Well, last weekend was alot of fun. I went to North Little Rock with my sister Angel and her friend Dani for the annual Greek Food Festival put on by the Greek Orthodox Church in Little Rock, complete with dancing girls!

Here Angel is enjoying the falafels while Dani has a mouthful of pastitsio. Afterward, we went into the bazaar where I bought my assistant Tammy some "big fat Greek" earrings. Sorry, I didn't get a pic, but they had eyes on them; seems this is a common motif employed to ward off the "evil eye".

You are probably wondering how the bunnies are doing...they are growing more every day and mom no longer requires my assistance in rearing them. All I have to do now is feed and water them. Another week and they should be ready to wean! I bet Mama is about ready for that!

The other day the wild bee balm (also known as bergamot or oswego tea) was ready for harvest. I got three quart jars of dried bergamot for tea later when the weather gets chilly again. Of course, I left some behind so they could reseed for next year! Life in the hills is good! God provides a bountiful harvest for us round here! David says, "If we could eat ticks, we'd have it made!". Ugh! Don't think I would, even if I should! Til next time, keep those hooks and needles working!

Baby bunnies growing up!

Well, Godiva and family moved back to the barn Sunday afternoon. As I was still getting over the bronchitis, I was moving a little slower than normal, but I decided it was time. As you can see, the babies are growing.
They now have hair and as of today are 12 days old today. They have not yet opened their eyes, but I expect that to happen any time now! They are getting so big! And wiggly! Godiva stills seems a bit clueless about the whole mothering thing. I gave her 24 hours and checked to see if it looked like she was nursing them, which she evidently was not, so.....each evening I go out to the barn to provide a little "encouragement" (read I put her in the nest box so those babies can eat). I am also still having to take care of their toileting needs! I am looking forward to that day that they can attend to their own "toilette" independently! I have been advised that when the babies are a bit bigger that I should breed her one more time this season. The only thing will be finding homes for the babies when they are weaned. Any of my fiber artists friends in the market for a french angora bunny? There's nothing like blending a little angora in with other fibers...my favorite? Alpaca and angora (about a 90/10% blend) is fabulous!
The babies are too small to figure you yet which are boys and which are girls. One is jet black, one is chocolate brown (like Godiva) and the other three are called "Broken Black" which is basically black and white. The runt of the litter is about 2/3rds the size of the largest babies, which are the black and brown. As they get bigger, I will try and get pictures of the individuals, so you guys can start thinking about names!
Remember to visit the website often to see what else I am up to! www.crochetrenee.com
Have a blessed day!

So...many of you have heard of "Baby Mama"? Meet "Bunny Mama". This is Lady Godiva {so named because 1.) she is a Chocolate bunny and I adore Godiva Chocolate, and 2.) she (normally) has long flowing hair. } She is suffering the effects of a really bad haircut, because when an angora has babies, it is most prudent to cut off the aforementioned long flowing hair, so that the babies don't get all tangled in the hair.

Anyway, I expected her to kindle (that's what it's called when Bunny Mama has her babies) on Saturday or so, but when I got home on Friday night, she was in the process. Unfortunately, Godiva is a first time parent, so she really didn't understand that the nice box in her cage was there for her to pull some nice soft hair and create a cozy nest for her little bundles of joy. She was having them on the wire. And they were very cold, but still moving save one poor little bunny that was already dead. I quickly gathered them up and made a nest for them. 20 or 30 minutes later I went back to the barn and discovered another little guy on the wire. So I took both mama and baby back to the house where I could watch for any more little surprises and everyone (including me) could stay warm and cozy.

All told, we got 5 out of 6 babies, and this is them tonight. So far, with a little help from me (Bunny Nanny), Mama is learning how to care for her babies. She will let them nurse with a little encouragement. They are fat and sassy and seem to be thriving so far. Lucky for me, bunnies only nurse once or twice a day, so after my 10 hours at work all day and my 1 1/2 hour commute, I can still make sure that the babies are being well nourished. Another interesting fact I have learned is that baby bunnies evidently don't go to the bathroom without their mama's licking their little bottoms. It seems this stimulates them and allows Mama to keep the next clean. Mama isn't doing this. Before you ask, no, I am not either...not really. A little warm moist cosmetic wipe is the closest thing I can provide! There are 3 spotted babies, one solid black and one lovely silver grey. When they get a little bigger, I will likely need a little help naming them...hopefully you guys can help! I may have to think about a naming contest or something. Maybe the grand prize could be a skein of handspun angora yarn?!?!?!

I will keep posting updates as the babies get bigger. Hope you are all well and enjoying spring!

Renee'

spinning class a success!

Spinning class was a resounding success today. Here are my students Sherri and Sara making yarn! They each were able to spin and ply a few yards of Jacob wool yarn to take home. They each left with enough wool to spin a couple of ounces of yarn as well as some other fiber freebies I sent home with them to experiment. Sara says when she comes for open work night on Thursday, she is bringing her spindle instead of her knitting. Be careful, Sara, it's very, very addictive!!!

Here are just a few of my handspun yarns that I take to class for my students to look at so they can see what they can make. Spinning yarn is fun and it's great to be able to make it however you want it! Mixed in amongst the yarn are several items made with handspun as well. You are looking at wool, alpaca, silk, llama, bamboo, and more!

On another note, my latest design is out in this month's issue of Crochet World. It is the Lovely Ruffles Shawl and CW did a great job photographing it. It will be posted a little later on the website. To look at my other designs, go to www.crochetrenee.com . Whatever your fiber passion, have a fun time with it and have a great weekend!

Crochet Renee'

Well, it was 20 degrees outside this morning, but if you look around, you can see signs of spring.


The cyclamen is peeking through the snow....





The daffodils are blooming.....

And the spring lambs are arriving! So far, 3 ewes have had twins, so the lamb count is up to 6 right now, with one or two more ewes still pregnant. I say one or two because there is a yearling ewe that may or may not be expecting...time will tell. The lamb on the left was feeling a little frisky and decided to do a little dance for the camera!

Another three weeks til the official start of spring!

Yes Sir, Yes Sir, three bags full...

Yesterday we took advantage of the nice weather and did a little sheep shearing. We wound up with two beautiful fleeces which we listed on ebay. One was VERY soft and I was tempted to keep it to spin for myself, but I already have so much fiber in my studio I could probably open my own yarn store! This young wether (whom I am calling Lamb Chops; you country folks will understand...) was pretty cooperative until we got ready to shear his belly.

I am finalizing my book proposal package for Storey Publishing for my book about crocheting with natural fibers, so there is likely to be at least one project made from Dad's sheep. They are a primitive breed known as Jacob's sheep. They derive their name from the Bible, where in Genesis Jacob agrees to manage his father in law's livestock in exchange for all of the spotted sheep and striped cattle. God then tells Jacob how to tip the odds in his favor, and before long, Jacob owned more sheep and cattle than Laban! Kinda made up for that bait and switch that Laban pulled on Jacob when Jacob thought he was working for Rachel's hand in marriage and wound up with the sister! Just goes to show, what goes around, comes around....

Hope everyone is staying warm and safe! God Bless!

Renee'

Well Folks, we are surviving the icy blast. We are much more fortunate than many in Arkansas, since we didn't have any damage to our home, nor did our family. We are campers from way back, and like the song says, "Country folks can survive"! We easily got an inch of ice on EVERYTHING. There's the love of my life clearing our driveway. He also cleared the neighbor's driveway AND singlehandedly cleared the county road we live on. He is a handy fella to have around!

The ice can be as beautiful as it can be troublesome and dangerous.

This is one of the (many, many) trees that we will have to cut down around our home. Tuesday night was eerie, the woods around us sounded like a war zone with all the popping and crashing of tree tops and limbs all night long. The good Lord kept us all safe, however, and for that I am very grateful!

The upside of all this ice is that I have had A LOT of crocheting time!!!

Stay warm, ya'll!!!

Crochet Renee'