Wheely Wooly Farm: January 2015

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.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Forecasting

Well we here at Wheely Wooly Farm hope the new year is finding you fulfilled in satisfying results of your new year's resolutions! Thank goodness for the fun of this dreamy time of year to help alleviate the winter ills, right?

Speaking of winter ills, our weather has had it's ups and downs. One week, we are in nasty cold, and the tree frog syndrome of mittens and fingers sticking to everything returns. That gecko feeling is not my favorite, but you do it and get through it. The sheep were fine during the cold. When the wind howled (air temps deep into the teens below zero, with wind chills in the 30's or more below zero), we brought them in to keep their ears warm. They are VERY appreciative! lol The next week, things get milder and everyone goes back outside. Chickadees are hoping around, and an occasional owl is heard hooting off in the far distance. Sheep are peaceful...laying down, chewing cud, only to occasionally stand and shake out their fleeces, or wander over for a chin scratch and sweet nothings.

Speaking of ups and downs, something that is definitely on the way up is trends in fabrics and food. There is MUCH excitement out there regarding healthy foods and clothing! What a wonderful time to be in sheep! More and more people are coming to appreciate the value of wool. In fact, some have told me it's like a new discovery for them, having grown up with synthetic clothing. The discovery of real wool really puts everything else into perspective! It's like store bought cookies sitting stale in sealed packages, with a chemically after taste verses fresh, gooey homemade cookies hot out of the oven. Wool performs in ways that astonish. Some have told me they feel that wearing wool was the first time they ever felt true warmth, and that they won't be without wool ever again! Funny, that's how I feel! :)

Wool is a sustainably produced product that comes from sheep, who are outstanding in environmental sensitivity to soils, flora and fauna. In fact, that is another trend to watch, how sheep build and protect soils. Don't believe a little sheep farmer? Just take a drive in the country to see all the topsoil in bare, exposed fields blown onto snow, on roads, on houses, cars, and in ditches far from the fields. It pains us to see such loss. If you head to the researchers, they are desperately seeking solutions to preserving, and stopping the loss of topsoils. Sheep are IT! I love sheep. Sheep do it all. You won't see erosion like that on a sheep farm!

So unlike our weather, sheep are on a long run up. They provide us with a farming model that protects and preserves soils, plants, wildlife, and water. They happily give us high performance clothing of super high quality. They feed us incredibly healthful foods. Have you ever noticed that the most powerful and wealthy cultures on the planet rose out of sheep diets? Sheep yield important byproducts that all of us would miss (pill casings, buttons, crayons, shampoo, etc.), and don't forget what the image of sheep peacefully grazing on nice pasture does for the mind. It's an image that has endured through the ages. Humans love sheep.

The forecasting by trend experts has caught on. Sheep fever has never gone away. It will always be with us. And as more people emerge from synthetic lives and learn the facts, sheep are on the up and up.

Want to support your local sheep farmer? You can find us at the Appleton Farmer's Market, or contact us for on-farm sales. We thank you for your support!

Friday, January 2, 2015

Happy Wool Year!

As wool becomes an increasingly popular fabric of choice for warmth, ease of movement, and good health, we here at Wheely Wooly Farm are stepping up to meet your needs! Our flock of genuine Shetland sheep work hard grazing, leaping, and chewing cud all year to bring you those amazing yarns that have become your favorites. In a time of flu troubles and wild climate woes, why wear cold clothes when you can wear warm clothes, right? Lucky us that have figured that out! lol

The benefits of wool are black and white, and right before our eyes!

Wheely Wooly Farm has a VERY busy year planned ahead...I think it's pretty safe to say the shepherds will not be ruminating in the pastures with the sheep much this summer.

Wool really does hang from trees around here!

We wish you all a very happy new year full of the fun, hopes and dreams the promise of a new year brings! Hug every buddy, laugh, snuggle up in your cozy wool, and put those dreams to work till the warmer days return. It indeed is going to be a Happy Wool Year!

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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!