WE'VED MOVED!

Hop on over to our new blog!

IAGARB SHEARING DEMO

Maine Shearing Party

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.

January Registration in Sacramento

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!



















This beautiful angora coat was unmatted and free falling. Wool, gathered by the handful, was graded and dropped into the Prime basket.











Crimp, glorious crimp!!!

Weighed and recorded, a soft avalanche of Prime Angora tumbled from the basket into bag destined for millspun yarn.

Maine Agricultural Trade Show

Our District 7 Director, Betty Stover writes:

The Maine Agricultural Trade Show happens yearly in January.  This year it was 1/13-15/09.  Their were a lot of booths exhibiting farm equipment, Insurance for farmers, Alpaca Association, Boer Goats, Meat processing, etc.  It is a big event held at the Civic Center.  There were also mini workshops.  I took classes in Quicken, Fiber Maine-ia (www.umext.maine.edu/fibermaine-ia)





Betty spinning angora at the Trade Show


 

As you can see in our booth we have pictures of members' sheep.  The felted notebook shown in the picture has a picture of each of our sheep, our website and samples of our fiber and a knitted swatch.  It might be fun to do this in each of our districts.  Whoever attends the annual meetings may want to take it to share.

To All of our Angora friends, IAGARB wishes you Happy Holidays!

Another Yarn Run in the Works

Big Roger hauling another 40 pounds of gorgeous Prime German Angora wool off to the spinning mill.

The next two runs are ready to be run-the 85/15 and the 50% sock yarn for a total of another 100 pounds of yarn.

We are planning on a run of mill knitted socks and our first natural black angora yarn in the very near future.