Pretty bobbins full of yarn!

As promised, here are the pictures of pretty bobbins full of yarn I've made lately, as well as Wilbur and his fiber/yarn.

Pretty roving, fun to spin (Coopworth)

Next is silly Wilbur's fiber. For those new to our blog, Wilbur is a Shetland cross wether we purchased to be a buddy for our then ram lamb, Wooly Bear. They have been together ever since and get along great for two reasons: first, Wooly Bear is a very gentle guy, and second, Wilbur is bigger! Wilbur acts as the "Lassie" of the farm...in fact, some days we can let him loose when we are around gardening and doing things, and he follows us around just like a collie. It's fun!

Wilbur's fiber close up

Notice the light tips? I really like that in a yarn. Fun!

Wilbur last spring, with Honey behind him

Wilbur...got his name from Charlotte's Web...

Next comes the yarn. Below is some Coopworth roving (dyed) two-ply, spun at about four stitches per inch for a project, and natural Cormo fiber. Watch out! Felts fast!! Otherwise, Cormo is lovely to work with. It seems best for items not worn much between the fast felting, and the extreme fineness of it, making it less durable. But very pleasant to work with.

Cormo and Coopworth (dyed)

Now comes more Coopworth, and Wilbur's yarn in the middle (all singles yarns). His natural colors are very pretty, creating that beautiful variegation I love so much. I do find it fascinating when a fiber has white, glossy tips, then color changes down the staple the closer you get to the skin side. Fun!

I know, I know...I'm a chronic bobbin over-loader....!

Hope you enjoyed seeing what's been on my bobbins most recently!

What's on my bobbin

It's been a very busy week here at Wheely Wooly Farm! Not only have we had lots to do, but we've had some pretty interesting weather to ride out as well. Wouldn't you know, it came just when we were scheduled to be on the road traveling! Sigh....

So anyway, the fleece on my wheel today belongs to our goofy wether, Wilbur. He's sort of a "Lassie"-type personality, and we love him. I sheared him last spring and am just now beginning to spin his fiber. It's pretty on the wheel...picture coming tomorrow.

The big storm that was amazing was first thought to miss us. Then, as the wind began screaming and snow flying sideways, the reports started coming in that we'd get hit with more than originally thought. We were ready. I had run the boys in the day before, just in case. Here again, I'm so grateful I've taught my sheep to be ok with handling! I haltered Wooly Bear and all together, we bounded through the drifts to get to the barn. They were afraid and stuck together as though glued together, but once their little hooves hit the concrete in the barn, they leaped and leaped! Tearing around the corner, they made their way right into their pen and found a smorgasbord of supper. It's extremely cozy to have everyone tucked in the barn with the wind raging outside, and sheepies contentedly chewing cud inside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every year, about this time, I start getting worried about the quality of fleece I'm raising here. Things don't seem as soft or spinnable.......but then I just touch the fleeces and I'm again reminded that the fleeces are FROZEN! Yes, the fleeces get stiff right on the sheep's backs. Of course, the fiber never feels as soft when this happens! Then, on a day like today, the fleeces start thawing out a bit and I just can't keep my hands off their backs! And I stop worrying.

So the storm raged all night long, shaking the house and reducing visibility to nearly nothing. The morning dawned with bad news...schedules were all changed around and we were supposed to hit the road! Everyone in the barn was fine, but the snow had blown in through every little seam and crack it could find...I had to SHOVEL the barn aisle! After we got out on the road, I was shocked. I have never seen such tall drifts...some as high as the tops of road signs. The crest of our hill was nearly drifted shut. Driving through was a tight squeeze while bashing newly forming mini-drifts with tires at the same time. Now, a day later, the road is still virtually one lane through there. I don't know how the plows can possibly fix that! The drifts there are over five feet tall. Amazing! The rest of the road was terribly drifted but the plows worked hard to get it all cleaned away.

We ended up going on our trip because our farm was close to the northern edge of this amazing and massive storm, and we were headed north. Sure enough, within a few short miles, we were out of it! AMAZING! Just a normal bright, sunny, mild winter day there!

So we made our trip just fine, and the schedules all worked out, but I have to admit, this storm scared me on some deeper level. I've grown up with storms, but this one was just different somehow.....

Tomorrow...pictures of dyed yarns on the bobbins, and Wilbur's fiber. Fun!

Everything You Once Learned, You Learned in Elementary School....

Thank you to the one sane person! Isn't this getting just SICKENING?

It is a shame our breed of sheep has to be manipulated by such a greedy group! I'm so glad our new representatives are committed to sparing us of that shiny new breed (and the nasty people who come with them)!

The Shetland sheep breed organization in North America is under vicious assault right now. Camp roll call!! Who knew sheep could attract such people? Usually, sheep attract gentle people...

...pardon me everyone...

Dear readers...please excuse me for a minute:



cough, gag, cough, gag................................we all see right through it...............



gag, gag, cough, gag

I don't blame them.....

I really don't blame them! I can understand why school children in the Shetland Islands are no longer being taught knitting techniques in school. SAD!!! no doubt, and a terrible cultural tragedy, but I can certainly understand why! Here in America, we play with our sheep's fiber in liberty and freedom. We are allowed to try, explore, discover what Shetland people have perfected for centuries (it's gonna take me YEARS to "catch up", if that's ever even possible!). It's fun for us. But Shetlanders know realities we cannot really comprehend. Those realities are still so fresh, but I hope that with the infiltration of money into the area's culture in modern times, the people there can come to grips with their cultural treasure and keep it going! As an American far, far away, I can only beg them to find the money! I know I cannot really understand....but I'm gonna beg anyway! Please! Restore knitting to your schools! (would it help to know I'm a professional educator?)

Below is a picture of Lil' Rainbow's finished socks. I crocheted a picot edge around the top of the cuffs loosely, to retain elasticity. Pretty! Then, as soon as the picture taking was done, they were on my feet and I was out the door! Heaven! Warmth! Cush! Lovely! I'm so glad to have them!

Lil' Rainbow's socks with crocheted flower and crocheted picot edge

Notice how the white fades on a darker background? I absolutely love the color dynamics of Shetland fiber! Each sheep changes year to year. Each fleece is different as the colors change, giving the spinner a wealth of color to play with on the wheel! I'm most entertained with how the colors so amazingly pair together. Entertains me for hours! (I'm sorry, but I know I'm the queen of exclamation points!!)

For those of you who know us and correspond with us on our family email, please note our address has changed this week. You can reach us by emailing us for the time being at wheelywooly@gmail.com. And one last thing...hey Corey K.! If you're on, give us an email! We'd LOVE to hear from you!

And yes, Carumba is still a possible sale and is as pretty as always. She's having a good winter.

It's my lucky day!

I love it when things happen like this! Today, I found some leftover Lil' Rainbow fiber in a bag. After thinking about it a minute, I remember now that I had some of her britch wool left. Yippee! Below is a picture of her lovely yarn on the bobbin; not britch wool but midside. It is very soft, fine, and alive!

Lil' Rainbow's fiber spun last summer...now all sold out

This scarf is knitted with Coopworth handspun yarn I made, which I trimmed with a crocheted picot edge of Lil' Rainbow's handspun yarn. It was really pretty! It sold right away.Handspun, handmade accent scarf with Coopworth and Shetland wool

Below are some shots I just took of her britch wool I found today. The whitish fibers are very characteristically Shetland soft, with amazing life and dynamism to them! It is really amazing fiber! They spin easy, and sit in the yarn nicely...just as you'd expect of Shetland, and the yarn is SOFT!. Notice how, even though it's britch wool, the wave remains in the staple length...body to tip! Wave, the key word on our breed standard, means rounded ups and downs like waves on the ocean, not kinky (more angular or kinked, like merino or rambouillet). It means wavy, not spherical (twisting in a spiral as some other breeds do). It is also not curly. These differences make for lovely movement in the yarn.

Lil' Rainbow's britch wool (on hips and rear legs)
measures 7 to 8 inches long

Every Shetland sheep is a primitive sheep, unless it's been crossbred to have fleece of a more modern type. (That means if you hear people say they have Shetlands, with some primitives, they are saying they have SOME genuine sheep, and who knows what else!) We love the diversity in fiber the genuine breed supplies BECAUSE it's a primitive breed. The more modern fleeces are lovely, too, but they just don't have the handle (movement, dynamism, fineness, softness, lightness) the primitive fibers have. The more modern fiber is a different experience, lovely as well, but different. I've also noticed that other breeds with wavy fiber just don't have the handle the primitive Shetlands have. Other breed's wavy fiber is thicker, heavier, and sometimes spherical. It's just different in a way I cannot always explain.

The tips of Lil' Rainbow's britch wool...notice the wave! :))))

I love to "spin the world". I've now spun Wensleydale, Cotswold, Rya wool, Teeswater, Lincoln, Icelandic, Corriedale, Dorset, German Dike, ramboul., the leicesters, Clun, and other's I'm not remembering immediately off the top of my head. How lucky I feel to have access to this wonderful world of spinning!! I am always amazed at how each type of fiber has such a different feel to them! I didn't make it very long in the other breeds, before I came back to Shetlands! In fact, I've really enjoyed traveling this last two years to many, many fiber shops. As I study the fiber available in these shops (including some Shetland), I've come to realize how lucky I am to have these Shetland sheep! Wait! Dare I say.....my BELOVED Shetland sheep!.......

(giggle, giggle!!!)

Thanks to all for the compliments and caring well wishes with Wink in comments! Much appreciated!

Uhoh...

We are having a cold snap here on Wheely Wooly Farm. The lowest temps of the winter have quietly fallen upon us. It can get a lot colder than this, but it's about 10 degrees below zero out there through the night. When things get like this, we check on everyone more often and replace water buckets more frequently. Last night, I was out there at 11:30. The moon was sensationally bright and I could see every little thing just fine, it seemed. I noticed little Cosmo was driven away from the other boys and was laying down against the fence some distance away. Worried he couldn't stay warm by the others, I decided to observe for a bit. He was chewing his cud and giving me cute glances, so after watching a while, I decided things were ok. Just as I began turning to walk away, Wink got up....on three legs.....and stood there with his rear tucked way under him in a half sit! Uhoh!!! I watched him a few minutes. He had been sleeping in the middle of a wooly pack of all the rams and Wilbur, seemingly tucked in nice and warm. Why would he be on three legs?? As the others got up and walked around, it was obvious something was wrong with Wink.

So I ran up to the house to get help, just in case. I knew I'd need to do an expert snatch of him to get him out of the pen without getting whacked myself! He's shy, and usually takes a minute for me to catch him, so this was going to have to be well thought out to get him. Silly Wilbur, who is the official greeter of the BoyPen came right over and thankfully, Wink followed just behind. As I scratched Wilbur's chin and petted his back, Wink came closer. Holding my breath, I carefully slipped my hands out of my mittens and let them drop. In this kind of cold, hands can freeze in moments, so this had to be effective! As Wink turned his head to look at Wooly Bear, I quickly reached out and SNATCHED a good, gentle, firm hold of his horn (something I NEVER do unless it's an emergency)!!!! Whew! Got 'im! I quickly walked him sideways, grabbed a chunk of wool above his hip and with his horn and wool, expertly swiped him over the fence before he even knew what was happening!!!!!!!...before anyone else could whack us! Whew!! Carefully, I set him down and put the waiting halter on him, just to make sure he couldn't get loose. He seemed quiet, agreeable, and grateful for the attention. After a sweet chin rub and chest scratch, I carried him into the barn across the path we've worn to the ram pen. He remained very quiet and seemed happy for the attention.

Inside the barn, we checked him over good as he continued to crouch and hold his leg up under his belly, then walked him around slowly to get him warmed up. He began putting weight on his rear again, and started using his hind leg...slowly. There was no evidence of any problems with structure. At first, I had wondered if he had been whacked by someone else and was hurt. I stayed with him for quite awhile to help him warm up. After awhile, he seemed ok again, so after lots of scratches under his chin and all his itchies, I carried him back out to the others, swiftly lifted him over the fence, and let him "leap" off the rock of my arms back to the other boys. All seemed fine, and the other boys acted like nothing had happened.

This morning, things continued to look like nothing had happened, and he seemed fine. Not sure what happened there! I did notice that the snow the boys had slept on overnight had actually melted into egg-shaped depressions with hard ice underneath and on the sides! I guess they are warm out there! Turns out Cosmo was fine...it was Winker that needed some help! Observations pay off! So does handling your sheep when there is no emergency, so if something goes wrong, they are not stressed out by the handling! Whatever happened, I'm just glad everything is ok tonight....