Friday, February 12, 2010

Extreme Fluff & Valentine !

Although temperatures were rising all over Victoria including here in the mountains, I could not help myself and prepared some extremely fluffy stuff for this weeks update just in time for Valentines Day this Sunday :) So there is a lot of RED...lol..I could not help myself..maybe it was the heat, but I got stuck into Reds and Burgundy and pinks.

If somebody would have watched me working in my studio and the dye room they would have shaken their heads in amazement at this red faced woman who was surrounding herself with HOT stuff in these HOT temperatures..all of you who are fibre holics as well know the truth: even when it is 40C we still cannot leave the fibre fluff alone.

I had some wonderful visitors to our little fibre farm on Tuesday (Mel R, Mocha and Anna) and they already had some sneak views of this weeks update but there was so much more that was still in the dyepot, drying or in the making as well. It is a constant process of creating and it never stops, because it is so much fun! I was amazed how soft and luscious the new Yak Camel had come up in tops but also in the dyepot.

YOu have to know that the baby camel + yak blend is natural light brown with honey coloured and brown coloured yak. So to dye a blend like that you will get totally different hues than dyeing on a white base. It can be tricky and ofcourse it is not possible to dye a very bright rainbow colour mix on such a dark base. It was a big effort but when you see the result (and feel it) you will see that it was worth all the trouble. I liked to just have the natural base peeking out here and there to give it that almost three dimensional look and I love the combo it created in the "farewell to whiskey"top :) ANyway, you just have to have a look for your self.

Skye had been behaving quite strangely by the way the last week and it seemed to me that she was missing her sisters and her mum as well. It is all well and good to have us humans surrounding her and a big dog but nothing beats family. The heat was so extreme in the studio last week that it was an easy choice: we took her to the rammed earth bunny bunker where her family was staying cool and happy. Skye had to adjust a bit ofcourse because there were no cones of yarn she could molest in the big cage there ..but after a couple of hours she and her sisters and mum Topping were having a great time giving each other kisses and getting into the fresh cool cabbage leaves.

Apart from the whole fibre dyeing and batt and top making, I have been doing last week I have been having lots of fun with my Lyrebird Harp. (see photos and go to http://www.harpsaustralia.com/.)
I so wish I would have paid more attention to music theory and reading music. There are people who can read music like a book and are so fast doing it. I on the other hand am a music note dislectic..lol...I think from very early on in life I noticed that I could play the music by ear, I could remember tunes and notes and have a great ear for the right tones and the music , so I never bothered with that whole reading music in depth. I so wish I had now. But I am determined to learn. There are all these amazing medieval and Celtic Tunes to discover and I am only just starting ! I have mastered some O'Carolan tunes in a simple basic way but my left hand is extremely lazy.

The thing about playing an instrument, any instrument -or doing anything really!- is all about practice. I have read somewhere that you do not need to be a genius to be extremely good at what you do: the difference between a concert pianist and a regular pianist is just the extreme amount of time the concert pianist has practiced, played and lived with his piano.

I think that is so true with everything in life come to think of it: when you really really want to do something you need to have an extreme love doing it and then you have to put an extreme amount of time doing it. What seperates us all from being a "genius" is time (Just remembered Groundhog day , the movie...lol) . So whatever it is you love to do: make time for it and you will excel and have so much fun as well :) So....here is some extreme fluff for all of you who strive to be a fiber genius or just to have good fun !

Stalk me, email me or pm me on http://www.ravelry.com/ if you would like to get some Extreme Fluff Practice :)

Hand spun Yarn hand spun angora bunny


(Babe+Minne) natural white, AU$25/50grams, yardage: 110meters/50g
Hand spun Angora Silk plyed with cashmere


AU$14/25grams Wandering star +/- 150 available

Hand spun Yak Camel In a Twist

+/- 110meters/50grams AU$23/50grams


Hand spun Yak Camel plyed with cashmere



O'Carolan (+/- 185grams available, AU$24/50grms)

hand dyed Angorino Deluxe 50% 17micron organic merino 50% angora AU$19/50grams

Chant of Paladin



Persian Love song



Yulunga



Cantara


Tristan




Sanvean
Duality

Hand dyed Wensleydale wool tops
AU$20/100grams


Song of the Sibyl




Nadir




Ullyses

Hand dyed Camelbunny AU$18/50grams


Paikea




Reiputa




Waka in the sky




Whalerider
Magnet

Pilgrimage



Music box
The Wren
Tempest
Faeries hornpipe





Shadow hunter

Hand dyed Yak Camel
(Natural 100g / AU$30 or AU$17/50grams, hand dyed AU$19/50grams)
Natural Yak Buny Tops


Aion





Saltarello





Zephirus'garden





Dark Rose





Farewell to Whiskey





Funky Bunny Batts
(ingredients: Angora, organic merino, silk, australian mohair, yak, soy silk, cashmere, glitz, angelina, AU$32)





Little Princess (117g)





BunBunBerry (125grams)



Gothic Bun (110grams)

There are lots and lots omore photos of the fibres and more on www.flickr.com/photos/ixchelbunny: you are welcome to have a look anytime! Have a wonderful fun filled week! ((hugs)) Charly

1 comment:

Kelly Casanova said...

Hi Charly,
I just read your letter in Grass Roots and wanted to offer my empathy for your recent health troubles. I'm so impressed with the beautiful fibres you have here, obviously you're a woman of many talents (wow - that harp!)

All the best

Kelly