The History of the Poncho by Mary Tomlin

I was thrilled to get the Wow factor in the virtual Products show and this actually confirms the reaction of people whenever I wear the poncho outside.  I’m asked “where did you get it” and when told I made it and the history of the making I’m asked “can you make me one?” Well this item was really a labour of love – and one I thoroughly enjoyed. If I hadn’t made this I don’t think I would ever have got into spinning Angora. It goes back to 1983 when I discovered and fell in love with the wonderful Angora rabbit, bought my first Angora and spinning wheel and started to teach myself to spin. The only fibre I had was Angora and over  time, about 5 years, I managed a sort of yarn. There was no internet then and I lived too far away from Angora members – except Ray  Whitcombe who I met up with at local rabbit shows. I collected all the 2ply  practice yarn which was not good spinning lumpy, too thick, too thin, over and under spun .

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Judging the Angora Rabbit

A judges lot is not a happy one, it doesn’t matter what decision a judge makes someone will disagree with it. Usually very vocally! I received some very sage advice on the eve of my first judging engagement, when expressing nervousness to a long-time judge – “you don’t have to worry about the one that wins, its the one that comes second is dangerous”

A judge comes in for a lot of stick, but on the day he or she’s decision is final – no matter how much you the exhibitor may disagree with it! Having stood on both sides of the table, I can see the situation from both sides, but have learnt one indisputable fact – you cannot judge a rabbit properly unless you handle it.  This I would imagine is true of all breeds, but to an even greater degree with regard to the angora. Because there are so many different points to consider, not only on the rabbit itself, but the presentation and grooming carried out by the owner!

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Large litters

Large litters are hard to avoid, and this Doe produced 9 baby angoras in a wide range of colours. One of the issues though is the size of each of the babies as they develop as the Doe cannot always provide sufficient nutrients in the first few weeks to help each one develop well. Therefore you can end up with a lot of under sized Angora rabbit babies. Sadly she lost one of the litter so now has eight but this has allowed the remaining ones to gain access to more food. If your Doe does produce a large litter it is vital that you provide additional supplements for her so she has sufficient resources and food to help feed the young. It is also important to make sure that the hutch space avoidable is sufficient to house a growing litter of so many babies so they have space to move about and not all sit together even though they for the most part all choose to sit on one another.

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Bunny2Beanie -My German Angoras

I have to admit my passion for angoras came from a desire to spin and knit my own fibre.  Having a German husband and being drawn to the extra yield/size of the German Angora compared to the English Angora lead me on a quest to acquire some of these more rare and majestic bunnies.

My poor long suffering husband (who often threatens to use my wool stash as wall insulating when I’m not looking!) was sent off across the channel to pick up my beautiful German angoras from the very Easten side of Germany. I was beyond excited when they finally arrived home. Two REWS (Hagrid and Fleur) and three blues (Hermione, Remus and Bella) settled in really well and with a lot of support from Sally May I slowly got to grips with looking after my wonderful buns.

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Grass time

It is good to be able to put your Angora rabbits outside in good weather to enjoy some fresh grass and fresh air if you have the space to do this. It is also a chance to observe them while they relax and check them over to ensure they are all healthy and look at the contrasting colour if you have a litter with a range of colours like this one from Blues to Lilacs to Smokes.

However a few notes for you before you put them outside.

  • Make sure you have a secure run or cage to put them in set up in advance
  • check the grass area over before to remove any plants that might be harmful or debris
  • If you know they dig make sure the run or cage has a wire base as well
  • If you are putting babies out make sure the wire cage has small enough wire that they cannot slip through it and get outside the cage
  • Ideal to watch them during their first time out to see how they react and to ensure they are safe
  • Ideally also check on them if you do leave them for any period of time whilst they are outside to check they are alright
  • Provide a shade or cover if the location is in full sun
  • Provide a water bowl or bottle if leaving them out for longer than 10 minutes
  • Make sure the cage is protected from being accessible by cats and other birds and animals as they can scare the rabbits

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Virtual Stock Show – Pets/Spinning Show

Best in Show – Jo Ford with Smoke Adult Buck

Here is the judges feedback and results for the Pets Virtual Show. 1st J Ford, smoke. Best in pet and spinning class. Nice head, colour, body and wool. 2nd, J Ford, Lilac. Another nice exhibit. Good head and body. Nice colour. 3rd C Hamilton. White. Also a nice rabbit with short body and nice wool. Many thanks to Chris for asking me to judge. I really enjoyed it. Thank you to everyone for entries and congratulations to the winners.

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Winners of the Product competition

Winner of the product competition by Sally May

Congratulations to everyone who entered, and the overall winner was Sally May with the most votes for her felted Angora bunny. However, as we had so many fabulous entries we decided to make a few other awards.

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Product competition entries 2021

Wow, what an amazing array of Angora wool products, thank you ever so much for everyone who entered it is fantastic to see such excellent craftsmanship and skill as well from our members. With 39 entries it is incredible to see such talent all together, so congratulations to you all. It is brilliant to see so many ways in which Angora wool can be used from shawls to hats, slippers, toys, baby boottees, gloves, tops and in an array of colours and patterns too. Angora wool is such a versatile natural product and has endless opportunities for you to make so many items in so many ways from hand knitting, felting, needle felting, crochet and anything you can use your imagination to create.

Here are the entries and don’t forget to vote via the National Angora Club Facebook page for your favourites by 6pm on Monday 31st May 2021. You can vote for as many as you like.

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Jo Ford English Angoras

Jo Ford is one of our NAC members who has in more recent years got the English Angora rabbit bug as well. She has started up a small stud and enjoys keeping Angora rabbits currently mainly in a pet capacity and is keen to start making wool products in the future.

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