Summer is a comin'.....

...and so is bunny haircut time! Chuubi did NOT approve of this haircut in the least, well until we got home anyway! Then she promptly flattened herself against my hardwood floor and stayed there for quite a while enjoying the cool after a few days of high temperatures and humidity. I was curious to see how much fluff Chuubi actually had, so I weighed it - she wasn't even in full coat, and had a whopping 96g of wool! Almost as good as her buddy Mr D, who had his haircut last week and after all the matts were removed, provided a full 100g of the most gorgeously soft chocolate fluff, despite also not being in full coat. I am going to be sneezing angora "snow" for at least a week now after their haircuts lol, and I can tell that if they keep growing fluff at the rate they are now, I will pretty soon be swamped in angora fibre! :D

This week has been quite exciting for me - aside from finally having my first blog update ready to go, I have been waiting all week for tomorrow as I am now an official animal foster carer for SAFE Perth (Saving Animals From Euthanasia). Tomorrow, I will be meeting my first official foster furbaby - an angora rabbit named Aspen. I haven't seen any pictures of her yet, but I'm told she looks a lot like Chuubi only slightly greyer and a little bit bigger. But I have a working camera now so there will be plenty of pics in next week's update! :)

So the other exciting news this week is SPINDLE CLUB!!! Yes, the signups for the next round which will be sent out on January 5th of 2012 are now open! Details are further down in this post, along with the new tea range that is now available.

So without further ado, let me present this week's mammoth first update, firstly the spindles - please note that the spindles with stone whorls are one-offs, there is only one item available so first in best dressed and once it's gone, there are no more of that particular spindle. The pocket and ultralight spindles are always plentiful though :)

Ultralight spindles - these little babies weigh a tiny 5g with a pine shaft or 7g with a Tasmanian oak one, and come in the colours you see pictured, with a hand-bent pigtail style hook. 6 inch long shaft, finished with a light coat of wax, the whorls are 1 inch in diameter and stained with vegetable dyes. Perfect for laceweight yarns or spinning on the go, these babies are $5 each plus shipping ($2 on their own, or no extra cost with other items). Please let me know when you order, what colour you would like and whether you would like a pine or Tasmanian oak shaft.

Pocket spindles - these are the big sister of the ultralights, the whorls are 1 1/2in diameter and come in natural beech, or maple, cedar or mahogany stain, with either a pine or Tasmanian Oak shaft. Pine shaft pocket spindles weigh in at 12g, Tasmanian Oak at 13g. The spindle pictured above has a mahogany stained whorl and a pine shaft, both finished with carnauba wax. Hand-bent pigtail style hook. $7 plus shipping ($2 if on its own, no extra cost if shipped with other items). Please let me know when you order what finish you would like on your whorl and which shaft you would prefer.

40mm malachite whorl spindle on black lacquered bamboo shaft, weight 25g/0.88oz. $30.00.

 50mm poppy jasper on stained & lacquered bamboo, weight 31g (1.09oz). $28.00

 50mm sea sediment jasper whorl on black lacquered bamboo, weight 43g/1.33oz. $29.00. -SOLD

 50mm blue/purple variscite whorl, waxed dark wood shaft. Weight 31g/1.09oz. $27.00. 

50mm variscite whorl, black lacquered bamboo shaft. Weight 33g/1.16oz. $27.00. - SOLD

Whorled Army! Spindle Club

For those of you who don't already know about this one, you can find out the details in this thread on the Whorled Domination! Ravelry group.

Sign-ups for the next round are now open until December 5th and the next shipment will go in the mail on January 5th, 2012. All payments are due by December 5th please!

For those of you not yet on Ravelry, the details are as follows:

This is a PAYG quarterly club, with one package being sent every 3 months (containing a spindle and fibre to the value of whichever tier you select). You may opt out of club at any time provided you do so by the deadline of the 5th of the month prior to shipping. Places are strictly limited - if you are on the wait list and someone opts out, the person on the top of the list will be offered a place in the club with the option to stay in. If you opt out of more than 2 consecutive shipments, you will automatically be placed on the wait list. If you fail to either pay or notify me that you are opting out by the deadline (and yes, I will be sending reminders so you don’t forget!), your membership will be automatically terminated, and if you wish to rejoin at a later date you will be put on the wait list until another place becomes available. From time to time I may offer additional places in the club, pending my ability to keep up with demand. 

Club tiers are as follows, all prices are in AUD:

Tier 1, Basic: drop spindle and small fibre sample (50g or less, depending on what kind of fibre it is) every quarter. $30 plus shipping.

Tier 2, Regular: drop spindle and usually a minimum 50g fibre sample or a smaller amount of a luxury fibre or blend - one shipment out of every 4 is guaranteed to be a luxury fibre or blend. $40 plus shipping.

Tier 3, Deluxe: drop spindle and up to 100g of fibre every quarter, depending on the blend. This club option also guarantees that 2 shipments per club year (so 2 out of every 4) will contain a luxury fibre or luxury blend (the luxury blend fibre will normally be 50g). $50 plus shipping.

You will have several options to choose from with regard to fibre content, colour, spindle colours/materials and top or bottom whorl - everyone who signs up will be sent a questionnaire to fill out and return to me so that I can make sure I don’t send you anything you don’t like :) Australian members will have the option of whether you want to receive washed raw fleece as a possible club fibre - I will not be offering this to members outside Australia due to customs restrictions.

Fibre may be undyed, hand-dyed or hand painted, depending on what I can find for the club and your personal preferences as to fibre colours/content. Spindle materials may vary according to which tier you select - but all spindles will be handmade by me and I will do my best to cater to any preferences you indicate in the questionnaire.

Shipping costs will be $7.00 within Australia, and $12.00 for everywhere else. If you would like to spread your quarterly payment out over each quarter, let me know when you sign up and I can set it up for you with Paypal :) You have the option of using Paypal, or for Australian club members, direct deposit.

  
To join the Whorled Army, you can either message me on Ravelry where I am brighidskiss, or email me directly at whorled.dom@optusnet.com.au - please include which Tier you would like to join in your message, and give me an email address to which I can send your invoice and Club questionnaire if you are a new participant :)

 Pure Tea-vil - Whorled Domination's Organic Tea Range!

Teas are now available for sale! All tea is loose leaf and certified organic unless otherwise stated. Prices are as follows (all prices are AU$ and do not include postage):

Organic hazelnut cream tea - certified organic black tea with hazelnut. Absolutely beautiful with a touch of milk and sugar, with a very distinct hazelnut flavour and a hint of caramel. 

20g pouch for $2.75, 50g for $5.50, 100g bag for $10.15.

Organic black chai - Warm and spicy with organic cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Perfect with a dash of milk and honey.

20g pouch $2.60, 50g pouch $5.00, or 100g for $9.50.

Organic cinnamon black tea -  Strong cinnamon flavour, beautiful with milk and a touch of sugar. 

20g pouch $2.20, 50g pouch $4.00, or 100g bag for $7.50.

"Ballerina" organic art tea - premium organic white tea with jasmine flowers and globe amaranth. Stunning to look at and has a beautiful delicate flavour, very refreshing! $3.50 per ball or 3 for $10.00 (larger quantities available on request by special order). One ball makes 6-10 cups, and you can top the jug up with more hot water to extend the infusion :)

"Lavender Bliss" organic art tea - premium organic green tea with lavender and jasmine blossoms. Just the right amount of lavender, delicate and delicious! $3.00 per ball, or 3 for $8.50 (larger quantities available on request by special order).

"Queen Jasmine" organic art tea - fitting name for this beautiful rare Silver Needle white tea topped with a hand-sewn crown of jasmine flowers and a lily petal. Light and delicate flavour, a very refreshing tea. $3.50 per ball, or 3 for $10.00 (larger quantities available on request by special order).

"Enchanted Heart" organic art tea - premium organic green tea hand-sewn with tiger lily and globe amaranth. Lovely delicate floral flavour with the characteristic green tea aftertaste. $3.50 each, or 3 for $10.00 (larger quantities available on request by special order).

Tea hearts - rose petals and black tea, wrapped in pink foil. Makes 2-4 cups per heart. 75c per heart, or 3 for $2.00 (larger quantities available on request by special order). Also available as a combination pack of 2 hearts Rose Black tea and 2 of Jasmine Green tea for $3.00.

Tea hearts - green tea with jasmine blossoms, wrapped in gold foil. Makes 2-4 cups per heart. 75c each, or 3 for $2.00 (larger quantities available on request by special order). Also available as a combination pack of 2 hearts Rose Black tea and 2 of Jasmine Green tea for $3.00.
  
Tea Sampler: contains one ball of each of the 4 art teas, a 5gm (1-2 cup) sachet of each of the 3 black teas, and 1 each of the hearts. Great way to try all the different teas in the Pure Tea-vil range, and would make a great gift or swap item (especially as you can easily divide the sampler up for multiple swaps). $15.00 (can be gift-wrapped on request).

Also, don't forget the spindle competition currently running on the Ravelry group - deadline has been extended to December 1st to allow more people to play :)

Phew, I think it's safe to say that the first official Whorled Domination! update has been a mammoth one! :D See you all next week with more goodies! ;)