How To: Reinforced Buttonholes in Knitting

I came across a very nicely done video today by Eunny Jang of Interweave fame. It describes an alternative single row buttonhole method that produces a strong, symmetrical buttonhole for your cardigans. I think many of you will find it useful. Have a peek:

Rabbit care: The 4-Leaf Clover diet

Finding 4 leaf clovers is one of the things I have a freakish talent for. This bouquet of 15 was picked in about 5 or 6 minutes just after I put one of the bunnies out in their mini-grazing area. And yes, all of them are 4-leaf, but no, this isn't a sign of nuclear waste in my pasture. These were distributed among the bunnies here on the farm that weren't going to get to graze that day.

Rabbits are grazers. As such, they're designed to eat a lot of foliage. Yes, they also like fruit, grain, & veggies, but the overwhelming majority of their diet in nature would generally consist of grasses and foliage. Just read the label on your rabbit feed - what's the first ingredient? Usually alfalfa or similar.

So when the weather is mild, setup a pen in a nice shaded area with clover and tasty looking grasses and weeds, and turn your bunny out for some grazing time. If you haven't been giving your bunn stuff from the yard already, limit the first time out to 15 min or so (longer if they're investigating rather than grazing). First time out, if your bunn is a house bunn, you might also want to keep them in their cage for 12-24 hrs after, just in case they get a bit of loose stool. This is a normal reaction to a sudden introduction of large amounts of fresh, juicy food when they're used to eating hay, generally a result of the natural intestinal flora not being in quite the optimal balance for this food. You can make successive visits longer and eliminate the cage confinement as their intestinal flora adjust to the change in diet.

Just remember to keep watch over your fuzzy friend for their safety and protect them from the heat. They'll enjoy the change of pace and fresh yummy food, and you'll enjoy watching their joy.

Cthulhu attends conference with Evil Bunneh

Cthulhu discusses tactics with Evil Red-Eye Bunneh at a recent conference. Evil Red-Eye Bunneh, who is well known for her work in eating Arthur's Knights during the Holy Grail Quest, is currently available for contract work. She specializes in gnawing. Cthulhu, easily recognizable from his squiddy head, is currently on assignment at our San Francisco office.
Full story at 11.

Ok, the bunny is actually not Evil at all. This is Empire's Rosalind, also known as GirliQ, after her first shearing. She is the critter we kept from the New Year's Eve 2009 litter. She has fantastic wool with excellent density, and enough personality for two rabbits. She recently proved to be an escape artist, managing to pop open her door at around 5AM I think. I'm sure she had to have been loose for at least an hour before she ran into the bedroom and spooked the cats, causing me to actually wake up fully. We do frequently let her out to run around the house, but 5AM? Not the best time for that. I'm more careful about fully latching her door now. Fortunately she is litter trained.

The Cthulhu amigurumi was a gift custom crochet for a friend. I used what I consider to be a 'standard amigurumi body shaping', and crochetted-on (crochet-on??) squiddy facial tentacles, angry eyebrows, and horns, adding two-hole button eyes, and wings that are essentially identical to the feet of my angry duckling pattern. His new owner found him very funny, and has since graciously employed him for the purpose of terrorizing glamazons.

Babydoll Shearing Day, 2010

Yesterday was the big shearing day for the Babydoll Southdown flock at Sweetwater Farm. Babydolls are still a rare breed, an old world variant of the modern Southdown stock. They are compact, standing only 24 inches at the shoulder, and come in a range of colors from white to black. The fleece is fine and extremely bouncy due to the tight spiralling crimp, lending an unparalleled stretch and memory to the yarns spun from this fiber. As a breed, they're gaining popularity as pets, spinners flock candidates, 4H projects, and weed control minions in places like wineries looking to minimize chemical applications.

The fleeces are always enjoyable, but this year they seemed exceptionally soft and yummy. It will be a delight to spin these up! this year I plan to try blending the Babydoll wool with some of our own Angora.

Above is a 'before picture'. Below are action shots and 'after' pictures.


Our esteemed shearer getting ready to start sheep #6. I think that was Dani, but its hard to tell from this angle. He starts with trimming hooves, then proceeds to shearing starting carefully around the head and neck, then proceeding to belly, sides and back. Sheep are supported against his legs, putting them in a more workable position while keeping them secure and calm. This a very physical technique, but generally yields very good results safely.

As the shearing progresses the ewe is moved around for better access to other parts. After the fleece is off, I take it aside to the skirting table to remove belly wool and tags, leaving only the best stuff.

Three of the ladies having a graze after their eventful day - Libby (black), Molly (silver), and Daisy (white).

One of the lambs re-discovers mom. The lambs kick up quite a fuss during shearing day, almost as if they're not initially sure which ewe is their mother without her fleece.

I will be working on taking photos and listing fleeces over the next few weeks. Right now we have roving listed. If you're looking for a particular shade of fleece or large quantity, feel free to email me or contact me through Etsy.

The Empire's Walter

I'd like you all to meet Walter. Walter is one of the kits born Dec. 31st here on the farm, and one of only two still at the house. The rest have all found homes. Walter enjoys sunflower seeds, apple slices, harassing cats, and running on carpet as fast as he can.

Walter is possibly going to a new home this weekend (hope I don't jinx it!), just in time for Easter, but we are now assembling a list of interested parties for our next litter, soon to be bred of Sadie by Fritz. To be added to our mailing list, please send a message to our new rabbitry email address. We shall miss his sweet face but wish him the best!

Rabbit care: Hay rack idea

Although you can just stick your bunny's hay anywhere in the cage, the use of a hay rack of some sort will keep the cage looking tidier and result in less hay spoilage. Hay on the floor often collects debris. They will often pull hay out of a rack, but even so much of the hay stays clean longer, and of course that also gives them an extra entertainment.

There are special hay racks and whatnot sold by various pet and livestock supply companies. We find, however, the easiest thing is a Closet Maid packet rack. These are available at Home Depot and most likely online for just a few dollars. If you have bunnies that like to pull the whole rack down and flip it over, you can secure it in place with a plastic zip tie or metal snap.

Crochet Pattern: Cabin Fever Scarf

Folks all over the East coast have been enjoying a bout of snowy laziness, the likes of which we haven't enjoyed since 1996. I know for some, lack of stuff to do eventually leads to the dreaded Cabin Fever, characterized by boredom, restlessness, itchy fingers aching for stuff to do, and general cranky behavior. In an effort to help your recovery, I'm posting a free crochet pattern (or really, design guide).

For this scarf, start by raiding your stash. Pull out partial balls of yarn leftover from various projects, or small balls of handspun. Match up complementary colors and textures, and go! This project is meant for instant gratification.


DESIGN GUIDE:

• Any yarn, any gauge, any width, any length. Can be a short scarf with buttons or a pin, a very long scarf with fantastic fringe, or even a shawl.


• With hook size appropriate for yarn (check label, or just test a few), chain the length of your scarf/shawl loosely. Honestly, it's a lot to count, just gently chain away until it "looks about right". The beginning chain will be the lengthwise center.


• Of the examples you see, two are made with Red Heart Acrylic yarn leftover from afghans, the third is Lion Brand Homespun from various projects. The beginning chain is in the center of all of these. Color progression details are as follows:


• Blue/Brown: Foundation chain, blue. 5 rows blue. Flip. Starting at foundation chain, 5 rows brown.


• Green: Foundation chain, White. 2 rows white, 2 rows mint green, 2 rows medium green, 1 row forest green. Flip. Starting at foundation chain, repeat color progression.


• Homespun: Foundation chain, raspberry. 1 row raspberry, 1 row cream, 2 rows aqua, 1 row cream, 2 rows raspberry. Flip. Starting at foundation chain, repeat color progression.



• Stitch Pattern:


• First row - Skip first Ch, SC in next 3 ch, *Ch 1, skip one ch, SC in next Ch, repeat from * across to last 4 Ch, then SC in last 4 Ch. If the number of chains is off by one, fudge it by SC twice in one chain. Don't cringe, it is just a quickie scarf - it'll be fine. Mark this side as "front" with a piece of scrap yarn or safety pin.


• Next row (change color if desired) - Ch 1, SC in next 3 SC, *Ch 1, skip next SC, SC into next Ch 1 space. Repeat from * across to last Ch 1 space. SC in that Ch 1 space as normal, then SC in last 3 SC (makes 4 SC in a row).


• Repeat last row, changing colors as desired, until half desired width is reached.


• Flip scarf, returning to foundation chain. Make sure that the "front" is facing you. Attach yarn, Ch 1, SC in back/unused loops of next 3 Ch, *Ch 1, skip next SC space, SC in next unused Ch space, Repeat from * across to last Ch 1 space. SC in that Ch 1 space as normal, then SC in back/unused loops of next 3 Ch (makes 4 SC in a row).


• Next row (change color if desired) - Ch 1, SC in next 3 SC, *Ch 1, skip next SC, SC into next Ch 1 space. Repeat from * across to last Ch 1 space. SC in that Ch 1 space as normal, then SC in last 3 SC (makes 4 SC in a row).


• Repeat last row, changing colors as desired, matching or not matching other half as preferred, until desired width is reached.

Enjoy!

For other knit & crochet patterns, please see my pattern page or find me on Ravelry as SapphireChild.