Top-Bottom: Gulf Coast Native yarns- Bulky Indigo dyed, Aran wt acid dyed, Fingering wt acid dyed
Yes, this Livestock Conservancy project has me clearing out the big ol bags of Gulf Coast Native fleece. And lo! What’s this? What’s that? The occasional basket of yarn! I’ve been spinning yarn like a bevis for some of the knitters participating in Shave ’em to Save ’em. But, somebody just might like these prespun yarns, eh?
Not the Boston Marathon Here – Happy Patriots’ Day!
No, this is 2 skeins of few marathon orders of plain vanilla Gulf Coast Native. You’re looking at 4.2 oz/ 206 yd of right off the wheel yarn. On its way to the Midwest in a little while. Cheers!
Natural/Naturally Dyed Gulf Coast Native
Otherwise, this windful day is keeping me in spinning some Ticker wool for SE2SE.
Buddy
Have been rolling a lot of fleece for participants in the “Shave ’em to Save ’em” challenge. This just made me cry. What a beautiful fleece. Four pounds. Four inch staple. Hope his new owner loves him, too.
Jaanet
The Fleece o Jaanet
Jaanet being sheared in 2018
Jaanet’s fleece handspun into 1178 yards of 2-ply light worsted yarn
The Nature Conservancy is hosting a program called Shave ’em to Save ’em. Fiber producers like us who raise heritage breed sheep are selling to fiber artists who spin, knit or weave with a variety of breeds on the Conservation Priority List.
From their website:
“How does it work?
buy wool from rare breed Fiber Providers and get a “stamp” in their “passport.”For the record, we raise Gulf Coast Native Sheep, not Romeldale, so don’t go gettin’ confused on me, okay?
If you’d like to get involved as a fiber artist or as a fiber producer, the time is now!
Time for Radish Sandwiches
Okay okay. The garden is almost all in. Raised beds should, hopefully, be easier to maintain than the 1/4 acre that’s fallow right now. I’ll be using that as a Second Tier compost location. Between the chicken coops, raking out the sheep shelters, and the suint bath runoff, we should beef that soil up pretty well. Throw a cover crop out there, something like buckwheat, and till it under and we’ll be good for fall.
Today, Teaben’s fleece came out of the suint bath and Sammy’s went in. Took a lot of water to rinse him out. Boy oh boy what a grubby little feller he was. This time I gave him a soapy rinse and a vinegar rinse too. Teaben’s dryin’ on the back deck as I write.
Dan’s comin down the hill to bushhog a patch of our front yard. Our tractor needs a solenoid, and til then, we are living with giant weeds. Dog fennel from last year looks like we have a yard of reeds. I’m just getting ol’ and tarrd, I guess. Used to think nothing of digging out a field. Now, For Get It, as Curly Lumpkin would say.
And, that is all. I love you in the morning!
3 Skeins o Jaanet
Ten skeins o’ Jaanet warshed and set. One to go. My abilities to take closeups are limited. Lookit:
Verreh bad Closeup of Jaanet
On the other hand, pulled a ram fleece out of the suint bath, popped Teaben’s 2018 fleece into the suint bath. Found Jaanet’s 2017 fleece, and decided to hand warsh rather than FSM it. So warshed about 4 oz of Jaanet 2017. Pretty stuff, I’ll tell ya.
Tonight, after finishing the last skein of Jaanet 2018, I’ll be carding Mia 2015. She’s a very white, soft sheepess. I wish she still lived here. Her fleece was cleaned in the FSM, so it’s quite lanoliny, which is lurvley, but by the time I’m done spinning will need a hot water warsh.
Anyway, that is Sun Day here at the farmette in NoFla.
See ya later, bye! *wave wave*
