Bunny Valentine

How does a Bunny send a Valentine? Harper stays pretty busy around the house redecorating the bookshelves and the yarn basket. He decided to do his own recycling this year with the old calendars and this is what he came up with all by himself one day.

He is just doing his mid-winter molt and there is a lovely bag of angora just waiting to be spun.

Getting Ready for Market

New yarn and roving this week. The two top skeins are blended wools with silk, all hand dyed fibers mixed on the drum carder. The bottom photo is roving, Blue Faced Leister and Wensleydale. The Wensleydale is a hair roving more than a true wool and it takes dye beautifully and almost shines. Another positive about it is that it is not as itchy as Lincoln but is still soft and nice to spin. There was a an article in Spin Off this month about using Wensleydale and now that I've dyed it and touched it I can see why a person would want to try this unique roving.

The helper at my feet.....

In bunny news: Harper is beginning to do his second molt, so in the picture below you can see some of the pink skin on his back. The new hair comes in very fine under the old. I have to admit that this happened quicker than I thought it might but he is a fluffy thing so it is probably time. I sit with him in my lap to pluck the hair and he doesn't object too much, but the whole process really bothers the dog who seems to think I am doing something terrible to Her Bunny. She sits on the couch across the room and whines and watches very closely.......

Harper

Last week a surprising and spectacular thing happened in my household - an angora rabbit came to live with us. His name is Harper and he is a Satin Angora which does not begin to tell you what a sweet loving amazing creature he is. He lives in my studio and spends his afternoons in a large playpen while we are working on housebreaking. Harper is 7 months old and is just going through is first molt, which means that his hair comes off in huge piles and new hair grows in. I now have a whole bag of angora that needs to be spun into soft furry bunny yarn. You know how something sometimes comes into your life and just turns things upside down? I never knew I was missing a bunny in my life until this one came along. He is just enchanting. I have discovered a whole new section at Petsmart devoted to Rabbit Toys! Who knew rabbits had toys? We now have a selection of wicker balls with bells in them that get chewed on and chased around. We have a tunnel made of grass that Harper goes in and out of many times, just to make sure he still can. He moves things around and plays games with boxes and runs in circles and kicks up his big furry bunny feet and then flops down on his side like it was all too too exhausting ---- and then does it all again.

In case you are wondering how he gets along with the cat and dog who were the first furry children well it is a mixed review. Frisbee the dog loves the bunny and licks him all over the face and ears when she has been to get a drink. Murphy the cat is somewhat less enthusiastic and thinks we have been invaded by a large hopping monster who is larger than he is. Murphy spent the first two days alternately hiding and growling. He is now more tolerant but not in a hurry to make friends. For his part, Harper is not afraid of either of them.

We'll get back to yarn information soon.........