Well sort of. Over the past two days I've been petting, grooming, cleaning and combing my Navajo Churro sheep's wool. Here's Blanca when she was a lamb just a couple months old.
For those who've been around a while, you may remember my first experience hand-shearing Blanca last September. It wasn't pretty. lol!
Here's what Blanca looked like before her haircut.
This is what she looked like afterwards, a few pounds lighter and much cooler....and a little disheveled looking.
Waiting for processing: Three bags of Angora Goat Mohair (from Luna, Cloud, and Lily) and one bag of Navajo Churro Sheep Wool.
Here's Blanca's wool waiting to be skirted, combed cleaned, washed, carded and then spun into yarn (the really fun part!)
Just an old comb removes the VM (vegetable matter), separates and fluffs the fibers. Churro wool is not very greasy, so it's easy to clean and handle, but it does provide just enough lanolin to soften my hands.
Some of the VM removed from the wool after combing.
I'm holding a handful of wool after combing.
This is about half of the combed clean wool. It's so soft and fluffy. Next up is washing the wool and then hand-carding, followed by...spinning!
And this is what Blanca looks like now.
And this is my Karakul ewe sheep, Svetlana. I didn't get around to shearing her when I did Blanca and as you can see, she is a very wooly girl who could use a new hairstyle. I'm looking forward to handling her fluffy, soft wool, too.
Just another farm-related chore on my long list of things to do when my knee is healed and stronger. Thankfully it won't be getting too warm for Svetlana's wooly self until June, so I do have some time. But everytime I look at her, I just want to pull my shears out. lol!From the Tower of,
36 comments :
So do you have to shear the llama's too?
I love sheep but the upkeep!!
So glad to hear you are on the mend!!
Aw, I miss my sheep! I have not updated my spinning efforts lately. A friend invited me to her house to show me how to card the suffolk wool I had brushed out, and once we had done that for a bit we used her drum carder to finish the batch off - that was so much faster! And so now I have all these rolls of beautiful wool ready to spin, I just need to move on to the next step and get a turkish spindle and start making yarn. If I get bored with that I have a whole bag of wool from our other sheep, Al, waiting to be washed and brushed out. If we ever get to where we can have sheep again I think I'll try to get a kind that has nice wool for spinning.
Sheep are fun, I showed sheep in
4-H for two years, and the first year I had a ewe lamb that I hand carded her wool, on the sheep, for show, she looked like a cotton ball LOL, I will have to get those pics out sometime, it was fun times as a kid, giving a sheep a bath is not fun LOL we used the shop vac to dry them off.
They're such pretty girls Lisa! I really like Navajo-Churros, so neat looking and oh so fluffy! Great pic with the little ceramic sheep and Blanca's wool... Love it!
Our sheep are due for shearing, in fact we have so many I hire out. We have a man that comes up from the Big City to do all 35+ and he only charges around 6.00 a sheep on average. A little less for small ones, and a little more for rams. Not bad eh?! Anyway, he's coming on April 19th... I'm planning a blog post.
Thanks for showing us how you comb your girls out and how you deal with your wool. Where do you send it for processing BTW?
What beautful wool!
Will you be doing the washing and spinning yourself?
I like Svetlana's fleece, I can see a nice beanie and scarf in her:)
It is good seeing you up and around and getting back to your normal self even though its not 100%
xoxoxo
OK, that before-and-after picture sequence made me laugh. When my friends in Australia sheer their sheep they make it look easy. It takes them about 2 minutes per animal and everyone comes out looking smooth and neat and tidy. I can't even imagine what a sheep would look like if I tried to sheer it :)
I bet it's hard for you to not be able to get out and do all the things you want to do. Hang in there Lisa. It's not forever. Soon you'll be out with your animals again. The wool looks very inviting and luxurious. Do you have plans for what you're going to do with it when it's spun?
Jocelyn, The llamas only need to be sheared every two years, but I'm taking them to a 'shearing party' to have them sheared by someone professional.
Mud Ranch, No sending out for processing here. I plan on processing the wool by myself from start to finish.
White Lilly, Yes, I plan on washing and spinning the wool myself. I took a wool processing class last year so I feel prepared. The processing is easy, just time-consuming.
Hi Amy,
Thanks for the kind words. I'm planning on having some fun with Blanca's yarn. I want to try Kool Ade dying with it, and then I'll knit something fun, probably after plying with some mohair or alpaca. Socks maybe? Or maybe a little basket? Felted purse?
I think I will let the yarn tell me what it wants to be. hehe :)
~Lisa
Oh Lisa, you make me want to join you for a day at your farm! Those sheep are lovely! Does Biance have an exceptionally nice coat or do they all look like that? Sheep here in Niger are whool-less (for obvious reasons...) so there's only the leather to work with, but that's not much fun when you love your creatures! :-)
Cool! thank you for sharing! It makes us city girls feel like we are farmgirls when we visit
Definitely post pics of the progress! I would love to see what the yarn when you are finished. I've crocheted with a commercially prepared wool but I prefer the softer stuff. Less wear and tear on my hands. Love the before and after pics!
What beautiful wool! I want some to play with. Sheep will probably happen in a few months. The goats are so time intensive right now with the milking and bottles. I love you sheep so much. I need to start looking for some of those around here. All we seem to have around here are Katahdin and they don't have wool.
How neat! You do all that yourself? Then what do you do with the yarn?
How did you learn all this? I just think that is so cool.
It would be wonderful to have nice pictures and demo of the washing and carding process...then of course spinning!
Hope that is in the works?
Talk about shearing sheep makes me think of the movie, "The Thorn Birds". It can't be easy!! While I was brushing Emma last night I wondered just how many years it would take me to collect enough little cat hairs to make a calico hat!!!
Your sheep are gorgeous, and I'm so glad you're now able to do some of these things again.
Nancy in Atlanta
That looks like a ton of work!! I think it would be kind of a therapeutic and peaceful way to spend the day, if they hold still!
Great job Lisa! What beautiful looking fleece. Do you use hand shears or electric clippers? We had a pair of clippers but they exploded into pieces when I was working on the burred fleece on the rescue sheep. I've ordered hand shears for using on the llamas. I love, love, love Svetlana. She is gorgeous. Anytime you need a vacation home for her, you let me know!
I can't wait for our first shearing ever, which should be later this month. I could just squeal with excitement!
Lisa,
I have Dorper sheep that I raise for meat and I have to say- I don't enjoy them as much as I thought I would.
I may enjoy shearing them like you do but I can't spin wool.
Caprice
Awesome wool, so you mean you spin this and knit as well? Oh man! I wouldn't have the patience!
Wow...what a process! Thank you for sharing.
I hope the knee is on the mend and you will be back to riding and enjoying your horse soon as well.
Glad you can get 'round a bit now. Freedom! yeah
Awesome project! Can I help?? I like learning new stuff, especially crafts.
Looks like a lot of work. Aren't you glad it is a hobby and not something you HAVE to do?
Wouldn't it better easier to comb the sheep first then cut their hair?
Great pictures. It's good to see you planning for the future in a positive way.
Dan
I burst out laughing when I saw poor Blanca! Kind of reminds me of the first time I roached Jaz's mane. Nobody told me to start at the top ...
They are adorable and don't look any worse for the shearing last time. It all grew back full and fluffy. Can't wait to see what you make from the wool.
Phewwwww....(wiping brow)...I just got all caught up on your blog!! (And I left you a bunch of comments too...lol!!!)
:)
And look at you all out and about!!! I love your Karakul sheep. I think she is most striking with all of that dark wool and her lovely, white, face.
PS-my word verification is "omyponi" Get it??? "Oh My Pony???" LOL!!!
Sheep! They look like so much fun. Although I'm surprised Blanca forgave you that haircut. LOL
glad you are out and about - it won't be too much longer...
well, I guess it will, but every day is one day closer.
oooh, verification is gazonit (gaze on it is remarkable accurate for your blog, isn't it?)
So do you have anything particular in mind for the first "project" once the wool is ready to use?
IMO it should be something special that you'll keep and treasure.
I did chuckle too with the before and after!
I saw Mike Row shear llamas once for his show> That was a hoot! he is so handsome and hilarious!
I love your sheep! You are so multi talented girl...I love your ranch!You soon will be back to moving freely around again. Keep up the good work...loveya!
Kac
lol. I love looking at them fully wooly :)) Can you comb the VM before you sheer or you have to do it afterwards?? They are too cool.
Those before and after pics of Blanca are too funny:-)
Oh what fun!! I never knew you had to come the wool and wash it, very interesting. I love the wooley pictures of your sheep!! THey are too cute!! And I remembered those before and after pictures!! LOL!!
I'm guilty...I laughed too...but laughed with you because we did the same thing. Now we have someone come and shear everyone. He doesn't like to do goats and we had to persuade him by paying handsomely. We usually give him $25+ for each one. Ouch. We are just happy he will do it for us.
Love your lil' sheepies...but I sure can't handle the wool; even though I've got mom's lovely spinning wheel.
While in high school, I took the wheel to art class to see if we could get it to spin some wool...that's when I found out that I was allergic to lanolin...my hands puffed up like a scalded hot dog...dang! So, I just look at the spinning wheel...knowing that it does still work.
It sure looks like when they need a "trim", they REALLY need one! What beautifully funny little creatures they are. I'm impressed you do the process from start to finish. You are a woman of many talents and hobbies!
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