Aliquam dapibus 4TH ANNUAL FIBER NEWSLETTER. United Angora Rabbit Club

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1 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS United Angora Rabbit Club President- Emily Ashoton (Term Expires 2016) 4TH ANNUAL FIBER NEWSLETTER 2014 Aliquam dapibus Vice President- Debbie McCormick (Term Expires 2016) Secretary- Melissa Deitrich (Term Expires 2015) Treasurer- Lisa Rodenfels (Term Expires 2016) Board of Director Charlotte Schewikart (Term Expires 2016) Board of Director- Phillip Deitrich (Term Expires 2015) Board of Director- Janet Gruber (Term Expires 2016) Youth Director- Maggie Hoffman voted in Oct/Nov 2014 (Term Expires 2016) Committees Newsletter Editor /Webs mistress Melissa Deitrich PHOTO SUBMITTED BY ALYSSA BOWLBY OF MARYLAND WITH HER FRENCH ANGORA FIBER HELPER Sweepstakes ChairmanCharlotte Schewikart The club s website is the very best way to get the most current information on club news and upcoming events.

2 Message from the President. Hello from OHIYOYO. Our weather here commonly will be warm and sunny one day and freezing and snowy the next. My rabbits enjoy the occasional degrees but struggle with nights below 20. Make sure you are taking the proper precautions for all kinds of weather! Rabbits can typically handle low temperatures, but watch out for wind burn, precipitation, and keep those babies sheltered. I use a 40 watt bulb in a small heat lamp dome over my nest boxes and have great success raising babies through the winter in an unheated barn. Keep fresh water to those buns and a little extra weight in the off season from showing doesn t hurt unless your does are too fat to breed! My, what an equilibrium we must maintain for our animals! I know I was excited to see some babies born around convention in hopes for Nationals. ~Photo on the left was submitted by Emily~ The UARC has been busy hosting specialties all through the fall with some great success. It warms me throughout to see the effort our members put forth to exemplify our breeds. Well done to everyone this season!! It was a pleasure visiting with many of you in Texas, through tragedy and triumph the angoras did very well!! Congratulations to Marilyn Demaree with the Open Group 1 winner, a French Angora. A huge congrats to our youth, especially Jeffrey Olson and his youth group 3 winner, an English. It was a fantastic week with great representation. The presentation of broken Satin angoras was not passed, but this does not mean defeat! Charlotte and her team are working hard to stun the Standards Committee next year in Portland. Nationals are soon approaching, and the club has been busy for several months (if not years) planning this event. We were granted the bid to host Nationals in my hometown of Columbus, OH the first weekend in May 2015 at the Ohio Mini Convention!!!! This is a fantastic show, a strong group, and we have the honor to host. Let s all pull together to put on the best Nationals NARBC has ever seen!! During the weekend, angoras will get the chance to show 3 times (Nationals, UARC Specialty on Saturday, and the OSRBA all-breed on Sunday). More info will follow regarding Nationals. A quick glimpse: Location: Ohio State Fairgrounds Expo Center, Columbus, OH Hotel: Best Western Plus, 888 E Dublin-Granville Rd., Columbus, OH A block of rooms has been set aside for our group at a discounted rate. Banquet: Thai Lagoon, within the host hotel. Other: WSG contest, Triple show weekend, Camping available on the fairgrounds, cooping available to animals entered in Sunday show (unless we get an exception to this rule, OSRBA is very strict about coops), risers should be made to fit 20x20.

3 I look forward to seeing you all in the spring on the show tables and I am especially excited for Nationals! May your bobbins be spinning, your fingers be knitting, and your bunnies be fulfilling any need or want you may have! Have a wonderful holiday season, from my family to yours. Blessings, Emily Newsletter Deadlines Fall...September 15 th Winter...November 1 st Spring...Febuary 28 th Summer...May 31 st 4 th Annual Fiber Edition (2014) August 15th

4 How to figure out the remaining yardage on a partially used skien: multiply the original yardage by the yarn weight in oz, then divide this number by the skein's original weight. Always weigh skein without wrapper before using write on wrapper or pattern!

5 Rainwater and Fiber By Janet Fasnacht First collect rainwater in a container. Skirt you fleece and add to the rainwater. Cover container with layers, (I used 3 layers) tightly secure the container with bungee cord or twine. let soak for 6 weeks, *Times may vary according to who you talk to* I let mine soak 6 weeks. This is called the suint method. The lanolin combines with the sheep's sweat and makes soap. The water can be re-used.

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7 "The Penguin Project" By: Tina Vance I m sure, like myself many of you reading this have passionately crocheted or kni t for family & friends. Maybe you ve even crafted for profit This little pattern brings to you an unseen level of profit. It is meant to profit your soul and future generations. Many that have seen me working on these little sweaters thought I d lost my noodles in the beginning. That is until I explained what in the world a penguin could possibly need a sweater for! In the unfortunate event of an oil spoil our winged wildlife may become dangerously saturated and require our intervention to protect/save them. Dispatched quickly, rescue facility volunteers gather oil saturated victims and utilize these jumpers/sweaters to prevent dangerous possibly even fatal feather preening until they return to the rehab facility. Once at the rehab facility sweaters are removed & victims are carefully bathed using DAWN original dish soap. After thorough observation to ensure no long term damage and full recovery the wildlife is released back into their habitats. Sweaters are washed and reused for the next spill OR stuffed penguins in the gift shop are dressed with the sweater to assist with fund raising efforts to maintain the facilities and operations. I hope that my example will encourage others to pursue unique opportunities of donating to preserve life. The original pattern provided instructions to be knit in 2 separate panels then sown together following those directions. But you see funny thing is I personally very strongly dislike anything that requires seams! After the initial pattern was completed following the instructions it only seemed logical for me to modify the original pattern to be knit in the round if I was going to enjoy knitting several (I had a personal goal initially of maybe 5 sweaters.). I started the first week of March and have worked off & on to achieve my goal, these are now ready to be shipped to the rescue group located in Australia. My final count for this year is 12! There are other rescue groups that can use these sweaters so my fellow club members! KNIT ON :-) The first sweater simply encouraged me to make more! Without further ado here is my modified pattern to be knit in the round.

8 Penguin Jumper/Sweater: DK, Sport OR Worsted weight yarns are desired. (Typically a skein of roughly 252 yards will make 3 sweaters using 5 size US 6 double point needles, 1 is your working needle. Adjust your needles according to your yarn& tension of knitting.) Stitch Glossery: K= knit P= Pearl D2= Pearl or Knit 2 together for decrease BO= Bind off in pattern with 2 #6 needles held together!! Cast on 72 stitches Join in round being careful not to twist stitches K1, P1 for 8 rows ROW 9- K2, P2 and increase 16 stitches spacing evenly through this row. (88 stitches ending this row) Continue with K2, P2 unit piece measures 12 CM Next row starts decrease for flipper opening. Begin the decrease with ONLY 2 needles plus working needle! You will be working back and forth while the other 2 needles/unused stitches are at rest. *Now this may be confusing but I hope it makes sense; seems to, to me anyway. LOL If your last decrease stitch (of the pair) is a knit then knit it. If it is a pearl then pearl it. If your decrease matches 2 stitches then do what those 2 stitches are. Follow the decrease until you have only 28 stitches on these 2 needles. D2, follow K2, P2 pattern to last 2 stitches, D2 turn work (working on the inside of sweater) D2, follow K2, P2 pattern to last 2 stitches D2 (Turn work) Continue repeat of above 2 rounds until 28 stitches remain on these 2 needles. Next row DECREASE 1 stitch in the center of the row: IE stitch 14 (this will leave 13 stitches on your 1 st needle and 14 on your 2 nd needle). Cut yarn and leave tail to weave in end later. Repeat above directions for remaining 2 rested needles/stitches. At the completion of body and flipper opening you should be at 16 CM Rejoin all 54 stitches to round and Change to K1, P1 pattern for the remaining 4 CM. BO in pattern with 2 #6 needles held together!! Weave in all ends. As a general guideline these are the preferred measurements for optimal specified use: **Finished width: 12 CM Bottom to Flipper: 12 CM **Finished length: 20 CM Flipper opening: 4 CM Neck: 3 ½ CM

9 So you want to put on an Angora Specialty show? By Emily Ashton We often see specialty shows tagged on with all-breed shows, where the expense is minimal and the rewards are abundant. Often, breeders and exhibitors say I ll only go if it s a double or more! With angoras being a rare breed, and breeders spread out across the US, it is often difficult to have enough rabbits and exhibitors to earn legs. A growing trend is rising with the idea to host rabbit shows at other events, such as fiber festivals. There are often sheep, goat and camelid shows at fiber festivals, why not angoras? So what are the pros and cons of hosting a specialty show? Pros include earning legs and sweepstakes for sanctioned shows. Meeting new exhibitors, buying new stock, visiting old friends, and learning about angoras. Shows also serve as revenue for the hosting club. Cons can include travel barriers, too few exhibitors, and the cost of putting on a show. I recently had the pleasure of being the superintendent for an angoras-only rabbit show, double sanctioned, hosted by UARC. The show was held May 24, 2014 in Dickson, TN at the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival. The show was a great success, with 2 well known judges and their expertise, a great show area, income for the club, and best of all, exposure for angora education, and we all enjoyed the other vendor booths at the festival, learning about other fiber arts. There is quite a lot of planning to host a show, but with some guidance, the trend can continue. This process also applies to specialty shows held in conjunction with all-breed rabbit shows. More info can be found on the UARC website! 1) Secure a venue (fiber festival, all-breed show, fair). Get pricing for venue, and date. 2) Ask ARBA judges for their bid and availability. Make sure their quote reflects the judging fee, travel, and expenses. Local judges can save on expense, and attempt to secure a flat rate. This can range anywhere from $1/head shown to $350. 3) Decide if it will be single, double, open and youth, etc. Decide on other events, such as a Wool, Skein and Garment contest or a raffle. Decide entry fee. 4) Propose show request to host club. UARC has guidance included on the website and any BOD member can assist with the proposal. 5) Once approved by club, apply for ARBA and NARBC sanctions. There is a fee for both and this must be paid up front and decided on by whom prior to submission. You will need to list the show superintendent and secretary, which must be active ARBA members. 6) ADVERTISE YOUR EVENT. You may need to make lodging suggestions for exhibitors who travel. 7) Ask for help from a committee or fellow exhibitors. You will need to check out the facility, arrange for show tables, coops if needed, seating, set-up and grooming areas, refreshments, etc. Planning ahead for the logistics of show day will help make everything run smoothly. 8) Pre-Entry can be used to help alleviate day-of-show confusion and hassle. 9) Most of all, HAVE FUN at your show! 10) When all is said and done, reports must be filed within 30 days to ARBA, NARBC and exhibitors. A financial report must also be submitted to the treasurer and any checks requested/deposited. Show Software is available through the club to assist at no cost. When it is done, sit back and enjoy your success.

10 For the Dickson show, we were lucky to be offered a covered shelter outdoors with a stage. We had makeshift tables but the judges didn t mind. We did not have coops and I commend all the exhibitors for their cooperation and support at the show. We did not have any expense in holding out show at the fiber festival, our only expense was the judges fees. We earned profit on the WSG entries (from all species and other vendors at the festival) and on the raffle with some very generous donations. The show was a great success and I look forward to co-hosting a second double specialty show with the Mid- South Angora club next year. If I could do a few things differently, I would have more time to plan for sure! I would also ask for a show committee or help from non-exhibitors to help ease some of the commotion on the day of the show. We held a WSG contest in conjunction and could not offer anyone to relieve the judge from her vendor booth until late in the day. It was a learning experience but we hope to improve as we go on! At the fiber festival, the UARC was able to set up a booth where we could educate other fiber artists about the care and grooming of angora rabbits. Many exhibitors were able to sell breeding stock, woolers, and finished product at the festival. I enjoyed exploring new options for my new alpacas, and how to use my angora wool on a blending board. Fiber festivals provide education for us, from us, and about us as rabbit breeders. It is a little different than an all-breed show, and we had great fun with many legs issued. What a variety! Good luck to all of the upcoming shows being held outside the box!

11 Sorry this is such a short Fiber newsletter this year. I was hoping more UARC members would step up and send me more items to include in the Yearly Fiber Newsletter. Let s make a News Years revolution to attend more Fiber events in 2015 and submit them for the next Fiber Newsletter for All of your angora fiber enthusiasts are anxious to hear what you have been up to all year long with all of that AWSOME angora fiber!