Bunnies and Batts

I finally got around to taking pics of a couple of the new babies in my colored Giant projects.  I currently have 3 bucks left out of my oldest litter.  They were the biggest in the litter and all have good type the choc otter being my favorite so far.  The little black buck I may be selling for a wooler if he does not pick up some weight soon and catch up with his brothers.  Right now he is 6lbs and the 2 chocs are 6lbs 4oz.




 
I have been busy carding some Shetland wool as well and blending it with Angora.  I have finally made up my mind about what breed of sheep I want.  I am going with Shetlands because I like the range of colors, it blends well with Angora, and I can easily card it myself on the drum carder.  They are also a Primitive breed so are hardy and I wont have to worry about docking tails.  I am sure I will end up with one or two that are not Shetlands but Shetlands will make up the most of the spinners flock.  I have had a couple fleeces from one flock and will be going to visit another flock that my parents found at the North American soon and will be picking up a fleece to see how it works up.  Anyways here are the batts I have dyed carded and blended with Angora.  I still have some white and blue wool to do something with as well.

Bailey Approves

Saturday morning mom and I went up to one of the churches for a craft bazaar.  I recently found out one of my Dads cousins wife weaves rugs out of fabric and would be there.  I have a love for things hand made so had to go find me one.  

   
Not long after we got back with it Bailey took right up with it doing what she does best.
    

As soon as she comes in the house she is out of it!  God Bless Dustin

New Etsy Store

After lots and lots of thought I have opened a new etsy store with my roving and yarns in it.  I plan later to add hand spun yarns, some pure Angora.  Feel free to check it out! dustyjay23.etsy.com  Hopefully soon I will be posting pics of my latest litters in my colored Giant projects. God Bless Dustin

Socks Part 1

As some of you may know I have made my first attempt at knitting socks. Socks are the one thing I have wanted to knit since I stated knitting but have been afraid to do it.  My first plan was to be able to spin my own sock yarn and knit my own socks.  After some pushing from my friend Joyce I finally stated on a pair.
 
I know its nothing to brag about but its a start in my ever so slow knitting.  I am using some of the IAGARB sock yarn I got from Joyce as well.  Its very soft yarn and is blooming nicely so far.  I will keep you posted as I make more progress but it will be slow going.  God Bless Dustin

Black Giants

Tonight I took a couple pics of some of my Black Giant project to share with everyone so you can see how far I am in the process.  So far I am getting some nice type and wool but I would still like to work on darker color and of course bigger rabbits.  They have come a long way since I first started though my latest buck I do believe will make weight and then some by time he is Sr, my does usually do as well. 

  
This is Dusty's Yang.  She was clipped this evening and has a very nice amount of oh so soft wool with a 4 inch staple. 

Dusty's Chunky Monkey.  Growing her 2nd coat with tons of crimp and impressive texture and density.  Under this wool she is a tank!  I am in love with how solid her body is.




This is Dusty's Theopolis.  Theopolis is who the book of Acts in Bible was wrote which is where he gets his name.  Growing his second coat and there is tons of it coming in!  He should make a very nice her sire, I have currently got him bred to 2 does even though he is still quite young.  God Bless Dustin

Its been so long.....

It have been so long since I have posted anything for my friends to read. I am soo sorry for neglecting my blog for so long. Its been kinda crazy around here but hopefully with cooler weather comes more free time. We have the barn done and a small lot built in front of the barn but have not been able to get the pasture fenced in since the ground has been so hard because of lack of rain. The few holes we have had to dig for the pen and in the barn have taken a couple of days we dig a little then fill the holes full of water over night dig again and repeat. So if we dont get some rain soon it will be spring before we are able to do any fencing.

Today Mom and I went to Salem IN and picked up 2 Angora wethers.




  

This is Bobby and Billy.  Bobby is the one in front, Billy looks more like a Buck then a wether since he was wethered late in life.  I am hoping that wont affect his fleece too much.  Bobby's fleece I think is going to be really nice but I truely dont know a lot about Angora goats so will have to wait till spring when I can shear and spin some it.

In these 2 pics you can really see how stout and buck looking Billy is.  I was originally going to name them Bobby and Buddy but Billy still has some of that billy goat smell going on so I called him Billy instead.  I am really hoping that goes away now that he has be cut so if anyone knows for sure please let me know.

I have 3 litters of babies bunnies as well I need to get pics of them posted.  They are all part of my Colored Giant projects.  2 litters are Tans and Otters and the other I was hoping for blacks but all the colored babies are going to have white spots so if anyone stays it will be REWs.  Hope you enjoyed the pics of the new kids I will try to not let it be so long before I post again.  God Bless Dustin

Rabbit Summer Sausage

2 lbs ground rabbit
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed pepper corns
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
5 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 tablespoons Tender Quick Curing Salt
1 cup water

Mix all together in bowl divide into logs
Sprinkle with more peppercorns pat in to stick
Wrap in netting (I used aluminum foil, make sure to poke holes so water and grease drip out)
Then wrap again in plastic wrap (I skipped this since I used aluminum foil)
Place in frig for 24 hours
Place on broiler rack
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 to 1 and 1/2hours
Remove netting once you can handle, if its cool netting will stick
Wrap in plastic
Place in frig for 24 hours before eating.

I made this this weekend and loved it, so did everyone I gave some to. I have heard of people using half rabbit and half pork but I only used rabbit. God Bless!