If anyone finds any defamation, libel or other legal offenses in it, please enlighten me. bunnies4wool@yahoo.com The facts are stated as I esperienced them. So far, in spite of galloping politically correct legislation being enacted in the USA stating your own experience is not defamation or illegal at all. This is just "for the record". I'll probably be misquoted there, as I already had been. Note, I've left in typos and all.
(This one is still up for some reason)
No, I got rid of all my Germans because they were just hell to shear. Plus
I didn’t like the fiber at all. So asll that work and I got something I didn’t
like. I have only Eng. now, takes about 20 min per rabbit and I love what I
get off of them.
I make Chemo hats and sell to wig boutiques for chemo patients, they cannot tolerate
German on their heads, only Eng or Satin.
I’m so sorry about your sister, JK. But she was exceptional if she could tolerate GA on her head after chemo. The boutique(s) I sell to are so grateful that I printed tags telling the difference because kind people had knitted hats for the patients in the past that were itchy, so they shied away from all angora. Such a shame, because as you say, the warmth is so important to chemo patients. And they want something thin and light too, so angora really fills the bill. But not if it is prickly.
I feel a responsibility to tell other people about the itchy fiber. I spent 4 years trying to get nice fiber off of GA and I want to help other people avoid that, if softness is important to them. NOW, it doesn’t have to be that way. If the club would change the standard to forbid the high micron count guard hair, it would be soft enough for most purposes. But as it is, it is not, and I refuse to keep silent about it. Facts are facts. I will conceed not every GA is identical. I did see two that had nice fiber. But mine, directly from the importer (and very expensive, 2 of which were registered with the club) certainly did not. I was shocked when my registered doe measured 22 microns on the guard hair. And guard hair, whether on the rabbit or on your skin is what you feel first because it sticks out of both. The club itself measured some at 30 microns - harsher than medium coarse wool would be.
GA’s could be bred for much nicer texture, but they’ve elected to concentrate high shearing weight numbers, only giving summary attention to texture. It’s the standards committee’s choice. But it comes at a price. People need to understand that., and not spend a lot of time and money finding it out the hard way, like I had to.
(Trying to correct erroneous assumptions and accuasations )
My prejudices are born of the fact that so many people object to angora in general, making no distinction among breeds. The stores I deal with had decided not to offer it at all because they had had so many patients have problems with it. So, if you prefer to think I have some sort of grudge I have no power to change that. But, the GA fiber is affecting the perception of ALL angora fiber for everyone. I’m trying in my own small way to educate people so that they know the differences.
Wool, on the other hand has a wider understanding. Most people know that the wool that itches them isn’t merino. But I remember years ago when people did not realize this and ALL wool items suffered for it. This is happening now with angora, and I do intend to try and educate people, to the best of my ability.
I never said ALL german angora was itchy. But it does predominate and is getting worse because of the way the club rates the animals.
All this from one or two sentences in this forum! I had no idea I was reaching very many people. It is good to know the idea is at least circulating so that open minded people can consider the issue for themselves.
I did not arrive at my conclusions lightly. After wasting 4 years trying to find a way to spin it to advantage, I finally had to reluctantly admit it was the fiber itself that was the problem. Believe me, it was hard to do because I had loads (about 80 lbs) of it on hand, and I then knew I could never sell it with a clear conscience without full disclosure about the texture and itchiness. Growing, shearing, spinning, & knitting items that no one used because it itched them. (I would not have known, except my niece blurted it out).
Later I met with many other former GA growers who had reached the same conclusion, but they were unwilling to “take the heat” Sorry, I’m more dedicated to the truth than that. I will say what I believe to be true, even if I take some abuse for it. So go ahead and heap it on. Someone has to take it in order for the truth to be told.
Answer to someone who asked what I considered too high a micron count
reply to mysticklobo's post #68
Anything 22 or more microns enters the “itch factor” zone. This research was done by the wool growers and quoted here. http://www.neaoba.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.displa...
Now they say 22 micron AVERAGE for the yarn or thread. BUT, as I mentioned before, on angora your hand feels the guard hair on GA first because it sticks out of the yarn, thread, whatever. It is even true on the animal. It is also what rides against your skin the most. In a bag of fiber, and I think this is why so many people defend it vehemently, you feel the down as much as the guard hair, so it isn’t as apparent.
Hree is an excerpt since some apparently aren’t willing to even look at the link
Over 30% of American consumers surveyed by the International Wool Secretariat (in Australia) reported that they were “allergic” to wool. In a follow up study it was found that most of these consumers were not really allergic to wool in the conventional way. (Though some individuals are allergic to the lanolin in sheeps wool.) The perceived allergic reaction for most was actually “prickle” caused by coarse fibers close to the skin. (see Alpaca Fiber From a Textile Point of View by Safley)
It turns out that it doesn’t matter what a garment is made of, if the fabric contains over 5% of fiber with a diameter over 30 microns, it will prickle or itch. This research also established that once the average diameter of the fiber in a fabric or sweater exceeds 22 microns, the prickle factor begins to appear as well.
Breeders selling their alpaca fiber need to recognize that not all alpaca is luxurious just because it’s alpaca. Only fleeces that average under 22 microns with less than 5% fibers over 30 microns should be marketed as luxury fleece, suitable for wearing against the skin. Other fleeces should be sold as medium or strong for use in outerwear or quilting batts or carpets, for example. This grading can be done using micron tests or simply by hand based on a subjective assessment of the fleece’s fineness.
As I say GA would AVERAGE less than that, but since the hand or skin touched mostly guard hair, it is the fiber that is felt most.
In reply to morrisoncorner's post #75
All it would take is enough people demanding the high micron count never be allowed to register, and the club would immediately start breeding to eliminate it.
I’ve noticed that many GA people felt. In that case, the guard hair would be caught down into the fabric and not stick out so that your hand picks up the coarseness/prickliness of it.
I’m not asking anyone to believe what I say without investigating it for themselves. I just want the “other side” to be told so that people know it isn’t ALL one way - the way the club says it is. If this “discussion” leads anyone to do that for themselves, purchasing about 2 oz or so of each type they are considering, knitting the fiber and WEARING it for more than a couple of minutes. They will have formed their own opinion in that case, yay or nay. I’m just saying that the people who continue to defend the GA probably have not done that and are ignoring the very real problems with the fiber.
These were GA rabbits purchased directly from the importer to N. America. Two of them passed the IAGARB registration process (my doe was sheared by me, I bought my buck already registered). I have never had Chinese GA at all. The club yarn was everyone who contributed to it, mixed up, the yarn spun and returned to each contributing member. That yarn was worse than my own.
Later on, I read on the GA list that micron counts of up to 30 had been recorded by the club itself.
reply to morrisoncorner's post #75
78
2 replies
Yes, at one time I had about 35 rabbits. at 3 lbs each, it would have only taken one year to get that amount, and I had collected for 4 years. Later I sent 25 lbs or so at a time to the mill, and had 3,000 yd/lb yarn made. I knitted up socks on the knitting machine and sold them. My own feet aren’t as sensitive as my face/hands are and I was hoping other people’s would not be either.
reply to oregonrose's post #55
81
I don’t care for French, but my only experience with them is about 5
ounces I bought before I had any angoras myself.
The woman plucked the buck right at the show, and the guard hair was very coarse
because he had been plucked all his life. However, I have a LOT of experience
with German.
I even began crossing Eng/Ger hoping for a softer German or a larger Eng, I didn’t care which. But sadly, the thick stiff guard hair is either recessive or it is at least a dilution factor, because it cropped up again in F 2,3,4 generations. I kept the nice individuals and sold the others, leaving the rabbit in full coat so the buyer could see it for themselves.
reply to Ariette's post #80
84
1 reply
It took me a while to figure it out. Meantime I bred the rabbits because they DO produce more fiber per rabbit. At 10 rabbits her litter and only selling a few, it is not at all hard to get to 35. In fact it was hard to keep it down to that, if one bred at all.
Actually I was probably their biggest cheerleader until I got the yarn back from the mill. That was the beginning of my quest to get at the truth. At first I thought it was the way it was collected and spun. But as the years went by, I had no choice but to accept the fact that it was the stiff guard hair in the fiber. The yarn I spun myself mainly went on my feet, which are not as sensitive. It was only when I knitted for other people that the itch factor came to light. I understand your anger at me, because I was kind of angry myself at the “ingrates” who criticised my yarn. So, intending to prove them wrong, I knitted myself a ski headband out of the club yarn. I was only outside about 10 minutes and it began to itch. by the time I came in, 40 minutes later, I had a huge red welt on my skin where it had touched.
I never got completely out of Eng, so I spun and knitted it and wore it every day for weeks. I had no reaction. I knitted my neice (who had one of the itchy hats) an EA ski headband and she didn’t itch either. All this led me to my conclusions, topped off by the IAGARB mictron testing itself in 2007 in MI at the annual meeting. I was shocked that my registered doe had guard hair in the 22 micron range. That sealed my opinion. Later on is when I read about the 30 micron guard hair.
I didn’t want any of this to be true. I found out the hard way, after I had bred and collected a LOT of angora. I want to help others prevent this by doing their homework before they invest in them.
reply to Ariette's post #82
88
All the micron counts I cite were done by IAGARB itself. Susan Wiley had access
to the right kind of microscope and she was trained to do it.
In reply to morrisoncorner's post #90
I actually had 5 foundation stock rabbits from Germany (6 if you count the
one that I got as a replacement for the one who had hip dysplasia. ). I
don’t
remember saying GA ruin the market here. I did say that in one private
message on a Yahoo list and I do believe it, but I did not say it here,
or to you.
I see the denigration of angora fiber all the time on all my lists. Most complain about dandruff or even larvae in the yarn. But the itch factor is also a biggie. You people are obviously new to this. Hang around as long as I have and you’ll see knitters dissing angora and angora fiber over and over again. Arlette, if you have been in GA’s for 25 years and have never had the itch factor come up and bite you, you are very lucky indeed.
reply to JKnit63's post #117
118
I have stated nothing but factual information. So far that is not illegal.
(Though as PC legislation progresses in the USA, it may not be for very much
longer.) I have patiently tolerated all the illogical attacks on my FACTS,
showing that your assumptions about my experience were wrong. You, my friend,
are the one who is prolonging this idiotic rant.
As was stated before, no matter the % of guard hairs in the coat, the hand feels them first on the rabbit and in the completed yarn. Only loose fiber allows you to feel the down as easily as the guard hair. That is why the skin cannot tolerate the GA fiber. This is all truth, not opinion, truth that I learned the hard way. I refuse to back down from any of these statements, they are absolutely true and I had nothing to gain by saying it, other than getting the truth out to others who might not know about it.
Final note: Others say "This is just your opinion" as though that is invalid! And excuse me, ignoring the wild accuasations, what might the other posts be??? Let me be clear. I am stating both my opinion AND my experience. But the fact is it ISN:T just my opinion. I would have been just as ignorant of the itch issue as everyone else had my dear niece not blurted out "Daddy says the hat itches". It made me angry enough to knit the club yarn as a skiband for myself. He was right, it DID itch. And I would never subject that on a chemo patient, as sensitive as their skin becomes. And I'll do my best to educate them. At the time, I did not like the club yarn, but thought it was soft enough. Later even that hope was dispelled.
All I want is the "other side" to be told about this fiber/yarn. So far those who are following the "guidelines" of the club wish to squelch any and all disagreement with them. Facts are facts. I want others to have the benefit of knowing ALL sides of the issue and decide for themselves.
Meantime, my advice remains the same as it always has. If you are trying to decide upon a breed of angora, then check out my guidelines here. This concerns plucked vs. sheared fiber, but it applies to choosing a breed too. Do your homework~! Don't just rely upon the "experts".