IAGARB

WE'VED MOVED!

2009-04-08T16:39:00.000-07:00

IAGARB SHEARING DEMO

2009-03-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

Maine Shearing Party

2009-03-13T10:23:00.001-07:00

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

2009-02-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-22T08:28:00.000-08:00

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.

2008-12-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

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

Another Yarn Run in the Works

2008-12-03T07:39:00.001-08:00

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.

What We Do With Our Angora

2008-11-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

From this:

To this:

To this:

Our last yarn run is finished. Out of 50 lbs. returned to the participants, only about 4 lbs. remain after Fall fiber sales.

In 2008, approximately 300 lbs of angora yarn was produced. IAGARB has two products: An 85% German angora/15% Merino blend two ply fingering wt. and a 50% German Angora 30% nylon, 20% Superwash Merino 3 ply fingering wt. sock yarn.

Both yarns are extremely popular. They are durable yarns that wear well with minimal or no shedding or piling. The sock yarn is machine washable. We are very pleased with our Yarn Co-op!

Silverton, Oregon Marathon Registration

2008-11-14T08:47:00.000-08:00

On November 7, 8, and 9th, a marathon testing for registration was held in Silverton, Oregon. We had a total of 14 rabbits tested over three days. Eight of those passed. To pass, a rabbit must have a score higher than 80 points and a minimum of 325 grams of wool produced over 91 days.

Shown here is Margie's rabbit, Windsor Farm's Yurs Fur Ever.

We had a lot of fun. While we sheared and the rabbits were judged, we chatted and exchanged information and shearing tips. Some brought knitted items for show and tell. Margie had some beautiful hand-dyed socks made from the IAGARB sock yarn.

Shown here is Bungalow Farm's Mogul. He was the top producing rabbit over the three day event with 1684 grams of wool (421 grams for the 91 day shearing period).

Also notable was Windsor Farm's Voodoo owned by Erin. She is the first Black German to pass registration! She is purebred doe descended from the 2006 black imports brought back from Germany.

And to top it off, IAGARB's registration database has reached over 100 animals tested! Testing began in North America in 2002. Quite a feat in a few short years. Wool quality and production has steadily increased during those years primarily due to better management, feed, and importing quality animals into our gene pool. In 2008, the first German to produce over 2,000 grams annually was recorded in the IAGARB database. We look forward to many more in the future!

IAGARB at Rhinebeck

2008-10-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

IAGARB's booth at Rhinebeck was awesome! IAGARB had a great sized space and it was full most of the time with people interested in our beautiful angora rabbits and how to care for them. In fact, we had to keep pushing the tables we used as barriers back because the crowds kept pressing them towards us. A large group of people surrounded Susan Wiley while she judged rabbits.

Tony Amodeo of A&J Clippers set up his booth next to us. Most of the people who visited had never seen Aesculap clippers before. It was a great introduction to their superb equipment.

Susan Wiley, Charlene Schultz and Marlene Gruetter took a moment to pose for the camera.

The weather at Rhinebeck was classic for mid-October - bright and cold! Keeping warm with wool was on every one's mind. Nancy Reid knitted a sweater for Samson's Pandora out of our 85/15. Pandora looked very stylish! She was an Angora dressed in angora. How cute is that?

It was a really important part of our shearing demonstrations to show that the rabbits must be protected from chilling.

Pandora in her sweater - front view.

Samson's Pandora in Angora poses by a new product from Aesculap - a cordless, rechargeable clipper. It was very light and easy to maneuver. The cordless was not quite as fast as our Red Clippers but not as heavy either. The cordless clipper is not yet available in North America. It was introduced in Europe only last year. Tony was very kind to let us be the first to try it out. We will share the details about this product as they become available.

Sharon Costello was very generous to donate a prize worth 40.00 for our Rhinebeck registration to winning member Michaele Bailey. The title of the video awarded to Michaele was Featherweight Felt - Making Scarves with Sharon. The video gives "step-by-step instructions for creating 6 lightweight felt scarves using a variety of fibers and innovative techniques." For a closer look at Sharon's video, visit www.blacksheepdesigns.com.

Thanks, Sharon!

Here is a post dinner photo of Susan Wiley, Nancy Reid and Pat Spark looking very satisfied after a great dinner at the Mercato Restaurant in Red Hook, New York - just a few miles from the Duchess County Fairgrounds. The Pumpkin Ravioli and Tiramisu were to die for!

It was a really fun dinner. We all exchanged stories of our travels. Nancy has been all over the world. Pat is a (THE) globe trotting felter and Leslie and Susan had tales to tell of their travels.

German angoras awaiting judging at Rhinebeck.

Shearing Party!

2008-08-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Nancy F. graciously offered her home for a shearing party today. People from four different states attended. Here, Sue W., Joyce and Nancy shear away.

Joyce hard at work!

Sue and Joyce expertly using their Aesculap clippers. This shearing party was held to certify rabbits for testing in November, 91 days from now. These rabbits will be judged and registered with IAGARB if they have a minimum of 80 points and their wool meets the minimum weight of 325 grams or 11.44 oz.

Jane snuggling her black German doe before shearing. IAGARB looks forward to more registered rabbits!

Dealing With Summer Heat

2008-07-10T13:03:00.001-07:00

Summer can be a tough time in some of our member's climates. For those of you with air conditioned barns, then this article is not for you. Here in Sacramento, summer can be brutal. For instance, yesterday's high was 108. We are in the midst of a heat wave here. Usually fans and misters do the job in my barn. However, when it gets up over 100 and especially 105, extreme measures must be taken. If possible, rabbits are brought in the house where there is air conditioning. Since that is not always possible, I look for signs of stress and bring in the rabbits that show any possible sign. Wet noses and rapid breathing are two for starters. Also, rabbits in coat should be watched carefully.

Bungalow Farm's Hummdinger shrouded
in a gentle mist and feelin' pretty good!

With rabbits, heat kills. Know the signs, know your rabbits, and prepare for heat waves.

If you live in a warmer climate, get the coats off before the hot weather hits. Keep the coats off all summer if you have too. Losing a coat is better than losing the rabbit.

Tips to Avoid Summer Heat Stress:

Keep coats short
Use fans and misters or other cooling measures in your barn
Use spray bottles to mist ears frequently
As rabbits eat less in hot temps, supplement with veggies such as broccoli and carrots for extra calcium, sugar and moisture
Use water bowls in addition to bottles if you only use bottles as rabbits tend to drink more from bowls
Also, if you are using bowls, watch for signs of wet feet as rabbits will use their bowls to cool themselves--another sign of heat stress
Keep a thermometer in your barn
Visit your barn frequently during hot days and keep an eye out for signs of heat stress

Leslie and Erin's Excellent Adventure!

2008-07-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

Late Sunday afternoon, after all of the hugging was over and everyone said good-bye, Erin and I started the next part of our adventure - the trip to la belle Provence, Quebec! The drive north through the mountains was spectacular. We cleared customs in a snap and made our way to the captial, Quebec City.

I promised Erin that going to Quebec City would be like visiting old Europe. It is as beautiful and charming as any place could be! Quebec is a very old walled city, currently celebrating its 400th Anniversary.

The lilacs were in full bloom. The city was all gussied up for its birthday. Our timing was perfect!

Spectacular views and a spectacular visit.

More From the Annual Meeting

2008-07-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Saturday night dinner was prepared by Leslie and Sue. Leslie worked all day on the desserts and Sue made a potato salad and a green salad with a fabulous dressing that had tons of garlic. Fresh lobster right off the boat was the star of the show. Sue cooked the lobster, with lots of input and debate from the crowd. Leslie set a beautiful table. We ate fashionably late at 10:30 pm. Here's a photo of Charlene and her lobster.

Enjoying a fabulous meal

Creme Brulee anyone?

It was also Gail's birthday. Leslie went all out on the dessert.
Chocolate Cherry cake, fresh berries, and creme brulee. What a lovely evening!

IAGARB Annual Meeting

2008-07-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

The IAGARB Annual Meeting was held June 1 in Lovell, Maine. What a blast! A number of us rented a house for the weekend, complete with a chef's kitchen. A full weekend was planned with IAGARB Registration, Dyeing Self Stripping Socks Workshop, a lobster dinner at the house, and the Annual Meeting on Sunday.

We had way too much fun. On Friday after we all arrived, we attended an IAGARB Testing and Registration in the patio room. After that, we hit the road for Ebenezer's Pub nearby. Ebenezer's is famous for it large collection of beer, primarily Trappist Belgian Ales. We tasted many beers, but didn't make a dent in the vast selection that Ebenezer's offered. I guess we will have to keep returning!