Wheely Wooly Farm: Shetland Yarn for Sale! (and others)

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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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

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Shetland Yarn for Sale! (and others)

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