A big Hello! To all and thank you so much for joining me again for another Friday Night update and this is a WILD one! You know: to get in touch with your wild and adventurous side !
Tonight is all about three fabulous colours of Tibetan Yak and some pretty awesome Australian Wallaby batts!
The natural colours of the Tibetan Yak top on offer this week is a gorgeous warm chocolate, a yummy caramel and a fabulous ivory colour. They are all amazingly beautiful and easy to spin and felt with. Distinguished by handlebar horns and long hair, this high-altitude animal lives across the grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau. With three times the lung capacity of typical cows, yaks take in stride the thin air, rugged terrain, and harsh weather of Tibet—with frigid winter temperatures that can dip to -15C, and have subsisted for thousands of years on a meager diet of grasses and sedges. Historically, yaks were essential to the survival of the people of the Tibetan Plateau.
It is believed that ancient Tibetan herdsmen domesticated yaks some 10,000 years ago. Sturdy and sure of foot, these ultimate pack animals can cross high mountain passes carrying heavy loads of up to 150 pounds and are sometimes called the “boats of the plateau." For centuries Tibetans have been using the coarser “guard” hair of the yaks to braid ropes and weave material for their nomad tents. The yaks also produce a fine down undercoat that keeps them warm in the subzero temperatures of the Tibetan Plateau. Yaks have a thick warm coat that has typically two layers of hair. The outer hair, which is the most visible on the animal is dangly, longer, coarser, and stronger. This layer protects the animal from snow, wind, and rain. The inner hair, the so-called down hair is produced during the winter and is dense, fine, matted, and soft, hence providing great insulation. The inner hair is naturally shed during the spring and is easily harvested by combing; making the process of collecting fibre eco-friendly and sustainable. 
Also on tonight’s shop update are some amazingly fluffy and special swamp wallaby batts with cashmere, merino and mulberry silk! The fibres of the swamp wallaby are short like possum but darker brown and very fluffy! They are sustainably collected and foraged so there are only a few available since it’s such a rare resource to find. You can find all of tonight’s offerings below and in the what’s new section on the shop. You can see a photo of a wallaby blend hat with an awesome PomPom below! (Knitted by the fabulous @butterflykisses
On a personal note: at the moment I’m going through some pretty major auto immune issue stuff that my medical team and myself are trying to get under control. I will get back to the dye room soon, but need to get better first. You can see a Photo of me looking like a zombie bunny here 😜
Paul has been an absolute Superstar organising lots of new blends to be ready for future updates and the August art journey club is all planned, organised and on schedule. Teaser labels will be posted on my socials next week so keep an eye out plus: don’t forget to follow me there for any fun or fluffy News (eh! ¿¡porqué no los dos!? 🌮Or..why not both🤣).
Don’t forget to share your yarns and everything you created with your IxCHeL tops or yarns , so do please tag me (@Ixchelbunny on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and BlueSky 🦋)
Wishing all of you lots of fibery and fluffy fun !
Big hugs, Charly