Hello!

I thought I needed to jump on here real quick to say “Hi!”

My neighbor – a rabbit breeder – gave me a bag of angora fur from one of her bunnies.

I washed it three times in the kitchen sink. I used hot hot water and dish soap.

Then I laid it out in the bathroom to dry overnight.

This is absolutely the softest fiber I’ve ever felt. It’s like touching clouds. It was amazingly well behaved. It appeared to felt a bit, but the mats just pulled right apart. I attempted to card it, but found that it wasn’t necessary. I could actually spin it, just the way it is.

The plan is to add the angora to the mohair that I got from the boys. Sweetie is going to set up a second washing machine for me to use to wash the boys’ fur. Thankfully we have a spigot on our water heater, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

He also got the nails and wood to make me a hackle (link goes to google image search results.) Basically, a hackle is a very scary tool used to blend fibers. It is a piece of wood with long nails sticking up out of it. Heaven forbid it should be fallen upon! This tool will make it very easy for me to blend the angora and mohair.

Random picture of my cat, Abby,  having fun with the fish…

In other news… I’ve had a keen interest in sewing, of late. I found a gal on craigslist selling an old (in good working order) Singer Stylist sewing machine – with cabinet! I’m picking it up tomorrow and am very excited to get started.

I am planning on completing this Sewing 101 course. I’ve wanted to learn to sew for many years, but I don’t have anyone to teach me. I was very happy to find Raechel’s course. I have a lot of clothes that I want to alter and I really want to learn to make dresses and skirts. I’ve found a few other Sewing 101 courses that I will probably complete as well.

I harvested and dried a bunch of comfrey. I plan to powder it and store it as a medicinal. I can use it to make salves and teas. I’m so glad that my herbal medicine skills are getting better.

So, not a whole lot going on around here… Just a few fun things.