Month: April 2013

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Shorter Locks This Year

black wool locks

I usually have all the sheep sheared in June and have done so since I got them 6+ years ago.  This year, under the advisement of my wonderful shearer John Sanchez, I had them sheared in April.  This has given me a 10 month growth coat instead of the regular 12 month growth.  I have lost a considerable amount of length in my locks because of this.  In some cases up to 3″ less.

black wool locks
Still soft and bouncy and full of luster!

I am concerned that hand spinners won’t be as drawn to these locks now because they are shorter staple.  Even though I have to say they are the cleanest fleeces I have ever gotten from my flock.  I will be selling the washed and picked locks as I have before online at my Etsy store.  I am interested to see how these shorter locks do compared to the long ones of last year.

If they are as well received I might like to move even to two shearings a year to get cleaner wool and more of it from my fiber sheep. But I also definitely want to keep my hand-spinning and fiber enthusiast customers happy.  I will post the responses I get.  Fingers crossed.

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Shearing Day!

sheep and shearer

Always a stressful and exciting and stressful day for both me and the sheep comes every spring on shearing day.  The sheep must be kept off food till they are done and packed tightly into stalls to await their turn.  When I first got my Wensleydale’s I imagined that I would eventually shear them all myself.  But since the first time I witnessed the hard work and finesse of a professional shearer I have since changed my tune.  A good shearer is worth his weight in gold and I tip mine heavily to be sure he wants to come back next year!

 

shearing day april 2013 202
Sheep waiting anxiously
sheep and shearer
Two down, thirty two to go!

 

 

 

 

 

carole skirting fleece
Look at this amazing fleece!
sheep in pasture
All done and happy to be in the green grass.

 

 

 

 

 

All the fleeces must have to be skirted before they are bagged to remove all the dirty bits and vegetation that has found it’s way into the fleece.  This is a delightful time to see what has been growing all year and the results of months of energy.  I had never seen the Karakuls shorn before and so it was fun to see what they looked like under that lofty coat!  The photo of the gorgeous fleece shown above is from a shy sheep named Ferdinand.  His fleece is large and absolutely unique.  He is a Karakul, Romeny, Wensleydale cross and the attributes of each show up in his beautiful fiber!