Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Wow-- wool!

This is Little Red Oak Maple before shearing:

And here she is, lithely leading the pack, the day after!


She's a musket (usually oatmeal color?)meaning a "grayed" brown sheep-- but she's
nearly white at the skin. A mioget golden base, I swear.
And a six and a half pound lamb fleece!
Just like her mother, Bluebell, her brother Mullein, her sister Yarrow.
Nice crimp, amazing length, sofffftt fleece.
Amazing.

10 comments:

Sabrina Wille Erickson said...

That top photo of Maple is amazing and beautiful. Her fleece is so dramatic!

Congratulations on getting such good wool from that line. If I ever get down your way again I have to stop in and meet this Bluebell and her family. :)

Sharrie said...

Wow!!! That is some fleece. Our shearing day is today. Should be interesting.

Nancy K. said...

She is stunning! You can sure see the "Highland Hollow" breeding in her...

Juliann said...

Wow, that's a lot of fleece! They always look so tiny after shearing. :)

Becky Utecht said...

Yup that's a LOT of beautiful fleece on that girl!

Gail V said...

Thanks, y'all. I love that little ewe, especially now that she loves us back!
I was stunned that her fleece weighed so much-- had never seen that much on a lamb!
Sharrie, I hope shearing went well!
And Sabrina, I can't wait till you stop by someday. Maybe it will be this summer.
But now, news flash from spinner-Angie: the finn fleece she took home is so lucsious she's spinning it "in the grease" (it's not very greasy, it's like dandelion fluff) and it's spinning so fine, it's like a thread. She says thinks she was meant to spin Finn fleece.
Hmmmm. Gotta make more of those.

Beth-STL said...

Beautiful sheep! I'm looking for a Finn fleece and Google found your blog. I know I'm probably too late and all the fleeces are spoken for, but do you have any left to sell? I'm getting up the nerve to process my first fleece, and the Finns are just so gorgeous that I can't resist.

Gail V said...

Hi Beth,
I can't seem to email you from your profile, so I'll try to answer here: I don't have any Finn fleeces left, as I only own 3 Finns right now, and they were spoken for. But you know, those finns are prolific. Same time, next year. . .

Anonymous said...

I was looking on line for Minnesota fleece for sale. I love your blog. Is Maple Sheltland or Finn? She is so beautiful. I am looking for a breed that I can keep for myself for spinning. How is the wool for spinning? Do you have a waiting list for fleece for next year?

Gail V said...

Hi Rowanfae-- I hope you see my answer here, since I don't have your email addy--
Maple is Shetland. Both finn and Shetland have great fleece for spinning. I've only had Finns this first year, and I am thinking Shetlands may be easier to raise-- but the Finn fleece is also very nice, and the Finns are a little bigger. You'd find Shetlands a joy to raise, I'm sure. I have plenty of fleece available from this year. We just sheared and haven't got them sorted and skirted yet.
Why don't you email me at gvonbargen@aol.com?
thanks
Gail