Skip navigation.

Spinning Angora Rabbit Fur

Angora spinning and knitting projects and patterns

Thank goodness for the cooler weather

It was just miserable last week, but the last 2 days have been pretty nice, topping out in high 70's and low 80's. I'm grateful, Lord and I'm sure the bunnies are. Everyone is down to less than 1 inch right now. I have 2 Eng/Ger cross boys who would probably produce awesome woolers with my Eng girl, Chu's Honeysuckle. But I want her first litter to be pure English and so we wait. It is too hot to breed them this summer, so we'll be waiting until fall. Take care and try to stay cool!
Donna

Danger, Danger Danger

, ,

It is summer now, dangerous for the bunnies. First, from overheating. I keep them clipped down this time of year, but I cannot get to every single one exactly when they need it. And so we walk the tightrope, hoping all is well. On the very worst days, I put frozen 2 liter bottles in with them during the hottest part of the day. Fans run 24/7

2 Flystrike. Flystrike usually happens to bunnies who are stressed or sick. I don't know how the flies know, but they seem to, and they'll go after that bunny. But they'll go after healthyones too, espeically the ones with dirty bottoms. This is one more reason I believe all breeders SHOULD be breeding totally away from dirty bottoms. Some rabbits don't have it at all.

It seems to be a product of 1 their digestive system and 2. the way they are physically constructed. If they are sensitive to new items in the diet, they'll get moist runny stool that attracts the flies. But also, if they are tight ON THE INSIDE of the hips, they are pre-disposed to getting it. Merely feeling the ouside of the hips doesn't tell you anything at all about this trait. Even wide-set highly muscled hips can be on the rabbit in such a way that dirt seems to accumulate. I'm on a campaigne to force breeders to pay attention to these traist and eliminate those rabbis from any breeding program. What good are marvelous coats, if you have to clean up thei backsides all the time, and they are at higher risk of flystrike?
Donna

Now I know why I never used GoDaddy before

Within 24 hours after I registered my new domain with GoDaddy, I had a mailbox full of spam. I could hardly believe how fast they sold my name and others started using it. All this when I had given them a seldom used web address as the contact information. Now phone calls have started. I've had domain names with other providors for years and years, and they never did this. At all. In fact, they had a policy in place to *prevent* spam from coming to your private mailbox. So my advice is, even though it costs less, you have to weigh that against all the potential bother of dealing with phone solicitations and spam. I wish I had never dealt with them.
Donna

Morphed picture of yarns from my dye experiment

, ,

Here is a picture of my yarns, I spun them and dyed them, that was then morphed into something cool.

Here is the original picture (Notice my dog's paws underneath the table!) These are leftover yarns from a dyepot experiment. All these colors were from one dyepot, never changing the water, simply dipping yarn, then more yarn to exhaust. I started with yellow - very pale yellow. It is my least favorite color, so I wanted it to exhaust easily. I only put the yarn in for a second or two. Then added red for a peach color. When that was very pale, I added more red for a pink color. Then I added blue for the "purple" which was the only real disappointment in the batch - it is a muddly color. After exhausting the red, I added more blue for the pretty blue in the picture, which I really like. Finally, 2 more batches of blue, and I added yellow for the green. In all, I thought the peach was the easiest color to get, so I mixed up some more and did a large quantity of Mohair, which was blended with natural colored light wool for the carded batts. The colors used were Gaywool, Yellow, Blueberry and Tomato Red

Lost a doe today

Well, little Rosabelle succumbed to a variety of problems today. Born in the fall of 2005, she was one of the many, many reds that I bred using a buck that Susan Wiley of Wiley's Woolies graciously lent me. She was a gentle soul. Even more importantly, she didn't molt like most of Torchy's offspring here did. I eventually had to weed out all the offspring from those matings because of molting. But little Rosabelle stayed here because of 1.) her bright, clear markings, no smut. and 2.) Her coat was much softer than most French/German crosses, and she had good density. But I never bred her because of the molting problem. Last fall, she started to go lame in her hind quarters. Treatments for parasites did not give good results, but since she seemed to miraculously keep herself clean, I simply took care of her and allowed her to live out her live here. She lived to be 5 years old, which is average for an angora kept outside as a wooler. (Pets live longer, on average). And so I say, goodbye Rosabelle, you were a sweet bunny and I hope you are hopping in fields of clover now.

Arm warmers

, ,

I've just been introduced to the concept of arm warmers!

Read more...

In defense of my observations

, , ,

Everyone has their preferrences, I have mine. No rabbit breed is perfect, each has their good traits, ostensively what they were bred for, and some not-so-great traits that good breeders try to eliminate. But not everyone believes I my motives are information only.

Read more...

Improved angora design

, , , ...

Angora Embroidery Design

Here is the improved angora design from D'Lynn & Zip-Stitch. This bunny is done in a wooly thread that is almost yarn (one step removed). It is wool/acryllic for a very fluffy effect, perfect for animals. Here is a picture (actual stitchout) of an order I did for Julie of Julie's handspun yarns, and Spoiled Rotten Rabbits (French and Satin angoras). The above was an actual stitchout, not a representation, but since my flash went off, the rabbit looks a bit yellow from the color of the flashbulb. (Much whiter in person). The design is available from Zip-Stitch, email. It is available in 2 sizes, 5 X 5½ or 4.5 X 5. Or it can be stitched via customer order as above, your embroidery blanks or I can provide them too.

Which breed of angora rabbit requires more care?

, , , ...

One of the hardest claims made by a breed fancy to reconcile with actual experience is the claim that German angora breeders make that Germans are one of the easiest rabbits to maintain. I only have experience with Germans, German/French crosses, English and German/English crosses, but I have to tell you that is NOT the experience I had.
Just put this picture of the new boy, an English angora up for you to enjoy. He is an example of what I LIKE in a rabbit.
(Picture of Chu's Clover, tort buck from Betty Chu, a sweetheart and a joy to handle and groom)

Read more...

I keep seeing my own picture all over the net

, , ,

:sherlock: Hi people. After a little detective work, I just have to post this. :sherlock:
This picture is of my own D'Lynn Strawberry, a German/French/Satin angora, born right here at D'Lynn and photographed by me. The reason I feel compelled to note this is because I've seen her picture on many webpages now. They've obviously lifted it from my home page about German angora rabbits,http://www.germanangora.net, but don't give me a link or any credit! So let it be known. This picture is of a rabbit I bred and gave to Susan Wiley as a token of appreciation for my using her buck, who was the sire of the litter.
Download Opera, the fastest and most secure browser
December 2009
M T W T F S S
November 2009January 2010
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31