Another great year at SAFF, October 30-Nov. 1, 2015 near Asheville, North Carolina. So much fun because this year, it fell on Halloween! Both fairgoers and vendors in costume, which made it all that more fun. It was a busy weekend
Another great year at SAFF, October 30-Nov. 1, 2015 near Asheville, North Carolina. So much fun because this year, it fell on Halloween! Both fairgoers and vendors in costume, which made it all that more fun. It was a busy weekend
at
Cumberland County Cooperative Extension
75 Clearwater Drive, Suite 104
Falmouth, Maine 04105
Block of hotel rooms are set aside at a rate of $69 per night – call and make your reservation today! Mention the IAGARB Certification/Registration Group to get this rate. Deadline is Nov 3. **A pet friendly hotel**
1230 Congress St, Portland, Maine 04102
(207)774-5611
Contacts and questions:
Michaele Bailey, IAGARB Vice President and Judge
Penny Rice, IAGARB District 7 Director (207)991-8065 (207)843-0711
email: basketfulofbunnies [at] gmail [dot] com
email: penny [at] hillsiderabbitry [dot] com
WORKSHOP PRICES AND DESCRIPTIONS: $100 for one or $150 for both. Space is limited to 15 per workshop.
Like magic! Take loose, soft, fluffy natural fibers and transform them into a wearable hat in less than one day. Felt hats are wind-proof, water resistant, lightweight and comfortably warm.
This is a new way to make a hat that is easy, predictable and a joy to design. In fact, design options are nearly limitless and very simple to incorporate into your hat. They include fabric lamination, felted in beads, spikes, curls and color, color, color!
We will be working with angora /wool blends that will yield a dense yet warm felt that will last for many years. We will use both needle felting and wet felting techniques.
Level: No previous experience necessary
Students will bring: If you have some beads you would like to use, bring them, a beading needle and beading string. Please bring a sushi mat. Everything else will be provided. The class includes felting needles which are your to keep. Please bring a hard sided container in which you can safely take your needles home.
Be ready for next winter’s icy blast. Felted mittens will keep your fingers toasty. Our mittens will be made with a blend of frosty white Angora and Merino wool.
Emphasis will be placed on controlled technique to make the mittens comfortably lightweight and easy to wear.
The thumbs of these mittens are fitted especially well because they are formed at the base of the palm instead of at its side. The fit is always perfect for the person who made them. Easy to wash up in the
kitchen sink. Very durable! Wildly bizarre gauntlets, sturdy ski mitts or pretty protection for winter walks, you will select the character of the pair you make. You may choose to decorate your mittens with three-dimensional curly-locks and / or colored inlay designs
Level: No previous experience necessary
Students will bring: Nada – Everything will be provided.
IAGARB AGM 2015
Silver Falls, Gateway to Silver Falls State Park, Silverton, Oregon
We look forward to your attendance at the IAGARB 2015 Annual General meeting in Silverton, Oregon April 24 – 26. We have a full agenda planned for you.
All activities will take place at the Silverton Grange Hall, 201 Division St., Silverton, Oregon. IAGARB has reserved a block of King Rooms at the Oregon Garden Resort at a reduced rate. This rate will be in effect until March 23, 2015. Please see further down for the information regarding the Resort and booking your room.
AGM Registration forms are included in the Newsletter and HERE.
The IAGARB JUDGE’S SEMINAR
10am – 12pm
Every time you select your rabbits for breeding, every time you buy a rabbit and every time you decide which rabbit in a litter to keep and which one to sell – you become the judge of your own rabbitry.
This is a class offered to all of our members. It is open to anyone interested in learning more about German Angoras and the IAGARB system of judging.
In this class we will learn about the history of the German Angora in Europe and how it was selected over decades to be the wool producing Uber-Angora admired around the world for its superior fiber production. You will learn about the German goal setting system of quantifiable evaluation.
We will move step by step through the procedures of an IAGARB judging and registration. You will be better prepared to participate in our performance testing. As well, this information will help to conduct similar daily assessments in your own barn.
Fee for Class: $30.
Break for lunch: BYOL
IAGARB JUDGE’S TEST
Friday Afternoon, 1-4 pm.
If you have been an IAGARB member for 3 consecutive years as of April 2015 and if there is a need, based on membership, for judges in your district, you may apply for the Judge’s Test.
Currently there are openings for 2 judge’s in District 1. Districts 5, 7, and 9 each have openings for one judge.
Fee for Test $30. (The application form is in this issue)
IAGARB TESTING AND REGISTRATION BEGIN AT 1:00 PM
Judge Erin Maclean
Kindly familiarize yourself with Registration Requirements
Please note:
Only healthy animals will be permitted to stay in the Grange Hall. Any rabbits with clinical signs of disease or any infectious condition will be immediately removed by the owner.
Rabbits may stay overnight at the Grange Hall. Any overnight rabbits must be housed in comfortable caging. Small carriers are not acceptable.
Owners will provide protective warmth for shorn animals. Owners will be responsible for the care of their animals and the sanitary conditions of their carrying cages.
Comments and questions to the judge are not appropriate during an evaluation.
SHEARING DEMONSTRATION AND DISCUSSION with Erin Maclean
Friday afternoon, 2-3 pm.
This is a free class.
Friday dinner on your own.
We have planned three concurrent activities at the Grange Hall.
1. Judging and Registration Testing will start at 9 am
2. For Knitters: Patty Spor Beckman / Beginning Lace Knitting
3. For Felters: Leslie Samson/ Angora Blended Felted Yardage
1.) 9:00am – 4 pm JUDGING AND REGISTRATION TESTING
Same rules as Friday
Judges: Alexis Woodbury, Molly Golter, Erin Maclean
2.) 9:30 am – 4 pm BEGINNING LACE KNITTING, Patty Spor Beckman
Fee: $50 all day workshop
$25 materials fee includes yarn, pattern and handouts
Lace Knitting is simply decreases and increases placed into a pleasing pattern. It’s an easy way to make something beautiful out of any sized yarn with appropriately sized needles.
We will touch on how to read charts and learn a few tips to make your lace knitting easier and more enjoyable. I will supply some charts and written instructions for making a sampler scarf using several patterns or you can decide to use only one. We should be able to make some headway on a scarf that you can finish later. We will discuss how to dress your lace knitting to make the pattern show up beautifully.
For IAGARB Members with 85% angora lace yarn, the class is an excellent way to gain expertise with your product.
Requirements: Students must know how to knit. Knowing how to read charts is a plus but not neccessary. Please bring a selection of needles in size 3-7 or 8 range. Some needles will be available for purchase.
Patty taught herself to knit over 47 years ago. She learned that she had a natural talent for intarsia, Aran sweaters, and lace. It was after knitting several “Feather and Fan” patterned afghans and two lace table cloths that she decided that she really loved to knit lace. Patty is now eager to share her knowledge with you.
Patty learned to spin her own yarns about 35 years ago. That inspiration quickly lead to raising sheep to provide her with wool. Shortly thereafter, she created a business of providing carded batts for spinners along with handspun and hand dyed yarns. She raised Shetland sheep, Black Welsh Mountain sheep, llamas, alpacas and several angora rabbits through the years.
She now resides in Brookings, Oregon, enjoying the mild weather and wonderful scenery.
3.) 9:30 am- 4 pm INSTANT FELTED YARDAGE, Leslie Samson
Learn how to make fabric that will turn this,
Into that:
This class will be of particular interest to producers who wish to offer value added goods from their angora fiber. Because of it’s fine diameter, Angora is particularly well suited for laminated fabric.
This class will show you how to quickly transform your carded fiber into ready to cut and sew fabric. In one day, we will produce a length of felted yardage that would have taken days to spin, warp and weave. The finished yardage will be surprisingly light and flexible yet have the strength and structure of a warp and weft. It is easier than you might think to become a fabric designer!
No previous experience necessary. All you need to bring to class is your good energy. Class limit 6.
Fee: $80 (this includes a materials fee which covers prepared angora blend batting, silk yardage, all supplies and tools used for this workshop).
Saturday Evening:
Let’s get together for dinner at the Creekside Grill, Silverton. Chef Rader took excellent care of us last year!
We have made a limited number of reservations for 7 pm. Please let us know if you plan to attend. We want to make sure there is space for everyone.
9 am to Noon
IAGARB Annual General Meeting
Our business meeting will begin promptly at 9 am. Annual Awards will follow. Meeting is free.
Lunch will be a buffet of soup, salads, and sandwiches. Price for the luncheon and speaker is $20.
AGM Special Program Speaker, Dr. Mark Burgess
1 to 3 pm
Exotic animal specialist, Dr. Mark Burgess, is an outstanding source of information for rabbits. He was our special program speaker in 2009. We are delighted to have him back for a return engagement. His topic will be rabbit diseases, their clinical symptoms and treatments. We have requested a focus on the Encephalitozoon cuniculi and Coccidiosis.
CLEAN UP! When the speaker is finished, everyone needs to pitch in and clean up. Clean your area, sweep your fuzz, and pack up your rabbits. Let’s all work together to leave the Grange Hall in better condition than when we arrived.
ANGORA RABBIT MARKET
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all day
An opportunity to buy and sell Angora rabbits has been organized for the weekend. We will use the same rules as those approved by vote at the 2008 AGM for the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Show.
Open to all IAGARB members who attend the AGM. You will be notified by the Committee before the event regarding availability of space for your rabbits. Preference will be given to those members who have registered for the AGM first.
Mail or email form is provided below in the Winter 2015 Newsletter, or you can use the online form provided on the IAGARB website under AGM Registration.
These are common sense rules intended to give our members equal opportunity.
1. Sellers must be IAGARB Members.
2. All angora rabbits will be checked for clinical signs of disease. Any animal deemed unhealthy must leave the premises.
3. Minimum age will be 12 weeks. Pedigrees are required.
4. Maximum number of angora rabbits offered by a member may not exceed four unless limited by the facility. This does not include pre-arranged deliveries when the rabbits will not need to stay onsite.
5. Any angora rabbit on the premises, whether for testing, shearing or sale, must be housed by its owner in clean and humanely sized cages. The rabbits must be able to turn around and have both food and water available to them at all times.
Due to the limited amount of space, we only have room for about 20 rabbits and their caging. Please note on your registration form how many rabbits you would like to bring. We will try and accommodate everyone as much as possible. No tailgate sales please.
Accommodations: Oregon Garden Resort
IAGARB has reserved a block of rooms at the Oregon Garden Resort in Silverton. The rooms available to us are rooms with King beds. The rate is $109 per night. They are large rooms and all have refrigerators, microwaves, fireplaces, and private patio or deck.
If you wish to reserve a room at the negotiated discount rate, use the Code published in the Newsletter.
This rate will be in effect until March 23, 2015.
You can call the resort directly to reserve: 503-874-2500 or toll free: 800-966-6490 or reserve online:
All rooms come with a complimentary breakfast and admission to the Oregon Garden.
To register for the AGM please go to the AGM REGISTRATION page here. You can register online with the form on that page using Paypal, credit or debit card, or print out and mail in the form in the Newsletter with your check.
With a co-operative spirit, IAGARB Members offer excellent products.
IAGARB Co-op Yarns and Products are the luxurious result of a marriage of beauty and science. Our yarns have earned a long list of devoted knitters.
We clip a full 90-day coat (3 to 4 inches staple). The uniform length of synchronized wool growth makes IAGARB yarns stable and shed resistant with a fuzzy halo as soft as a bunny.
Working through a 100% volunteer co-operative venture, our members have processed and sold over a ton of prime, domestically produced German Angora wool. Our wool is humanely shorn. We have never accepted plucked angora.
Members, who offer our co-op products, comply with IAGARB’s strict quality controls for consistent texture and grading. We have an additional list for Angora hand-spinning and felting supplies.
IAGARB Co-op Yarns and Products
Angora hand-spinning and felting supplies
The links on the following pages are provided for informational purposes only. IAGARB does not endorse any services, stock or sales practices of the members listed. IAGARB bears no responsibility and will be held entirely harmless for any resultant contacts or sales. Disputes will be resolved between the involved parties. Buyers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with Registration Procedures before purchasing from anyone.
Announcing the Midwest December Shearing Party/Workshop Furlough
Exquisitely Angora Farms is delighted to host a weekend fun of angora rabbit fun and workshop. Internationally acclaimed Artist and current IAGARB President Leslie Samson will come from the cold Canadian north to teach us about angora management and 2 felting workshops.
Location: Grand Army Farm in Labadie, MO, 1 hr west of St. Louis.
Schedule:
Friday December 12:
Angora Management Class 1-5 pm
Teacher : Leslie Samson, Cost: $30
Help your Angora rabbits become all that they can be! In this class you will learn strategies used by European breeders that you can apply to maximize the genetic potential of any Angora rabbit. While the methods presented will focus on the development of the Angora in Germany, information about improved wool harvesting methods, breeding selection, temperature control and feeding is applicable to all Angoras.
The central question, which we will discuss, is this – Europeans started with the same commercial stock that North Americans did about sixty years ago. At that time, Angoras produced roughly half a pound of wool a year. Today, North American Angoras, from lines that do not include newly imported blood, have improved slightly to an average of around one pound per annum. The European record is set at just over five pounds of luxurious Angora fiber. How did they manage that?
Many of the answers can be found in the German style of judging which put breeding selection on the fast track to create the most enviable “Uber” Angora in the world.
In this class, we will study methods to benefit angora fiber producers. Cost of production is another vital topic, which we will cover. What is your wool to feed ratio? IAGARB registration procedures will be explained. Be prepared for copious information and spirited discussion!
Participants will need to bring: Paper and pen for notes and a list of 20 characteristics that describe your perfect Angora rabbit.
Level: No previous experience necessary.
Class Max: 20
Saturday December 13:
Registration and free shearing demo starting at 0900 AM.
Lunch on your own
Felted Flower Workshop: 1-5 pm
Teacher: Leslie Samson,
Cost, including materials: $45
Express your love of flowers and natural fibers at the same time. The objective of this class is to be able to create botanically accurate, recognizable, firmly felted flowers. These blossoms are beautiful as one of kind trims on hats, as jewelry, 3-Dimensional elements in tapestries or as elements in traditional floral arrangements.
We will use both needled and wet felt techniques. Using original patterns designed by the instructor, the participants will make a morning glory, a rose and leaves. If time permits, additional patterns for poinsettias, daffodils, sweet peas, violets and iris will be available. This is a very relaxed and light-hearted class. Includes patterns, a felting needle, and fiber supplies. The instructor has considerable experience as a professional floral designer and will make suggestions for arrangement and presentation of your flowers.
Level: No previous experience necessary
Saturday Dinner $20/person:
Deviled Quail eggs
Farm Fresh curry goat and rabbit stew or baked chicken
Sunday December 14:
8-9 AM
Lakeside Sunrise meditation
Enjoy a walk around the lake
Warm yourself with a farm fresh warm breakfast ($10/person)
Bubble Scarf Workshop 9-4pm
Teacher: Leslie Samson, Cost, including materials: $90
This class offers a fascinating technique for distinctive textures in felt. Because we will work with a premium angora / wool pre-felt, much of the basic work will be done for you. You will be able to spend all of your time focusing on manipulating the surface of your piece into a jaw-dropping scarf. The skills that you learn in this class can be applied to hats, purses, garments and sculptures.
We will use both needle and wet felting to create the scarves.Lunch on your own
Classes fill up fast so don’t delay! Fees must be received to hold reservation.
Contact: Rosalie Truong, email: truongr [at] me [dot] com, cell: 314-302-7454
Limited modest accommodations are available in the farmhouse for those wishing to spend the night. $50/night/ room, occupancy 2 person per room, private bathroom
Warm breakfast available.
COMMON GROUND FAIR, MAINE
SEPTEMBER 19-21, 2014
Michaele and Penny examining a rabbit during an educational judging demo.
Good crowds most of the day – about 15 people at a time. Some would drift out and some would come in.
Common Ground is a huge fair that celebrates organic farming in Maine.
The Maine Cheese tent was very popular. I had to wait in a long line to get it. It was worth it.
The show had a tangible spirit. It was very positive and nurturing. The show is in its 38th year and still going stronger than ever.
OFFF (Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival)
9/29/14 & 9/28/14
Lots of Great Angora Rabbit Events, Including a very special guest appearance by Gail Smith.
8:00 am – 8:15 am Explanation of German Angora Registration, by Gail Smith
8:15 am – 10:00 am German Demonstration Registration/Testing, Judged by Gail Smith
**For educational purposes only, NOT IAGARB Registration.
For more information contact Tammy Vaughn 541-288-6276, Fuzzyvaughns [at] gmail [dot] com
Announcing the Newest Yarn from our Co-op: An Extraordinary Lace Weight Yarn – 85% Angora / 15% Cormo Wool. Like all of our other yarns, Prime Shorn Angora has been blended with wool to create a yarn that is a joy to knit. The yardage is approximately 220 yds. per oz. It is a single ply yarn suitable for lace knitting and crochet.
Our yarn tester, Sylvia Becker, an expert lace knitter with decades of experience, put this yarn through it’s paces and has this to say:
For starters, the sample yarn I received was wound and tied in the optimal way to minimize waste and maximize the speed of winding. Not even a breath of a tangle as I unwound and balled with the loop hanging from my wrist, no swift required.
The yarn is perfectly clean, not sparking any of my fragrance or soap allergies (thank you!).
The grist is uniform, no thin spots, no slubs, with evenly distributed twist. I did a drift test and could not pull apart the yarn with a steady lengthwise pull. Very nice for a singles.
The fiber itself is beautiful, a fine Cormo with decent tensile strength and a lustrous German angora with sheen and a soft halo.
Another IAGARB first, our Lace Yarn will be available this Fall only from participating members. Please visit the Angora Wool Co-op pages to learn more about the other yarns in our product line or to learn more about our 100% volunteer run co-op.