Wheely Wooly Farm: Sheep can do funny things to you...

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.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Sheep can do funny things to you...

It's shearing time on Wheely Wooly Farm. Not only are we busy with getting long awaited fiber off the sheep, but we are busy keeping records of what we raise. These combined processes take much effort, and are not for the large scale producer. As I study over what we've raised and make my notes as I work with the fiber to an end stage product, I have some observations, about me!:

*I really love sheep. I love their temperments. I love their sounds. I love what they require of me, and I love what they give me. Funny. I would not have pegged myself as being a shepherd back in those years of "So what are you going to do when you grow up?" Shepherdess was not even an option. Funny.

*I am thrilled with the sheep I've selected. Before I had my own flock, I spun and knit. I took classes and did all that fun stuff (still do). I wanted to spend the rest of my life learning and growing in knitting and spinning. Funny. (!) Few breeds can do that for you like Shetlands. This breed is going to keep me busy for a very long time! The spinning and knitting skills the Shetlanders had historically are NOT learned overnight!! This is not a breed for one who moves onto new kinds of projects frequently. It never was and still is not today a cull-like-mad-to-improve kind of breed. Fortunately, because it takes time to acquire good Shetland-type knitting skills, I have time to get it right in my flock. My goal is to raise fleeces that mirror what I've learned about in the past. There are some modern things in life I really love. Modern sheep are not one of them. The more I experience modern "breeds" of sheep, the more I've come to realize they've lost their sparkle.

*I've come to learn how intimately linked fiber is with the end product it is used in. If you want to create genuine Shetland knitted garments, you cannot really use a different breed's fiber, or even crossbred fiber. The fiber of other breeds dilutes the special qualities of Shetland. This awareness can turn you into a Shetland fanatic!! Suddenly, you notice lace patterns you would have skipped over before. Things in life around you suddenly get transposed onto grid paper...to see if a nice pattern would emerge! You think about clarity in yarn characteristics. And bounce. And elasticity. And strength. You think about things that no one else in your circles understands...you're suddenly speaking greek to them!

*I've turned into a scrutinizer of old photos! Me! I love looking back, but I'd rather be outside than study photos! Things can sure change. There are many great old photos to look at. My favorite is of a woman shearing a sheep on her lap while wearing wooden shoes.

*You start thinking a sheep is attractive! Take Lil' Rainbow, for example (previous blog entry). She looks a lot like Dr. James Bowie's tup...a photo taken around 1910. She has that wild Shetland look to her; a sheep from a wild place. Her color is like a rainbow...so sensationally colorful....so rarely seen. Her fleece is long, soft, fine. It drapes about her. She sparkles.

There is so much more! Sheep really can do funny things to you. Watch out! You might be next!

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What is Shetland Fiber?

Wheely Wooly Farm strives to breed for wool as described on the historic 1927 Breed Standard, which was created and written in the Shetland Islands. Our breeding stock exhibits fleece just as the Standard demands of us: extra fine, soft texture, longish, wavy, and well closed. Our fleeces will have short, crimpy neck wool, longish and wavy midside wool, with little or no crimp in the even longer britch wool. This historic fleece type gives you a wide range of textile capabilities, of which is well documented, photographed, and archived in the Shetland Island Museum (see link below).

Shetland fiber does not carry much "grease", making it easy to wash. Because of it's soft texture and fineness, it does not felt easily, making it great for socks! Stockings (socks, sometimes covering up over the knee) in fact, were one of the primary famed textiles produced. Stockings were just one of many types of textiles that were subjected to inspections, receiving a stamp of approval before they could be sold. Shetland fleeces are desired by hand spinners for long, easy to spin, tiny fibers. The longish, wavy midside wool easily drafts out of your hand in a way you won't forget!

We do not breed for the modern milling goals which claim wavy means crimpy, or that longish means short, as written by an organization outside of the Shetland Islands in modern times. Read why in our June 30, 2011 blog entry.

We also do not micron test our fleeces. Micron testing has been a useful tool in most other sheep breeds, but most other breeds produce wool for carpet, industrial flame-proof clean up cloths, lining for firefighter gear, or insulation for highly flammable vehicles such as trains and airplanes. We feel mircon testing takes the emphasis off the handle of the fleece, which goes against making good selections for breeding in one of the world's premier hand spinning/hand knitting/garment breeds.

We are confident our careful breeding program, adherance to the historic 1927 Breed Standard guidelines, and our textile skills will provide you with the utmost quality of fine fleeces and yarns, so you can enjoy a truly Shetland experience!

"...your wool has made a great diaper cover for our 3 month old son. It's nice to know he is wearing a truly natural product! Big smile and Thank you!" Michelle

"I made mittens with Wheely Wooly Yarn, then put them in a silent auction. They sold for $250! Thanks for making such beautiful yarn!" Lisa

Angela wrote us:

"I could not stop myself enjoying your yarn and already finished my first project which will go to my friend...thank you"!

Bill stopped at our booth and said:

"My wife made the hat I wanted from your natural colors and I love it! Makes winter seem not so bad!

Our Farm

Our family farm is located on a hill in the lush prairie lands of east, central Wisconsin, where we enjoy four distinct seasons and a seemingly endless supply of summer grasses, except in drought! We are surrounded by old oak forests, bountiful spring woodland flowers, quiet roads, and clean quiet lakes with a popular river nearby for fishing. We started a flock of sheep several years ago, deciding to breed up our own lambs for flock growth. Heritage hens grace our chicken coop, providing us with fresh eggs and garden companionship. A raspberry patch planted near the coop gives us plentiful berries for the winter. The hens are superb weeders under the canes, which we much appreciate. Two horses graze down the extra grass ahead of the sheep, one being a very cute black and white pony. We also keep two dairy does for fresh milk and yogurt. Behind our historic 1800's white farmhouse we've planted a vegetable garden. Each year, we can't imagine winter without our tomatoes, peas, peppers, potatoes, onions, soup beans, pumpkins, zucchini, sunflowers, and cucumbers. Two geese have now been employed as weeders there, Pomander the Gander and Hyssop the Goose. A separate garden does it's best to contain exuberant mounds of herbs. Lavender also grows there. To the west are two standard apple trees, to the north a treasured pear tree and an even more treasured peach tree to the south! The barns are patrolled by two feline guards, who sleuth around corners and stake out holes. We treasure them! Each morning, we rise to the crows of our robust roosters. We'll never tire of that! Our work days are long here, with challenges popping up all the time, but it can all be solved in a hurry with a tall cold glass of water in the shade of our old-fashioned front porch!

How we manage our flock

Our flock of purebred Shetland sheep, one dairy ewe, and one wether who thinks he's a pet dog do not leave our farm except for educational purposes with youth groups in non-agricultural settings. Most of the flock has been carefully selected from small, private, non-traveling flocks over a period of years. We no longer take sheep to shows due to disease pressure, nor do we allow in transit sheep, loan out our animal transport vehicles, haul livestock, or allow animals to hold over at our farm. As a result, our flock has become soundly biosecure, with dramatically less exposure and risk for disease. All incoming additions are extensively quarantined and checked for disease. This assures our future lamb buyers of sound, healthy stock. I shear nearly all of our flock myself (another component to biosecurity) with hand blades when the rise is right (usually late May to early June), unless I'm excited for a particular fleece (which means re-shearing mid-summer). Neck wool is typically rooed, continuing throughout the fleece as the sheep is ready. Each sheep is named, halter trained, and tamed. Our rams are very personable, friendly, verbally interactive, respectful, and not afraid. We do not believe a terrified ram is healthy on any farm!! We never touch them on the top of their horns/heads, nor do we EVER use their horns as handlebars unless it's an absolute dire emergency. We keep extensive wool and health records. Fleeces on hoof are checked frequently so that we may keep a watchful eye on the health of our sheep, and what we're producing. The sheep are rotationally grazed April through October, then penned for winter. Each night, they are run into our large pole building for predator security. They also stay penned in the shed during wicked winter storms, or if the pastures are too wet in spring, never in mud. It's all a lot of work, but it's done so that we can assure our customers with the utmost biosecurity and quality in your purchases!

International Show Your Shawl Day
Show the world how beautiful your shawls
are by wearing them for the day! Have you knit

a beautiful shawl, but it's in storage somewhere

'cause you're afraid to wear it?

Has someone gifted a special shawl to you

for a special reason, but you're afraid to wear

it? Well girls! It's time to take them out, show

them off, talk about them, share them,

and put them to use!

Mark your calendars for the next date!

Coming October 14, 2017!!

We changed the date from September to October to coincide with our sale on beautiful Wheely Wooly Farm Wraps! We'll need them, for it'll be cold!

Shetland Sheep: Rich in History, Rich in Textiles

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Sheep can do funny things to you...

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