Fiber Projects

The weather has cooled down, it's time for doing more fiber projects.

Betty is sharing with our readers the two projects that she has recently completed.

At the top, a scarf made from her English Angora wool is in the photo. The original color of the yarn is white, spun moderate thick and thin then plied with thin blue thread as a binder. Then the yarn was soaked, washed and then dyed with Easter egg dye. Betty was shooting for baby blue, she used two different brands of Easter egg dye to achieve the intended color. The stitches for the scarf is regular knit with "seaweed" extension. Fringes are added to both ends. The scarf measures 6" width with 66" length.

Recently Betty was given a pound of American Fuzzy Lop combings. After discarding some mats that were too hard to break, Betty spun the AFL combings into thick and thin novelty yarn. The second photo shows two skeins of yarn made from the AFL combings. Surprisingly, there isn't any difference in the spinning of AFL combings and Angora combings, nor there is much difference in the feel of the yarn. Each skein in the photo is a little shy of 100 yards, weighs about 1/3 of a pound.

More Scenes from the Stockton Shows

There were 18 judges at the Stockton shows. Unfortunately we did not get pictures of each. Here are two more pictures taken there. The first photo is Cliff judging and interacting with French Angora breeders. Cliff is a very friendly and animated judge. Every one has a good time watching and talking with him.

The second picture shows Randy and Mike taking a break from judging. The picture was taken right after lunch. Both were waiting for the rabbits to be brought to the table to be judged.

Baby Thunder's First Outing

A few days ago, we had the chance of seeing Baby Thunder, Judge Judy's Pomeranian pup.

Two days ago, Baby Thunder was taken outdoors for the first time. In the first picture, he is looking at his mom saying, "What should I do?"

In the second photo, his little paws are touching the grass for the first time. He is having a ball.

These precious moments are memorized by his loving mom Judy.

A Half Naked French Angora

In shows, we are used to seeing beautifully full coated Angora.

Once a while, after judging an exhibitor would start taking the coat off if the rabbit's wool is ripe for harvest.

At Stockton, that's exactly what Lindsay was doing when this photo was taken. In the photo, her French Angora is half way plucked. Rabbits like this one are commonly called "Hula Dancers", a half naked top with a full skirt.

Lindsay and Deirdre obviously are enjoying the sight of the sexy Hula Dancer in front of them.

Lorena and Melissa

In shows, we often see judges going to the top breeders to discuss the fine points of their breeds.

At Stockton, we saw Judge Melissa discussing Rhinelander with Lorena.

Though Melissa has only received her judge's license for a couple of years, she is highly regarded by most. She is judging national conventions and she receives good feedbacks from exhibitors. We can see the reason why, she is constantly wanting to learn more from others.

Lorena is the top breeder of Rhinelander. She works tirelessly to promote and improve the breed. She first lent a bred doe to Melissa for her to learn about the pattern and the type during the growing process. She now has gotten Melissa interested so much that Melissa has become a breeder of Rhinelander.

It's the cooperation of breeders, judges and friends that make our hobby so wonderful and so much fun.

Dogs at Stockton

Animal lovers are animal lovers, whether it's rabbits, cats or dogs. It is a common sight to see dogs in rabbit shows. Most of the clubs now have a rule of not allowing dogs, except the service dogs, into the show room. Therefore it is even more common to see dogs just outside the show room building.

In the top photo, Cathy is showing off her dog with a Mohawk hairdo. In the second photo, Brenda is carrying her dog with an Angora sweater on. Brenda has just purchased this sweater which is handspun, dyed and knit by Betty, the color is Kool-Aid Kiwi Green.

Ting in Sunglasses

Cathy and Kim love their bunnies. I received this cute photo from them today. Cathy said, "I went to Petsmart to get a few things that I needed and bought Ting some swim trunks."

Though it's fall now, Ting is still as cute as he could be in the swimming attires.

Cliff, An Amazing Judge

We had a treat in the BVRA show last Saturday, we got Cliff as our judge. We always have good time when Cliff judges. He is funny and loves Angora, just so wonderful to have a judge who appreciates the work that we put in.

Cliff gets elected to judge group almost every year in the national conventions. He judged the youth Best In Show in 1998 Portland Convention. On of the group winners was a beautiful white English Angora bred and shown by Kelly from MN, and that was the Best In Show picked by Cliff.

In the top photo, Cliff is seen judging English Angora with Kim recording his remarks.

In the second photo, Cliff is judging French Angora with Tracy as his clerk.

After Cliff finished his judging, he came by to watch Bruce judged English Angora. He put on the Angora hat that he just purchased from Betty. Cliff had bought a similar hat from Betty in the 2004 convention, had been wanting to buy another one. Here he is, with his new hat.

Satin Angora Winner at Stockton Shows

At the Stockton shows, Tracy's Satin Angora won the Best of Breed in both shows.

At the top, Tracy is in the photo with her winning Satin Angora.

In the second photo, judge Troy is judging the white Satin Angora with Tracy taking down his comments.

French Angora Winners at Stockton Shows

At the BVRA show in Stockton on Saturday, judges picked two different French Angora as the Best of Breed in the two shows.

The top photo is Lindsay with her white senior doe that won the Best of Breed in show B.

The second photo is Deirdre with her colored junior buck that won the Best of Breed in Show A. This is the first ever Best of Breed win for Deirdre who is fairly new to French Angora.

By the way, there is a more accurate count of rabbits and judges according to a post by the assistant superintendent of the show: "We had about 4300 rabbits come across the judging tables with 18 judges including 4 from out of state. " It's a big show for sure.

English Angora Winners at Stockton Shows

It was a fun day at the Big Valley RA show in Stockton. It was a huge showroom with 18 judges going through 4000 entries from open and youth exhibitors. We did not get out of the show room until 7:30 pm. A long but fun day.

The judges have different tastes. In English Angora and French Angora, the Best of Breed winners are different in the two shows. Here are the two English Angora Best of Breed winners.

Top photo showing Betty with her white senior buck Chu's Ace. Ace is 7-1/2 months old, a very short and compact buck. This is the first time Ace won a Best of Breed.

The second photo is Casey with Casey's Molina, her beautiful 8-1/2 months old tort senior doe. Molina has been burning up the shows. She won Best In Show the week prior.

The photos of French Angora winners will be posted tomorrow.

Baby Thunder

We've got a treat today. Look at this cutie pie puppy! His name is Baby Thunder, the pride and joy of our favorite judge Judy of WA.

Baby Thunder is a pure breed top show quality Pomeranian. Parents are champions, and he is expected to wake up the show circuit like a thunder when he is old enough.

Judy hand fed and hand raised this pup, he is as sweet as he can be.

Amy Wins at the Shows in New York

Our New York member Amy sends in pictures of her two winners in the show over the weekend.

The top photo is Spang's Willow, a white French Angora senior doe. She won the Best of Breed in the first show in New York. There were more than 40 French Angora shown in the breed.

The second photo is Spang's Emil that won the Best Opposite Sex French Angora in both shows.
Emil's baby photo was posted on our blog a few months ago. He has developed into a very handsome boy.

French and Satin Angora at Orland

Here are some photos of the French Angora and Satin Angora exhibition at Orland last Saturday.

Tracy won Best of Breed Satin Angora in both shows, and won Best of Breed French Angora in show B. Unfortunately she was home sick with a head cold. Her lovely husband Franco showed her rabbits for her. The top photo shows Franco with the broken French Angora that won BOB in show B and the double BOB winner Satin Angora in the right.

In the second photo, from left to right are Lindsay, Franco and Dawn from Oregon. They were putting their rabbits on the table when this picture was taken. Lindsay won the Best of Breed French Angora in show A.

Picture three shows Ray judging white French Angora with Lindsay recording his remarks. Ray is a real sweetie. He sacrificed his lunch hour to judge the Angora breeds so that we did not have to take the rabbits off the tables after show A was done. We appreciate Ray's generosity.

Holly's Avalanche Wins All Breed Best In Show

English Angora is winning Best In Show in Canada again.

Holly's white senior doe HHR's Avalanche won all breed Best In Show in the show sponsored by the Manitoba Rabbit Fanciers at Boissevain Manitoba on Saturday. The top photo shows Holly and judge Josh who picked Avalanche as the Best In Show. Avalanche is the one next to Holly.

The second photo is Holly with judge Dereck who picked Avalanche as the Best Of Breed in the other show.

HHR's Avalanche has won all breed Best In Show three times within a 3-week period of time.

There was also a competition called "The Best of Best Opposite Sex". Some clubs in our area also do it. All the BOS of the show would be put on the table for the judge or judges to pick the best one. Holly won this honor in both shows with her two bucks HHR's Blizzard and HHR's Alaska. In the top photo, the white English Angora next to judge Josh is HHR's Alaska.

Avalanche, Alaska and Blizzard are littermates born to Chu's Terena in January. Their dad is HHR's Rue who is the son of Chu's Vance.

Holly has been very successful in showing her English Angora. Her hard work is paying off big time.

Casey's Molina Wins All Breed Best In Show

We had fun at Orland yesterday.

Casey's beautiful English Angora tort doe Casey's Molina took Best Of Breed in both shows and then went on to win all breed Best In Show in show B.

Top photo shows Leslie examining Molina with Casey clerking. The second photo shows Ray judging white English Angora, with Betty doing the paper work. All the colored English Angora are in the coops waiting for their terms to be judged.

It was a very long day, especially for those who were waiting to go on the Best In Show table. Casey said she did not get out until 9:30 pm. No one with a camera was present when Molina won the Best In Show. Casey took a picture of Molina to share with our readers.

More Night Blooming Cereus

Two more flowers bloomed at Betty's place. The one on the top was one of the bulbs in yesterday's post. There are two more bulbs on either side of the flower.

The fall show season starts tomorrow. There will be photos from the shows at Orland. It's the farewell show at Orland, according to the announcement of the Sierra Foothill RBA.

Night Blooming Cereus

There were excitement at Betty's home. The Night Blooming Cereus bloomed last night!

Night Blooming Cereus, as the name suggests, blooms at night. The flowers have a blooming life of about 12 hours. It smells and looks wonderful when the flowers are in full bloom, but sadly the beauty only last a very short time.

The first four photos are the early stage of the blooming in various views. The fifth photo is taken 10 hours after the blooming started.

The sixth photo shows the bulbs that yet to bloom; and the last photo shows the flower wilted.

Chinese use the phrase "One flash of Night Blooming Cereus" to describe a beauty or a glory that lasts a very short time.

For more about this plant, visit:

http://rfovell.bol.ucla.edu/cereus.html

Happy Fall Season

Holly from Canada wishes NCAG members a happy fall. She sends in these beautiful fall theme photos of her two young white English Angora seniors. They are the offspring of Chu's Terena, who also took some fall theme photos before she left for Canada.

Fall is a happy time for serious rabbit breeders. Fall shows start around this time, we have the chance to go back to the shows to show off our rabbits, see our friends, and enjoy each others company.

Fall is a happy season indeed.

Emilia and Ashka on Japanese TV

Betty was contacted by a Japanese TV producer of "Amazing Animals" for information and photos of English Angora. The producer already had picked Emilia and Ashka as her choices at the time of contact. No, Betty and the rabbits were not invited to go to Japan, the request was for the photos.

The segment was broadcasted in Japan at the end of July. Yumiko taped the program and sent it to Betty. Yumiko was a good friend and associate of Chie. Yumiko has been continuing the correspondence with Betty since Chie's passing last year. Betty and Yumiko will be meeting for the first time in the upcoming convention in Fort Worth.

The English Angora segment starts with the photos of Emilia and Ashka. In the first picture, the logo of "Amazing Animals" is seen at the right corner. The second photo shows Ashka with five words that can be translated into "Unknown Animal!?"

Then the program follows a doe going through a pregnancy, giving birth and then the bunnies appear in the program in flesh. More will be reported in the future posts.

Just in case our readers wonder whether Betty received any compensation. Yes, there was a small payment for the use of the two photos.

English Angora Going Through A Tube

In July, a Japanese TV program "Amazing Animals" did an experiment of putting an white English Angora through a glass tube.

In the first picture, it shows that the glass tube measures 60 cm (23.6 inches) long. The words in the upper left corner says "Experiment". (The direct translation of the two words is "practical examination").

In the second picture, it shows that the glass tube measure 15 cm (5.9 inches) in diameter. The same words "Experiment" appears on the upper left corner.

The third picture shows the white English Angora in waiting.

In the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh pictures, the English Angora is going through the tube.

The last picture shows the English Angora sitting in the tube from the front view.

At the end, the rabbit came out in his original shape, totally unharmed.

How to Start the Wrong Way

Betty has encountered the question of "How did you start in English Angora?" many many times in the last 20+ years.

Here is the beginning of the story.

In July 1982, Betty wrote down the name of an exhibitor who advertised English Angora bunnies for sale in the Santa Clara County Fair and called her. In August, Betty received a call back and said there's a litter of English Angora bunnies ready to go, so Betty drove to the Santa Cruz mountains to look at them. It was a narrow winding road, a very difficult drive. Betty arrived in a small cabin with a barn next to it. The residence had no water, no electricity, no ... Betty did not even know that there were places like that in the modern time. Anyway, there were litters of little bunnies, 4 weeks old ones, at a very low price. Though it's not a good idea to buy 4-week-old bunnies, the price was right and the drive was hard. Betty bought an English Angora bunny and a French Lop bunny of the same age to keep each other company. The breeder told Betty that the rooster that just came back from the Santa Clara Fair would be chicken soup the next day, so Betty bought the rooster as well.

Here are two pictures taken in 1982. In the top picture, Betty was seen with the 4 week old bunny, Angelina. At 2 months old one of Angelina's ears dropped. One up ear and one down ear. Betty took Angelina to the show for the first time in the fall, the down ear went back up and stayed up for the rest of her life. At five months old, Angelina won a BOB in a very small show and got her first leg. Betty was really excited. The second picture was taken when Angelina was at her prime at 5 months old.

Two weeks later, Angelina gave birth to seven dark bunnies, a total surprise. Angelina was the only English Angora that Betty owned then. Well, it was a chestnut agouti French Lop junior buck that did the job. The mixed breed bunnies were some of the ugliest thing one would've ever seen. Their ears were going every direction, all chestnut agouti, all with very pointed faces. Luckily Betty found pet homes for all of them.

Then Angelina was taken back to shows and was able to get two more legs and became a Grand Champion. The GC really does not mean much if the genes are not good. Betty bought a white English Angora buck out of the same line from another breeder. The bunnies from the pair were pretty when they were young, but all became big, long and narrow with long ears when they grew up; some had floppy ear problems.

Finally Betty realized that this was not a line to be extended. She stopped breeding Angelina and Angelina lived out her natural life and passed on at about 6 years old. Nothing from Angelina stayed in Betty's breeding program. Betty started with a different line. Story to continue.

What happened to the French Lop bunny and the rooster that came with Angelina? The French Lop doe was later sold to another French Lop breeder as Betty had switched from French Lop to English Angora. Betty bought several hens for the rooster as his wives. He had a good life for over 9 years until a raccoon got into the chicken coop and destroyed his entire family.

Elsia and Her One Bunny

Cathy and Kim report an amazing news.

Elsia was bred but no sign of being pregnant. After one week of her due date, Cathy and Kim took out her nestbox. Kim got up around 3 am and found Elsia having two bunnies on the wire, one black and one white. The white one was revived and now over one week old.

Cathy said, "We are just taking it one day at a time. The ears and eyes are almost open and the bunny is very responsive. He/she has a stuffed moose to snuggle against and we caught Elsia snuggling up to the baby. We are keeping the baby in the nest box away from Elsia. She is a good mom and doing her best."

It is amazing that a live birth resulted from such an overdue pregnancy