Angora Wool Storage , Part 2 - Dyed Wool

When the wool is dyed, the process requires wetting, washing then cooking, see

https://ncag.blogspot.com/2016/06/dyeing-angora-raw-wool.html

If the wool is not spun into yarn right away, it needs to be stored.  Because the dyeing process involves the wool being totally wet, it's better not to be put into plastic bags right away.   

I found these small laundry bags in the Dollar Tree store, $1 a pack, there are three mesh bags.

I put the dyed wool in these mesh bags.    I either use them for spinning a litter later or put them in plastic bags after at least a week of air out.  Each bag can put in up to 6 ounces.

At Dollar Tree, there is also this large laundry bag that can store more wool. 

Obviously this bag can take a lot more than the 5 ounces of hot pink Angora wool that I dyed.  

Here is a comparison between the large laundry bag in the package and how big it is for the wool.

And there is the pop-up hamper that is very useful if I want to work on the wool.

The hamper goes from very compact in the package to a good size pop-up.

Here is a birds-eye view of the hamper with dyed lavender wool.   The hamper has two handles, very convenient in being carried.





Since I have only been dyeing raw wool recently, my stash of dyed wool is meager comparing to my natural wool inventory.    I put the mesh bags inside an empty cage in our family room.

Angora Wool Storage, Part 1 - Natural Raw Wool

Betty says,

 I harvest my rabbits' wool by scissor cutting, I store the clean wool that is prime without any web or mat into gallon size bags.  I favor Hefty for it's slider function but I do use other brands if the price is right.    Each gallon size plastic bag hold 2 to 6 ounces, my "regular" bags are 4 ounces each.  These wool can be spun from the bag, no carding nor cleaning needed.

Sometimes I have so much wool that are the same color that I would store them in the jumbo size bags.   Each jumbo size bag could hold up to 12 ounces comfortably.   It seems that Hefty is the only brand that has jumbo size plastic storage bags.  

This is a side-by-side comparison of the jumbo vs. gallon size bags.

My wool storage cabinet in the garage is overflowing with my prime wool in plastic bags.   Allen has said many times, "It's hard to get the image of Betty's wool avalanche off my mind".  

The cabinet is so stuffed that the doors need to be weighed down or the wool would spill out.   How big is the storage cabinet?  Here are my two rollers for rabbit carriers used to weigh down the doors.  The bigger roller can put three 14 x 18 carriers at the bottom tier, the entire roller can take up to 9 carriers when I roll it to the showroom.   The smaller roller takes 2 carriers at the bottom and takes up to 6 carriers when I roll it.





 

I Bet You've Never Seen Anything Like That!

Betty says,

Albert's brother Thomas and his wife Amy came to visit, said that their friend sent them a picture from the internet and said, "I bet you've never seen anything like that!"  They took a look and it was me and my English Angora.  When they came to visit recently, they had pictures taken with Angelique to show to their friends that they indeed had seen "something like that" before.
 

 

Here is Amy with Angelique.





My friends and relatives knew that I raise rabbits but very few knew the intensity of my involvement.   Amy has a picture taken with me, Angelique and Franchesca's Guinness record.   Angelique is Franchesca's daughter and she looks more like her mother than any of her siblings.





     

 

 

Bucket Full of Home Grown Goodies

 

 

 



Bucket full of tomatoes.

 

Bucket full of French Angora bunnies.
 

 

Bucket full sort of, an English Angora bunny.


All home grown, life is good.



 

Gold Star Registration

 

 

 

 

Betty received a question:

Betty, I saw your name on the Gold Star Registration list in Domestic Rabbits.  Can you tell me what is "Gold Star Registration"? 

ARBA Registration: To get your rabbit registered,  your rabbit needs to have a three-generation pedigree,  be at least six months old and free of disqualification and that you are a member of ARBA and that your rabbit passes the examination by an ARBA licensed Registrar and you pay a fee of $6.
 



If one or both of the parents of your rabbit is not registered, your rabbit will get a registration without any seal.   The spot on the lower left corner is empty.


 

If both of the parents of your rabbit have been registered but at least one of the grandparents is not registered, your rabbit will get a red seal.

 

If both of the parents and all four grandparents of your rabbit are registered, your rabbit will get a red and white seal.

 

 

If all three generations of rabbits, 14 of them, are registered, your rabbit will get a red, white and blue seal.

 

If all three generations of rabbits in the pedigree are Grand Champions, your rabbit will get a gold star in addition to the red, white and blue seal.   Such registration is called a "Gold Star Registration" and all gold star registered rabbits are published in the Domestic Rabbits.

Gold Star Registration started in 1991 but the publication of the list in Domestic Rabbits only started about 6 or 7 years ago.

 

From left to right, the registrations show no seal, red seal, red and white seal, red white and blue seal and gold star registration.

At the current time, all of Betty's English Angora are at the gold star registration status.   Betty is working on her French Angora's registration status.



 

Pears, Pears and Pears



 

Pear blossoms in the spring.

 

 

Pears in the summer.
 

Beautiful edible pears.


 

Close up of pears.

 

Pears ready for human and rabbits.




 



Tilton Ranch 100th Anniversary and Barbara's Birthday

The Tilton Ranch is one of the original ranch families in Morgan Hill, it has been in the family for generations.  This year is the 100th anniversary of the official establishment of the ranch.  It is a working cattle ranch with over 2500 acres of land.       Barbara is still the head of the household though the ranch is now run by her son and daughters.    On Sunday August 13, a celebration of Barbara's birthday and the anniversary of the ranch was held; friends and family were invited to join in for a BBQ.    Barbara sits in her comfort chair in the shade. 

Barbara at the Tilton Ranch over 80 years ago.

Barbara sits in the front, Bernice and Betty in the back.   All three were members of the South Valley Rabbit Warren in the 80s and 90s.   The club had meetings every month with educational programs and had put on a few shows.    Betty was a newbie comparing to Bernice and Barbara at the time.    Bernice was very much involved in Mini Lop and in shows but she no longer has rabbits.  Barbara still has rabbits and the sign of "Red Carpet Rabbitry" is still hanging on the barn.   Most of the rabbit activities are now conducted by her daughter Joann and the grandkids. 

Barbara has provided wonderful mentorship to Betty when she first started, detailed in a post 10 years ago:

https://ncag.blogspot.com/2006/12/barbara-bettys-mentor-in-rabbits.html

During the 80s when Betty visited Barbara often to get advices, Barbara's granddaughter Megan was always following around.  Megan was a cute little 4 or 5 years girl then.

Look at Megan today in 2016!  She is for sure all grown up, so much taller than Betty.  Megan is videotaping all the guests in the birthday party, each guest would state name and how he or she met Barbara; Megan plans to edit it into a film for Barbara to view and keep.