Happy New Year !

Super cute Kerry Hill Lamb to put a smile on your face
Photo Courtesy of Peter Bond

Happy new year to everybody ! I hope this year will bring lots of love and happiness to every one! And less stress !!! This will be the first year I took two weeks off ! Amazing! I had a bit of trouble getting used to it but I did it ! lol 

 I read three books: 

 the fifth book in the Peculiar children book “the conference of birds” by Ransom Riggs (Which was awesome, the final book is coming out in February I have been told); 

“The Tangled tree: a radical history of Life” by David Quammen. A very intriguing look on how genes not only move vertically but also laterally across species…8% of the human genome for example arrived not through traditional inheritance from direct ancestors, but sideways by viral infection ! A brilliant study of molecular and genome history (a brilliant science writer, who also wrote Spillover about zoonotic diseases which I devoured earlier this year and “Song of the Dodo” about extinction); 

“The President is Missing” by James Patterson and Bill Clinton (Bought this second hand at an op shop about a year ago for about $5, never got time to read it until now, a nice-relaxing read for a day with some whopping one liners about Washington political life like “ Why do you take such an instant dislike to people? It saves a lot of time.”)

 Then I devoured three knitting books: Shetland woolweek volume six (the latest one) with patterns from Donna Smith, Ella Gordon and a lot more. What an inspiration. Def on my bucketlist to go visit Shetland ! 

 “Knitting from Fairisle” by Mati Centrillon. Great overview of the traditional fair isle style of knitting and wonderful patterns too. A great inspiration. 

 “Shetland” by Marie Wallin; the patterns and photos are gorgeous and I think I have picked out at least 4 to knit already, but I need to finish my IxCHeL tweed design first..altough, one can never have enough projects on the go they say …lol

 I did a lot of gardening and planting of new seedlings and devising a protective net against possums who are loving my produce atm. Up til now the netting is working together with feeding them senseless with birdseed so they are too full to explore my produce…lol 

 Then , the surprise of the century, I bought myself something in November that I always wanted but never dared to : A big build LEGO set of Star Wars At-At. I have only discovered Lego last year when Paul gave me a beginners set, but I was hopeless….lol 

 I was so inspired by Lego masters that I thought, you know what, I am going to try and do a big build of something I am a fan of “Star Wars” ! 

Well…I did it !!!! I finished ! I put the whole process on my facebook page, so I don’t need to bore you with that….lol, but here are a few photos. 

As you can see Our cat “Bunny” was also interested but managed to not eat any of the pieces or throw them off the table…..lol 

 Now, it’s back to work ! 

I have already started dyeing the January clubs and this is the months inspirational art work: “ The birth of Venus” By Andro Boticelli ! 

 For this week’s update it is time for another exciting blend on offer:

The Kerry Hill breed (or in Welsh: Dafad Bryniau Ceri) is from Powys, on the English/Welsh borders, and it derives its name from the village of Kerry, near Newtown. There are records of this distinctive breed in this area dating back to 1809, and the first Flock Book was published in 1899. Registered Kerry Hill Sheep can be found throughout the British Isles, Ireland, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. It is a cute sheep, with a black nose and sharply defined black and white markings on the head and legs. The fleece handles very well and is amongst the softest of the British wools. The breed crosses well with Hill and Long wool breeds to make crossbred ewes. Though still not very numerous, the breed was removed from the records of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist in 2006.

The Kerry Hill is a medium-sized breed of sturdy build, an average ewe weighing about 55 to 65 kg (121 to 143 lb) and a ram a little more.. The face is white with black markings on the nose and around the eyes, with black, wool-less ears set high on the head. The legs are white with black markings. The fleece is fine and white, with a Bradford count of 54 to 56 and a staple length of 10 cm (4 in). An average fleece weighs about 2.75 kg (6.1 lb).

The fleece has been used in cottage industry spinning for a long time and due its fineness and easy handle. In short: it spins like a dream and has great stitch definition when knitted up. The fleece is exceptionally white and lofty.

The locks are pretty dense but they separate very easily. When you spin the yarn worsted it will have a subtle shine, good loft and excellent insulating properties.
Woolen style will produce a more matte yarn with even a greater air trapping quality, which equals to a fabulous insulating yarn. Kerry Hill is great for everyday garments from sweaters, socks to hats and blankets.

 This particular Kerry Hill “harvest” is normally about 26micron but this time these beauties have managed to get far below that ! and because of the added angora bunny and cashmere together with a lush pearly tencel it feels much softer and close to skin wear, like a 19 to 20 micron.

And how can you possibly resist these cute little lambs???? !!!!

A proud Kerry Hill ewe with her babies

I have blended the Kerry Hill sheep with angora bunny, cashmere and tencel and called it a Pixie blend: I couldn’t resist.

Although the origin of the Kerry Hill Sheep are in the gorgeous Welsh Countryside, the Pixie blend Kerry Hill Sheep are from Ireland.
The blend spins up beautifully with its' medium staple length and all the other fibres that are in there , blended thoroughly! It also felts like heaven if you wish to do some wet felting. The tencel reacxts beautifully in the felted fabric, showing up like littel pearlescent rivers.
Well, better let you see what I have been up to with the dye pots. I wish you could feel the tops through your screen ! Pm me if you would like to give some of these tops a good home. 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. 

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 !!!

IxCHeL Pixie Tops with Kerry Hill Sheep

Irish Kerry Hill Sheep, Angora Bunny, Cashmere, Tencel

100+gram top    AU$24

Gem Corn Magic

1 left

Natural

Natural            sold

Sky Dancer (Dyed with woad)  1 LEFT

Night Sky (Dyed with Indigo)   2 LEFT

Rainforest Magic  SOLD

Zen   2 LEFT

Roses   SOLD

Velvet Rose  2 LEFT

Wuthering Heights  1 LEFT

Quest  1 LEFT

Gothic Purple 1 LEFT

Bermuda Triangle  2 LEFT

Rainbow Unicorn  1 LEFT

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 !

To order: email or message me on facebook or Instagram, quoting the colourway and the quantity you would like, together with your postal address and I will get right back to you with all the payment details.

IxCHeL Tweed Yarn  

Hand dyed

Super soft lambs wool 70% and Kid Mohair 30%

Spun singles, fingering or sock weight yarn

+/- 200meters/218yards

50grams      1.76oz

AU$18

Botanical dyes 

(dyed with Eucalypt, Madder root, Walnut, Elderberry, Indigo,Acorn)

Indigo

Unicorn Speckles

Jewels

NEW NEW NEW NEW colours !!! 

 IxCHeL Tweed Yarn 

Super soft lambs wool 70% and Kid Mohair 30%

Spun singles, fingering or sock weight yarn

+/- 200meters/218yards

50grams      1.76oz

AU$16

Nephrite Jade 

 (A beautiful deep sage green colour with fun blue, lime and salmon speckles)

Grevillea + new ! 

 A vibrant raspberry pink tweed with deep purple, lime and soft pink speckles)

To order: email or message me on facebook, Ravelry or Instagram, quoting the colourway and the quantity you would like, together with your postal address and I will get right back to you with all the payment details.

IxCHeL Tweed fingering weight yarn

Super soft lambs wool 70% and Kid Mohair 30%

Spun singles, fingering or sock weight yarn

+/- 200meters/218yards

50grams      1.76oz

AU$16

Great Barrier Reef

Leafy Seadragon

Flying Fox

Airlie Beach

Sea Mist

Amethyst

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

Kata Tjuta           BACK IN STOCK !!!
(an intense pure red that goes well with the Kookaburra and the Wattle and the Amethyst colourway and soooooo  many others)

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)

Dusky 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)

Landscape dyes

 100g tubs   AU$12
250 g tubs AU$27

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.

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 ixchelbunnyart at gmail dot com  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.

Keep your eyes out for any news on the 

ixchelbunny Instagram feed and the IxCHeL facebook page!!

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly