2006 - A year of friends, fiber and Fun!

Well here we come to the end of another year - lots of mememories come to mind but there is not enough pages to share it all with you. Needless to say I feel blessed to end another year with my family here in good health, my hubby of 11 years still by my side, my kids sprouting and blooming before my eyes. Life is good.

Cornerstone Fibres/ Rocky Meadow rabbits had another great year -allowing me to pursue my dream in a quiet way here at home I'm pretty easy to please -hand me some fiber to spin or a bunny to cuddle and I'm happy! Only problem is that as the new and exciting fiber coems in I want to keep all of it and spin it all up - lovely!

There are so many wonderful people who have shared the time with us -friends both near and far away, that I can't name them all but there are a special few I need to thank here:

Peggy -barn manger extrordinare -everybody needs a Peggy in their life but hands off this one is mine -she won't let em put her picture here and she's scary so she wins this round :)

Maggie and Matt at Bundaflicka Farms -I forgot to thank them for letting me use their booth at Rhinebeck to house bunnies -and Maggies soap and butter creme for the hands makes my days pleasurable! Here's her link - warning once you get Maggies soap you can't go back to the "other" stuff :)
http://www.maggiesfarminc.com/totes.html
Maggie you need to let me know what colour satin bunny to bring down for you this year!

Katie and Stacey at Cody Hollow Satins - Katie is one of the "BEST" youth breeders you will ever meet -her Harlequins are stunning!

All of the NYS Angora club group -they're all fabulous and so much fun at the shows!

So what does 2007 hold -nobody but the good lord knows but whatever happens I'll approach it with delight and wonder - as I said Life is good - how can anybody ask for more that what I have been blessed with -welll......if i won the lottery I could buy more fiber now couldn't I??

Plans this year are to expand the fiber lines, continue developing the rabbits - everytime I turn around there is more colours and patterns in angoras that I THINK I need -I really think I NEED a tricolour or a tan pattern or two and just enjoy life itself :)
Peace all!

Look what Christmas brought me :)

NEW Bunnies -is there any better gift that healthy happy fat sassy babies? Well maybe but this is what I got and I am so blessed.

Litter #1 arrived early via our white satin angora doe bred to a lilac buck - 6 fat shiny babies whos colours cover a huge spectrum -chestnut, black, Ruby eyed white, lynx, opal and lilac - wow! Talk about genetics in action here!

Litter #2 arrived on Chrsitmas Day to our registered Giant Doe Emily bred to a half Giant/half French broken lilac buck who we call Crossfire. 4 of the most beautiful babies ever -2 chocolates, a black and a broken black of spectacular proportions!
He/she will be staying here unless somebody really really tempts me to part with it

HUGS all

A Blast from the Past

Here's a blast from the past - 5 years ago on this day :) Jared andhis best Buddy "Boston" our first German Angora. Boston has since left us to go up across the Rainbow Bridge -but his spirit lives on -and his offspring for that matter Jared has gotten bigger too and more rabbit savvy by the day -but he's never had another buddy so dear to him as the big white fluffball who would play soccer and fetch for him!

My Best Girl -Scamper

I know I know its been a while since I updated the blog - Bad blogger BAD!! But it wasn't my fault really its all my sidekick Scampers fault -she kept me busy feeding her treats and taking her for walks I swear! For thiose who don't know my best girl this is Scamper who turned 15 this year. I know our time is growing shorter together so we try to spend some time just the two of us every day. She's been my best friend and confidante for most of her life. I got her when she was 14 weeks old and its all Daryl's fault. We weren't even dating at the time -we went to drop off supplies at the local shelter and there she was. She came bouncing out to meet us and when I told her she couldn't go home with me she sulked and head down went back into the little dog house she was living in. she laid her head down on her paws and sighed and gave me the saddest little eyes you had ever seen. Daryl told me she wanted to go home with me but my mother had a no dogs policy. So off she went to live at my then boyfriends apartment. 2 years later when we broke up I convinve my mother the dog was the lesser fo the two evils between the ex and the dog so she ame to my parents to live. There were "rules" that were to be abided by -no feeding at the table, no dogs on the couch and etc which of course did not apply to Scamper! When Daryl and I got married she came with us and because "best dog" at our wedding and later "big sis" to both the kids. She still rides herd over all of us. She's getting stiff in the hind end (aren't we all) and developing cataracts but until the very last she's here to stay! There will never be another one like her - she's special in so many ways!

Colours for a Rainy Day

Thought today would be a GREAT day to photo some of Jared's latest dyed masterpieces :) He's so creative with the colours and I love it all -too bad I can't keep all of it. Of course I feel the same way about the bunnies -all the little ones have gone to new homes -well I do have one little German buck left but otherwise its time to start planning for the spring . The pitter patter of little bunnies is too much to resist. We do have 6 new jersey woolies here -4 broken and 2 solids who are just over three weeks old. Picture will be coming soon......anybody looking for a new fiber friend??? Spring litters will hopefully include:

Satin Angoras - PRT's Mint (REW to be registered) x Davises Fuzz (lilac to be registered)
French Angoras - RM's Maddy (registered broken lilac 2 GC legs) X RM's Northstar (REW to be reigstered in spring -carries chin and steel genetics)
English Angoras- RM's Noelle (VM Black) X Desired Haven's Michigan (registered Sable Pearl)
Giant Angoras RM's Emily (Registered 11lbs) x Smith's Sir Lancelot (amazing chinchilla buck 25% new German import lines)

Other than that Cornerstone Fibres will be posting some fiber sales just in time for the holidays -any suggestions of what you'd like to see on sale?

Bouncing off to play Teaparty with the 4 year old Diva in the making!

Back from Rhinebeck!

Well its came, its was a blast and now its done for another year -the trip to the NY Sheep and Wool festival. for those of you who have never gone -all I can say is WHAT a GREAT place to go! Food is fabulous, loads to see and buy and great people to catch up with!
My hubby who went with me for the first time is still in shock over the amount of stuff and bunnies that will fit into the back of the van -tons of gorgeous spinning fiber and other goodies came home with me.
Also brought home two new herd sires a beautiful lilac satin angora buck and a stunning chinchilla german hybrid (thank you Katie!) so my girls will be happy and the spinner here is thrilled with the new fiber! Pictures will be posted once I find the bag containing the camera -its on the couch somewhere!

George and Crew :)

wow does time fly -here are my "babies" and their newest friend "George" - a mush of a bunny -he's a Rhinelander and very very sociable -he's happiest when somebody is carrying him around the place
Happy THANKSGIVING WEEKEND to all!!!

Satin angoras for sale and more!

The last of the litter well not really but the last tow brokens froma fabulous litter by HH's Glitter (copper) x HH's Dan Patch (broken chesntut) The heavily marked is a girl -the lightly marked is a buck (both are broken chesntut). there are also two solid chesntut bucks left in the litter -all 4 are up for grabs! Also have two german bucks and a black German hybrid buck for sale. For French angoras I have a chestnut doe and a chocolate chinchilla buck (out of registered parents -black golden steel x chocolate chinchilla).
Will be heading to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival October 21-22nd. Can arrang edelivery or pickup there of at another location :)

Meet Curious George

Here he is my newest buddy - snuggly and sucky they are the best words to describe him. He's a Rhinelander which is a full arch breed meaning he's built more like a hare than a rabbit. He' s brightly marked with orange and black making him stunning :)

Rosi's First Leg!!!

YEAH!! Just got back from the Syracuse Grand Finals where Rosi earned her first GC leg as 1st place junior coloured Satin Angora Doe in a class of 8!!! Also came back with a new pet a Rhinelander buck who's name is "Tippmann" my favorite paintball marker maker.
Pictures to be posted soon!

Introducing the newest "Diva" of Rocky Meadow Rabbits

Here's a picture of one of the newest "Divas" of Rocky Meadow Rabbits -presenting BCM's Rosi (pronounced ROSEE) a stunning lilac agouti doe from BoxCar Menangerie. This girl has so much potentiapl we can't wait to show her and breed her -we feel she is definetely what a satin angora should be -stunningly shiny and so much density.

More bunnies for sale photos

Here's two more pics of the bunnies for sale -on the left is a junior black satin angora doe -on the left is a chocolate German Hybrid Buck .
We also have the chestnut French angora doe and Chcolate chinchilla junior french buck pictured in the July archives of the blog for sale. There are still three black English available as well as 4 German bucks still up for grabs!
Will sex the satin litter as soon as they are a little bigger but there are three chestnut and 4 brokens that will be available -2 heavily marked chestnuts as well as a lightly marked chestnut and a lightly marked tort.
Picture of the two lightly marked satin angoas can be seen at the top of the page.

Satin Angora Litter update

Well my little mystery fellow is still a mystery :) He's awfully cute though -i'm leaning towards tortioseshell though. He's very sociable -eyes are open adn he thinks I'm another food source as he tries to nurse my sleeve when I reach in the box to pet him and his siiblings - he and the black are spoke for but the other six are up for grabs or will be when they are older

Bulky Wheel For sale

Her's some pics of the bulky wheel we have for sale Asking $400US not including shipping.

A view into the greatness that is Jazzy Dyesigns by Jared

So here they are still in the pot -bubbling and simmering gorgeous colours beyond compare -it can only mean one thing......Jared is dyeing again. How does he do it I'm frequently asked and the answer is "I have no idea" Jared is 8 and LOVES colour - he uses mainly Koolaid with vinegar and he is fearless when it comes to throwing colours together. On the left is orange, cherry and lemonade with some lemon lime -you can see the brightness already starting to form. On the right lemonade, lemonlime, orange and cherry for that extra brightness. Will post pictures of the rovings when they dry. Each pot is an 8 ounce lot of corriedale =perfect for socks, hats mitts or a felted bag!

Updated for Sale List -pictures to be posted soon :)

Fall Show List:

English Angora:

Black Junior buck - mom is registered black (3GC legs) -dad is registered sable Pearl - Asking $80
Have other black english as well need to get sexed! $50 each for these guys as they are Vienna Marked (carry BEW genetics) Mom is VM Tort -dad is chocolate agouti -regsitered (2 GC legs)

French Angoras:

Junior Chocolate Chinchilla Buck -mom is regsitered black golden steel -dad is registered Chocolate Chinchilla

Junior Chesntut Doe - littermate to above
Asking $100 each for these guys

German Angoras:

All white all bucks Asking $75 each for these guys as they need to move out. 4 to chose from! Would love to trade for adifferent line buck if anybody is interested in swapping bloodlines

Giant Angoras:
REW buck - mom is black 92.5% German bloodlines -dad is 100% German -nice colours in this guys background Asking $75

Satin Angoras - still to be sexed! Will be asking $80 each for these guys -there are 4 broken and 4 solid in the litter - 1 broken is already spoken for though :)

Hopping off

German Angora bucks

A friend of mine sicced the bunny gods on me and cursed me with a litter of all white bucks! Alright so they're Germans so they're SUPPOSE to white but all bucks
Here's some pics of the little sweeties -5 are up for grabs!

Why I LOVE satin angoras

Well since eating my words about never having satin angoras (the actual phrase used was when hell freezes over) here I am the proud breeder/owner of a herd of them. Skating in hell has been fun so I'm now a convert to these wonderful and shiny oh so shiny rabbits.
We currently have 2 bucks BCM's Dom Perrignon a spectuacular chocolate pearl from Boxcar Menagerie and HH's Dan Patch a beautiful heavily marked broken chestnut and 4 does HH's Glitter - copper, BCM's Rosie - lilac tort, BCM's Silk - black and last but not least CP's Gingersna[p - registered fawn. Patch and Glitter have just become parents for the first time and have 8 healthy kits! There is a really neatly marked broken in the litter that I swear has tiger stripes! Pics of him/her and Perry are here for you to admire. And yes the fiber is a dream to spin -all shiny and shimmery.

Back from the Sheep Dog Trials

We're back after three beautiful days at the Grass Creek Sheep Dog Trials held every year here in Kingston. Could not have asked for a better time -weather was perfect, crowds were plentiful and very appreciative of the yarn and hand dyed rovings we took there. Guess the spinning wheel and dye pots will be getting a workout as I try to restock the shop What a talented bunch of dogs to watch too -these sheep are NASTY! And the sheep to shawl competition was very well attended with four teams present. The shawls were lovely.

What happens when I'm bored ....

You wonder how I could ever be bored with two kids, long suffering hubby (or so he'll tell you) 40+ rabbits, the neurotic spoiled border collie (who is currently sleeping on the couch) and 2 BIG cats but hey it does happen once in a blue moon. So in a fit of organization I cleaned out my fiber stash and spun and knit this shawl. Its three ply spun -one ply commercial spun mohair that was dyed in floursecent colours, one ply grey alpaca and the rest a lovely heathery grey shetland roving I had made up from Tammy Wards amazing sheep and processed at Wilton Fiber Mill. Knitting is simple garter stitch with a bit of lace stitchery and then fringed. It really turned out GREAT! Of course once it was finished I immediately felt the need to go purchase more fiber but luckily the Kingston Sheep Dog Trials are on this weekend and I'll be there spinning -hmmmm wonder what the sheep shearer will have this year for fleeces :)

A Special gift for a Special New Arrival

On July 31st we here at Cornerstone Fibres were thrilled to hear the arrival of our new niece Brianne Louise Parkinson who arrived safe and sound at the hefty weight of 8 lbs 1 ounce. The newest "Diva in Training" will recieve a special girft made one of a kind just for her. Hand painted silk was double spun into a fine weight yarn and created into her very own tassled cap. leftover yarn was crocheted into a ball perfect for little hands. Welcome to the family Brianne - can't wait to teach you the joy of fibre!

New Bunny Pics as promised

Well I FINALLY was allowed to remove Whimsey's box long enough to get a picture of her 9 German Angora babies. All are doing great -eyes are opening and they are so darn cute. We call tehm Popcorn at this age -cute, bouncy and loads of fun! Also got a picture of "Fats domino" or "Sumo baby" -she/he is almost twice the size of the Germans and they are three days older.
Happy bunnies!

Jazzy Jared Strikes again!

I love my kids because they bring a new view on the world to my eyes. For instance my 8 year old Jared has taken up dyeing fiber with a passion - his use of colours is amazing and always a cool surprise as to what CAN be done. Here's two of his latest creations -we forgot to take a picture of "Nanny"s Birthday" his specially created roving for his Nanny -made with his, his sisters and her favorite colours -blue/green and hot pink.
These two are currently for sale on Ebay -under Jazzy Dyesigns by Jared - Victorian Orient and Spectacular Sunset!!! GREAT work as always Jared!! And best of all he works for McDonalds cheap labour at its finest.

New Bunnies Everywhere!!

Its baby bunny time here it seems :) 9 New German angoras arrived a week ago to RM's Whimsey out of Maggie's Farm Big Daddy -all healthy little balls of baby. We also had a single arrival to our registered chestnut satin angora-1 GC leg doe RM's Shimmer out of our new broken chestnut satin angora buck HH's Patch -the chestnut baby who is a porker has been named "Fats Domino" .

My sons REW Jersey Wooly Doe RM's Boston gave both to 7 healthy babies out of his favorite old buck Starbuck's Yugi-oh -registered blue. The nicest surprise was finding out Boston carries the broken genetic as 5 of the 7 are perfectly marked brokens -looks like blues, smoke pearl and black along with the two solids -smoke pearl and siamese sable. Pictured above.

Last but not least our VM (vienna marked -carries BEW genetics) tort English angora Doe Candy's Amber gave birth to 5 beautiful babies out of Heart-O'mines Chippie -regsitered chocolate agouti -2 GC legs she has one solid black, a lilac and three VM marked blacks. Pictures to follow as I get he camera out to photo all of them. It's baby bunny time and we're not done yet

Due end of the month we have:

Jentlelops Autumne (Black pointed white) Jersey Wooly X Bella Bunnies Cash (regsitered smoke pearl)
HH's Glitter (copper) Satin Angora X HH's Patch -(broken chestnut agouti) Satin Angora
RM's Tasi (Black) New Zealand X RM's Fryer Tuck (Black) New Zealand
RM's Stasi (Blue) New Zealand X Diju's Discovery (Blue) New Zealand
-both carry the dominant and dilute genes so whites,blues and blacks are possible

Silk in my socks

After getting some gorgeous kid mohair and silk in a recent fiber swap my daughter informs me that SHE needs a new pair of socks and that these fibers just might do. Laughing I agreed and then thought about it -how come I don't have any kid mohair and silk socks????
They should be amazing to wear -I wonder if she'd let me borrow them? Ever notice as a spinner we spin the most amazing combinations for others to wear. Of course we do get the pleasure of handling these fibres and spinning them. There is also the thought that our loved ones are wearing something special that was made with love for them. And last of all the pride that comes of knowing I'm raising a fibre "snob" who though young already appreciates the finer fibres that the world has to offer. I mean she already has a 100% angora tam and scarf to wear.

Spin, Spin and Spun

Today I thought I'd show you some of the yarns I have been working on - mostly just for myself but all are for sale if somebody is interested :) A great deal of it was custom dyed by my 8 year old son Jared who occasionally sells it on eBay under his own label Jazzy designs by Jared. He's truly a talented dye wizard and I love his work almost as much as his customers who eagerly snatch it up.

From top left:

4 ounces brushed mohair 2ply -dyed by Jared in a colourway he calls Summer Sunset $25Cdn

4 ounces brushed mohair 2ply - dyed by Jared in a colourway he calls Spring Days $25Cdn

2 skiens of superwash wool - single ply spun -enough to make a small/medium pair of socks -wonderfully soft $30Cdn

4 ounces chocolate alpaca/bombyx silk 4oz 2 ply $20Cdn

5 ounces corriedale -blues, pinks and a hint of lavender -great for socks or a hat $25 Cdn

5 ounces polwarth -koolaid dyed by Jared 2 ply $25Cdn

1.5 ounces of 2ply pure black angora -wonderfully soft and warm -great to trim a hat or sweater- or would make a fabulous beret or lace scarf $18Cdn

Bunnies for sale

Hi All:

Am trying to post new and updated pictures of bunnies for sale here at Rocky Meadow Rabbits.
More litters are in the nest box including German Angoras (finally), Satin Angoras, English Angoras and New Zealands. Available NOW are Giant Angoras, French angoras and one English black angora buck.

Picture at left are two does from Sommerhill's Calypso (registered black golden steel) x RM's Chico (registered chocolate chinchilla). Chestnut and Chocolate agoutis -both are show grade French angoras and are ready to go NOW! Picture at the right are two gorgeous chins from the same litter - black chin is going to a fellow breeder in echange for a new broken buck -chocolate chinchilla buck is staying here to replace his dad who is also up for sale. There is also one REW buck left in this litter - gorgeous fellow -just can't keep them all!

HARE We are!! Our first adventure in TV land

Hey all:
On July 13th Kim and bunnies were invited to take part in the new TV show "This is Emily Yeung" -this episode will preview on Treehouse TV in September -no exact date yet. It was loads of fun - Miss Emily was a darling host -loved the bunnies and thought spinning was loads of fun. Can't wait to see the episode in whole. Hopefully the camera doesn't add 10lbs people would think the bunnies weigh way more than they really do! And Bijou -lady that she is doesn't like her weight discussed in public.


It was very HOT in Toronto where the shoot took place -fortunately there was lots of shade trees for the bunnies as well as bottled water and carrots to keep them happy. After all they are the real stars -definetely not me.

Emily particularly liked "Crowe" a junior black english angora buck and "Iceman" a junior REW French angora buck -both relished the attention.

Welcome to Cornerstone Fibres-Rocky Meadow Rabbits

WELCOME!! You've found us and our new blog. We'll be posting our various events, new litters and sales here. Lots of pictures too -we promise :)