IAGARB

December German Angora Registrations and Workshop

Posted on December 12, 2010 by admin

Our December 4th Registration weekend began with an angora hat making workshop. Rosalie started by shaping her angora blend batting into a hood shape.

Jane made an adorable aqua colored angora hat. She also made a delicious chicken and Minnesota wild rice soup for our lunch. It really took the chill off a cold day! Everyone contributed oodles of tasty snacks and a bottle of wine or two. Or was it more than that?

Joyce brought her spectacular doe, Alissa, for registration. This rabbit was very clean and in superb condition. Even the wool on the bottom of her feet was snow white, unmatted and prime length!

Joyce filled her basket with Alissa’s wool. She always does a beautiful job as she gently scissors the wool away. Alissa’s prime weighed 338.4 grams, 2nd grade short wool weighed 72.3 for a total of 410.4 (14.5 ounces). The coat contained zero 3rd grade matts or stained wool. This rabbit was in excellent condition! Well done, Joyce!

The high total for the day was Rosalie’s exceptional buck, Rosalie’s Hilger with a lustrous and well crimped coat of outstanding texture. Rosalie’s shearing technique is very clean. After they are shorn, each rabbit wears a coat and is moved to the warm room in her barn. Hilger registered at 440.5 grams (15.5 ounces) or 1762.4 grams annual production.

Sterling silver angora wool! This is a shot of belly wool from one of the black rabbits tested. It shined.

Sharon Kilfoyle showed some of her one of a kind designs to Kate. Kate is wearing her newly made angora felt hat. She also became an angora owner later that day.

Sharon pointed out the details of one of her pieces to Jane and Joyce. This coat was made for a show in Japan. The white trim is made out of 100% angora.

Close-up of a complex use of color and texture.

Sharon is expert at working with color via shibori dyed textiles and nuno felt. She explained her pieces to us as she sifted through a kaleidoscope of handmade garments.

We enjoyed a full day of hat making, rabbit shearing, special Kilfoyle style inspiration and warm camaraderie. Thank you, Rosalie, for your hospitality! Cheers!

Posted in Fun, Registration testing, Shearing Parties, Workshops | Tagged angora felt, angora felting, angora shearing, angora workshops, felted angora hats, felting, German angora wool testing, Leslie Samson, Sharon Kilfoyle | Leave a comment

Felted Hat Workshop in Missouri

Posted on November 29, 2010 by admin

These Felted Angora Blend hats will be on display at Rosalie’s Shearing party December 4th. The hats are easy to make in under 3 hours. All of these hats weigh only 2 to 3 ounces each. Angora fiber keeps them soft, light, warm and wind proof.

For more information regarding the Felted Hat workshop on December 4, please contact Rosalie: fuzzme [at] angorayarn [dot] com

Posted in Fun, Shearing Parties, Workshops | Tagged angora felt, angora workshops, felt, felted angora hats, Leslie Samson | Leave a comment

December Midwest Registration and Workshops

Posted on September 25, 2010 by admin

Sharon Kilfoyle has been working as a felt artist in Japan, Paris and Missouri. She has promised to bring a selection of her original work to show us.

Sharon has a lively and creative personality. Come meet both of Completely Angora’s authors for a wine, hors d’oeurves and show and tell party.

Here are some samples of Sharon’s work:

Rosalie will be hosting them both a the next Midwest Shearing party to be held on December 4 2010 at her farm in Labadie MO. This will be a particularly fun event as she will host the first get together ( in years) of Leslie Samson and Sharon Killfoyle, authors of Completely Angora.

Rosalie says:

“The event will start with a hat felting workshop from 930 to 1 pm taught by Leslie, to be followed by the shearing/registration/shearing clinic. I will hopefully have 3 types of cordless shearers(Akkurata, Wahl Moser Arco SE and Wahl Bravura) and the corded Aesculap for people to try out in the clinic.( I have no commercial interests or ties to either companies).

In the evening, we will gather in my log cabin around a warm roasting fire, sip some wine and rekindle our friendships. Sharon will share her experience in France with us.

Please bring a lunch. Accommodations is available for no fee for Friday and Saturday nights ( as long as your bring a dish for dinner for either nights and a sleeping bag) to IAGARB members.
The workshop fee is $60 including materials for IAGARB members. Limit is 10 people ( 3 already signed up). Both the workshop and the shearing clinic will be open to non-IAGARB members, additional fee may apply. Space is limited to 20 people for the shearing clinic.

Please contact me privately to reserve your spot. fuzzme [at] angorayarn [dot] com“

Posted in Fun, Registration testing, Workshops | Tagged angora shearing, German angora testing, Leslie Samson, Sharon Kilfoyle | Leave a comment

MIDWEST SHEARING PARTY

Posted on September 21, 2010 by admin

Posted on September 5, 2010 by emaclean

Rosalie hosted a shearing party at her farm in St. Louis in September. Here are the rabbits waiting to be sheared. Looks like they have a body guard!

Everyone will be meeting again in December to have the rabbits judged and shear again expecting their animals to meet the minimum wool weight of 325 grams.

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More From the Annual General Meeting

Posted on April 29, 2009 by emaclean

Dr. Mark Burgess was the guest speaker at the IAGARB Annual General Meeting 2009 in Silverton, Oregon. Dr. Burgess is a small animal vet who specializes in exotic pets. He owns the Southwest Animal Hospital in Beaverton, Oregon. A large part of his practice is rabbits. His talk at our meeting focused on rabbit gut issues. It was very enlightening!

Dr. Burgess spoke about various gut problems in rabbits, treatment, and the issues regarding treatment. He also spoke about feed–both beneficial and things to avoid. Dr. Burgess provided a lot of information. It is rare to find a vet who knows so much about rabbits. He offers consultations to other vets as part of his practice.

Posted in Annual General Meetings, Health and Nutrition | Leave a comment

Another Wool Record is Broken!

Posted on April 13, 2009 by emaclean

Carrie and her fabulous German doe, Harvest Moon's Esperanza

At the IAGARB Annual General Meeting registration held April 4, 2009 in Silverton, Oregon, the North American Wool Production record was broken. Carrie’s fabulous doe, Harvest Moon’s Esperanza produced a total of 571 grams in a certified 90-day clip. This is an annual total of 2284 grams! The previous record was held by Bungalow Farm’s Furrari (2054 grams). In addition, Carrie brought three other German does (littermates) that each produced over 2,000 grams. Way to go Carrie!

Posted in Annual General Meetings, Registration testing | Tagged registration, shearing, wool record, wool testing | Leave a comment

Shearing Party in St. Charles, IL

Posted on April 8, 2009 by emaclean

Joyce, on the right, is holding an enormous shorn black doe. Susan smiles from the middle and Jane cradles a black German in full coat on the left.

The Fine Line Art Center sent out only one email to its members about the angora rabbits that would be shorn March 21. We were swamped with interested onlookers all day. People asked about the rabbits and were happy to know that the animals were not harmed for their wool. We handed out several membership forms.

Some people brought their children in Easter outfits to take photos with the bunnies. It was a mild, bright day. Frogs trilled their spring songs nearby. What an enjoyable day!

Rosalie tried Aesculap clippers for the first time. She did a beautiful job of cleaning off her rabbit's coat.

Rosalie smiled over a selection of her hand-dyed and handspun yarns. It is almost unfair to call some of her work "yarn" as several of the skeins has a precious jewelry quality to them!

Mary Stough prepared her next 5 pound bag of prime German Angora fiber for a sock run. Her daughter, Kate and Amy from Illinois gave her encouragement.

Posted in Shearing Parties | Tagged shearing | Leave a comment

IAGARB SHEARING DEMO

Posted on March 20, 2009 by emaclean

[rockyou id=134712502&w=426&h=320]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged clipping, shearing | Leave a comment

Maine Shearing Party

Posted on March 13, 2009 by emaclean

On March 7, 2009 Sheri hosted a shearing party at her beautiful log cabin in Maine. Shearing parties are fun gatherings for members to shear animals and certify them for registration 91 days later. Part of the testing for registration is the amount of wool an animal produces in 90 days. At a shearing party, animals are certified that they were shorn to the skin witnessed by other IAGARB members.

Members use all sorts of methods to shear. Many use Aesculap electric clippers as Sheri is demonstrating here. Some use other brands and others use scissors. Michaele here is using a round table as a stand to shear. Sheri likes a table top. Others place rabbits on their laps.

Bags and other containers are nearby to place graded and sorted wool. Prime angora is separated out from seconds and thirds. While thirds (shorter than 1 inch) are usually tossed, prime and seconds have value and can be used. Much of the prime wool harvested by IAGARB members goes into the IAGARB Yarn pool to produce the Angora Blizzard and Angora Frost yarns.

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January Registration in Sacramento

Posted on February 8, 2009 by emaclean

IAGARB held a registration testing in Sacramento, California January 31 at the home of Erin Maclean.

The rabbit was weighed both before and after shearing. The weight of the wool coat can significantly alter the weight of the rabbit before shearing. This is also a good way to double check the wool weight.

This rabbit was in excellent condition!