Under The Son Farm: Some keeper ewe lambs

Monday, July 29, 2013

Some keeper ewe lambs

Sales postings are on the sales pages! I'm updating over the next few days, so please be patient. Meanwhile, here are some photos to view.

Some keeper ewe lambs for 2013

Carrowholly - Stronsay/Chenille

This is what you get when you pair two great sheep together. Holly and her fawn kat sister are just tops! So silky soft, crimpy, and fine in fleece on a typey, refined, yet strong structure.

Meredith Blue - Stronsay/Mercure. Meredith is easily the fav. Scrumptiously soft, very finely crimped, dense, refined yet good sized, typey, and very friendly. Another great pairing.

Kashta - Velour/Dakota. Kashta oozes type and refinement on a good size frame. Out of a winning sire and a dam that has produced a couple of prepotent sires.

Sirene - C. Pegasus/Sateen. Oh. My. What a ewe lamb! Elegance was born when she and her brother hit the ground. It called like her name. Lambs like these make me smile. The 'presence' gene magnified. Oh, yeah. She's got style, type, and crimp. Showing shots like these, with a tight fitting, correct, and perfectly shaped fluke tail on a strong wide rear - with a great fleece going all the way down the leg - tells me all I need to know! If it looks great back here, than the rest is cake! And it is!

Mascarpone - Cleggan/Morel. Cleggan is an F1 Skeld and Morel is an F1 Jings. This pairing has given me a lovely combination of Island genetics. Refined, typey, silky soft, crimpy. My last Cleggan daugther.

Jindi Brie - Stronsay/Jasmine. Jasmine is a big ewe, a 100 lber. Last year I put her straight to Blue, the BFL, for a first time lambing (I don't recommend this, and don't usually do it, but I was pretty sure Jas could handle it). She had twin crossbreds as a two year old with style - raised big cracking lambs and was in great shape herself. So, I decided to put her to a pure last fall. Stronsay, of course. Peeking out behind her here is one of her two fine ewe lambs, Jindi. Stronsay surprised me in a really big way by throwing spots! Jindi is going to be big, yet refined, like her momma with an even finer fleece (in moorit!).

Meira - Stronsay/Madeline. Meira is standing behind Madeline. Some of the lambs are just so shy and hate to come out from behind their mother. Just what I wanted from this pairing. Refined, typey, fine, crimpy, soft. Well, maybe a bit more golden like her mother . . .

Galette - Stronsay/Galerina. Galette is a bit lighter than Meira, but very similar otherwise. Very silky like her mother (Galerina's CEM is 7.9!).

Raschera - Stronsay/Ruby. Ruby was supposed to be bred to the Cheviot, but I'm glad she wasn't. Stronsay was the back up and he did the job nicely. Raschera is a miracle anyway because days before Ruby was to lamb, she was found cast. Unfortunately, Ruby had triplets and lost her last two ewe lambs. Raschera was the firstborn and was fine. Rachera is very friendly and always wanting petting, hence this 'coming at me' photo. Stronsay did it again and gave me a wonderfully crimpy fine moorit ewe. She is shown here with our new GP, Dotty.

These are just some of the keepers, not all. More photos have to be taken of those that are more shy. A couple of fawn kats, another moorit, another white or two . . . And then the ram lambs.

1 comment:

MichelleJuly 29, 2013 at 1:56 PM
So many nice ewe lambs! Sigh; it's a challenge not to covet.
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Welcome to Under The Son blog!

There are about 50 Shetland sheep on our farm during the winter months and over 100 with the lambs in the spring time. Most patterns along with 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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Monday, July 29, 2013

Some keeper ewe lambs

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