry, if I EVER find a woolly mammoth, I will share its’ wool with all of you …

A Qiviut cowl, the warmest and softest thing you will ever wear

So, this week it is Qiviut !!!!

Only a small amount available so please don’t wait too long for this amazing blend that spins like a dream !


So, here it is: a Qiviut blend to cuddle up to tonight ! There’s still time to sign up for the IxCHeL Clubs starting again in January ! All the info for joining the clubs are below.

Have a fun weekend with lots of fibre play and love!!

All my contact details and "HOW TO ORDER" are also to be found at the end of this week’s blog entry. And please remember: Every time you buy from a small business or a farm you are not only getting something unique and handmade but you are supporting so much more !

IxCHeL Tundra Tops

50 grams AU$25

Qiviut 25% , Cashmere, Silk, Tencel, superfine merino, English Angora Bunny








Natural






Rainbow-3left-









Gem Corn Magic-2left-







Starry Night-sold-






dyed with Japanese Indigo 3 left-




Sunset Magic-2 left-




Rose Quartz-sold-





Velvet-2left-




Rose Velvet-sold-




Turtle Ocean-sold-




Crocodile Rock-sold-




Parrot Song-sold-




Zombies n Mermaids-1left-





IxCHeL Club Sign ups for the LAST trimester of 2019 are OPEN!!! 

 Here is an overview of all the clubs shipped out to all the members in 2018 and most of 2019. 

Teasers of the latest clubs are always be posted on my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, so follow me there as well: I am ixchelbunny

 If you would like to join for the next round just PM me.


Here is a photo compilation of the 2018/2019 clubs to give you an idea what the "Art Journey" Theme has been all about : The interpretation of art into fibre and yarn.







IxCHeL Clubs 2019






March Yarn Club


March Fibre Club


March Batt Club


April Fibre Club



April yarn Club



April Batt Club



June Batt, yarn and fibre Club



July Fibre Club



July Yarn Club



July Batt Club



August Fibre Club



August Yarn Club



August Batt Club



September Fibre Club



September Yarn Club



September Batt Club



October Fibre Club



October Yarn Club



October Batt Club


IxCHeL Fibre Club January, February and March 2020


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$25
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 #42 and receive your special hand dyed top :)) for three months (January, February and March 2020) is AU$75 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND there are good value double and triple serves available !!!

 For Australia : single serve $75+$30 postage (parcel post), double serve $144+$30 (save $6) or triple serves $215 (save $9!) + postage 

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$75+AU$57 (Airmail) double serve AU$144+AU$57; triple serve $215 (save $9) + postage

 For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$72+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve AU$144+AU$69; triple serve $215 (save $9) + postage

 For Asia: Single serve AU$72+AU$50 (airmail) Double serve AU$144+AU$50; triple serves $215 (save $9) + postage 

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #42 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The January 2020 Club is going to be shipped out end of January, the February club mid February and the March club early March. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details. 

 The IxCHeL Yarn Clubs January, February and March 2020


Every month for three months (January, February and March 2020) you will receive: enough hand dyed luscious yummy yarn to make a pair of socks or a lush shawl or scarf of course! (the hand dyed yarn will be exclusive for the Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB and will range from a sockweight yarn (a 4ply/fingering weight yarn) or an 8ply / DK weight enough to make a pair of socks ; Every month a sock or scarf 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 or scarves extra long ! 

For Australia : single serve $90+$30 postage (parcel post) double serve $165( save $15!!) +$30 postage

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$90+AU$57 (Airmail) double serve $165 (Save $15!!) +AU$57 

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$90+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve $165 (Save $15!!) +AU$69 

For Asia: Single serve AU$90+AU$50 (airmail) Double serve $165 (= Save $15!!!) +AU$50 

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 . The January 2020 Club is going to be shipped out end of January, the February club mid February and the March club early March. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

IxCHeL Funky Bunny Batt Clubs January, February and March 2020


Here are all the details. 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 170grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even wallaby 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 2020

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

 For Australia : $114+$30 postage (parcel post)

 For USA + Canada: AU$114+AU$57 (Airmail) 

 For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$114+AU$69 (airmail) 

 For Asia: AU$114+AU$50 (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 January 2020 Club is going to be shipped out end of January, the February club mid February and the March club early March. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details.

To become a member just email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or message me on facebook or Instagram. More on how to order the clubs and anything from this update later in the blog in the section “how to order”







IxCHeL Tweed fingering weight yarn

Super soft lambswool 70% and Kid Mohair 30%

Spun singles, fingering or sock weight yarn

+/- 200meters/218yards

50grams      1.76oz

AU$16

More colours will be available soon, including a Princess Bride colour range AND a naturally dyed and eco printed colour range ! Stay Tuned !



Wattle
(A beautiful sunshine yellow that goes so well with the kookaburra the silver grey)


Kata Tjuta
(an intense pure red that goes well with the Kookaburra and the Wattle and the Amethyst colourway and soooooomany others)




Amethyst
(a bright purple colourway with bright red flecks)




Kookaburra
(a beautiful silver grey with ochre accents that complement the dingo colourway)


Dingo
( A beautiful warm honey ochre with pops of royal bluebell, kingfisher and kangaroo paw)



Grevillea
(a gorgeous raspberry base with pops of royal bluebell, flowering gum, grey and daintree)




Flowering Gum
( a gorgeous medieval warm red with bright red, kookaburra and fern forest accents)





Fern Forest
( a deep forest green with accents of bright red, dusky purple and daintree) )







Jacarandah 
( a fabulous deep purple with accents of royal bluebell, daintree, grevillea and kingfisher )





Wombat
( a fabulous deep walnut brown with accents of dingo and kookaburra)




Kangaroo Paw 
( a fabulous warm orange with accents of fern forest, royal bluebell and grevillea and dingo )



isn’t it gorgeous how the Kangaroo paw knits up?! )






Royal Bluebell 
( a deep blue with accents of flowering gum, kookaburra and fern forest )




Wallaby
( a warm light brown with accents of soft blue and kookaburra)





Daintree ( a soft green with accents of fern forest and dingo)





Kingfisher 
( a fabulous Turquoise blue with accents of fern forest, kangaroo paw, Jacaranda and Grevillea)




Pm me if you would like to give some of these amazing new IxCHeL Tweed yarns or the Buddhas tears tea a good home or if you want to sign up for the IxCHeL Clubs ! Enjoy looking and have a fun weekend !

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. 


IxCHeL Buddhas tears tea

carefully packed and presented in a special organza gift bag

50g/ AU$19

Two organically grown superior green tea leaves and a jasmine bud are plucked from the best quality tea bushes and mixed with delicately smelling jasmine blossoms, then sieved and hand rolled on bamboo trays, into small balls while the leaves are not quite dry. 

The leaf captures the fine jasmine aroma and releases it during brewing, giving a champagne coloured cup. 

 Brewing: 1-3 minutes 75-80degC , 

 4 pearls/cup, 

you can reinfuse 3-4 times so those 4 pearls last a looong time



Carefully handrolled tea



Enjoy the tea over and over again, by adding hot water again and again



All my contact details are here:





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 a fun weekend !!!

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


Something Big is coming in December !

and it’s not Santa alone

Get ready for lots of new goodies that are planned !!!
And keep your eyes out for any news on the ixchelbunny Instagram feed and the IxCHeL facebook page!!




 RABBIT ON !
((hugs))
Charly
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