Bunny updates and Spinning Info

The babies are getting bigger fast! I recently took one to the vet for a check up and flea preventative. She already weighs 3 pounds! They are 12 weeks old now. I picked up a new hutch for Peter, because we all know how rabbits are and this guy will be no exception. No accidental litters here. :O. Yesterday I brushed them all out and got them looking so cute. Even Easter allowed me to trim down her legs and get some mats out. She wouldn't allow me to take a picture, though. That was just too much for one day.

So here they are at their 12 week debut!

Wendy Darling

Peter Pan

Tinkerbell

I've also been working on some more alpaca and spinning some Tunis fleece for my contracts. I have come to love alpaca. I think I do it differently than most people, though. I love to card it and spin it woolen, which to me enhances the softness and spring of the fleece. But I don't spin woolen like most people. I strive for a uniformity that doesn't usually come with woolen spinning and to achieve that I use a draft and hold technique. I'm thinking a video may be in order to explain this. 

In other news, we're gearing up for a new school year. This is always an exciting time for me. I can't wait for school to start so that I can spring the new curriculum on my kids and see what they think about it! Of course, I'm dreaming if I think they'll ever be as excited about it as I am, but it's good to dream.

They're so fluffy!

I've been looking to increase my little rabbitry - and therefore wool production - since I got Easter, my first angora. I drove 6 hours to Florida and 6 hours back to pay $20 for a rescue bunny. It's been a learning experience, to say the least.

The other day I was on one of my Facebook groups looking at all of the adorable baby angoras for sale, wishing that some were closer to me. Georgia is not a great state for angoras, especially in my mid-eastern position. Too hot, I think. I was headed to a show in Augusta this weekend, just to see if someone had babies for sale. Then what to my wondering eyes did appear? Three little bunnies that all live near here!

I knew for sure I was interested in at least one of them. I excitedly sent a text to the poster and when she called back I asked tons of questions. Told her I was definitely interested in one of them, and when I showed the pictures to my husband, he told me we should get all three! Talk about an excited woman! Couldn't quit smiling the rest of the afternoon! See all the (!!!!) lined up there?

So in 3 weeks I will be making another trip to pick up 3 of these little rascals. Now, time for the cuteness overload...

Red-eye white

Pearl

Blue

They don't have names yet, of course, but the captions are their color distinctions.

Dragons Unicorns Fairies and Mystical Beasts

Back in March I decided to leave work because all of my children came home to homeschool. It has been quite a busy adventure! We will continue with it through next year as well. I started a blog based on our home education plans and projects called Little Lyons Homeschool. If you're into home education, why not stop by and take a look?

In other news...

I have also given up my quilting business, Freckle Dots. I still run an Etsy store in which I will post any sewing and/or quilting projects I have completed and that are up for sale. However, I am no longer doing custom tshirt quilts. It just became too much of a hassle, too big of quilts, and not enough time to invest in them.

Spinning also became a new passion in my life to add to the eclectic tendencies I already have. And I'm not talking about spinning as in a bicycle. Spinning as in making yarn from wool, cotton, and many other fibers. I bought a little bunny by the name of Easter. She is an English angora, pretty as can be, and mean as a snake. She's a rescue bunny, and I had no idea what I was getting into when I got her. I was told she was a good wool bunny, which she is, but her first year of handling was obviously traumatic and she's not the friendliest thing. But I still love her.

She also takes horrible pictures! Here she is between the barriers
I set up for her so she could play out on the porch. She loves to find
little hideaway places. Shh..you can't see her. 

I intend to use her fur to spin wonderful angora yarns. Of course, everything is harvested humanely and I have no intentions of maiming or otherwise mistreating her. Her fur will grow very long in just a few months and it is more of a necessity to prevent her from dying from wool block than it is an animal use things. Yet, admittedly, beneficial to me as well!

In view of my new passion and positive feedback I've received on my yarns, I also started a business called Mystical Beast. Mystical Beast is a little different because I not only sell the yarn, but every yarn also has a story (Get it? Yarn? Story?). I am inspired by the colors that I spin, the way things seem to come together as it is stretched into a fiber, and becomes an entirely new creature when plyed and set. I have always loved writing. I may not be the greatest author in the world, but I think I can pen a fair prose when prompted.

So far I have up only a couple of yarns. Each has a story that comes with it. The stories are just snippets of impressions, scenery, or the creatures they represent. All will have a mystical theme of some sort, involving fairies, dragons, unicorns, or the places in which they live.

So you can find me here, of course. I will not be changing the blog name because it is now a domain name. I think everyone pretty much understands that things on this blog are subject to change with or without notice, but one things remains the same - my passion for crafting.

You can find me on Facebook, Ravelry, Google+, and Big Cartel. I hope you will check me out on these sites, follow or like or whatever.

I also would like it if you could check out some of the folks that helped me get to opening a new store. Art of the Spin on Facebook and Etsy is my batt supplier for the two yarns above. Style Point Design designed all of the logos, headers, and avatars for my shops. I always want to give credit where credit is due!