Shetland Sheep: Rich in History, Rich in Textiles

Shetland Sheep: Rich in History, Rich in Textiles! Our farm mission is to enjoy and promote the wonderful diversity of the Shetland breed by fully utilizing to the best of our ability all they have to offer historically. We believe the best preservation and management of this breed includes it's full spectrum of history. We encourage old and new shepherds alike to join in the fun by engaging in fiber arts, especially spinning and knitting, as this breed is so intimately linked with those aspects of the arts.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Shetland Yarn for Sale! (and others)

Poof!  It's February!  Not sure how that happened so fast!  It's a beautiful winter day here on Wheely Wooly Farm.  There is much catching up to do, but first, here are the photos of SOME of the remaining yarns we have for sale from our 2012 season.  They are the last of the colors and fleeces spun from our 2012 shearing and I have to admit, I'm making more!  I have very few fleeces left that I've saved for pre-lambing spinning, so I'll be updating as spring warms it's way onto the landscape.  I think this is the first time I've opened up sales to a wider market.  We started small, and it took time to gain confidence that we'll be able to keep up with demand beyond our local market.  We hope to meet your requests for online sales in the near future.  In the meantime, here is a small start!

About the yarns:  we don't call ourselves Wheely Wooly Shetland Sheep Farm because from the very beginning years ago, I've enjoyed spinning many types of fleeces.  When naming our farm, I wanted a name that covered handspun yarns that was non-breed specific.  Therefore, you will discover amongst our yarns fibers from a variety of breeds, but mostly Shetland because they are hands down my favorite to spin!  I'll start with some Coopworth and East Friesian (from our ewe Claire) and then progress to Shetland, some from our flock, and some from fibers I've carefully sourced.  We have a wonderful range of Shetland fiber to choose from, with colors that blend so beautifully with each other, or with the dyed colors (which you'll see towards the photos at the end)!  The skeins are all sold by weight, with sizes ranging from one to nearly four ounces. Gauge ranges are based on your knitting personality!  General gauge will be posted. Gauges that are near each other (for example light worsted and worsted) can be successfully paired using needle and/or tension skills.  The gauge changes can also add lacy affects to garments.  Prices start at $10.00 and up per skein, based on weight.  Price does not include sales tax or shipping.

 If you see some yarns you'd like to purchase, email us at wheelywooly@gmail.com!

Ready?  Have fun and here we go!

 Summer Marigolds-last two in this special color!
Shiny color with creamy undertones, soft!
2.2 oz $17.05 and 2.1 oz $16.28
gauge: light worsted

Claire's Lemonade-3 Skeins left
A bouncy, soft yarn!  Nice warm color for dreary winter days!  Excellent paired with other colors.
2.1 oz $16.28, 1.9 oz $14.73 and 2.2 oz $17.05
gauge: worsted

 Claire's Pink Lemonade 2.6 oz $20.15
Bouncy and soft!  People have strong warm reactions to Claire's Pink Lemonade, making it a favorite!
Also very popular with girls who love to knit.
gauge:  light worsted to worsted

 Claire's Blue Ice 2.4 oz $18.60
Very popular/trendy color...bouncy and soft!  One left!
gauge: light worsted

 Purple Handspun-hard to keep in stock as this shade of purple goes with nearly everything!
2.9 oz $22.48, 2.2 oz $17.05, 3.4 oz 26.35
gauge: light worsted

Oreo-moorit fading to musket Shetland ewe-outstanding heathered natural color!
Very soft! 2.4 oz $17.40, 2.4 $17.40 (they are the same)
gauge: worsted
SOLD!

 Three headbands left-black yarn is from Mona (very soft Shetland ewe)
blue trim is crochet coopworth, flowers from various sources (made by me).
Flowers are securely sewn on.  Popular with women and girls alike!
$12.95 each 
 Lerwick-wonderfully soft Shetland ram (see his photo on side of blog)
2.5 oz $18.13, 2.7 oz $19.58, 2.4 oz $18.00
gauge: light worsted
Color is black with grey heathering-outstanding! 

 Mona-soft black Shetland ewe
Her whole fleece sold out in one purchase last year as yarn!  Very little left.
2.4 oz $18., 2.9 oz $21.75, 2 oz $15.
Gauge: light worsted
Second and Third Skein, SOLD!

Here is an example of combining natural Shetland colors with dyed colors.
This is two skeins Mona with the remaining Claire's Pink Lemonade.
See prices above.

 Two skeins Lerwick with one skein purple.  Gorgeous! (see prices above)
 Two skeins Oreo with remaining skein Claire's Blue Ice.  Lovely! (see prices above)
Two skeins Oreo with one skein purple-in real vision, colors are soft and harmonious...lovely!

That's today's start!  There are more skeins, and some knitted goods that I'd like to move on, to make way for our 2013 clip.  Claire will be ready to shear by the end of the month, and so will our new little mini-flock that belongs to someone else.  They don't roo, so can be sheared anytime.  The Dailley-descended Shetlands cannot be sheared until late May at the earliest, because they roo (fleece rises based on daylight), unless I cannot wait, but then they would need to be resheared (which I've been known to do :).  No...I have no genuine Shetlands rooing "early"! giggle, giggle

Have a good day everyone, and hope you found something you like!
P.S.  Yes it's true, for those of you who know her, little Hepatica went to school last night as an ambassador before an audience of about 75 people!  She did a great job, except for that little part where she almost chewed on the microphone cord...:)

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