Under The Son Farm: August 2013

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Under The Son Stilton

Elaine wanted a picture of Castello. Well, I'll introduce Stilton first, then on to Castello.

UnderTheSon Stilton - moorit, C. Pegasus/UTS Sateen

And no, that isn't a beard! He got into some foxtail like grass (I have no idea what it is). This ram, and his twin sister, have had my eye since the minute they were born. Elegance and presence are the two words that best describe them. I went "Wow!" when they were born. Dense, fine, crimpy, dark moorit.

Stilton's rear

Stilton's fleece - fine crimp with deep curvature.

UTS Blue Castello - this is the best I can get for a body shot. He'll hold his head up high when he is getting his scratches, but I don't remember the last time we've had a more laid back ram. Stocky, but not over done, he is a different type than Stilton. He and Stilton are actually about the same size.

Castello's fleece - note the extreme fineness and tiny, yet deep amplitude, crimp structure. This structure is what gives Shetland fleece 'memory' and bounce and is so essential in soft, long lasting Shetland knitted garments (and is quite different than Merino crimp and amplitude!). This is why Shetland knitted lace, especially the very fine lace, sometimes looks like a crumpled mess when it is being knitted and why Shetlanders use what is called a 'raepin string'. A raepin string is run through the knitting and tied to the knitter's clothing so the knitting can be stretched and the stitches more easily seen while knitting. Pretty clever, eh? Yet, this 'mess' is transformed into a webbed beauty when the knitted lace is washed and stretched on a frame or board or with (nowadays) lace wires.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Blue Castello

This is a fleece shot of Blue Castello, a premium superfine emsket ram lamb (B/b). Emsket and mioget are two of the least common colors of Shetland sheep and especially in fine fleeced ones. They are highly prized by spinners because they are so rare and because the colors blend very well with alpaca, mohair, and angora. Emsket has been the very hardest color to get this finely crimped and this ram lamb is the best so far that we've produced. His fleece is fantastic in type. Very soft and silky handle, very finely crimped, and it is dense. Castello will be put to 4 or 5 mioget and emsket ewes to concentrate on these modified colors - all lambs should be either mioget or emsket. Sorry, but he does not like to pose for the camera - this one was taken while he was lying under one of the hay wagons. Very laid back in personality, nothing really fazes him. I even had a halter on him a few days ago and he was almost trained in just a few minutes. He did take notice and act like he was at a show, with great presence (but I forgot to get a picture). Not freaking out doing the flop, drop, and roll like some do. I like calm rams. Too bad he's not signed up to show.

Blue Castello (UTS Stronsay/UTS Formosa Jade)

Bella and the pup are playing again. This time I caught her in the act of using the waterer as her pool. And yes, I cleaned it out . . . for the third time today (so far).

This is better, although I have to rinse the algae slime off her.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

new Shetland Croft Shawl & UTS logo

My latest creation - the Shetland Croft Shawl.

Made with my handspun Shetland wool, naturally colored of course, in fingering/lt sport weight. Perfect for staying on the shoulders while at the computer or even working in the kitchen. No fussing and pulling it up or trying to wrap it around the neck, this lightweight, soft, and warm little shawl doesn't go anywhere. Even though I've made many shawls that were triangular (woven, crocheted, and knitted), some that were rectangular (felted, woven, and knitted), and even a circle shawl and a tie shawl, this Shetland Croft shawl wins hands down in my book. I'll be making at least another one of this in the near future.

Shetland Croft Shawl

I've also designed a new logo for the farm and played around with putting it on a transfer! Stash bags have been made with our farm name and logo. These measure appr. 12 x 16". If you order at least $100 in fiber goods, you will receive a free bag (if I have them in stock). Or you can get one for $5.

The puppy is growing up. She and Bella were playing the other morning during lamb training. Bella ended up jumping in the auto waterer several times, using it as her personal pool. Hence the reason they are both so muddy.

If you are interested in any of the sale sheep and can pick them up at WSWF, give me a holler. Here is S'More Monterey Jack's fleece - he'll be there and is for sale.

S'More Monterey Jack

Friday, August 16, 2013

Sheep For Sale Aug 2013

This is a picture heavy blog post.

Dewormed lambs today and got group shots of sale sheep. We have over a dozen adult ewes for sale, 17 ewe lambs (some breedstock/show quality, some pet/fiber quality), and a few select ram lambs. There is also a black yearling ram for sale as well - Vementry, and possibly a 2 year old ram. We also have 13 crossbred ewe lambs for sale too.

Adult and Yearling Shetland ewes (shown in the below group photos)

Adults are proven producers with good fleeces and conformations.

Yearlings and Adults range from $125-300

Yearlings 2012

Taransay - white (Dungaree/Tralee)

Eriskay - black HST spotted (C. Pegasus/SP Orchid)

Ballet - grey katmoget (Velour/Allemande)

Jura - black/shaela (Walden/Jade)

Fara - fawn (Dungaree/Ellie)

Shuna - white (Perse/Bombycina)

Adults

Ellie - fawn (Galway/SP Cecila), 2006

Morchella - grey (Drum Jings/TK Prairie), 2007

Allison - fawn katmoget (B. Dreamie/TK Prairie), 2009

Shalimar - shaela (B. Dreamie/Shawnee), 2009

Monaco - grey, spotted iglet (Minder/Morel), 2009

RoseDale - fawn, (Galway/SP Cecila), 2009

Red Rose - fawn katmoget (B. Dreamie/Rahab), 2010

Moire - black (WS 0923/Mercure), 2011

S'More Minuet - fawn (Apache/Fantasy), 2001

Adults and yearling ewes

2013 Ewe lambs (shown below in several group photos)

I did not separate out the breedstock quality from the pet quality, sorry!

Breedstock/show quality - $300-400 each. Outstanding conformations and fleeces!

Milleen - black (Earl Grey/Moreen)

Crema Agria - black (C. Pegasus/Ceylon)

Anari - white (Stronsay/Assam) NOT SHOWN - in the WI to go group

Parmesan - white (C. Pegasus/Paxina) NOT SHOWN - in the WI to go group

Grana - moonspotted black/shaela (Stronsay/Galerina)

Serat - moorit (Velour/Samba)

Rigotte - black smirslet (C. Pegasus/Rhumba)

Piora - white (Earl Grey/Pashmina)

Anjou - fawn katmoget (Stronsay/Jasmine) NOT SHOWN - in the WI to go group

Mycella - grey katmoget (Velour/Mirky, aka "White Monkey")

Fiber pets $125 ea - these have outstanding fleeces!

black - (Cleggan/WS 0932)

dk grey katmoget - (Velour/Samba)

moorit - (Stronsay/Minuet)

black - (Velour/Shalimar)

fawn katmoget - (Velour/Shalimar)

black krunet - (Stronsay/Damask)

2013 Ewe lambs

2013 Ram Lambs

We kept back a few select ram lambs for sale. The rest were culled to market. We only sell rams that are good enough to represent the breed standard and to show! A couple of other ones that are available were previously posted a week or two ago. Ram lambs range from $300-350.

C. Pegasus/Cambric - twin. White. Very fine, very soft. Refined build. Excellent horns.

C. Pegasus/Cambric - twin. White. Very fine, very soft. Refined build. Excellent horns. This one is a mirkface.

C. Pegasus/Viva - twin. Grey yuglet. Very wide behind. See fleece below.

C. Pegasus/Viva grey yuglet fleece. Very fine, very soft. Biggy to see crimp.

Stronsay/Cinnerelle - triplet. Moorit smirslet. Scurred (half poll), very fine, very soft. See more pics below.

Stronsay/Cinnerelle moorit smirslet ram - very wide rear.

Stronsay/Cinnerelle moorit smirslet ram's fleece - very fine, very soft.

C. Pegasus/Radison - triplet, black. Refined. A bit smaller because he is a triplet. See pic below for fleece.

C. Pegasus/Radison black ram's fleece - very soft and very fine.

North Country Cheviot/Shetland Ewe lambs

Here are a few of the cross lambs from last month as I forgot to get a picture of them today. They are huge! $160 each.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Shetland Fleece Grading Chart

In the Fine Fleece Shetland Sheep Association, there are a couple of charts that were made to benefit the good of the members and the spinners and knitters of Shetland wool. The charts are being combined, revised, and updated to better differentiate between the 'types' of Shetland wool. Types, you say? Yes, types, as in the variations that pervade this breed.

Shetland wool is described in the breed standard as follows: extra fine, soft texture, longish, wavy, and well closed. This is also a good description of the historical Shetland wool, though the terms silky or cottony come up occasionally to describe it, as well as the word short. In this blog, I've repeatedly described what those terms mean (as a side note, the past several years of blog posts are in archive right now for publishing at a later date in another form).

So, to help everyone, here is an 'in-progress' updated form. It differentiates between the informally recognized 'types' of Shetland wool - Flockbook, SSS, and Dual Coated.

Flockbook type is the breed standard type and ranges from grade 1-3. This type allows for fleece that can be cobweb lace fine to an outer sweater wear garment, the typical range for Shetland fleece.

SSS type is the SAME as Flockbook/breed standard but also includes a premium quality for exceptional softness, fineness, and handle. This is due to lower SD/CV and usually CEM as well. These numbers lower the SF (spin fineness) lower than the AFD, which is the hallmark for premium, exceptional handling Shetland fleece. Many SSS breeders, Flockbook breeders, and Fine Fleece North American breeders have intensely focused on breeding Shetland sheep with these premium handling fleeces. The range is from grades 1-3, the same as the Flockbook type. The designation of this type - SSS - is in no way a denigration of the Flockbook type, but only a clarification between the slightly higher SD and CV of the average Flockbook fleece as found in fleeces 'out of the bin' in the wool warehouse and an exceptionally fine quality Shetland fleece. Just think of the SSS type as the 'bulls eye' of the breed standard.

Dual coated type can incorporate the breed standard, but also falls outside that range to include strong guard hairs (which are not described or mentioned in the breed standard). This type includes grades 4 and 5. (Note: the word 'primitive' is not used to describe this fleece because, for Shetlands, very fine, crimpy Flockbook/SSS type fleeces are ancient, primitive, and well described in historical documents). You can be raising Shetlands in the US with pure first importation stock (Dailley stock) and still be raising Flockbook or even SSS fleece type. Dual coated type just refers to a dual coated fleece that has a higher SD and CV, because of the presence of guard hairs, and sometimes a higher AFD, producing fleece that is longer (>6/7"), less crimpy, less bouncy, and coarser. The wool must be spun bulkier than normal or be hand separated into undercoat and guard hairs. The SF is higher than the AFD, meaning that the fleece spins coarser than the AFD.

Click on the chart to biggy it.

Your thoughts on this information is welcome!

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."

Under The Son Farm

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