IxCHeL Fibres, Yarns & Art

Friday, November 18, 2016

Supermoon Bunnies and surreal fluff

The last couple of weeks have been a rollercoaster ride, not only because of the whole surreal political 1984 come 1930s political environment we seem to be catapulted into like speeding up our car to 88 miles per hour and WOOPS! Back in the past we are but also because of the enormous workload that I had to circumnavigate: November Clubs being dyed, concept art designed, colours to be decided and pigments to prepare, a HUGE amount of carding and batting and braiding , labelling and then ofcourse packing and immediately going into the December clubs so it can get to all of the members well before Christmas ! Because of the fact I can never ever say “NO” ..(understatement of the year!) I have found myself in a continuous marathon to be organized and above all, working very VERY long hours all the time. No, this is not a 9 to 5 job….and most importantly, keeping up with updates and a huge influx of club memberships, now means that the time I can devote to the things that feed my soul have become increasingly less and less. I know, my fault..I cannot say no..lol

The things that feed my soul: learning new stuff….all the time… if I let me brain descend into the black void of status quo , I get anxious…I forget things. Strangely enough when I am super busy and I keep doing new stuff, my brain , although in overdrive, seems to handle more and forget less. Strange ans surreal I know! The more you know the less you know. The less you learn, the more you forget. Lesson nr 1:keep learning, keep fresh, keep designing, drawing, painting, playing music, keep creating! Which seems strange to say, because I am creating every day so I guess I mean “inventing”! Keep Inventing !

Lesson nr 2: Lots and LOTS of people start their own craft business nowadays thinking “ Hey this is gonna be AWESOME !: I can make money from my hobby and what I love to do and all is well with the world! Yeah…NO! Before you know it, you will be working your proverbial bum off doing all kinds of things but it is NOT the same as when you were doing it as a pleasurable pastime. For starters: forget about making anything for yourself (no time) and most importantly , to make a living off handmade means that you will be making things for others all the time. I LOVE doing that, creating for other people, but I have heard from others that this is really hard when you cannot make something for your family: it’s the well known stories of the cobblers family: making and mending shoes for everybody else but your own family goes barefoot. Yeah it’s kinda like that: Paul is still waiting for a sweater I promised to spin and knit him ten years ago….. what can I say? Make time. Make time for yourself.

Lesson nr 3: Be true to yourself!!!! Whatever happens on your journey (and I mean this in the broadest sense!) never ever forget where you came from, what your passion is and who you are! This will keep you TRUE. This will keep you straight on your path and yes, HUMBLE. Everyday, every hour, I am so enormously grateful of this path and journey I am on. Most of you who I have known for all the years I have been on this fibery adventure are my friends and part of my “Fibre Family” and I am over the moon to have you in my life ! Thank you !

So, saying all of that , I have to make some changes though, I have to say “no” and lessen the load…lots..It is so hard for me, energizer bunny, to say this but I have to and you know me, I have always been extremely honest and upfront about everything. So, here it is, 2017 will see some changes. I have had to make a hard decision and put a limit on the amount of sign ups for the clubs I can do and there will be some other major changes in the way I do things in 2017. My health depends on it. And, if I want to be on this planet for a bit longer, I will have to.
There are still so many things I want to do you see! So many things I still want to learn!
And, I want to share my enthusiasm for lots and lots of stuff for a long time!

I have loads of exciting new plans for 2017 and I want you to be part of it: all the new rare sheep breed adventures and all the new paths that 2017 can have in store for all of us and all the new stuff we can learn. But for now, the more serious of things: December is coming (shhh I know! Scary right?) and something else I have planned for the immediate future: this fluffy Friday update!

Please let me know if you have any questions okay? If you like to order some of what you see here on tonight’s blog, just message me on ravelry or facebook or send me an email. I will get right back to you with all the details. Happy Snaffling !!!!

Special IxCHeL Gift Vouchers

Want to give somebody something special and still let them pick out their fav colour or fibre blend? Well, search no more: I offer an IxCHeL gift voucher package that is so hard to resist you even want to buy one for yourself ..lol The Giftvouchere will be emailed to you or your friend with a unique number to quote when buying from my updates or at any of my markets. The Vouchers are valid for 1 year. Here’s the deal:

AU$25 Personalised Christmas giftvoucher Pack

A personalised Christmas giftvoucher, free post for the receivers first order in Australia (for overseas customers you can deduct AU$9 off your shipping cost!) and a badge

AU$50 Personalised Christmas giftvoucher Pack

Comes with a personalised Christmas giftvoucher, free post for the receiver's first order in Australia(for overseas customers you can deduct AU&9 off your shipping cost!) , a badge, a bunny $photo and last but not least some amazing fluffy stuff in a gift pack

AU$100 Personalised Christmas giftvoucher Pack

Comes with a personalised Christmas giftvoucher, free post for the receivers first order in Australia (for overseas customers you can deduct AU$9 off your shipping cost!), a badge, a bunny photo and last but not least some amazing fluffy stuff and yarn in a gift pack!

Just let me know what giftvoucher pack you would like to gift to a friend or yourself! And I will send you all the details.

Angel Bunny Tops

100g /AU $ 24

Blue Faced Leicester Sheep, Cashmere, Angora Bunny and Tencel

.

Westworld

Well Tempered Clavier-1left-

Trompe L’oeil

Trace Decay

The Stray-2left-

The Original

Surreal Supermoon-1left-

Paint it Black-2left-

No Surprises-sold-

Maeve-

Love

Forest Surreal-

Dolores-sold-

Dissonance Theory-2 left-

Contrapasso-1left-

Black Hole Sun-

Bicameral Mind-

New IxCHeL Club sign ups are open !

for the months : January, February and March 2017

(til quotas are reached or until December 31st)

For all our international club fans there is a possibility to ship all three clubs together to save on postage if you want :-) Just pm me and enquire about the options available.

IxCHeL Fibre Club January, February, March 2017

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$24 or more

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 #31 and receive your special hand dyed top :)) for three months (January, February and March 2017) is AU$72 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND there are good value double serves available !!!

For Australia : single serve $72+$28 postage (parcel post), double serve $136+$28 (save $8) or triple serves $204 (save $12!) + postage

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$72+AU$56 (Airmail) double serve AU$136+AU$56

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$72+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve AU$136+AU$69

For Asia: Single serve AU$72+AU$50 (airmail) Double serve AU$136+AU$50

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #31 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The January 2017 Club is going to be shipped out end of January. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

The IxCHeL Sock Yarn Clubs January, February, March 2017

Every month for three months (January, February and March 2017) you will receive: enough hand dyed luscious yummy yarn to make a pair of socks or a lush shawl or scarf ofcourse! (the hand dyed yarn will be exclusive for the Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB and will range from a sockweight yarn or a 3ply or a 4 ply); Every month a new sock 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 extra long !

For Australia : single serve $78+$28 postage (parcel post) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +$28

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$78+AU$56 (Airmail) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$56

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$78+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$69

For Asia: Single serve AU$78+AU$45 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$45

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 .

IxCHeL Funky Bunny Batt Clubs January, February, March 2017

Here are all the details and 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 180grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even wolf 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 2017.

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

For Australia : $108+$28 postage (parcel post)

For USA + Canada: AU$108+AU$56 (Airmail)

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$108+AU$69 (airmail)

For Asia: AU$108+AU$45 (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 first installment is going to be shipped out end of January Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me

Landscape dyes

100g tubs AU$11

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.

Have a creative week!

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 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.

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.

Thank you so much for your help and support !

RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly

Friday, November 11, 2016

Lest we forget...

Back in another lifetime when I was studying Law I had a Professor teaching the Philosophy of law, telling all the students there was no such thing as Truth: it was all depending on “perspective”, where we came from, what cultural and historical teachings we were brought up with and , most importantly, that Justice was partially blind.

As a person who came from a mixed race background, was always “different”, never possible to be labelled, I was always an outsider looking in…trying to make sense of it all. And in between the bullying I had to endure from a very early age, hearing that there is no truth and not real justice, felt like a shock to me that needed to be rebelled against , continuously.
Some people react differently to feeling left behind or outside or different; some get violent or act out their status of being “misunderstood” or not belonging to a group to “feel safe in” with hatred in their hearts towards others who “seem to have it better”. I never felt that bullying should be reciprocated by bullying, nor that hatred was the answer to solve problems. I never ever called anybody names, fought my way out of a violent situation or thought that becoming a hard, harsh, hurtful person would help anybody or anything. I always felt that love and compassion and helping others would in the end seem the best road for EVERYBODY no matter their race, religion, gender or beliefs.

It means being kind to one another and believing in the good of people. It means that when you carry love in your heart there is no room for hate, it means that when others are mean or filled with hate, you stand up and try to help them see there is light not just darkness. I truly still believe that..... although at this moment it is very very hard, without stating the obvious and becoming political because this is NOT political !

Hate is not political.
Human decency is not political.
Racism is not political.
Misogyny is not political.
Treating fellow human beings as you would like to be treated is not political.
Love is not political.

It is up to each and everyone of us to decide what will define us as a human being and, what will define this age we live in, where so many opportunities are offered to all of us.

Do we take the path of hate, because for one reason or another we feel that we have been dealt the wrong card in life and we therefore become bitter and make our life small and devout of any opportunity? Or, do we follow the more difficult path of love and acceptance and learning and compassion, to deal with our differences and accept them, to believe that differences can lead to growth, to become part of a bigger whole and not divide everything up until we have nothing left to share.

Today I have seen people coming out of the woodwork believing that racism and misogeny were legitimized: I have seen swastikas being painted on windows, people bashed because they believed in something different or were different, I saw opportunists all of a sudden pledge that it will be good for business.

Why does today make me feel like I am living in the time my part Jewish grandmother lived in, back in the 1930s in Germany, and my native American grandfather never made it out alive?

Yes I am filled with fear because on this Remembrance day, we should remember and learn from the past and honour those who fell for liberty for a better Future. Lest we Forget……. And yet, mankind seems to have the memory of a goldfish, swimming in a glass bowl that they are making smaller and smaller by the minute; in a universe that is always expanding and offering all of us so many opportunities.

Lest we forget. Please let us never forget how hate destroys so much and please!!!: let us be kind to one another.

2016 has been a year of loss of so many great people we grew up with : yet another soul has left this earth yesterday: RIP Leonard Cohen, may you dance til the end of Love and have a speedy rebirth because poets like you are so needed at times like these.

In honour of Leonard and of Love, I thought tonight’s update could do with some Lush Fibre ! We need a bit of lush and we definitely need a lot of hugs.

Please let me know if you have any questions okay? If you like to order some of what you see here on tonight’s blog, just message me on ravelry or facebook or send me an email. I will get right back to you with all the details. Happy Snaffling !!!!

Lush Bunny Tops

100g /AU $ 24

Superfine Merino, Suri, Silk, Cashmere, Angora Bunny and Tencel

.

Ain’t no cure for Love-sold-

Bird on a Wire-sold-

Dance me to the End of Love-sold-

First we Take Manhattan-sold-

Hallelujah-sold-

If it be your Will-sold-

In My Secret Life

Joan of Arc-sold-

So Long Marianne

Suzanne-sold-

You Want it Darker-sold-

New IxCHeL Club sign ups are open !

for the months : January, February and March 2017

(til quotas are reached or until December 31st)

For all our international club fans there is a possibility to ship all three clubs together to save on postage if you want :-) Just pm me and enquire about the options available.

IxCHeL Fibre Club January, February, March 2017

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$24 or more

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 #31 and receive your special hand dyed top :)) for three months (January, February and March 2017) is AU$72 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND there are good value double serves available !!!

For Australia : single serve $72+$28 postage (parcel post), double serve $136+$28 (save $8) or triple serves $204 (save $12!) + postage

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$72+AU$56 (Airmail) double serve AU$136+AU$56

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$72+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve AU$136+AU$69

For Asia: Single serve AU$72+AU$50 (airmail) Double serve AU$136+AU$50

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #31 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The January 2017 Club is going to be shipped out end of January. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

The IxCHeL Sock Yarn Clubs January, February, March 2017

Every month for three months (January, February and March 2017) you will receive: enough hand dyed luscious yummy yarn to make a pair of socks or a lush shawl or scarf ofcourse! (the hand dyed yarn will be exclusive for the Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB and will range from a sockweight yarn or a 3ply or a 4 ply); Every month a new sock 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 extra long !

For Australia : single serve $78+$28 postage (parcel post) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +$28

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$78+AU$56 (Airmail) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$56

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$78+AU$69 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$69

For Asia: Single serve AU$78+AU$45 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$45

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 .

IxCHeL Funky Bunny Batt Clubs January, February, March 2017

Here are all the details and 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 180grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even wolf 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 2017.

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

For Australia : $108+$28 postage (parcel post)

For USA + Canada: AU$108+AU$56 (Airmail)

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$108+AU$69 (airmail)

For Asia: AU$108+AU$45 (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 first installment is going to be shipped out end of January Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me

Dates to put in your Calendar !!

DECEMBER

Spindling Workshops in Warburton at the Pea Green Boat !: more info to come soon !

Landscape dyes

100g tubs AU$11

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.

Have a creative week!

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 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.

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.

Thank you so much for your help and support !

RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly

Friday, November 4, 2016

Fibre Babble or How to Survive in a Dream

The girl who circumnavigated the world in a dream of her own making by Paul Bond

It always is busy here in IxCHeL world..but this week even more so ! After doing two busy spinning and spindling workshops over the weekend, there was even more work to come home to , with more dyeing and custom spinning but also organising the November clubs. In between not feeling too flash (yep, probably me over working and overthinking some stuff as usual..lol) I have been trying to get as much work done as possible.

You know, I was contemplating on explaining the hard stuff this update. You know the part where I try to explain how absolutely tough it is to survive as a fibre artist and where one can go wrong. There are so many things I want to address, from #fairfiberwage issues to creativeness to how to follow up that people actually pay you for what they order and how it is so hard to distinguish life from work when you are trying to make a living in the world of Fibre art which in my case is my sole income. The thing is: I won’t this week. I would love to, but it is too hard and there are a few things that I need to get organised in my headspace before I try to convey all my feelings and the things I have found out over the years, before I put it all to paper/blog. It is too important and also, I would not want to either confuse people or piss some people off. If there is anything I can say about life as a fibre artist/small business/farmer, I can say this: it is darn tootin’ (yes that’s North Dakota Fargo style saying “damn” ) HARD! Anyway, more on that subject, at a later date when I am not feeling so “overwhelmed” (most used word in 2016 apparently).

Also, something I had on my list of long babblings to say to you this week was the importance of how to treat your handspun and hand knitted garments made with hand dyed yarns or tops. I always assume people treat their hand dyed yarns the same way I do, meaning handwash them in cold or luke warm water with a mild soap or shampoo (yes, I use hair shampoo for my hair AND my hand dyed yarns) but I recently was made aware that a lot of people are machine washing and using detergent.

Now, I always use shampoo or dishwashing liquid or a mild soap for a couple of reasons: one: if it is good for my hair it will be good for my fibres and 2. These types of soaps do not contain a bleaching agent that so many of the washing powders or liquids have. Even the bio detergents can have some effect on your hand dyed yarns or fibres. So that is why I never ever use those kind of detergents.

I also never leave my yarns or tops to dry in the sun, always the shade. This is especially the case with anything containing silk for example because silk tends to “crisp up” when left in the sun. Sunlight will also “bleach” colour. So a definite no for me. I have been experimenting with specific kinds of washing and there are some very exciting things in the pipeline for 2017 ! Another “Stay Tuned” item for you !

In the meantime for this blog update I would like to immerse you in some super luxurious fluff: The IxCHeL Nr5 Pure luxury tops : a blend with bison, angora, yak, cashmere and Tencel. I have to admit that this blend is one of my favourite blends to spin and work with. It has an amazing drape and the way that it is blended makes for easy spinning and drafting.

Please let me know if you have any questions okay? If you like to order some of what you see here on tonights blog, just message me on ravelry or facebook or send me an email. I will get right back to you with all the details. Happy Snaffling !!!!