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Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Butterscotch Bunny Gets a Haircut, Claire spins and knits

Butterscotch Bunny, whom I introduced in an earlier post here, is a rescued angora who had very bad mats in his fur. I did as much grooming as I could to remove them, but they were just really hard to manage. They must have been terribly uncomfortable for him because they were pulling at his skin. So, he has had a complete haircut. Right now, he doesn't quite look like an angora bunny. I feel sort of bad for him, as if the other bunnies might laugh at him! Still, I think he must be more comfortable now, and his coat will grow in cleanly and without matting now, and I will keep him well groomed.

One interesting thing that I found is that he has a fairly large area of caramel coloured fur on his back. This was not evident before - I thought he was all white except for his ears and the patches on his face. I'm not sure if the white was obscuring the other color, or if it was faded, or what. In any case, now I can see more colour to him. So, I will be very interested to see how his coat grows in now, and whether the caramel colour comes through more. Look at his cute little tail! Awww....

Moving right along, I did some more knitting. I had blogged about visiting with Maggie a couple of weekends ago to learn how to knit. I undid the knitting I had done there, because it was not meeting with my approval (I'm a tough critic). I started over and tried to do it with looser tension. I struggle with tension in life in general, so it's no wonder I have trouble with my knitting tension. Anyway, I think it's going better now. I just love working with this bamboo yarn. So incredibly soft and supple. It has a lovely sheen to it also.

I also did a little more hand spinning on my spindle. I bought a gorgeous new drop spindle from Zebisis Designs on Etsy. It's made from Labradorite, which is a stone from Labrador, very close to my home in Nova Scotia. I love the colors in the stone. It has different colours in different light. Blues and greens and sort of pearly shades - very pretty.

I used some roving that I bought from The Fiber Denn, also on Etsy. I'm really pleased with the way it's spinning up. The name of the colourway was "Pharmacosiderite" which is a kind of mineral - I've linked to a page about the mineral, which includes pictures of it. The fiber is beautifully clean and soft, and so easy to spin by hand, it practically spins itself.
So, despite my busy, busy days, I still find a bit of time for myself for a little crafting.

Oh, by the way, still waiting on Stuffin. Babies due any day now!!

18 comments:

Unknown said...

My first inclination is to say, "Poor Butterscotch" because he looks embarrassed by his haircut. But the truth is, he must be oh, so relieved to have his skin feel free.
You're such a good Mom!!!

Nancy

clairesgarden said...

poor bunny, he will be beautiful again soon. hopefully he's not cold, maybe you could knit him a jumper?
you have an interesting mineral them to your making wool! the drop spindle is beautiful, as is the wool you are making, it looks so even.

BlueGate said...

Hey, nice job on the knitting...it looks great! Hope Butterscotch is enjoying his new 'freedom.'

Christy said...

You're spinning looks great! I need to play with that again. I find in crochet it is much easier to keep my tension even than in knitting.

Nancy K. said...

I think Butterscotch looks adorable ~ if slightly embarrassed. I hope you got some usable wool off of him!

Your spindle is gorgeous! And that does NOT look like "newbie" knitting.

A bit of a perfectionist, are we???

;-)
Good Job!

frolicnfibers said...

Oh what we do in an effort to keep them comfortable! I'm sure Butterscotch will grow out beautifully!

girlwithasword said...

I was wondering how the knitting was going!! Thank you for posting an update. Are you enjoying it?!

angie said...

The drop spindle yarn looks really nice. I find drop spindles to be very hard. I much prefer the wheel. You've inspired me to try the spindle again - I just can't justify the price of a wheel right now. Was your husband able to repair that neat wheel you recently posted about?

I was on vacation the past several days (at our farm) and kept wondering if your goat had kidded yet!

thecrazysheeplady said...

I'm glad we don't live close to you because that bunny's so cute I'd come steal him! I'm glad you have him and are taking care of him. Your spindles and spinning are very nice!

Joanna@BooneDocksWilcox said...

Just curious, what will BB's normal day be like? What is his routine? BB looks great with the short do.

Paula said...

Hey... I think Butterscotch is kinda cute that way!! From behind anyway..
The spindle is gorgeous Claire- I've never heard of Labradorite, but it almost looks like abalone shell! Very pretty!

Sharrie said...

Oh, no, the udder here is not "round and firm and fully packed" yet. I guess I better start looking for a goat figurine.

At first Butterscotch didn't even look real. I am sure he is a happy hoppy since he got out of that ratty coat.

diane said...

poor butterscotch- i think that might be the bunny equivalent of a human kid getting a bowl-cut in the 70's LOL!!!

Alison said...

Good job on the knitting. My mom has always knit, but she does it so tightly everything comes out two sizes too small. Talk about tense!

Buddahscotch is one lucky bun. The overhead shot makes him look kinda like a Papillon dog. (Or maybe I'm just doggy-centric.)

Yellow Jacket Ridge Angoras said...

Your rabbit is adorable! Is he housebroken? Is it easy to have a house bunny???

Your spinning is coming along and I'm impressed you are doing so well with the drop spindle. I never quite got the hang of the drop spindle but it would be so nice to be able to spin in waiting rooms, etc. Your spindle is also lovely.

Anonymous said...

I am so happy to read that I am not the only person with tension issues! Your drop spindle, knitting, and spinning are lovely!

I think Butterscotch is very cute :)

Yarn Geek said...

Aww, what a cute bunny. They always look a little bewildered after a haircut. Your spinning looks terrific! I never got the hang of the drop spindle, so I'm a little jealous.

Claire MW said...

Mom L - thanks! I will try to be a good bunny mom!

Claire - that's a very funny idea - I could knit him a jumper out of his own fur! LOL!

BlueGate - thanks for the knitting encouragement. I still feel like such a newbie.

Nancy K - Perfectionist? Moi? Naww..... (did that sound convincing to you? Me neither!)

GirlwithaSword - I'm enjoying the knitting when I don't drop stitches!

Joanna - BB's normal daily routine is to get a papaya treat in the morning, munch on alfalfa/timothy/pellets while I am at work and school, and then he gets free run-around time in the evening, during which he tries his best to get into trouble. After run-around time, he gets a cuddle, and also a grooming session once a week. Then he sleeps, like me!

And to those who asked...we are working on the litter training of Butterscotch!