Processing Velvet's Fleece

I've been working on Velvet's fleece. I had read somewhere about someone rolling the fleece in a sheet and letting it soak in the washing machine. I decided instead of a sheet, though, to use some netting that was in my stash, thinking maybe the dirt and VM could get out more easily. Here's the fleece laid out on the netting:
Next I rolled it up jelly roll style starting with the long side, then tied the ends and pinned it closed with safety pins.
I filled the washer with hot water, added Dawn dishwashing liquid, and eased the roll into the tub.
It soaked for about half an hour, and then I let the water spin out. (NO agitation.) I repeated this step, this time not letting the water get quite as hot, and then one more fill with plain warm water, almost a half-hour soak, and then one more spin.

Here's my make-shift drying rack. The panel is 16 feet long, so I just kind of laid it up on the porch and over the steps so some air could get under it. It was dry in about two days. (I did take it inside at night.)
I combed several locks with some Indigo Hound combs (the menacing beasts that they are), and here's the result:
I have to get some out now and then just to stroke it. :)

Sheep Shearing

Sheep shearing day for 2010 came and went, and now there are bags of wool in the barn. The shearer got here pretty early in the morning and the sky was cloudy, so it made it really nice for shearing. There have been times when it was blazing hot by the time we got them sheared, making things really uncomfortable for the sheep, the shearer, and the shepherds. Here's what Velvet looked like last fall not long after we bought her. Of course, her wool grew quite a bit more over the winter.And here's what she looks like after shearing:Quite a change, huh? I just thought she was small before. The other day I mistook her for one of the lambs.

And here's Angus right after we brought him home. (He, too, grew a LOT more wool over the winter.)And now...This picture really doesn't do him justice. He's so slick and black and handsome! He almost looks shiny.

We fixed a skirting table in one of the sheds outside. I'm still learning...I had seen a picture somewhere of someone skirting using a similar set up. Before when I had skirted fleece, I spread a plastic table cloth out on the ground and put the fleece on it. This is SO much easier! And probably works a lot better, too, since some of the VM has a chance to fall through the grate and out of the fleece.Here's Velvet's fleece spread out on the table. The picture doesn't do her fleece justice, either. Somehow it's really hard to capture the color of her fleece on film. Or should I say "in pixels?"
I couldn't wait to wash a little section. Here's the result:

It has a really long staple, compared to what I'm used to, and is sooo soft. I'm planning on working on it again today, hopefully a bigger bunch at a time. I'm getting anxious to spin some up!

Another Lamb Report

I'm finally getting around to the next lamb report. That makes nine ewes, so lambing is over for this year. First, on the 21st, Rose had twin ram lambs. Here's Rose:
And here are the lambs:
Next, on the 28th I think it was, Hannah had twin lambs, one ewe and one ram. Here's Hannah having a little snack:And here are the lambs:It's kind of hard to see the one in the back, but he's kind of black and white spotted, but also with a spot or two of the dark curly fleece like the ewe in front. Her fleece is really curly all over with kind of white undertones.

We finally got all the ewes with lambs back together out in the lot, so that has made doing the chores a lot easier than when we had to feed and water several of them separately.

The older lambs, well, all of them really, are growing fast. I don't think I've ever seen any animal grow as quickly as lambs.

Waiting for Lambs

I've been studying the girls every day to see if there's any sign that there might be some lambs any time soon.I was actually a little worried for awhile as to whether there would even be lambs this year. The ewes didn't seem to show any signs of being bred, and remember the rocky start they had with their suitor?

We put the ram in with them around the 10th of October, and according to this sheep gestation calendar, we can start watching for lambs the 4th of March. They don't really look that close to lambing to me, but like I said, they weren't too thrilled with Angus when they first met.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'm excited to see what the Rambouillet/Shetland and Suffolk/Shetland cross lambs will look like!

Friends Come in All Shapes and Sizes

When we bought Velvet, the little Shetland ewe that was born in March of this year, we decided we'd let her wait until she was older before putting her in with the ram. We already had a spring Rambouillet lamb named Jade we were going to keep back, too. So when the ram went in with the ewes, Jade and Velvet became roommates. For now they have a little pen in front of the barn and can go in the barn for shelter.They're pretty close in age, but look at the difference in size! They seem to be getting along pretty well together, and are even pretty good about sharing their food.When it's time to take the ram out, Jade and Velvet will probably go in with the rest of the ewes. They seem to be pretty content right where they are, though, and maybe even getting a little spoiled. :)

More Sheep Sorting

Remember back in October we put the rams in with the ewes? And we thought we'd try the two spring ram lambs with the Suffolks?

We left them in about a week and from what we could tell, they didn't seem to be too interested. I don't know if they're just a little too young yet, or if it has something to do with the fact that they were raised on the bottle. Anyway, Eli and Levi seemed to be more concerned with grazing the pasture and eating grain than chasing the girls. So after a week, we changed the panels around again, and put all the ewes in with the Shetland ram. (I doubt that he minded too much.) Here he is with his ewes:

I'm still debating about giving him a nickname. My plan was to give the Shetlands each a Scottish or Gaelic name in honor of their Scottish heritage. The first (and only) one I could think of for the ram was Angus, which fit because of his black fleece and all the Angus cattle running around here. If I do call him Angus, though, he of course would still be known "professionally" as Fairlight Omen, on any breeding papers, etc. Most of the Gaelic/Scottish girl names I found were ones I couldn't pronounce, so my plan for all Scottish names for the Shetlands has kind of gone by the wayside. I think for the little ewe, we've decided on Velvet. It kind of seems to fit her somehow. (She, too, will still have her registered name of Three Ring Mai Tai on paper.)

So for now, anyway, Eli and Levi, otherwise known as "The Boys," are busy running around in the pasture and eating. The girls will just have to wait. :)

Love is in the Air

Well, maybe. The Rambouillet girls seem to be warming up a little to their suitor. When I fed them their grain last night, a couple of them actually ate from the same pan as he did.

Then afterwards I caught Scarlett giving him a closer inspection.

Maybe spring lambs are at least looking a little more promising!

Love at First Sight?

Not even close. Saturday evening we put the new ram in with our Rambouillet ewes. Let's just say the girls were not amused, not even a little bit. I'm not sure if they thought he was a bear, or the creature from the black lagoon, but either way, they were not impressed. They took off running to the other side of the lot and then back again. When I came in from doing the chores, the ewes were standing together wide-eyed in the corner watching this new creature that was blocking their escape route.

On Sunday afternoon, I went out to the pasture to see how things were going. Here's the ram with three of the Rambouillets. At least they were standing still now.

Here the ewes look like they're discussing which would be the best course of action to avoid The Thing...

And now they've decided...RUN!!!!

A few minutes later, though, things calmed down a bit again. He's a little closer to them anyway.

Well, at least that's progress.

We have a couple of Rambouillet ram lambs we raised on the bottle this spring that we decided to try with the Suffolk ewes. (They are related to some of the Rambouillets.) We thought we'd leave them in for about a month or so to give them a chance to see what they could do, and then put the Shetland ram in instead in case they missed anybody. They may be a little too young yet, though. They haven't really acted very interested so far. May have to rethink that idea and put the Shetland in sooner. That is, if the other ewes haven't given him some sort of complex by then. :)

New Critters on the Ranch

I recently added Google Friend Connect to my blog and soon discovered a bunch of terrific and interesting sites. I kept finding other folks interested in fiber, sheep, etc., and came across several blogs about Shetland sheep. They looked SO cute and small! The Suffolk and Rambouillet sheep we have are pretty big sheep, so that really made the difference obvious, too. Anyway, it's getting time to put a ram in with our ewes for spring lambs. We were needing a new ram this year since some of the ewes are related to the one we had.

I wondered what kind of fiber you'd come up with by crossing a Shetland ram with the Rambouillet ewes. They have really soft, fine, crimpy fiber, but it doesn't have a very long staple length. I understand that the Shetlands' fiber is soft, too, and long. That sounded to me like it might be a good combination. Also, I love the beautiful natural colors found in the Shetlands.

My search led me to Fairlight Farm and Tammy's registered Shetlands. She had a ram for sale that I thought would fit the bill. He was being boarded at another farm, and Tammy agreed to meet us over there to see the ram. With the help of her excellent directions and our GPS, we found the place without any trouble. We met the Jacksons of Three Ring Ranch, who happened to have a few registered Shetland ewes for sale also.

Here's what we brought home:

The ram, whose registered name is Fairlight Omen...

And this little ewe, whose registered name is Three Ring Mai Tai...

Check out these gorgeous fleeces:


The ewe was just born this spring, so although some people go ahead and breed them the first year, we'll probably let her wait until next season, so hopefully it will be a little easier on her. I have another young ewe lamb I'm keeping back till then, so they'll each have some company.

The ewe seems really friendly already. She likes being petted and doesn't seem to mind my fascination with her wool. The ram is still a little wary, but that's probably normal for rams.

So as soon as the paperwork all goes through, I guess we have the beginnings of our own flock of registered Shetlands. Their registered names will stay the same, of course, but I'm hoping the previous owners don't mind if I give them each a nickname. Haven't settled on anything yet, but am still thinking.

Hopefully over the weekend we can get everybody situated and let the ram get on the job. I'm thinking he's hoping so, too. :)

P.S. Be sure and check out the Fiber Arts Friday Blog Carnival at Alpaca Farm Girl!