Friday, April 23, 2021

Time for a rare breed


How cute is this little fluffy sheep !



Happy Friday again to everybody ! It has been a full on week !! Honestly I am starting to run around like a headless chook, trying my best to be as organized as I possibly can. The piles of yarn dyed and drying are starting to build up … I still have soooooo much to do, so I am starting to panic a wee bit …lol  

I have been prepping, blending and dyeing a new blend, but most of all: lots and lots and lots of YARN for the upcoming Handknitters guild show that is held over TWO days this year, after it was cancelled last year due to the corona virus outbreak. 
Obviously things in these times are still a bit …eh….fluid, but as it stands, I am happy to announce that I will be there with lots of yarns and fibres and lots more. The venue this year is the same as years before:

The Coburg Town hall on Bell street. 

Saturday 15th the doors will open at 10am and close at +/- 3:30pm 
Sunday 16th : Doors Open to public at 10am and close at 2pm 

I would like to ask everybody to follow the covid safe rules: wear a mask please. I will have hand sanitiser at the entrance of the stall as well for everybody to use. Since I am such a big hugger ; The most problems I will have is to not hug everybody after not seeing all my friends and customers for such a long time !! LOL
Not a lot of people will have been vaccinated and even if you have been lucky enough to get your COVID 19 vaccine shot, please wear a mask, wash your hands. 

There is a ticket booking site available (trybooking.com: yarn and craft market 2021)  , but I believe that a few final tweaks are still being made to accommodate the two days of this show. Please let me know if you have any questions. I will try my best to help :-) 



Here's a list of fluffy stuff and yarns I will have available:

YARNS
Handspun pure angora yarn
handspun angora wallaby yarn
handspun guanaco yarn
handspun angora cashmere silk yarn

hand dyed IxCHeL sock yarn merino/silk/nylon , custom spun for us right here in Victoria
Hand dyed IxCHeL Gaia DK 8 ply yarn custom spun here as well !
Hand dyed grown, processed and dyed cashmerino lace yarn , mostly botanically natural dyed !
Hand dyed IxCHeL Silver star sock yarn in a smoochy cashmere merino nylon and silver stellina
mini skeins
IxCHeL Tweed yarns in mohair/lambswool AND pure wool !

FIBRES
Angora tops
Rare breed tops
merino silk tops handdyed
Bunny Bison Bliss tops
Blue Faced Leicester SIlk tops
Camelbunny silk tops
Cashmere fling tops
Guanaco tops
Hog island tops
Magic Bunny tops
Mulberry silk tops
Nr 5 luxury tops
Rapunzel tops
Tundra Qiviut tops
Vampire deer tops
Vicuna blend tops
and
a few SALE items as well (so called "Blind dates"  lol


There will be lots of vendors there and to make it easier for you all to see who and where and what I can share this planned overview (I see the blog can only accommodate a very small version of this, so please enlarge it on your computer or mes or email me for a copy)  The IxCHeL stall is in the left hand bottom corner (L shape) when you come in the door: turn left and you can't miss me! I am probably looking like Cousin IT at the moment but with fluo pink hair....lol


Handknitters guild show 2021 vendorplan
(this is the planned set up but is of course Subject to change ! )


Apart from all the above I also have been doing some blending of new adventures coming up and organizing new rare sheep breeds for 2021 ! It is all happening in June: I have a few super special rare sheep breed blend adventures waiting to show and I hope that I will have them finished by June. All will be revealed on this blog ! Again, It seems that I really had no time to spare ….again!

 So, before I head back to the dye room tonight: the blog update inspiration is a fabulous rare sheep breed called Castlemilk moorit. I have finally gotten my hand on some amazing fluff from this breed again and I can tell you: this harvested castlemilk moorit is truly amazing ! I only have a limited supply again sorry to say, because these creatures are really not that common ! If you want some, please do not hesitate to message me on insta or facebook or email me. 


Have a fun weekend everybody! Stay safe! Be kind and have lots of awesome crafting time !


Castlemilk Moorit Sheep
(photo:RBST Caledonian Support Group)

Castlemilk Moorit Sheep

Castlemilk Moorit sheep are the cutest most feisty little things. The Castlemilk Moorit sheep breed take their name from the Castlemilk estate in Dumfriesshire, where they originated in the early 1900s. They were originally bred to provide meat, wool to make clothing for the estate workers, and also to prance around the parklands of the estate. They are graceful, elegant sheep with fine, kemp-free wool, which is mid honey brown (moorit is a Scottish word for brown) at the base and bleached to a fawn colour at the tips.

Castlemilk Moorit sheep have some Manx Loghtan sheep and mouflon sheep breed ancestry and have retained the interesting mouflon markings of white underbelly, lower jaw, knee, eye markings (‘spectacles’) and a white rump patch. They are also feisty and pretty fast! 

Once clipped they look totally different – almost like deer – as they revert to the dark brown colour for a few weeks, until the growing fleece bleaches back to fawn at the tips. At one point in the early 1970s Castlemilk Moorits were reduced to only around 12 individuals and could easily have simply ‘disappeared’. However, those few remaining were rescued in two groups, including six ewes and two rams which were taken to Cotswold Farm Park. All of today’s Castlemilks, which include around 700 registered females, are descended from these two small groups.
In the past couple of years the breed has been downlisted from the ‘Endangered’ to the ‘Vulnerable” category on the RBST watchlist – a big success.


Cute Castlemilk Moorit lambs
4th barrier island from the top right of the picture
lambs with their mum


As with everything the way that you scour and process the fibre is very important. The fleece of the castlemilk moorit ranges from 28 to 32 microns and the staple length is about 6 cms. The outer edges of the staple are often bleached by the sun and the locks often have a pointy tip. I find it very easy to spin : pretty fine and pretty soft. It is not that easy to get hold of this quality fibre so I only have a limited amount, but it is oh so worth it !
















Warning : There is only a very limited quantity available.

Castlemilk Moorit Sheep Tops   

100+gram tops, Natural AU$23.     










NEW 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






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






Jewels





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
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