Bie-Lancasur Farming, Saturday, January 9, 1988 June Yohn Soins UY ANN GOOD in dying wools and combining scv- PALMYRA - For Christmas, eral texturea °J f lhe s P“ n woo j t 0 June Yohn, Palmyra, received sev- crea f vaned f?**- C , reaUV '' eral boxes of raw mohair and a * ° f dlfferent tech, fleece June shrmrced and said, hke mohair spun over a wool core "Other people things! and phed with sewing thread for but me™” Her voice trails off stability fasc.nates her. before she adds, “I’m different.” ane A dishke , s “ smg l^ th ch ™‘' She isn’t complaining though. <** and natural dyes , bec^ Se Jj^ IHe gift is exactly what she r^ u, f e ,*? x,c ™ e " wanted. From start to finish, June * e irwasteV likes to do things differently and do you to with ukk waste? weaving business, that means rais- “ *r 1 grooming sessions, cleaning, dye ingandtoUting slans.Junesaid. I ing, spinning and knitting or weav- If 31 ? 16 ? by *?. ing . ~ in g the homespun wool. do «• by ™ June has boxes of her meticul- reading-but I had to scrounge to ously knitted hats, scarfs and vests f“* d readl "® in 0I j n ! a I °, n 1 that demonstrate her perfectionist is " t available - . tendancies of creating only the Rather than purchase processed best me soft, silky touch of the ™°° 1 ’ Refers to buy quality Angora rabbit wool exudes a feel- Jf* 65 and V™™ them h , erSelf ' ing of luxury. June said. “I try to Sbe COI ! f,n l f d ’ Other people say promote quality so that hand spun d J at I*" 1 way to do 1 can be worn in contemporary should find the one aspect I m best fashions” at and then stick to it. June ran her In developing contemporary fin Sf s various tex fashions, June often experiments tured yarn and said ; , But } do everything because I love doing When June Yohn weaves blankets, she gathers the wool from her Angora rabbits or from a sheep skin. “I like to do everything from start to finish ” she said. This beautiful Angora rabbit sits quietly while June grooms It. Beauty From Unusual Gifts June stresses that to get a rab bit’s wool, the animal is not killed as many believe. Instead, hair is plucked from the rabbit. Although the rabbit may protest with a high pitched shrill scream the first time it is groomed, June points out that if the hair is not plucked from the rabbit, the rabbit may strangle itself by trying to do it. She said, “Shedding happens naturally four times a year. If a rabbit’s hair becomes too long, the rabbit ingests it and wool blocks may have fatal results.” To groom rabbits, June places it on her lap and brushes the loose hair, being careful to remove mat ted hair. June prefers caring for the rabbits better than any other aspect of her business. She brags that she has a clean rabbit operation and a good vet. “But more than that, you need to learn to trust you own instincts since wrong treatments like antibodies can kill rabbits.” June promotes using herbs to treat sick rabbits. When she sells a rab bit, she always includes instruc tions in caring for the rabbit, food packets and her telephone number. After gathering the wool, it must be washed in detergent and water by simmering at 120-140 degrees for one-half hour. The fleece or wool is not always the same color and sometimes for variety June spins a fine thread of lighter color with darker wool or vice versa. June admits that not many peo ple bother with the time consum ing tasks of carding, dying and spinning wool. She laments the fact that it seems to be a dying art. “If someone doesn’t do it, those skills will be lost forever.” “I have tons of ideas, but I don’t have the time to put them together,” explained this energetic full-time career women and mother of two sons, Brian, 17 and Kevin, 14. June credits her hus band William for his support"'n helping care for the rabbits and encouraging her to use her talents. June’s mother was an avid knit ter who passed on her love to her daughter. “I’ve knitted and cro cheted since I was a little kid,” June said. Ten years ago, a spin ning course kindled June’s interest in wools. She bought a spindle that remains her favorite although she has added three others to her collection. June is a member of the Bare foot Treadlers Guild and has share d her expertise with numerous groups and schools. With each ready-to-wear gar ment that June knits, she includes a printed card detailing care instruc tions. She points out that Angora rabbit wool is actually eight times warmer than sheep wool. In the past, June has participated in the sheep to shawl contest at the state Farm Show. This year, she has had to limit her activities since she returned to full-time bookk eeping. Nevertheless, June will not miss the pleasure of some Farm Show competition; she has entered a hand-woven, hand- spun cover let. It’s a cream-colored coverlet in three panels. The center features a fringed blue and gray design. Besides privately selling her completed projects, June displays them at craft shows and at a shop called A Cricket on the Hearth, 119 W. Mam Street in Palmyra. She admits,“lt’s not making much money and I’m not mass producing anything, but I’m hav ing a lot of fun doing it.” And that is why June Yohn con tinues to spin beauty from unusual gifts of raw mohair, angora and wool. Although June’s hand knitted Angora sweaters are soft and light, she said, “Angora rabbit wool is eight times war mer than sheep wool.” soon be spinning it into strands of yarn to be used in her knitting projects. Ida’s Notebook Ida Kisser There is a flock of wild geese that have made our meadow their home this winter. They mingle with our large white geese that lately have taken to swimming downstream a mile or so to another farm. Then, when they return, the neighbor’s geese come too. I’ve been feeding ours com to encour age them to stay at home. When I put up the new calen dars, I noticed that the' .e from different companies lan last years. It is nice to have an assort ment. The one on the kitchen door holds our appointments and the one beside the freezer keeps trade of the food that I put in it. This past year there were almost 300 quarts of fruit and vegetables beside the usual amount of canned fruit. Somehow I manage to always save a few old calendars as the pic tures are so pretty. People who col- lecl calendars appreciate the old ones that were made of cardboard and had a pocket at the bottom. It seems that there is a market some where for everything even old wooden spools now that the thread is put on plastic ones. Over the holidays a boy from the nearby development brought me a container of the best cookies I’ve ever eaten. He is a young/ellow who wants to help in my garden but 1 have never accepted his offer. Maybe next year I will. When I visited our five Amish neighbors over Christmas, I gave them my assortment of cookies and they gave pie white and brown loaves of homemade bread. That is something that I really appre ciated. We also shared a few toys that our children outgrew but there is still a chestful for the grandchil dren when they come to visit.