A Ukrainian adventure with Heart

Happy Friday ! This update is very special. It has almost literally cost me a lot of blood , sweat and tears to make this happen. Not only because the rare sheep breed and the (rightfully so) excruciating Australian bio security laws which I know by heart by now and gladly abide with!) but also because of where I chose to source my fibre: Ukraine. It takes a lot of effort to find and get a good relationship going with farmers or co-ops. 

Being all about promoting sustainable farming and production, my love of small business and lovingly and animal friendly farmed fibres , I always put a lot of time and effort into every single update. 

I am not going to even attempt to bother you with all the rules, regulations, requirements, administrative mayhem one has to go through, but it is worth it and especially this time. 

When I started this particular rare sheep breed adventure back in 2020, how could I have possibly have known that saying “The Russians are coming” to advertise an update of Romanov sheep , would be a premonition to what has been happening in Ukraine this year??!! 

Lots of friends in the farming community I know have been devastated by the Russians invading their land. I cannot even put into words how heart breaking it is to hear all the stories from them and still.. they put one thing above all: their land and their animals and their farm. Ukraine is amazing. They don’t call it the “breadbasket of the world” for nothing ! 

So, to come back to tonight’s rare sheep breed: when I managed to secure wonderful quality fleece in 2020, of course I wanted more. Well, it took a lot A LOT of time and a LOT of effort to make this adventure happen again. WE did it though and through it all I am so happy to be part of it and helping even if it is just in a tiny, tiny way. Thank you Olena and Vitaly for all your help ! 

The fibres are all prepped and dyed and blended and I cannot tell you enough how absolutely happy I am with the result, the feel and the look. And, I hope you all love them too.

All the July IxCheL Art Journey have been shipped off to all the club members last Monday. I am not going to give too much away right now, but I do have a little teaser video here to show you : 

The IxCHeL Art Journey club sign ups for the next round starting in October are open now ! So, if you want to be part of some awesome fun and receiving a yarn, batt or fibre lovingly hand dyed and inspired by a unique artwork : Please sign up ! You will receive a fluffy parcel every month with an extra surprise too ! All the information on all the clubs you can find further down on this blog. Have some questions? Please let me know and email or message me ! Always happy to enable !

Also , there are some amazing behind the scene stuff happening to get the IxCHeL Website up and running ! I know that the deadlines I had set myself have passed, but OMG there is so much to do !!! Even if I only had one product to put on the online shot it would have been lost of work to get it all set up, but all the spindles and bowls of Lair of the Bearded Dragon are going to be featured there as well, Dyes from Landscape, Ashford products (yes, I am an Ashford Dealer !) and of course there are not ten not twenty or even thirty IxCheL fibres and yarns: there are so many more !!! It is like walking through a magical maze of code and trying to make it all look fab, user friendly and exciting ! 

Paul has done an amazing job with it all and it is very, very close to becoming reality. Soon!! Vey, very soon !  If you would like to receive exciting news about the launch, new product updates and much more: please sign up for the website newsletter here: www.ixchel.com.au ad you will see the page where you can sign up AND you can see a teaser count down timer that is still going to be adjusted to show the REAL LAUNCH date of the IxCHeL online shop, so keep an eye on the clock ! and...refresh every now and again to see if the "goal posts" eh...timer has changed ! 

here's a funny pre view video: 

Now on with info about this amazing rare sheep breed : Romanov !

The Romanov Sheep originally hail from the Upper Volga area of Russia and were named after a town in the region.

The breed first came to prominence in the 18th century and spread to the Donets and Dnepr region in Ukraine and even further, because they were such amazing and well breeding sheep..

Mature male rams reach up to 80kgs in weight, with ewes averaging 40-50kgs. 

The Romanov sheep are a very early maturing breed, the Romanov can reach full sexual maturity as early as 3-4 months old! 

They can also breed at any time of the year and ewes are very prolific, sometimes having up to six lambs per birth. Multiple births are extremely common in this short-tailed breed.  

They are very hardy and very strong and are well adapted to harsh cold climates. They are generally black in colour when born, though this changes to grey as they mature. Their face and legs are usually black in colour as well, with large white markings common on the top of their heads. 

Their wool is famed for being very strong and resourceful and is double-coated. Their undercoat is about 16-22 microns and their outercoat is 40-150 microns. 

The average fleece shorn from a Romanov weighs 4.5kgs in total. 

From sourcing to dehairing and blending it took me about two years for me to get this blend to you. Lot sof sourcing, lots of forms and administrative rules and regulations !  And, The wool needs a lot of creativity in preparation! 

Unlike most double coated breeds where the outercoat is significantly longer than the undercoat, the Romanov’s two coats are of similar length. This complicates the job of separating the coarse fibres from the fine undercoat! The right set of wool combs have done the trick but it takes a loooooong time. 

 You may know I love to dye over a base that is grey or brown: it makes the dye so much more interesting and deep. The colour of the Romanov is grey and absolutely amazing to dye and spin There are no guard hairs in the blend at all and because I have blended it with Silk, Cashmere and our Angora bunny: the softness is out of this world. As you can imagine I only have a very limited amount available: some natural and some dyed. Message or email me if you are interested in trying this fabulous sheep breed.

Here are tonight’s Romanov sheep breed fibre offers !

Have fun !!!

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. 

Ukranian Romanov Sheep Blend Tops  

Russian Romanov Sheep, Mulberry Silk, Cashmere, Angora Bunny

100+ gram tops AU$28

Peacock Party  1 LEFT

Indigo  SOLD

Forest Nymph  SOLD

pebbles  SOLD

Ghost Town  4 LEFT

frozen Lakes   3 LEFT

Rainbows SOLD

Pussy Riot   SOLD

Lavender Sky  1 LEFT

Novichok  SOLD

Autumn  2 LEFT

Gothic Velvet  1 LEFT

Star Dust  1 LEFT

The Harvest  SOLD

Dragonfly in Amber  1 LEFT

Cosmic Wave   Sold

Natural  6 AVAILABLE

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 club sign ups for 

October, November and December 2022

 are now open !

Here are some photos of the previous clubs: 

January 2022 Batt Club

January 2022 Fibre club

January 2022 Yarn Club

June 2021Club

June 2021Club

November 21 Yarn Club

Note to all International club members:
All international club parcels are now being shipped with tracking and expedited. 
There is an option if you want all three of your clubs to be shipped together to save on shipping cost:  Just ask me for a postage quote !

IxCHeL Fibre Club October, November, December 2022

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed and special blended top/roving per month

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 #53 and receive your special hand dyed top :)) for three months (October, November and December 2022) is AU$78 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND there are good value double and triple serves available !!!

For Australia : single serve $78+$30 postage (parcel post), double serve $150(save $6) +$30m postage or triple serves $225 (save $9!) + $30 postage

For New Zealand : single serve $78+$45 postage (parcel post) double serve $150(save $6) +$45 postage

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$78+AU$60 (Airmail) double serve AU$150+AU$60; triple serve $225 (save $9) + AU$60postage

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$78+AU$78 (airmail) Double serve AU$150+AU$78; triple serve $225 (save $9) + AU$78postage

 For Asia: Single serve AU$78+AU$57 (airmail) Double serve AU$150+AU$57; triple serves $225 (save $9) + AU$57postage 

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #53 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details.

 The IxCHeL Yarn Clubs October, November, December 2022

Every month for three months (October, November and December 2022) 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 sock weight yarn (a 4ply/fingering weight yarn); 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 $96+$30 postage (parcel post) double serve $177( save $15!!) +$30 postage

For New Zealand : single serve $96+$45 postage (parcel post) double serve $177( save $15!!) +$45 postage

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$96+AU$60 (Airmail) double serve $177 (Save $15!!) +AU$60 

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$96+AU$78 (airmail) Double serve $177 (Save $15!!) +AU$78

For Asia: Single serve AU$96+AU$57 (airmail) Double serve $177 (= Save $15!!!) +AU$57

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 Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

IxCHeL Funky Bunny Batt Clubs October, November and December 2022

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 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 October, November and December 2022

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

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

For New Zealand : single serve $114+$45 postage (parcel post)

For USA + Canada: AU$114+AU$60 (Airmail)

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$114+AU$78 (airmail)

For Asia: AU$114+AU$57 (airmail)

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FUNKY BUNNY BATT CLUB now. Numbers are strictly limited !

Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details.

To become a member just email me on ixchelbunnyart at gmail dot com 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 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

Indigo  1 available

Jewels  2 available

 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 +  

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

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!!

Show the Love and Follow me on Instagram 

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly