A cool spin on a bunny tale

Daisy the bunny knows how to earn her keep.

With her long, fluffy white fur, she looks like a feather duster and, when she peeks out from her mop, she makes friends with people and fellow bunnies easily.

Beyond the cute pet, though, Daisy lends her fur to her very industrious family. Amber, mom of the whole bunch, spins it into yarn and then knits angora hats and mittens for the family.

According to Amber, it all started with a lemonade stand.

“My children had saved up money from their lemonade stand to buy their own pet, which turned out to be a little meat rabbit from the Amish,” Amber said. “We named her Petunia, and she was a beautiful little grey ball of fur. After about nine months of Petunia, the kids spent only about an hour a day with her, and it seemed she was getting lonely. So I decided to get another rabbit to keep Petunia company.”

The productive parent had big plans for Petunia’s pal.

“I researched a bit, and was able to purchase Daisy from an angora breeder in southern Wisconsin,” Amber said. “We were so excited to bring her home and see if the two would be friends. The second we put them together, we found out Petunia was a dude, and he was really excited to meet Daisy! And now we have Petunia in his space downstairs and Daisy in her space in the garage because I’m just not ready to have millions of tiny rabbits everywhere.”

Though she won’t be bearing any bunnies anytime soon, Daisy does grow fur — lots and lots of luscious angora and Amber knew just what to do with it.

“Before we got Daisy, I had been in the beginning stages of spinning wool,” she said. “I had gotten an antique spinning wheel from someone, which didn’t work properly, but after getting in touch with a woman that refurbishes spinning wheels, I had a functioning machine. I have learned a lot about spinning from Liz (the woman who fixes spinning wheels), YouTube, and fellow spinners I have met at the Sheep and Wool Festival held annually in Jefferson, Wisconsin. After getting wool down, learning to spin angora was simply more practice. To be perfectly honest, it’s a different touch altogether and most of the time I end up carding the angora with the wool to make a blend that is soft from the angora, but tough from the wool. It ends up more durable, and easier to spin.”

It isn’t easy to keep Daisy’s locks from getting tangled. She gets a spa treatment once or twice a week and a special treat each time she donates her fur.

“Daisy hates getting shaved,” Amber said. “And I find it easier to spin her hair the longer it is. So, while it is recommended to shave them every one and a half months, I usually do it every three to four. Angora hair can get really tangled when you let it grow this long. The trick is to blow dry her every four to five days to keep the fibers from matting. And any time I handle her, I give her a pinecone afterward – it’s her favorite treat.”

Daisy’s locks land in some beautiful and practical places. They have become mittens that Amber has given to friends and family, and stuffing for stuffed animals.

“I make the yarn into lining for wool hats.,” Amber said. “Because angora is more fragile when spun pure, it makes nice soft lining to keep your skin from having to touch course wool, which is durable and will keep the moisture from snow away. Mostly, because I’m making products for my kids, I don’t want to put too much time and effort into something that will be destroyed, so I keep it simple right now.”