10.11.2012

three bags full

The lambs have been sheared for the first time in their little wooly lives. Ayana and I were planning on watching many youtube videos and then going for it on our own, but several kind and concerned women thought that could be rather dangerous for my sheep. So, I stuffed away my pride,  relented, and hired a shearer. I am so glad I did. She was strong and fast, professional and kind. She showed us the very basics of the job, making it look viciously easy in only the paradoxical way things that are extraordinarily difficult can appear. 

Now I have this wool. Something to consume myself with this winter when we are more confined to the indoors than we would like. It hasn't snowed yet. And, I won't be starting this until it does. But once the snow falls, I must skirt the fleece. Then scour it. Then card and comb it. Then spin it. Then weave it. I have the vainglorious aim of weaving a proper rug out of it all. Who knows? Though, I must say, I am rather excited about this very small but very new chapter of farming that I am adding to our mix. Handwoven Icelandic wool rugs from Vermont. That's something I could someday sell to you city folk, yes?

17 comments:

  1. They look rather happy without their wool, I think.

    I have to keep telling myself how extraordinarily cold it's bound to be where you are - because it is so hard not to want to jump into that glorious Autumnal wonderland of a picture.

    shalan

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  2. this is exactly the reason why i want to have sheeps!
    I dream of this while living big city life...

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  3. Yay! I just visited our fiber mill (where I caved in and send our close to 40 pounds of wool to be made into roving) and they're making rug yarn. It's SO pretty. The husband weaves the most beautiful rugs with it and they're definitely a hot commodity. Now go get some sheep coats for your ladies so you won't be cursing yourself next shearing about how much winter hay they've managed to get in the whole fleece! ;)

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  4. and to us non-city folks! or in my case, the dreaming of having sheep, but have no bleeping idea how to keep them warm enough in the winter, folk.

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  5. Seems a bit late to be shearing, esp. north of here (PA)...ours are done April/May..they need to have enough time to grow a fleece to keep them warm this winter....

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  6. @mckenzie, good call on sheep coats, though, i can't imagine anything worse in their fleeces than the BURDOCK they got into last month. ugh. what do sheep coats look like?

    @lynda, my sheep are Icelandics and everyone up here who raises them shears twice a year; once in May and once in October. I was worried about the chilly winter too :) But I have been assured that they will be fine so long as they have a wind break. Their wool grows quite quickly. What sort of sheep do you have?

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  7. I would buy it! Wow, that's really exciting. Probably a good idea having a professional do the sheering first. Maybe next season you'll do it ;)

    - Sarah
    agirlintransit.blogspot.com

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  8. I love how slightly awkward they look without their wool. Such adorable little things.
    I would definitely want a wool rug, planning on shipping to England!?

    http://birdandanchor.blogspot.co.uk/

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  9. love the idea of the rug! sounds like a lotta work though...

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  10. Lovely wool with Icelandics!Cheviot, shetland cross and Romney..do you spin? You caan have gorgeous warm sweaters, hats,scarves,......!!!!!

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  11. Burdock sucks but at least you can pull a whole chunk out at a time. When they shove their bodies into the hay this winter you'll see what I mean. The tiny bits of hay and seeds work their way deep into the wool. Different kinds of wool pick it up more than others, but so far we've seen a HUGE difference in cleanliness with the coated sheep vs. uncoated. Depending on how often you're shearing, you'll need to have two to three per sheep as their wool grows. We started with one each and I'm about to invest in the next size up for them.

    Here's a link to where we got ours from so you can see a picture: http://www.rockysheep.com/sheepcover/

    If you get them, make sure to measure accurately from their neckline right above where their legs start to just above their tail. We got them WAY too big the first time round. Rocky's really good about returns though. :)

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  12. That does sound quite amazing. And those colors are already quite beautiful.

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  13. Your sheep are beautiful and their wool is wonderful. You live a magical life, i think! :)

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  14. wonderful photos, your lambs are beautiful, i love the face of the one in the second photo. :)

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  15. Hooray for ICELANDIC ANYTHING! I would certainly buy it!

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  16. oh my gosh i want to learn how to do all of that, too! dreaming of the days that i can sit with a cup of tea and my knitting needles... realllly soon. almost all cleaned up in the garden!

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