Morty goes to the vets

Morty just found out he was going to get shots.

There is safety in numbers. " Maybe Dr. Joe will give the rabbit my shots."

"This must  be some sort of joke, I don't DO rabbits."

"No worries, I'm just along for moral support."

Upper Valley Fiberfestival

Today John and I went to the Upper Valley Fiberfestival in Troy, Ohio.  What fun!  Here are some great finds.

Me and my new baby alpaca blanket fleece that I got for a great deal.

Don't you just want to jump right in?

The theme seemed to be 'green' and this product certainly was green.  It is silk waste from weaving mills in India.  Not sure what I am going to do with it but what a great idea.

This is Paper Alice, John an I were thoroughly fascinated by her 'green' product.  She makes paper out of junk mail and fast food bags.  Check her out at paperalice.com

This goreous piece of paper was made out of a McDonald's bag, an old envelope, a dandilion, a green clover, and various other recycled materials.  Very cool.

Here comes John.  He is VERY, VERY excited to be at the fiberfestival.  Really, he is:)

"Is it my turn yet?"

This is a video of me trying to groom the little buck and Morty doing his best to make the moment about him.  EVERY turn is Morty's turn,  according to him.  He likes the bunnies very much but he likes them best when they are in their cages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0p22PAQk50

The big haircut

The time had come for Delilah to get her haircut after nearly 15 months of growth.  It is always so hard to make that first cut as there is no turning back!  You groomed and groomed and grew the coat like a flower, it seems like a tragedy that you have to cut it off. 

Fortunately, something beautiful can be made from all that hard work.  I have no color in mind just yet to dye this hank of Delilah, I think I will let it sit for a while and decide later.

Not my favorite thing

John went into his toolshed this afternoon and found this residing in his toolbox.

I am not a fan of mice but she is sort of cute.  I can't believe I got as close as I did as I had visions of her jumping out at me!  It's simply not true that a mouse is more afraid of me than I am of it.

Here are her 3 little babies.  I would say torts for sure.

And here lies Poncho, the NON working office cat.  He is aware of the situation as I carried him up to the toolshed to take a look.  I am sure he is just thinking on it.

Jamey, full circle

Remember this little guy?

Well, he moved to California and became a star on the show table earning 46 grand champion legs.

But there comes a time in all angora's lives when they have to be cut down.  And if your good, you will get this in the mail:

And if you are REALLY good you take that mountain of fiber and turn it into this:

So far I have 160 yards of prime fiber spun.   I think I will get about 140 more yards plus an additional 80 or so from brushings.  Betty was careful to save every last bit with a total weight of 7 and 3/4 ounces.

The skein on the right is Jamey, the one on the left is Sweetpea.  I couldn't imagine there would be such a difference between the same breed of animal and the same color, but there is.  Without saying anything too disparaging about Sweetpea, she is not the quality of animal that Jamey is.  However, I have coveted her fiber for the last 7 years as I am partial to black English Angora.  Then I got a dose of Jamey...  He has such a lovely sheen and a more lively coat which may be in part to him being younger as well.  In the grand scheme of things, you would not be able to tell the difference between the two if you were wearing either one.  It's just a difference this fiber freak has noticed:)