Thursday 31 January 2013

Monday 28 January 2013

Letter No.2

To see the full exchange, please visit the Epistles page.


Dear Anne

It was such a delight to read your letter!

Today marks the "real" 200th anniversary of our esteemed Pride & Prejudice! We can take comfort in the immortality of the written word though. Our Lizzy Bennet is still but not quite one-and-twenty. She would be no fun at all to visit at 200.

I haven't read Reading Lolita in Tehran- is there a sumptuous love story? I mostly read love stories. I first read P&P about 12 years ago when my friend Kelly insisted I read it before we had a BBC marathon viewing of the 1995 film. It was a favourite of her's. I loved it so much that when the film was not available from the video rental store, we went halves on the VHS box set and shared custody over it like the baby it was to us.

I like your description of your relationship filter for books. Upon thinking on it, my filter may be emotions (perhaps the Scorpio in me). Or more simply, happiness and relief. From the onset of any book, I want everything resolved, and for all to be happy. When Lizzy first argues with Darcy at the Netherfield ball, I am immediately anxious. Yes, he is a bit-standoffish at that point in their acquaintance, but she couldn't at least give him a try? I give her credit for rejecting his first proposal while in Kent. Not many women would be able turn it down, no matter how many sister's lives he destroyed. She chose the more difficult path - she knew how easily she could save her sisters from destitution simply by accepting the affection of a very rich and very attractive man! There is a brief sense of finality at the end of the rejection, but upon reading his letter that addresses "the offences laid against him", the anxiety returns. How soon after reading it does she begin to regret her rejection? Though, no woman of sound mind could regret, at least momentarily, rejecting such an insulting proposal. There is some relief from their meeting at Pemberly - an opportunity to set everything straight. Alas, Lydia and her foolishness get in the way - though I have to admit, I was never very anxious about her running off, beyond the impact it had on driving away Mr. Darcy. If only they could have finished off a lovely evening together. I confess I did not clue in to the implications of Lady Catherine's visit to Longbourn when I first read the book. How did she come to possess the knowledge of a possible relationship anyway? When Darcy returns to Netherfield and they are able to resolve everything, the relief floods in, but along with it, the disappointment of an underwhelming 18th century proposal and not a hot makeout scene to be seen. It is all quite exhausting. I would be quite happy to read a book with no conflict at all, though I might end up reading a non-fiction piece on lawn maintenance or some such nonsense.

All that said, a Pride & Prejudice without conflict would be void of Lizzy's unmatched use of language, as described in your previous letter. And as the literary adopter that I am, I'd be left without so much of my own language. It is well worth suffering through the anxieties of it all I suppose.

Happy 200th!

Ashleigh

Sunday 27 January 2013

Pride and Prejudice Bicentennial Celebratory Lunch


Recently, Anne and I realized that we have matching red dresses. We were looking for an opportunity to wear them out together, and where better than to Frida's for a celebratory lunch for the Pride & Prejudice bicentennial!


We brought our books and anticipated a good blog post. I envisioned a comprehensive article worthy of peer review, or at least "going viral". I think Anne just wanted a good chat.

Anne ordered a lovely salad and tried to sway me in the direction of vegetable crepes, but who picks vegetables over dulce de leche?



Jean, a friend of Anne's, walked into the restaurant, and upon seeing that all the other tables had been taken, joined us. But Jean has never completed a Jane Austen novel (gasp!). The conversation quickly broadened well beyond P&P, and being no great reader myself, I primarily observed a fascinating exchange between women who appeared to have read about 80%  of everything else ever published.

We had a discussion on how we come to read the books that we do. Anne is a deliberate reader, finding her books on purpose, though she is currently stuck in the "H" and "K" section of the library (not literally of course). Jean is an accidental reader. She is very visual, and chooses her books entirely based on their cover (apparently Austen doesn't have very compelling design work). She turns to page 30, and if she likes it, she reads it. Anne referred to me as a "literary adopter". I tend to just re-read books - rarely trying something new unless out of obligation. In doing this, I pick up the language and phrases from books, like one picks up an accent when they travel.  I am also such a slow reader, that I need to know I'm going to like it!

We discussed why we read. For visiting new places, experiencing different time periods, escaping to a whole other realm, taking the opportunity to visualize something completely removed from normal life. We get experiences from books that we simply don't have time to  experience outside of books. We meet people and make friends in books that we wouldn't have time to maintain.There is also a particular kind of comfort that comes from rereading a book. Like visiting old friends or old neighbourhoods. We like the feeling of reading.

Important notes.

After a 3 hour discussion on books and reading (and Liam Neeson), I was finding it difficult to consolidate the "plops" of topics into a readable blog post on Pride and Prejudice. Instead, we have opted to revisit the highlights through a series of letters. We are sure that Jane would approve. An exciting outcome - the new Epistles page.

 Enjoy.

Letter no. 1


26, January, 2013

Dear Ashleigh

What a wonderful visit at Frida’s.  It was so diverting.  You have asked some very good questions about my experience reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

First, I have come late to reading Austen.  My first reading followed Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. After reading this book I decided to read all the books that the women in Tehran risked torture and imprisonment to read and discuss.  How could I treat reading so casually when others risk so much?

Elizabeth Bennet is now one of my close friends.  I spend time with her regularly and it is very comforting.  She has people in her life that she loves, those that she tolerates and those that she judges as having faults.  I can identify with that.  Neither of us is perfect!

 Age,class and gender do not prevent her from speaking her truth. She skilfully confronts her father about his laissez-faire handling of Lydia, although he does not heed her warning.  She does not let Mr. Darcy get away with incivility. She sets boundaries with Lady Catherine de Burg. “I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness,without reference to you, or to a any person so wholly unconnected with me.”  What an extraordinary statement.  Can you imagine what life would be like if every 10 year old memorized these words? It might just put me out of business because the preoccupation about what others might think is the second most frequent cause of inaction!

Relationship is the filter through which I make sense of any book.   The social worker in me observes the interaction between the characters and the development of the relationship e.g.acquaintance, friendship, emotional connection, conflict, disconnection and reconnection.  A lot of this arc happens between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy when they are not in contact with each other.  She is in Longborn thinking she will never see him again and he is in London tracking Wickham and Lydia.  The reconnection is so tentative and reserved when he returns to visit Netherfield with Mr. Bingley.  At this time they work at making amends, he for his pride and she for her prejudice. A lovely circle don’t you think?

Anne


Thursday 24 January 2013

Felted Twig Cuff


I needed a break from the seed stitch Wedding Washcloth from Purl Bee that I am knitting for my friend Liza. Knitting washcloths might seem mindless and quick, but make no mistake - these are no ordinary washclothes.

The little "twigs" on the cuff are a result from knitting a full round with both yarns. I figured this out by way of a happy accident. If you want a crisper edge (though not much crisper), drop your first colour when you transition to the second colour.


Materials:

  • To felt you require a yarn that is preferably 100% wool, but I believe anything over 70% will felt to some degree. I used Martha Stewart Crafts 100% Merino in bluish gray, and Blue Sky Alpaca's Suri Merino in Snow.
  • US Size 10.5 double pointed needles (5)
  • Mild soap
  • Hot water
Pattern
  1. Cast on 28 stitches (small), 32 (medium), 34(large) - These sizes are only approximate - as you are felting, keep checking the size. You can shrink it by felting longer, or stretch it when wet to make it bigger. Once dry, minor size adjustments can be made by re-wetting
  2. Divide the stitches evenly over 4 needles.
  3. Rounds 1-5: k
  4. Round 6: k, continue to carry your first colour while adding the second colour.
  5. Rounds 7-11: k with second colour only. 
  6. Cast off - use a needle one size larger, or be a bit loose with the cast off so there is a bit of give for fitting your hand through.
  7. Because you will be felting it, you don't need to bother with knitting in the ends! 
  8. Fill a basin with the hottest water you can handle to touch and add mild soap. 
  9. Keeping the band submerged for as much of the time as possible, vigorously rub it against itself. I rub my hands together like I am trying to warm them up. Note the amount of shirking to make sure  you don't felt it down too small. This takes about 5-10 minutes.
  10. Squeeze out excess water and reshape.
  11. You can cut down on drying time by wrapping it in a towel and stepping on it.
Enjoy as is, or jazz it up with some needle felting!

Felted "Sweat" Band



I don't know if anyone would want to sweat all over this felted "sweat" band made from suri alpaca and merino wool, but they'll look good doing it if they try! 

Materials
  • To felt you require a yarn that is preferably 100% wool, but I believe anything over 70% will felt to some degree. I used Martha Stewart Crafts 100% Merino in bluish gray, and Blue Sky Alpaca's Suri Merino in Snow.
  • US Size 10.5 double pointed needles (5)
  • Mild soap
  • Hot water
Pattern
  1. Cast on 28 stitches (small), 32 (medium), 34(large) - These sizes are only approximate - as you are felting, keep checking the size. You can shrink it by felting longer, or stretch it when wet to make it bigger. Once dry, minor size adjustments can be made by re-wetting. 
  2. Divide the stitches evenly over 4 needles.
  3. Rounds 1-3: k
  4. Rounds 4-6: k dropping first colour and starting second colour.
  5. Rounds 7-9: k dropping second colour and picking up first colour again. 
  6. Cast off - use a needle one size larger, or be a bit loose with the cast off so there is a bit of give for fitting your hand through.
  7. Because you will be felting it, you don't need to bother with knitting in the ends! 
  8. Fill a basin with the hottest water you can handle to touch and add mild soap. 
  9. Keeping the band submerged for as much of the time as possible, vigorously rub it against itself. I rub my hands together like I am trying to warm them up. Note the amount of shirking to make sure  you don't felt it down too small. This takes about 5-10 minutes.
  10. Squeeze out excess water and reshape.
  11. You can cut down on drying time by wrapping it in a towel and stepping on it.
Enjoy as is, or jazz it up with some needle felting!

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Easy-Peasy Fruit Salad





My weekly meeting of the OKS (Occasional Knitters Society) starts in an hour and I've made some fruit Salad. I don't normally prepare snacks for our meetings, and I made fruit salad last week - so the ladies will likely assume I'm either pregnant or just bizarre. 

Fruit salad seems like an odd thing to make a recipe for, since its just a bowl of fruit with juice poured over it, but there is a certain sub-group of the population that requires recipes for such things, and I have often been asked for mine.

Ingredients
  • Whatever you want. HA! It's true.
But here is what I use
  • Apple cider, or any juice you like.
  • My Gramma Peg (G-Peg) adds a splash of vodka for an added bite. I like any excuse to add a splash of something interesting, but if you use apple cider, it already has a bit of a bite. I bet a dab of Grand Mariner would be great.
  • Apples
  • Mango
  • Berries - fresh or frozen. I always stock pile on blueberries from the farmers market when they are in season and freeze them, and then pick up fresh strawberries and black berries from the store.
  • Kiwi
  • Manderin slices or chopped up orange slices
  • Grapes cut in half
  • Chopped greatfruit
  • As stated in the Surival Cake post, I love candied cherries, but a lot of people don't, so I only add them if my niece Ella is going to be present. People can eat around them or just throw them into Ella's bowl.
Assemble in whatever order you want, making whatever deletions or additions you want. If I find it a bit too sour, I add a tablespoon of maple syrup. My only bit of advice is to make sure you pour the cider over it as soon as the apples are sliced, to prevent them from browning. If completely covered in cider, it will keep quite well for a few days.

I eat the leftovers for every meal until its gone!



First Yarn

Today I plied my first spun yarn, with the yarn that Evelyn had left on the extra bobbin that she gave me with the wheel. I like that it is her last yarn, mixed with my first. Her's was consistently very fine, and mine was extremely inconsistently thick, then fine, then thick again. When plied together they created a neat coiled effect. I can't decide what to knit with my very first yarn. It could be worth millions one day when I'm famous. 



Tuesday 22 January 2013

Washing Old, Dirty Fleece by Hand

When did someone paint me washing wool?
Washing fleece, or "scouring" as it's also known as, is truly one of the most satisfying steps in processing raw Fleece. Its amazing how something so filthy can become so clean and lovely. Particularly when you're washing two-year-old fleece, where the lanoline oil has had a chance to harden, and the sheep are raised for lambing and are covered vegetable matter (vm). The hardened lanoline makes it very difficult to shake out or remove the vm before cleaning.


Many experienced wool processors or spinners will tell you that in such a case as this, it is a total waste of time to even go near the fleece. But I have the benefit of inexperience and curiosity on my side, and 24 free Shetland sheep fleece to play with. Using two-year-old fleece full of vegetable matter to learn from, reminds me of when I was 11 years old, taking drum lessons. My teacher started me on jazz music, because "if you can play Jazz you can play anything". If I can make yarn out of this fleece, I can make yarn out of anything.


 I have no lofty goals of using these particular fleece to spin extremely fine yarns to knit expensive designer knits with - I am simply trying to gain experience, improve my wool processing skills, and have something to practice spinning with.

A note about skirting 
Before you can wash a fleece, it has to be "skirted" - unless the person who sheered the sheep has done this for you. Skirting takes off the worst of the fleece that is stained and matted. I will go over skirting in another post, which I realize is out of order, but I'd hate for my blog to seem contrived. I've had this fleece stinking up my bathroom for almost a week, so its time to deal with it.

A note about felting
Felting is wonderful, except for when you don't want to do it. If you have a filthy fleece, you are probably not trying to felt it at this stage, and if you plan to card it for spinning then you definitely don't want to felt it. Felting is achieved through heat and agitation, and is helped along by temperature change and detergents. You will probably not accidentally felt your whole fleece while washing it (unless you decided to wash it in a machine or use a wash board), but you may accidentally felt parts of it if you are not careful.

Machine alternative 
Many people use their top load washing machines to wash fleece. I have a front load, so its not an option for me, but I am also paranoid about letting my wet wool out of my site, so I would do it by hand anyway. Here is a good tutorial on using a machine from Spinderellas.com

The required materials:
  • Something to wash it in - a basin, kitchen sink, bath tub
  • Dish detergent
  • Vinegar
  • Drying rack (salad spinner also helps)
Here in the full fleece that I am going to wash. I zeroed the scale with my pickling pot on it before filling it up. I know I can only wash about 2 lbs at a time in the galvanized basin I use. 


About 4.25 lbs - looks like I'll be doing two loads.

*Note* You have to get the water ready before putting the fleece in!

Put about 1/3 of a cup of detergent in the basin for every pound of fleece. A pound of fleece is quite  a bit, so you might have to do it in batches depending on the size of basin. Ensure that there will be a decent water to fleece ratio (more water than fleece) to avoid having to do extra soaks.

Fill up the the basin with the hottest water you have, leaving enough room for the fleece.


Set the fleece on the water and hopefully it will start to sink on its own, if not gently press it down. The water is probably too hot to use your bare hands, so use dish gloves or some kind of prodding device. The key is to not agitate the fleece.



Once covered by water, let the fleece soak for about 25 minutes. Don't go longer than this, or the water will cool, risking felting, or the lanolin re-hardening.


Gently remove the fleece from the water and set aside.


Dump the water - as you can see in this picture, it's disgusting.



Depending on how dirty the fleece is, you may have to repeat the above instructions, with half the soap and a little less time. Last week I washed a filthy one-year-old fleece with two washings, and one rinse, but it may have been a little over-scoured. This is a two-year-old fleece, so there isn't much hope for less than two washes.

Second wash
If you have done a second soak, remove the fleece and dump that water. My water is still mucky after the second wash, but I don't want to do a third for fear of over-scouring. The wool will clean up a bit more in the carding process, and the yarn can always get washed once it is spun.

Still mucky, oh well.
The fleece is rinsed by filling the basin up with hot water again, without soap, and about 1/4 cup of white vinegar per pound of fleece, to balance the ph. Soak it for about 10 minutes.

Mine was floating. As a child, we had a in-ground swimming pool. My father was relentless that I not go anywhere near the pool if it had the plastic cover on it (glorified bubble wrap), because if I fell in, the suction from the cover would prevent me from coming up and I would drown. I applied this crude science to my floating fleece issue.



To be entirely honest with you, I forgot about the fleece and I went grocery shopping. It ended up being in there for about 45 minutes. I will make an update on here if I notice any terrible result from this.

Remove the fleece and squeeze out the water. The rinse water is pretty clear. That is a good sign.



If you have a washing machine with a spin cycle that doesn't add water at the start, you can use that to spin out the wool and then hang on a drying rack. I don't have this kind of spin cycle, so I just squeeze it and drape it over my drying rack. You can also spin handfuls in a salad spinner before hanging.

Unwashed fleece is in the basin beside the drying rack - what a colour difference!
Once dry, your wool is ready for felting or carding, or whatever else you like to do with clean fleece -comment below with other ideas!

    Monday 21 January 2013

    First Time Spinner

    I bought my first spinning wheel today! If I were a fan of writing in caps lock, I would, just to emphasize how excited I am. Alas, punctuation will have to suffice in conveying my emotions.

    I've been trying to find one locally for the better part of a month, to no avail. The ebay wheels all had incredible shipping costs, and I really couldn't risk my whole estate on buying a new one. After exhausting my personal network of those who might know someone who knows someone, I had lost hope. Until last week, when I got an email from my friend Louise. She is a remarkably helpful friend to have, as she often takes on solving small problems in my life, as though they are interesting projects (I'm sorry I still haven't applied for my passport yet). Louise sent me the contact information for Evelyn, a 89 year old woman who gave up spinning years ago in favour of rug hooking. I promptly contacted her. Evelyn is an endearing woman too kind to give me an asking price. She suggested I do my research and find out what used spinning wheels go for these days. This was a challenge - online prices range by hundreds of dollars.

    When we arrived to pick it up, Evelyn seemed excited and said she found some things that would make me happy. As we made our way up the stairs of the home Eveyln's husband built, I got to see the gorgeous rug hook projects that Evenly gave up spinning for. When I think rug hook, I picture shag carpet wall hangings of woodland animals or wild horses. Evelyn's looked more like lovely detailed tapestries of rich colour schemes.

    She brought me into her craft room. Aside from having the largest flat screen television I had ever seen, it looked exactly like you might imagine an 89 year-old woman's craft room to be. Very tidy with a subtle floral print sofa and more lovely tapestries. But there by the window was my new friend. Gorgeous pale wood finish, looking just as new as Lorna's! Evelyn handed me the original Ashford manual and a hard cover book called "The Craft of Handspinning". Then she handed me a fat manilla envelope full of her handwritten notes from her first spinning class. Each page had little bits of fleece, roving, yarn, or knitting taped to them.




    Evelyn's notes from spinning class
    Evelyn had prepared a box with carders, extra drive band string, an extra bobbin (still full of yarn from her last spinning), and the treading tool that she emphasised as being extremely useful.

    Extremely useful threader.
    I offered her $400 for the lot. "Hmmm. No. That is too much. How about $250?" Now that's negotiating! I made it clear that she was undercharging me, but she was just happy to see it go to someone who will use it, and not just "let it sit like an ornament". It was a savings of about $400 from the cheapest one on eBay of the same model.

    Evelyn is going to get in touch with me soon, when she "digs out" the drum carder that she would also like to sell me. Her husband built it from drafting plans.


    At its new home, awaiting my yarn.

    Once home, I sat down and examined the wheel, remembering my lessons from Mereille and Lorna yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to see anyone start an empty bobbin with the "lead thread", so I relied on this YouTube video. It was as simple as tying a piece of yarn to the spool and starting to peddle, allowing the spinning lead to grab the fibres.

    I was acutely aware of the stack of literature that Evelyn had given me, sitting on the chair beside me. I was just too excited to read anything before playing with it. Earlier today I asked a Facebook group of Spinners what their best advice for beginners was. There must have been 50 replies - many of which related to figuring out tension. I had to fiddle with the knobs, not really knowing what kind of effect they had, until I at last got to the point where the yarn was getting wound on the bobbin, but the drive band wasn't falling off - to my understanding, this is a reasonable tension to work with.

    I was quite surprised at how easy the basic techniques were once the tension was set. I carefully worked through all of the rolags I have been preparing since I cleaned my first fleece. My technique greatly improved as I went, but I am happy to accept the challenge of life-long-learning that goes along with spinning truly fine, even, yarn.

    It's lumpy and likely unstable in places (and charmingly full of twigs), but I have spun yarn for the first time! I've spun white yarn from a brown fleece that was once so filthy that even the cat avoided it.


    Sunday 20 January 2013

    The Fibre Enthusiast Adventure

    Anne and I went on an adventure today. We were invited to "an informal gathering for fibre enthusiasts" at local artist, Mireille Gagnon Moes' studio on St. Joe's Isand.

    Serious driving
    Several details made it a "real" adventure.
    1. Neither Anne nor I had ever met Mireille. 
    2. It was out of town (and anything involving a journey is an adventure). 
    3. We didn't have an address. 
    We were confident that we didn't need one. We knew the road it was on, and assumed if she were a "real" artist she would have an obvious mail box.

    I think it is a smiling air plane


    I tried my best to protect Anne from the very excited dog in the parking lot, Mandy, though Mireille (in her lovely French accent) kept calling her "ya twit". Anne is not fond of dogs, but the dog was fond of her.

    We made our way inside to discover that we were the first to arrive! Mireille greeted us warmly and set about giving us a tour of her studio. There was beautiful wool roving everywhere, and several looms occupied the centre. She showed us a few of her projects. She has made wrapping paper from the back of chip bags fused together by heat. Watercolour paintings over old topographic maps. Pudding stones out of felted wool. Wide braids made of recycled t-shirts. Gorgeous felt pictures. I couldn't name them all - her art was everywhere. She is remarkably creative and talented. I wish I had taken more photos, but check out her Flicker photo stream Fleurdefibre.

    The next guest arrived with a spinning wheel in her arms. I had been particularly hoping to talk to a spinner, as I am purchasing my first wheel tomorrow, having never touched one. I though it was a hair-brained-scheme for me to declare myself a spinner under such conditions, but Lorna had a hair-brained-scheme going of her own. She doesn't know how to knit yet! What was she planning to do with all her yarn?! Today she was working on a three-ply yarn from bluefaced leicester roving. She has a pattern for a nice sweater from Spin Off magazine that she would like to complete one day. She has a great attitude - no timeline in place.
    Lorna spinning

    Lorna and Mereille were excellent teachers. They taught me the difference between roving and rolags, between woolen and worsted, between single treadle and double treadle, between single drive and double drive.  They taught me about drafting and pre-drafting, the importance of  holding "the triangle" of wool during drafting, the proper length of pull, and how to ply the yarn. Yes - today was quite an education in terminology. After watching Lorna spin for at least an hour, I feel so much more prepared to give it a go on my own tomorrow.

    More guests had arrived, including Calna, who brought several coats made of recycled sweaters for show-and-tell.
    Anne is very excited about this super steam punk, shabby motley, sweater coat designed by an NYC desiger from Amber Studios

    Here Anne is modelling a Calna original sweater coat - such gorgeous blues! 
    There was so much to talk about that I didn't remember to try the spinning wheel, or make the felted soap that Mireille was going to help me with. Time was cut short when the clock struck 3:00pm. Baby Angus was an hour away, about to turn into a pumpkin (or at least start to miss his milk supply).

    It was a snowy drive home while we made plans for this year's Jane Austen Tea - another post for another day.

    -A

    Friday 18 January 2013

    Tanning the Rabbit Hide

    Every fall, I lose my husband. On his rare days off work Nate goes hunting.

    This Alfred Munnings painting, Fox hunting Fox Hunt, closely resembles how I imagine Nate's  trips.
    Each year, he brings me home at least one rabbit pelt as part of my birthday present. I always intend to tan them, but never get around to it. The hides harden and crack and start to shed, eventually turning to dust and I have to toss them.

    This year is different. My friend Janet is a fellow enthusiast of all things natural. She kindly sent me the instructions on how to tan a rabbit hide using fairly basic materials. She has even gone so far as to drop off the required type of pickling salt.

    This process takes 1.5-2.5 weeks, so I'll have to update this post as it goes. I could wait until it is complete before posting, but I'd hate to leave my one reader, Anne, to wonder what I am up to.

    Part One: Pickling
    These instructions assume that you're tanning a fresh-off-the-animal hide, when the skin is still soft and pliable. That's not the case with this rabbit. The bloody mess has been hanging in the basement stairwell for months, and has stiffened into the shape of the hook it was on.

    Bloody rabbit pelt. A fearsome thing to behold. 
    I soaked it in a bucket of water for a few hours to soften it up a bit first. When I drained it, it was nicely softened and didn't even smell that bad.

    Spoon of Rabbit pelt
    As per the instructions, I mixed 1/2 cup of Alum pickling salt with 1/2 cup of non-iodized sea salt into 1 gallon of water. I halved the recipe in the instructions, as they were for tanning more than one hide at a time.


    It doesn't need to be sea salt, and it certainly doesn't need to be this expensive brand of sea salt, but its what I had on hand. It just has to be non-iodized. The Alum salt came from the Bulk Barn. The solution had to be mixed in a plastic bucket rather than metal, to avoid a chemical reaction. Sarah (who mops my floors) will have to be warned before she goes after that bucket.

    Once dissolved, the fur goes in, and soaks for about two days. There is no real risk to letting it pickle longer, so its better to leave in longer than take it out too early. It should be stirred twice a day (I forgot to do this).



    To be continued...

    Part Two: Fleshing (what an awful word)
    The rabbit has been pickling for three days now. I saved the pickling solution, because it is reused later in these instructions.



    I squeezed the excess solution out and rinsed it with my cloth diaper sprayer. I realize not everyone who tans hides will have a diaper sprayer.

    Rinsing with Bum Genius diaper sprayer

    Fur looks better than when I started!
    The next step is fleshing. This is trickier on rabbits than with other animals because they don't have a thick skin or much fat on them. There is a clearish membrane that needs to be removed for a soft hide, but it seems nearly impossible to remove it all without ripping through the skin. I Googled this issue, and came across a taxidermy forum where someone suggested that wild rabbits can't really be fleshed  as well as domestic rabbits (my niece is going to disown me). I tried my best to peel it up using my fingers. The instructions suggested a dull knife, but I was too afraid to rip it.

    Note the flap of membrane that is peeled up - the entire hide gets peeled
    It worked out ok, and would be even better if it weren't full of shotgun holes (I suppose I wouldn't have it at all then), but Nate says he was far away and his shot "pattern" was wide. I peeled very slowly and carefully. I couldn't give an accurate estimate on how long it took me, but it was about 1.5 hours with at least half that time spent trying to get Angus to nap. If I missed a few spots, and it ends up hard in some places after drying, I will just use it to make accessories with knit or felt backings.

    After "fleshing"
    Using the same bucket from the first pickling, I added another half cup of both Alum and sea salt, which doubles the concentration of the solution. I mixed it until everything was dissolved and put the fur back in.


    This time, the rabbit stays in for 1-2 weeks, getting stirred twice daily.

    When looking for videos of fleshing hides I came across this guy. He uses a dry salt rub instead of pickling and I just couldn't get enough of his fantastic accent.

    To be continued...

    Part Three: Washing and Drying

    Our little friend has been pickling for one week. Now the solution is dumped and the excess squeezed from the pelt.

    I noticed loose fur floating in the water, and am hoping its just from the few patches that I fleshed too far.



    The next step is to wash the pelt with a gentle detergent. The image of oil covered ducks popped into my mind, and so blue Dawn it is. I am surprised at how greasy my hands got from squeezing the water out, but the fleshing and pickling is done to remove fat from the pelt, so it makes sense.



    The pelt is rinsed several times, the water squeezed out, and it is hung to dry for a day, before it is softened and conditioned.


    To be continued...

    Part Four: Stretching and Conditioning 

    The pelt has dried out for 2 days, and has once again shrivelled into a hard, ugly mess. On closer inspection of the instructions, I was supposed to stretch and condition the pelt while it was still damp.



     No need for alarm - the pelt can be "dampened back" with a wet cloth. Once damp, I began gently tugging and stretching the skin. You can see the white areas are where I tugged. The goal is for the whole pelt to achieve the white colour.


    There were still some hard, dark areas, so I laid a damp cloth on again to soften it up more.




    Once the pelt was all stretched, it softened up quite a bit. There was still a peppery feel to the hide - hopefully that will go away after being conditioned with leather oil.


    Well, this feels like an anti-climactic ending to a two-week long posting, but the tanning is complete!  Once the greasiness of the leather conditioner fades, I'll be chopping this fellow up and sewing him into fashionable accessories that I will be sure to share with you. I feel like the villainous woman from the 1988 hit series The Smoggies, in declaring such - but rest assured Suntots, Mr. Rabbit died an instantaneous death, and was gobbled up over a wholesome family dinner.