Sheep Farm Vlog #95 - Raising Shetland Sheep for their Wool in February - Farm update

[@lisahs605]

I really appreciate you sharing why you love February. I usually find it a hard month because it is So grey and damp here in Wales. So it was nice to hear your positivity!

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Hi Lisa! I am pretty sure I am in the minority with that sentiment but I really love the peace and quiet of the winter months.

[@Karla-yz4qd]

Awesome Video Jen!! Enjoy your quiet time while you can. The Sheep look fabulous!! I have your dates marked on my calendar too....Lambing Day and Shearing Day now. Thank you for all you do. I am Spinning up the Moorit Roving now from last year's Shearing and playing with my Majacraft Hand Combs...I have to get the Drum Carder out soon!! Life just gets crazy sometimes!! Looking forward to seeing your videos on the Drum Carder too!!🐑💗🐑

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Hi Karla - awesome news on your wool progress! Thanks for the nice comment, I appreciate your support!

[@ellenhenrie4826]

Very enjoyable! It was nice meeting you at TT fiber fest the other day (I'm the one who bought 4 oz each color of your top/roving). I hear you about hay - always nice to do it when it's not 90 degrees. Correction Cat is a hoot! Greetings from an hour east of Roch, near Clyde.

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Hi Ellen - thanks for your comment - I hope you are happy with your wool! It was nice meeting you at the festival

[@pathowes32]

Hi Jenn, excited to see Alice Paul. She looks great. The correction cat is funny😂

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Thanks Pat - glad you liked our correction cat!

[@mywoolmitten]

Good to see you Jen! You probably said and maybe I missed it, but when will you start lambing? Always interesting to see what you're up to! We keep those "farm diaries", too. The ones my husband kept were a special memento to me after he passed. Hope you get your hay delivery on a good weather day 😁

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Thanks Cary - we'll be lambing on or around 4/21. Thanks for the nice comment!

[@jackireed-perry453]

Ha! There we go, Feb is normally a good quiet month here as well. I spin alot in Feb according to my notes. Where did all your snow go? The sheep look great! I'm still counting the days until lambing. Yes...take notes on everything. Growing flax and processing it. ICK! It's a horrible lot of work. You'll see why it's the price it is, trust me. You will probably like spinning the top. It's NOTHING like soft Shetland BTW. Wet fingers and start slow until you get the "feel" for how it moves. KZbin as always. The yarn can be stunning and shiny like silk. I just ordered stinging nettle top from The Woolery. ( I love that place!) I will NOT be growing that. I was so excited to hear that you are considering a trip to Southern ADK fiber festival (or whatever it's called lately). I'm here for you if you do decide to come. I should be seeing some of the folks who run that show shortly. I've been following something super cool. There is about to be a scouring facility opening 3 miles from my house and 1 minute from where I work. Move in day is March 6. They have done some huge changes at the local mill also. Is it ok to mention them by name here? Battenkill. Anyways there is a youtube channel with updates. So do some serious chillin' and Jen time. you deserve it.

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Hi miss - yes, these two months are my favorite - getting a lot of spinning done also! I need to get over to the website and fill out my application and stuff. Going to be a busy fall if I am accepted!

[@jackireed-perry453]

@@SoftShetlandWool Yikes, how did I miss your reply? Not to worry about getting accepted. There is lots of room. Just ask for the sheep and goat barn location if you haven't already sent in. That is where the guild will be spinning. I will be there to lend a hand. In other exciting news...I saw the first piece of scouring machinery moving into the new scouring facility on Monday. So very exciting!

[@sondragingery5949]

I think you'd better watch out for that cat. She might get a big head and start to take over. 😁

[@SoftShetlandWool]

I think its too late!

[@vivianebernhard6728]

From what I have seen, flax is quite different from spinning wool. Check out a video called Spinning flax on a spinning wheel 1930s silent film, women in Germany in quite weird traditional costume dressing a distaff with a bundle of flax fibre & then spinning the flax, dipping fingers in water bowl as they spin and lots of other details and close up shots of how she spins. (Schwalmer bauerin am spinrad is the German title which means something like farmer women from Schwal at spinning wheel).

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Thanks - and thank you for the referral - I will certainly find and watch it

[@LDSVenus]

Love learning about the care of fiber sheep on the farm, you’re days are pretty busy. I really wanted a farm and sheep, but the opportunity was never there. However my son and his spouse bought a 15 acre farm, and tho I couldn’t talk them into sheep, I did put a bug in their ear about alpaca and they have been raising alpaca and selling fiber and yarn for about 6 years now. They love it (so do I gives me access to alpaca fiber to spin :p, and I love their humming). I brought up Paca-vicuña to them (evil grin) but I’m sure they are MUCH more expensive to buy and it’s probably harder to sell their fiber because it runs about $60 an ounce so you’d really need to know where the market was to not take a loss on their up keep and their purchase over time :(. But boy would I love having access to that!!

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Sounds like you have a great arrangement with your son! Fingers crossed that they decide to expand to the vicuna fiber, that would be awesome for you!

[@ldsvenusk9524]

@@SoftShetlandWool I'm sure the paco-vicuna are really expensive but we have our dreams :P

[@spikeandsally]

Is the genetics of your flock such that all of your shetlands are able to be roo'd ?

[@SoftShetlandWool]

Most of my sheep roo, some easier than others. I am not sure how the genetics work with rooing