Under The Son Farm: Blue Castello

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.

6 comments:

ElaineAugust 24, 2013 at 7:28 AM
Such a beautiful fleece. It really does look blue. I'm sure you'll be spinning it soon.
Jasmine's fleece is almost done being spun and will be a beautiful woven blanket sometime soon.
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TheresaAugust 25, 2013 at 3:11 PM
Yes Elaine, I don't think anyone will be able to pry Castello's fleece out of my hands next spring! And you've got me to thinking . . . a blue lace Shetland shawl, perhaps? With at least part of it . . .
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ElaineAugust 25, 2013 at 5:34 PM
Since you said this is a particularly f i n e fleece I think a lovely Shetland shawl would be perfect for part of his fleece.
Lots of pictures, please, when you get it done next spring. I'd like to see the "blueness" of his fleece (and hope that there may be more to come!!) in the shawl.
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TheresaAugust 25, 2013 at 6:35 PM
I would venture to say that Castello's fleece is in the low 20's range with a very low SD/CV. This picture really doesn't do justice to the fineness of it. It was hard to capture. I might snip a bit off and try to get a better picture. I'll try to ponder what I can put next to it to show how fine.
His fleece is quite dense and the denser ones are harder to capture fineness, unless you get some stranding going on (which some people don't like to see . . .).
As for the shawl, well, you'll have to allow me time to get through lambing, shear the whole flock, wash, flick, card, and spin a few ounces of his fleece before I could even begin to commence knitting a shawl!! But, it does sound like something that I would put up near the top of the list for spinning/knitting projects next year!
I'm finding that spinning and lace out of fine Shetland wool is a fun thing to do. Proper type fleece makes a world of difference all the way around. Working on a lace scarf at the moment and hope to be done by WSWF. An easy project, but it's taken me awhile to do (various reasons).
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ElaineAugust 27, 2013 at 4:39 PM
Looking forward to seeing Castello standing up. Such lovely fleece!!
Do you actually card such fine fleece or just flick it?
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TheresaSeptember 12, 2013 at 12:52 AM
Elaine - I flick, then card on my Strauch. That way it comes of the carder similar to top, but with an 'aliveness' to it. I've not found any prep other than handcombing (which wastes a ton) to come close to the ease and joy of spinning than this method.
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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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Friday, August 23, 2013

Blue Castello

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