Learning to Dye Yarn

One of the perks of being a TARC club member is access to all our webinars...not bad for $5 a year.  I have gotten a lot of great information from these little informal webinars.  My favorite so far was the interactive webinar Dyeing with Dana.  It was so much fun!  

I gathered all the supplies and dyed my yarn along with Dana from Gray Haven Farms.  We had a great time! I chose Berry Punch and Lemon Lime Flavor Aid.  I'm very pleased with the color.  Dana showed us how to dye our yarn, dry it, and then card it using slicker brushes.  

Once my wool dried, I couldn't resist trying my drop spindle again and spun the yarn.  I made a 100% English Angora 2-ply yarn. Yay!

This was my first real attempt at making my own yarn so it's pretty lumpy (art yarn-ish) but I had a blast creating something myself from animals I raise. Best of all, it wasn't hard at all. 

 I only made a small amount of yarn so I searched the Web for a tiny project and found a cute, little bracelet.  I'm going to try to make it.

Once I'm done, I'll post a picture.  This was such a fun project. I can't wait to try more colors.    

Angora 101 Webinar July 14th

www.texasangorarabbitclub.weebly.com

The Texas Angora Rabbit Club's webinar entitled Angora 101 is set for this Saturday, July 14th from 9:00am to 10:30am. Everyone has been working hard to make it a success. Our presenter will be Sasha, our current TARC President.  Sasha shows English and Satin Angora rabbits here in Texas and nationally.  She was very instrumental in helping me get started showing rabbits.  I always learn something when she's around.  

The webinar is designed to help people who do not have an Angora rabbit yet, but would like to learn more about them...and also those might already have an Angora rabbit, but are new to Angoras.  They do have a few slots left, so it is still possible to to sign up.  The webinar is free to TARC members.  There is a $5 fee for non-members.  It's only $5 to join TARC so just join and get any of the future TARC webinars for free. Click here to register. 

June Has Been Busy Month

Florida rabbit

I've been bad about posting this month, but I've been here in spirit.  It has been so interesting keeping up with everyone. The world keeps on turning! 

Our extended family vacation to Florida was big fun! It was great to see our Ohio family. My hubby teased me that rabbits turn up wherever we go...as we took a walk one morning and were stalked by a wild rabbit.  It followed us around for most of our walk.  I didn't mind, but I think DH was looking forward to a "rabbit free" week haha. I brought along some of Little Sun's wool so I could practice spinning on my drop spindle.  I don't know what I was thinking, though.  I  got very little done....I kept ending up at the pool.  Fun in the Florida sun always wins out!

The rest of the month has been a hodge podge of rabbit related activities, including local rabbit club meetings and a fun visit with our good friend, Ricardo.  I've been working steady on our club's first webinar series.  It's a simple webinar on basic Angora rabbit care.  At least it seems like a simple webinar....12 page research paper, short powerpoint presentation, and 3 page handout later.  Maybe it wasn't so simple after all.  I do have to admit that I really enjoyed the process. I hope it helps the new members of our club learn more about Angora rabbits. 

Unfortunately, I had to miss two shows that I had been excited about...the MidAmerica Angora Club Show in Wichita, Kansas and the ETRBA Show in Longview, TX.  I heard that both shows were great, but our family vacation happened to hit both weekends.  Congratulations to all the folks that came out for those shows.  

I heard the Angora results for Longview were as follows:

Show A

English Angora BOB -  Jinnifer B.

English Angora BOS -  Jinnifer B.

Satin Angora BOB - Sasha M.

Show B

English Angora BOB - Sasha M.

English Angora BOS - Jinnifer B.

Satin Anogra BOB - Dana F.

There were a lot of Angora folks at the Longview show.  I was excited to hear about the good turnout. 

Texas Angora Rabbit Club Web Site Is Up!

www.texasangorarabbitclub.weebly.com

I am so excited to announce that our Texas Angora Rabbit Club Web site is up and running!  It's a simple little Web site, but it allows us to get information out and accept memberships much easier.  

While it might seem like things have been quiet, we've been very busy preparing the club's foundation.  Our Vice President Ricardo has been very busy working on a very nice newsletter that is available to TARC members. He has worked very hard and it shows. 

DH, Treasurer John, President Sasha and I have been working on a webinar to help club members learn more about Angora rabbits.  Our first webinar is called Angora 101.  It will be a different kind of way to reach out to our members (and others) that are scattered all over our big state.  I'm so excited to see how it goes.  

John and I have had hectic schedules these last couple of months.  Part of our job was to set up a bank account for the club.  John and Sasha came all the way over to my side of the state and we were able to set things up that will allow us to function as a club.  Woo hoo!

We have lots to do still, though.  I have to finish up the junior director slots.  We've got an amazing young man who will be wonderful at that position.  He's just waiting on us. We've just got to get his position placed into our bylaws correctly.   

Anyhow, I am very hyped about our club right now.  It's fun to hang out with group of people who really love their Angora rabbits...just like me.   

TRBA State Show Weekend

ARBA Exec. Director Eric Stewart judging BIS on Saturday.

Oh my!  I am completely exhausted from this weekend’s festivities in Belton, but boy did I have fun! There were approximately 24 Angoras entered so that gave us an excellent representation again.  Of course, all my good Angora friends were there.  We even made a few new ones as Dana sold one of her Satin Angora does to a nice central Texas family.  They have an English Angora as well... so, of course, we have to encourage them to bring her to the show table as well. We also had an excellent judge from Oregon (fiber mecca of the U.S.).  She was able to give tips to some of our local judges. Those gentlemen were so receptive and I learned a lot from just listening to her.  Thank you for always looking to learn and teaching me in the process.

Here are the results for Angora folks:

Friday’s Show (Judge Josh Humphries):

English Angora BOB: Kelly F. (Defiance’s leg #2 at 4 months...lucky girl!)

English Angora BOS: Sasha M.

Satin Angora BOB: Dana F.

Satin Angora BOS: Dana F.

Saturday’s Show (Judge Eunita Boatman):

English Angora BOB: Sasha M.

English Angora BOS: Sasha M.

French Angora BOB: Michael and Linda F.

French Angora BOS: Michael and Linda F.

Satin Angora BOB: Dana F.

Satin Angora BOS: Dana F.

Sunday’s Show(Judge Loyd Morgan Jr.):

English Angora BOB: Sasha M.

English Angora BOS: Kelly F. (Cimmerian!)

Satin Angora BOB: Dana F.

Satin Angora BOS: Dana F.

Good friends..what rabbit shows are all about.

Anyhow, it was a long weekend, but I had a blast.  We also had our first Texas Angora Rabbit Club meeting which was a big success.  My favorite part was getting to actually see some the rabbit friends I’ve gotten to know via blogs and Facebook.  I felt like I’ve known them forever, but Saturday was the first time we met. Our new officers/directors are in place and we have started making plans (more on that later) …which I am super excited about.  We’ve managed to gather a great group of folks! I will be our club secretary and hope to do a good job promoting the Angora breeds in our state. 

Thumbs Up for SARBA Show!

Thumbs up for Defiance, too! 

My husband doesn't like rabbits so much, but even he was excited at this weekend's SARBA Show in Seguin.  

Our girl, Defiance, won BOB in Show A!  We were so proud that she was able to win her first leg.  She's our first homegrown rabbit so that made it extra sweet. 

There were Angoras everywhere this weekend and it was so great to see that.  There were 8 English Angoras, 17 Satin Angoras, and 5 French Angoras...Wow! 


Here's the results:

Show A (Judge Mike Withrow)

English Angora BOB: Brian and Kelly F. (Defiance's first leg!)

English Angora BOS: Danielle N.

French Angora BOB: Michael and Linda F.

French Angora BOS: Michael and Linda F. 

Satin Angora BOB: Dana F.

Satin Angora BOS: Dana F.

Show B (Judge Loyd Morgan, Jr.)

English Angora BOB: Sasha M.

English Angora BOS: Danielle N.

French Angora BOB: Michael and Linda F.

French Angora BOS: Michael and Linda F.

Satin Angora BOB: Dana F.

Satin Angora BOB: Dana F.

Dana and Sasha showing how to make yarn.

Sasha and Dana gave a wonderful spinning demonstration.  They gathered quite a crowd and gained a few new Angora fans.  Their demonstration was just a little bit of what the Texas Angora Rabbit Club has planned.  It was exciting to see so many people interested. I got to see Ricardo again who gave me some great feeding tips to help my Angoras grow better.  I practiced pencil drafting with Sasha and Dana brought her Ashford spinning wheel. This was the first time I actually saw one in person.  I have to get one of those!..super cool. 

Danielle and her two pretty English Angoras

I also got to visit with Danielle and her girls again. It was good to see them and how nice their rabbits are developing. Everyone is so friendly and cooperative...a real fellowship of friends working for one goal.  Beat the Standard! What an awesome group of people and...we had a great representation of Angora rabbits.    

TRBA State Show Deadline Extended!

Texas Rabbit Breeders Association

In case you haven't heard, the Texas Rabbit Breeders Association State Show deadline has been extended to March 12th!  So if you're like me and was all talk, no action...there is still time to send in your entry forms.  I completely forgot (although I continually reminded others) to mail in my entries and had to email TRBA on Monday begging for mercy.

Yes! We have a logo.  Thanks, Sasha!

I can't wait to see every one at the show!  Our first Texas Angora Rabbit Club meeting is show weekend (Saturday, March 31st @ 12:30pm).  Ricardo Gonzalez (Road to Angora), Sasha McPherson (Sasha's Haven), Dana Faber (Gray Haven Farms) and I have been working behind the scenes making sure our first meeting is a success.  I love my Angoras, but I have to say that Constitution & By-Laws are the most yucky things EVER lol! We'll have the C&BLs and meeting agenda posted on Facebook around mid-March...also, resumes for officers and director positions.  


If you are around for the State Show, please stop by our TARC booth and say Hi!

Texas Angora Rabbit Club

As promised, we are pleased to announce the formation of a new club...

The Texas Angora Rabbit Club!!

Our goal is to be good ambassadors for Angora rabbits in the great state of Texas.  So...without further adue...


Please make plans to attend our first organizational meeting during the 2012 TRBA State Show!

Meeting Place:  Texas Angora Rabbit Club booth at the TRBA State Show (Belton Expo Center, Belton, TX)


Meeting Time:  Our first organizational meeting is at 12:30pm on Saturday (March 31st), but you're welcome to stop by any time.  We'll have Angora info, fiber and fiber arts, spindle and spinning wheel,  and knowledgeable folks to answer your Angora questions. :)


Please note: Our meeting agenda, Proposed Constitution & By-Laws will be posted approximately two weeks before the show.  


If you'd like to stay up to date on the Texas Angora Rabbit Club, please email us at: texasangorarabbitclub@gmail.com and we'll put you on the email distribution list.  


In the meantime, feel free to join us on Facebook Group Texas Angora Rabbit Club. 


We'll be posting info there as well.