Under The Son Farm: Bouncing lamb video, for sale listings

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Bouncing lamb video, for sale listings

I did something fun today, at least I'm calling it that because it was actually not fun beforehand. The camera was slooooow responding, as in like a 5 second delay before the the picture was taken after depressing the button. Not happy. So, I tried a few movie clips for fun to see if it would work since the little girls were kicking up their heels anyway, running around and around the chicken pen (which I didn't capture).

I mainly wanted to take some pictures to show some of the lambs that we have for sale, but some of the sale lambs are in the barn lot area with the big girls with coats on. The ewe lambs here are the girls whose coats had to be ordered (the majority of the ewe lambs), but the coats came in a bit too big (the coats were resized and changed slightly by the manufacturer so I'm going to have to make modifications on them this week).

Here is the video that turned out. The big ewes are in the background barnlot with the coats on and they are watching the ewe lambs, patiently waiting for their dinner.

As you can see, we have a wide range of diversity in the ewe lambs with black, light and dark moorits, grey, black kats, lightbadgerface kat, moorit kat, and white. Fleeces range from very crimpy to wavy (as per breed standard range) in fine fleeces.

Here are a couple of the for sale ewe lambs today. The moorit directly in front is Tiffany (Anglaise/Torvus AI) and she is for sale as well as the white ewe lamb in the feed trough on the right (still unnamed out of SP Orchid/Cleggan AI - most likely spotted/carrying spots under that white).

There is also a dark grey katmoget, Boucle (Marina/WS 0923) in the video who is for sale (the really dark faced one). Two blacks, Tricot (Radisson/Apache) and Silk (Onyx/Apache - twin sister was Best Fleece on Hoof at the ISF) are in the barn.

Tori had taken some pictures of the for sale ewe lambs back in late October, so here they are.

Tricot

Silk

Orchid's

Tiffany

Tiffany's fleece

Please inquiry, if you are interested. Tori also has some of her ewe lambs for sale as well.

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Welcome to Under The Son blog!

There are about 100 Shetland sheep on our farm during the winter months and over 200 with the lambs in the spring time. All colors along with katmoget and gulmoget as well as a few spotted sheep are here on the farm. I specialize in breeding classic fine fleeced Shetlands that are the hallmark of the Shetland wool industry and have been for hundreds of years.

Blogs posted will be relevant to our Shetland sheep farm goals such as working towards a classic type fleece - a fine to very fine, dense, silky, lustrous, 3-6" Shetland fleece, raising conformational correct pure Shetlands and growthy Shetland cross market lambs, as well as all manner of Shetland fleece production through to the finished products.

I am a spinner, weaver, knitter, felter, crocheter, dyer, soaper and have done all manner of other crafty things such as basketry, beaded jewelry, sewing, quilting, cross-stitch, etc.

Wool for sale includes raw fleece, washed fleece, rovings, spinning batts, quilt or comfortor batts, felt yardage, handspun yarns, millspun yarns, and finished knitted, woven, or felted goods such as fingerless gloves, purses, scarves, shawls, ponchos, ruanas, vests, jackets, and blankets.

Vist my Ravelry group for even more information. http://www.ravelry.com/groups/fine-shetland-wool

About Shetland Sheep

Shetland sheep are a heritage breed dating back a thousand years or more and are related to Soay sheep. They have primitive characteristics such as a naturally short fluke shaped tail, wool that 'roos' or sheds in the springtime, small size, and fine bone. They are famous first and foremost for their fine, soft, naturally colored wool that is very lightweight and warm. This wool was one of the two pillars of the Shetland Island economy for centuries.

Shetlands, the 'kindly' (soft) wooled native breed of sheep, were preserved because the Shetland wool industry was facing extinction with the the infiltration of coarse long wooled big sheep on the island. Steps were taken, such as the writing of the breed standard and paid ram incentives, to ensure the existence of this rare native breed and the continued existence of the woolen industry that employed so many of the women of Shetland.

Garments made from breed standard 'kindly' Shetland wool can be next-to-the-skin soft scarves to warm, soft outerwear sweaters. It is a fine wool with crimp (called 'wave' by the writers of the standard) and is normally used for knitted garments with good memory such as stockings/socks, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, shawls, under clothing, and the famous Shetland sweaters. It is a 'longish' wool, around 3-6", depending on crimp. It is sometimes good for felting and some fleeces are very silky. As it is a heritage breed, there is quite a bit of diverseness found within the breed, especially in the colors and patterns that run the gamut of browns, blacks, greys, and white as well as spots and patterns. All in all, it is one of the premier handspinning fleeces to be found.

From the Shetland Sheep Society

"Shetland sheep have for generations been noted for their very soft and well crimped fleece. The wool is the finest of all native breeds and shows an amazing variety of colours and patterns. There are 11 main whole colours and 30 recognised markings.

By selecting from coloured fleeces a range of naturally coloured yarn can be produced. This eliminates the need for dyeing and therefore retains the soft feel of the natural fibre and is favoured by those who prefer a totally natural approach.

Shetland wool fibres are of a simple construction witha central cortex covered by a thin scaly cuticle, and have an average diameter of about 23 microns. However there is a range from 10-20 microns for neck and shoulder wool to 25to 35 microns for britch wool. the average staple length is 3.5 inches. The amount of crimp varies, and is most important in providing the 'bounce' required for knitwear. There is a positive correlation between fineness and crimp, with wool of the finest quality being crimped at between 8 and 12 to the inch. Wool from shetland sheep is used to produce gossamer lace, the famous 'Fair Isle' knitwear, and fine tweeds. Pure bred Shetland sheep tend to shed their fleece in sprin. The growth of new fleece can cause a rise or weak point and where this is present the fleece can sometimes be plucked or 'rooed' by hand. The timing of this can be different in each sheep, however, it is worth taking the care to get it right as rooed fleece can be amongst the softest because the fibres have no harsh cut ends as occurs with a sheared fleece.

Shetland fleece can be handspun straight from the fleece or made into rolags and then woollen spun. It can also be sorsted spun by hand, used on a peg loom or handwoven. It also felts well using either dry or wet methods. When processed commercially the wool can be made into the finest lightweight worsted cloth or heavier weight, harder wearing fabrics and tweeds."

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Sunday, December 11, 2011

Bouncing lamb video, for sale listings

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