angora | Inga Duncan Thornell

First, the warp!

It is black, or very dark blue, it rolled on like a dream and took about a half hour to measure and beam. Yay me. Once again, I have proved that proper materials and proper tools save time and frustration. You think I’ll remember that next time? You can see what happened the first time here. This is going to have the really cool green, pink, blue and orange cotton slubby yarn as weft, where it belongs.

Now the tip:

I have figured out how to count while warping. Tie into bundles the number of “rounds” you have per inch. For this warp I am going to use an 8 reed (8 ends per inch) so each loop of the warping reel makes 2 ends. So I count out 24 ties because I want 24 inches in width and then go around the reel (or you can use a warping board) 4 times and then tie those 4 loops. Continue until you are out of ties. This probably seems really obvious to anyone who isn’t numbers-challenged but I used to count two or three times, okay, maybe four times as I was measuring.

And the Bun!

Those of you who have stayed with me this long get a treat — Bun E. Duncan! Since the kitchen is still in progress and Scott is spending his time wiring, Bun has not gotten out to play as frequently as he should. Scott had the idea that I should put him in his x-pen in the kitchen during the day a few times a week but I decided he could have his x-pen in my studio all day every day. He loves it. He gets to hang out at dog-eye level and he is such a good, clean bunny. He has his litter box in there with him and when I put him back in his crate at night there is nothing to sweep up. Gracie licks him through the bars now and then but he seems fine as long as those bars are there. — Inga

We have adopted three angora rabbits from Rabbit Haven in Gig Harbor!

Yes, they are fluffy.

Yes, I am going to spin their fur. Actually, I already have.

Yes, you can come and see them.

They were part of a batch of 80 animals that were dumped outside Kitsap Animal Control in liquor boxes and left all weekend. These three survivors were taken in by Rabbit Haven. A friend who has adopted rescued rabbits before told me that they had three strikes against them: 1. they are angora, 2. they are matted angora, 3. there are three of them and Rabbit Haven wants them kept together. Well, Scott and I took that as a challenge and called to take a look at them. I think Sue was stunned when we said we’d take them. She even warned us that they are the messiest rabbits ever! Their names are Autumn, Spring and Summer and we decided to call them Rosie Autumn, Ivy Spring, and Angus Summer. He is named after our Angus Kitty, click the link for a pic.

I got some library books about angoras and rabbits in general and some angora fiber to take on our cruise, since I had never spun any before. It turns out that they are Satin Angoras, a breed much prized by spinsters, and prime angora fiber exceeds the per-ounce-price of silver. I was not at all surprised to find that angora is my new favorite fiber to spin. It is silky, warm in the hand and requires no preparation. That means that every 12 weeks or so when they are shedding, you can sit with a rabbit in your lap and pluck and spin their fur directly. I love it when they are all standing up listening and they look like baby wallabies. Scott says they are picking up messages from space with their rabbit-ear antennae.

Cartoon: From a Rabbit’s Point of View.

Stay tuned for part II