I love to touch soft things. If you can relate, this page is for you…

How it began…

I met a woman with a spinning wheel she used to create yarn with fiber from her rabbit at an elementary school “career day” in Florida. I was instantly intrigued, and this sweetheart of a soul offered to show me how to spin. On the day we met up for the lesson, we got caught up sharing life stories and realized we needed to pick kids up from school in a few minutes. She gave a quick rundown of how to use the spinning wheel and then offered to let me borrow it to practice at home. It was a slow start, but I got the hang of it. Almost a year later, in a twist of fate, we happily realized we both had relocated to Illinois. We reconnected and decided to adventure to a fiber farm in Chicago to adopt English angora rabbits together.

English angora rabbits are among the softest creatures alive. Commercial angora is typically harvested from the Giant German angora, which is slightly less soft. The English angora is known for its sweet temperament and the lovely furnishings on its ears. These magical creatures seem straight out of a storybook, and will satiate cravings for snuggling beyond anything I have found. Angora naturally shed their extra fiber through combing and brushing, which they seem to thoroughly enjoy. Many never meet an angora rabbit, and I love offering the opportunity to connect with this amazing creature and to experience their luxurious coat at fiber- and family-centered events.

Years later I met a fellow fiber artist in Madison who was interested in the puppets I was sewing, and suggested I could felt the angora I was spinning to create eyeballs for my puppets. Felting? She offered to demonstrate, so we met up a couple weeks later and my love for felting (and another amazing friendship) was born. Some of my puppets are completely felted now, and I enjoy showing others ways to play with felting, both wet and needle. Angora is very very slow to needle felt, so I began working with other fiber (such as wool, alpaca, and silk), and loved how they blended with the angora yarn I was spinning. I enjoy the endless ways to play in fiber art, and have found an additional joy in blending it into my sewing projects.

In addition to my bunnies, we have also become steward to a flock of free ranging chickens. They provide not only eggs but also beautiful feathers we incorporate into some of our crafts and accessories. These creatures are hilarious and sweet, and we love sharing our backyard with their shenanigans…