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Heart Pins Olde English Southdown Babydoll Sheep Information |
Fiber for
Sale (Shetland, Babydoll or Llama) When we purchased our first 2 light wool male llamas in 1996, we had no concept of the different types of fiber that llamas could produce and had little appreciation of it. In fact, even when our herd numbered 20, we were still giving the fiber to our shearer. It was "just in the way" and, as far as we were concerned, the shearer was doing us a favor by hauling the dusty stuff off.. Much has changed since our first purchase of those two male llamas. Probably the most significant change has been the respect we have gained for their fiber. Our registered breeding stock reflects that newer found respect and beautiful fleeces are no longer given away. In fact, Jackie now shears all of our llamas - laborious indeed, but worth the effort. Though she has found she is highly allergic to the dust that llamas love to roll in, she is not allergic to llama fiber as she is to many other wools. Our first herd sire purchase
has helped us tremendously in the quest for finer fiber we were
. Our
second herd sire purchase, LL Figly Blossom, has also helped us
create depth and diversity in our llama herd. Figly is a Bolero
and
Hard
Rock's Zorro, our *Peruvian El Gris son,
Our
registered Shetland Sheep have given an even greater dimension to the
fiber end of this And, the
colors are breathtaking! Beautiful Emskets (bluish-grey), rich Moorits
(reddish-brown), Greys, Browns, Black, Fawn and many other colors and
markings make up the Shetland palette (see our "shetland wool"
page). The soft fleeces are light in lanolin (great for those with
sensitive skin) and it mixes beautifully with llama fiber creating some
unique colors and textures for hand spinning. As we began to appreciate the wonderful fiber these animals create for us, we also began to invest in some fiber equipment to help process it and make into more usable end products. We purchased a pat Green Triple Picker and already owned a large Louet Drum Carder. The Triple Picker actually seems to "fluff up" the fiber before it is carded into batts. In fact, we have even found that you can spin directly from the picked fiber without carding it. Even Jackie, a novice spinner, can spin from these "clouds".
*Our Registered Olde English "Babydoll" Sheep are the newest miniature sheep addition to our farm. Babydolls, also considered a rare breed like the Shetlands, come in 2 colors--black (brown) and white. Wool staple for this breed is typically 1 1/2-2" and it is likened to cashmere.
*An article featuring our Babydolls & how to make a Needle Felted Purse from their wool appeared in the Winter 2005 issue of Spin-Off Magazine. It is rewarding to raise the Llamas and Sheep on our farm--to know and love them, shear them, then process their fiber for spinning or felting. And, we have much more fiber than we can ever personally use, so we offer you the following:
Unwashed/Well-Skirted
Shetland Fleeces-- $10.00 per pound Shetland Wool (2 oz) Roving Balls-- $4.00 Unwashed Babydoll Fleeces--$10.00 per pound Babydoll Wool (2 oz) Roving Balls--$4.00 Unwashed Llama Fleeces (not in one piece - like sheep) $20.00 per pound Update: Because of the volume of sheep fleeces we now have, many of them are sent to our processors, Wooly Knob Fiber Mill, near Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Contact us for further information on colors and quantities available. If you see an animal on our website whose fleece you like, just let us know. We will gladly send samples to your home: info@amazinggracefarms.com
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Send mail to agl@amazinggracefarms.com
with questions or comments about this web site.
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looking to produce. SCR Tareyton, our large, gentle *Lion
of Bolivia son has voluminous baby-fine honey colored fiber that he
passes on to his offspring. As one experienced spinner and fiber
artist who purchased a Tareyton daughter put it, "The fiber is so
fine that the only thing softer is rabbit."
Conception
grandson that consistently produces color and fine fiber.
has
added a new dimension to our breeding
program. His first son, Amazing Grace's Jesse Jeremiah, is a
flashy charcoal gray and white male with soft, crimpy fiber-to-die-for.
"Cottage Industry". Shetlands are a bit of a rarity in the
sheep world given the fact that the fleece variations in the breed are so
vast. Shetland fleeces can be short and crimpy, long and flowing
(rather more like llama fleeces) and everything in between. Our
specialty is very fine fleeces and a majority of our breeding stock
reflect that standard.
Because of its shorter staple length, "Babydoll"
Wool is more
difficult to process at home. However, it does blend
well with Llama Wool and, though is has a higher lanolin content than
Shetland Wool, is quite a luxurious wool in its own right.