Variety is the spice of life!

As many of you already know, we love Shetland sheep, but from the very start of our farm, we did not want to limit ourselves to just one breed.  After spending a few years building our Shetland flock to where we most wanted it, it was time to migrate into other kinds of fun, and fun it has been!

An interesting thing about sheep...coarse wool sells.  I'm not sure WHY that is, but it is amazingly so.  We did not carry coarser wools from down breeds until recently.  Yet we noticed that farms that specialize in coarser wools are doing quite well in a down economy.  Why is that?  It was a fun puzzle to look into!

One thing I have longed to do is get into the down breeds of fiber and play around.  What fun we've had!  Here is a sock I made recently with down wool.  A barely carded sample of fluff sits next to it to give you an example of staple length.  Staples run about two and a half inches, fresh off a lamb.  A twelve month clip would be at least double that.

This yarn is a handspun 2-ply of about light worsted weight.  It is very easy to spin this fiber finely, but surprisesuprise!  The very crimpy, cushy nature of the fibers pops the yarn up into a much thicker gauge than one might expect. (Not all down breeds do this.)  Upon learning about it, I went out and bought myself some of these sheep and I've been enthralled with them ever since!  I've already wintered over with socks from this breed and WWOOOWWW!  I'm HOOKED! :)  I guess you'd have to be a yarnie to understand such fun and rewarding obsessions....

Purple Cushy Socks with pink trim, knitted on size 4 dbl pts.

Winter?  What winter? lol

In my early years with Shetlands, I kept hearing a certain group of people fiestly stating nobody WANTS coarser wools.  That always puzzled me because people specializing in breeds that produce coarser wools are doing great...have floored the sheep community in fact.  After years of selling to the public now, I have a more accurate picture of what people go for, and well...that fiesty group was just plain wrong.  So I have made it a point to raise all types of fibers, from cobwebby to coarse.  Variety truly has been the spice of life for this yarnie!!

I do believe that with these socks, you can actually trick your feet into believing winter never came.  My cushy socks were put to the test in one of the coldest winters on record here.  I do believe we had over 60 nights well below zero, and too much snow to boot!  Now Shetland socks are equally awesome, and I rely heavily on them to get my outside chores done, but these socks have the high honors of passing the test, too.

It is always fun to try new fibers and expand your yarnie experiences.  This has been a very fun adventure that is just beginning.  There is much more exploring to do and funny, there just does not seem to be enough time in the day to do it all!  Variety truly is the spice of life.

Blazing yellow/orange maple leaves brighten the autumn landscape.

Coming off the wheel...Honey, who is now all spun, and an old fleece from Starlight, which is spinning up like silk!  Very silky.  Also, lots of down wool for wheely warm winter socks.  Whirly (Wheely Wooly Whirlwind) and Lacey are now sold out.  If you are looking for Whirly-type yarn, Lerwick has two or three skeins left that are similiar.  They are 'brothers'.

Hope you are all knitting the projects of your dreams everyone!  If any of you figure out how to add hours to the day for more yarnie fun, please let us know...will you?

Geese, Fall Color, and Swirly Whirly Mittens

Beautiful fall has come to Wheely Wooly Farm, and a gorgeous one it has been so far!  The grass has been very green, the trees have turned vivid colors rich in reds, oranges, yellows and light greens, and the days have been a calm, peaceful warm.

Today, I'll throw in a picture of the geese, as our geese blog entries have been so popular.  We love our geese.  They are very hardy, cheap to feed, and they clean up under the apple trees first thing in the morning, doing a better job than any human has ever done.  The two vacuum cleaners with them (the ducks) are outstanding on a small farm.  They vacuum up so many bad bugs that I don't know how we got along without them!  Pleasant to have around, cheap to feed, and very hardy, I could only add one complaint...they like to muddy up the hens water, so keep hen water separate from the geese and ducks.

Pommander in front, Hyssop behind, and the vacuum cleaners.

This year, Hyssop gave us 42 eggs!

 After ample moisture this summer, our fall colors are outstanding!

Whirlwind's Swirly Mittens

Made from a purebred Shetland ram (black) and Claire's dyed blue trims.

Whirly (Wheely Wooly Whirlwind...a twin born during a passing tornado) has a rich black color to his fiber, with the brown barely, barely noticable.  His fiber is very soft and ideal for mittens.  His fleece has unbelievable density to it and takes me much more time to shear as the more blows I make, the more the fiber just keeps coming off one spot.  He has sired some beautiful lambs for us that are keepers, including Pansey, the cute little white ewe!  Whirly threw lots of twins himself, and his own twin, Maewyn, has been a valuable addition to our flock.  Whirlwind was named by a family member who was taking shelter in our barn during the passing storm, and asked if he could name this little lamb Whirlwind.  It was quite a day!

The mittens are a pretty basic pattern.  I spun the yarn on my wheel (the whole fleece) into two ply with a bit of a loose twist...typical of my style.  I love soft, warm yarns and I hate to throw too much twist in and tighten up the natural beauty of Shetland yarn too much.  This style makes for a loftier yarn that traps more warmth, so badly needed here in the midwest, where temps in winter can suck every ounce of happiness out of your being in a hurry, like the wind! lol  The swirly blue flowers are crocheted from Claire's yarn.  She is not a Shetland of course, but her yarn paired nicely with Whirly's.  The big swirly flower helps block the wind from that part of the hand.  Someone pointed out that the flowers make perfect nose swipes....giggle giggle.  Ok!  I guess that would work, too!  These high performing mittens were not hard to make and anyone could do it with just two skeins of Wheely Wooly Farm yarn.  Be sure to find yarn that is of light worsted to worsted weight to be warm enough around here.  I knit these mittens on size 4 double points.  If you don't know how to crochet the flowers, we have them made and ready for you in a variety of colors!  Just hand sew them on when the mittens are finished.

(Speaking of Maewyn and looser twist, I made myself a pair of mittens from Maewyn's fleece a couple of years ago.  They are my barn mittens, that take frozen metal stall latches, iced up water bucket handles, stinky creatures, and mud...lots of mud...slimy dog sticks, lambing, and all sorts of other daily barn scenarios.  Despite the looser twist, these mittens are still in perfect, functional use!  Trust me...they go through more than anyone else practically could throw at them! lol  We are confident that your mittens will last you many happy years.)

Customers who have tried on these mittens have described them as 'heavenly', 'soft!', 'cozy', and 'the snuggiest mittens I've ever experienced'.   Try some Wheely Wooly Farm yarns for yourself and make a pair for everyone in your family!  What a wonderful way to love them all, with a cozy, warm pair of mittens!

(Did you know?  Mittens are a fast knit, and patterns are everywhere.  There is plenty of time to make a pair for family members in time for the holidays if you hurry!)

Check out CUTE diaper cover!

Check out the photo of the cute diaper cover sent in by happy customer, Michelle.  Isn't it CUTE! (Right side of blog by customer testimonials)

Wheely Wooly Farm yarns are known for their softness and other wonderful natural qualities.  Come check us out this weekend at the farm market, as we gear up for knitters' favorite season and see for yourself!  We will be bringing old favorites, new yarns, and new colors to select from for scarves.  So browse your patterns, scope out the condition of your worn out hatsglovesmittenssockssweatersetc. and head on down to pick up some new yarn that will replace all the old stuff!

Don't forget your christmas list!  (For others, silly!)  Actually, keep yourself in mind for a sweet christmas gift of yarn for a new pair of mittens or socks or a new hat for yourself!  Knitters so often forget to knit new stuff for themselves, so this holiday season, don't forget your own personal list!  And don't forget to get something for the other knitters and crocheters in your life.  Wheely Wooly Farm yarns have become favorite packages in their lightness under the tree, yet are so special and talked about upon opening...and just like in our booth every weekend...every one's gotta squeeze the yarn!  What a nice gift to give.

Pictures of Whirly's swirly flower mittens coming next, as promised, but we just wanted to point out the world's cutest diaper cover first.

Happy planning for knitting season everyone and we'll see you Saturday!