Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Look What Came in the Mail...

There were a couple of exciting finds in the mail a few days ago. The first is some lovely Lincoln fleece locks from Aspen Moon Arts at Etsy.
I really like the colors in these. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them. I thought I wanted to add them to some handspun, leaving the locks intact. After a little research, it appears that it may not be as easy as it sounds. Maybe after some trial and error, we'll see what I can come up with.

Here's one of the other items:

Can you guess what it is? Oh, come on, try. A small tent, you say? No. A very large holder for plastic shopping bags? No. Give up? It's a sheep cover. Or jacket I think they're sometimes called. You might remember we've had our Rambouillet sheep for going on two years now. When we had them sheared last year for the first time since we'd bought them, the roving that came back from the mill had way more VM in it than I wanted to pick out while spinning. Maple from North Star Alpacas had said what a difference she thought the covers made in how clean and nice the fleeces came out. So I ordered three from Sheepythyme Farms and am going to give them a try after we shear the sheep this year. The shearer called the other day and said he'd be here around the middle of May. I wonder what the protocol is for "dressing" the sheep? Does the shearer help do it after shearing and before he lets them up? From what I can tell, there's a hole at the front end for their head to go through, and if you look closely at the bottom on the right, you can see little straps for their back legs. Or that's what it looks like to me. Oh, boy, I may get them on backwards and upside down! If my hands aren't too full at the time, maybe I can get some pictures of this feat on shearing day. :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The fleece locks are just gorgeous. I can't wait to see what you do with them.

Alpaca Granny said...

Those coats are actually easy to get on the sheep right after they have been shorn. I'm glad that you got them 'cause you will love your CLEAN fiber even more.
Maple

Brenda said...

Glad to hear they're easy to put on. I'm really anxious to see the difference. :)

Bonny (Bonny Jewelry) said...

Interesting - I've never heard of the sheep coats before. My uncle used to raise sheep and would have them shorn each year but I think he sold the fleeces as they were. Can't wait to see what you use with the locks - lovely colors!

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