Shearing Day!

Today was shearing day.  I am wore plumb out.  But I have such soft, girly hands from handling all that wool!

I will post pictures of Danny Smith shearing some of the sheep as soon as I get them resized.  I am just too tired tonight.

I will also be posting fleeces for sale on our farm's website as soon as I can get them skirted and photographed.  We have 47 sheep and lamb fleeces:

I have a "sheepy" mess in my living room right now.   Surprise company would be a disaster! 

~Lori

New Pretties!

Check out all the cool stuff that followed me home from Fiber Christmas to share with mom:

Silk caps (lots of them!), alpaca roving, dyed Romney locks, bamboo, merino/bamboo, sari silk, mohair, art batts and yarn, oh my!

Yes, there is a spinning wheel in there - hubby found it and we called mom and she wanted it! It is old and needs some TLC, but it is still a beautiful wheel!

Later - as I get to stuff, I want to show a better picture and then what I make out of it. My brain won't shut off now, either. I saw so many things, and have way too many ideas for stuff, and the Lord still hasn't granted my prayer for 2 extra hours in my day!

Fiber Indie Experience Co-op

This is exciting! I have just joined a wonderful group of fiber folks called "Fiber Indie Experience Co-op"! The purpose of this group is to promote independant fiber artists, and boy, is there some talent in this group!

If you haven't checked it out yet, visit our Ravelry group . There you can learn about the current month's promotion, like giant prize boxes full of fibery goodness and gift certificates to use in their shops! It is amazing! Visit the members' online shops and make purchases to enter the current contest - the details are all there. And you get the warm fuzzies, knowing that when you purchase from these members, you are helping to support fiber addictions and you are helping to feed fiber herds all over the United States.

WARNING - SHAMELESS PLUG AHEAD

If you haven't visited my shop recently, you need to stop by. I have lots of new fibers, some rovings and washed wool from the herd and new semi-solid hand dyed rovings, and even a couple of yarns. I know it is July, and kinda hot to be thinking about wool, but remember, we are half way to Christmas! Time to start thinking about the project load and remembering what last December was like. All of the late nights, grumpiness, tired fingers, numb mind, hiding from friends and family - all because you waited until the last minute to start making gifts. (or does that just happen at my house?)

And speaking of Christmas...WOO-HOO!!! Only two weeks away from Fiber Christmas in July in Kellyville, Oklahoma! If you are anywhere close, you have got to get to this show! Kate Lowder has expanded the show this year to include more space, which equals MORE VENDORS!!! There are also classes offered in many different areas, but you need to get to the website now and sign up!

New Fiber!

For those of you who love natural fiber like I do, I have a treat in our Etsy shop! I am trying to catch back up from the fiber shows we have attended this year. The hand created rovings from our flock have been very popular! Here is a new one:

This is from Beau, one of our registered Border Leicester rams. Beau's fleece is golden cream and very soft with lots of sheen. Many spinners like these rovings because they are very easy to spin and virtually free of vm.

And then, I was going to make this into roving, but..............
Could you imagine combing out these beautiful curls? Ava grew this fleece last year. She is a registered Border Leicester, also. There are 6 ounces of this gorgeous stuff waiting to find its way into your stash!

Come see what else is new at

www.sarahkatefibers.etsy.com

~Lori

Fiber Everywhere!

Tomorrow is the big day! I have the privilege of speaking to a group of homeschooled kiddos and some of their families about my passion - FIBER. Just think. Two whole hours to talk about nothing but sheep, wool, dye, and spinning! And they are expecting those topics - I won't be "some weird lady that is facinated with sheep". I also get to teach the group how to use a drop spindle. Here they are, ready for willing hands!

While getting things ready to teach tomorrow, I realized that we are low on hand dyed rovings. So out came the dye pots. This first roving is by far my favorite. I have been saving purple onion skins since about Christmas. I finally had plenty, so in the pot they went. I was expecting some shade of purple, rust or brown, but got a gorgeous golden yellow! I love it!

Here is a drying rack full of fiber, too. I am not pleased with the rose. I apparently did not get the powdered dye stirred in well, so it spotted, and not in a pretty way. I will probably overdye it with plum. Dark plum fixes pretty much every mistake!

And finally, this beauty is still in the pot as I type:

I am going to have to go clean up the kitchen so I can cook supper. Unfortunately, this fiber doesn't digest well, and my family expects food at some point before bedtime. Sigh................

Massive Shop Update

After ignoring our etsy shop for what seems like forever, I just did a massive update this afternoon. There are lots of new items and some that had disappeared because their listing had expired. Come check it out!

Memorial Day 2011

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you have taken the time today to remember the brave men and women who have made huge sacrifices in order to guarantee our freedom and way of life. I feel that we owe a huge debt to all of the soldiers and their families, past, present and future, for what they give up for us.


I have finally had time to start washing up fleece from this year's shearing. I have been playing with some of the most beautiful Border Leicester fleece I have ever laid eyes on. It is silvery-brown, and was graciously grown by my favorite ram, Smokey. Unlike a lot of BL, his fleece is fairly soft, so it will be perfect for lots of potential projects. I also have some more of Ava's fleece washed. She is another BL, and her fleece spins up into a dark tortoise shell yarn with lots of drape. I am about to ply two singles from Tessa, one of the white Cotswold cross girls. Mom washed and flicked the locks out, and I have been spinning from the locks. It should be a soft, fuzzy yarn.

We are busy gearing up for more shows. First, we will be in Edmond, Oklahoma on June 11 for the Route 66 Fiber Rendezvous. Then we have Fiber Christmas in July in Kellyville, Oklahoma the last weekend (Friday and Saturday) in July. Mom and I have been working hard to get naturally colored wool from my flock ready to bring to these shows. I might also have a couple of whole fleeces from the herd, and definitely some washed wool, yarn, and the luscious hand pulled rovings.

We will also have ewe lambs, ram lambs, and wether fiber pets ready to go to new homes soon. We have several Shetland/Border Leicester crossbred lambs, which have AWESOME fiber. It has the softness of Shetland, and the length of Border Leicester. We will have several registered and full blood Shetlands, one full blood Border Leicester fella, plus several other lambs that were crossbred for beautiful handspinning fiber. Prices will start at $75. If you think you might be interested in any fiber animals, contact me at:

lorisarahbrown@gmail.com

We DO NOT want any of our lambs to wind up on someones dinner table, so we are hoping to find homes that will appreciate the gorgeous fiber they have to offer.

~Lori

Check out these Beauties!

Isn't she pretty? This baby girl was born this afternoon to Hannah, a Cotswold cross, and Samson, a registered Cotswold. She is a big girl, much larger than several of our other lambs, and she has gorgeous tiny white curls. Mama and Daddy have two of the prettiest fleeces on the farm, so she is a real prize!

And then there is this beauty. I found this little wheel on Ravelry, and boy, is it a keeper! It is a Mathieson wheel, made in the 1970's in New Zealand. It is even signed under the treadle. I have never been able to sit down at a wheel for the first time and spin a nice single. Once I got the tension adjusted, that is just what I did! Mom tried it out and loved it, too!

I have been busy spinning and spinning (no, I am not dizzy yet), trying to get plenty of yarn done for the Spanker Creek Craft Fair in 3 weeks. If you happen to be in the Bella Vista area the first weekend in March, come see me!

~Lori

More Fleece!

The Good Lord hasn't been consulting me on His weather the last few days, so sunshine has been scarce and wind has been plentiful. Not a good combo for skirting fleeces. Finally, yesterday and today, the sun peeked out and I have a second group of fleeces ready to offer. There is more variety in this grouping, and therefore they are not all priced the same per pound. At this time I am not splitting fleeces up to sell by the pound, I am just trying to get them skirted and available.
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Again, our sheep are not coated due to the heat and humidity here in Arkansas. They run around and play in clean pastures and they are fed hay and grain on ground level. But they are sheep, and they don't listen when I tell them not to get dirty!

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Each fleece will be boxed and then weighed and you will be charged actual shipping charges, give or take a few cents, plus 80 cents for delivery confirmation. I will email you the tracking number as soon as your package is in the mail.

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Boaz is SOLD!

First up is our little registered Shetland ram, Boaz. He has a super soft fleece, probably the softest fleece I have ever felt, BUT....Boaz is short, the shortest one in the pasture. That means everyone else in the pasture "dribbles" on him at meal time, and since his legs are not so long, a bit more debris attaches to him. So, while he has a gorgeous fleece, he also has a lot of vegetable matter from tiny to large. Because of this, I am pricing his fleece below the rest. I have picked out most of the large vm, and if you are willing to pick out more and comb, you will have an amazing fleece to work with for a very little price.

Boaz's fleece is creamy white and has grey that is only visible from the back side (see above picture). It has a staple of 3.5"-5" plus, and weighs 1 pound, 8 ounces. Again, please be aware you are purchasing a fleece with lots of vm, some will wash out, some will need to picked out, and some will come out in combing. I have priced his fleece at $14.oo for the entire fleece, plus shipping and delivery confirmation.

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Next is Patches, a registered Shetland ewe. Patches has a really neat fleece. When she is standing next to the rest of the ladies, her fleece appears to be white, however, it is really a light cream to white. She also has a couple of spots of black mixed with the white (hence her name, aren't we original?) which you can see in the second picture. We have only had Patches since this summer, so I did not get to work with her fleece last year. Please look closely at the picture showing the locks before purchasing. She has a typical double coated, primitive Shetland fleece that is about a medium softness.

Patches has a 3"-5" staple, with some of the locks tapering out past 5". Her fleece weighs 1 pound, 12 ounces and is priced at $12/pound for a total of $21.oo plus actual shipping a delivery confirmation.

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Winston is SOLD!
And then there is Winston. Winston is our Wensleydale wether. When we first brought Winston home, he had just been sheared (in case you were wondering, that fleece is lurking in my stash!). Wensleydales have a fair amount of lanolin, and his previous owner recommended we give him a bath so he didn't get coated in dirt before he ever started growing those curls. So we did, and Winston would not have anything to do with us for the next 7 months. To top it off, when he saw us dragging the water hose out to fill up the water troughs, he would run to the far side of the pasture! He has come around now, and likes to be scratched under the chin.

Don't those curls just make you want to squeal?

Winston's locks are 3"-4.5" long (a few are longer) and the picture with the ruler shows the two different types of locks in his fleece. Most are curls. Winston's fleece weighs 3 pounds, 12 ounces and is $15 per pound which comes to $56.25 plus actual shipping and delivery confirmation.

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Jasmine is SOLD!

Jasmine is a registered Shetland ewe. Jasmine has a classic primitive Shetland double coat, soft and wooly at the bottom and wispy and coarser towards the end. The color is astounding, black, brown, cream, and dark and light grey are all present, with a very dark undercoat. Please look carefully at the photographs before purchasing. For those of you who love to spin your own sock yarn, this would make lovely, well wearing socks.

Jasmine's fleece has a 3"-6" staple and weighs 1 pound, 14 ounces and is priced at $12 per pound for a total of $22.50 plus actual shipping and delivery confirmation.

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Sweet Pea is SOLD!

Finally, I was able to skirt a fleece that I am very excited about. Sweet Pea is a Cotswold cross little girl. Her fleece shows amazing crimp and some curl and washes up shiny and soft. Sweet Pea's fleece has a lot of lanolin, which allows it to collect dirt a little more freely, so I recommend that it be soaked overnight in cool water to help loosen the dirt before you begin a hot water wash. Her fleece appears yellow in color because of the lanolin, but is creamy off-white when washed.

Sweet Pea's fleece has a 3"-6" staple and weighs 2 pounds, 8 ounces. Her fleece is a premium fleece and would be priced at $18 per pound if it wasn't for the weight the lanolin adds. So I took that into consideration and priced it at $14 per pound for a total $35 plus actual shipping and delivery confirmation.

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If you are interested in a fleece or have questions, please email me at:

lorisarahbrown@gmail.com

Thank you for looking!

FLEECES!!!!!!!!!!

FINALLY! The weather was beautiful today and I didn't have to work all day, so I was able to skirt a few of the fleeces! (Well, I should be doing laundry, but playing with fleece always trumps laundry!) I read another blog where a shepherdess was pricing fleeces according to how badly she wanted to keep the fleece for herself, and I thought to myself, what a good idea, sooooo...........all of my fleeces are $100 a pound. JUST KIDDING!!! I have made some decisions, and here are the first few I am willing to put up for sale.

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All of the fleeces are $12/pound. They have been skirted, but not washed. My sheep are not coated, they are free to frolic "au naturale" in the clean pasture. They are fed grain and hay, both at ground level, but they ARE sheep. They still manage to have vm in their fleece.

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Tabitha is SOLD!
First, there is Tabitha, a full blood Shetland. I processed her fleece myself last year and it produced a creamy, champagne white yarn and is very soft.

Tabitha has a 2 pound fleece and it is $24 plus actual shipping.

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Bernice is SOLD!

Next up is Bernice. She is a Shetland/Border Leicester cross. She is a half sister to my favorite sheep, Naomi (whose fleece I just cannot bear to part with!). Bernice's fleece ranges in color from very dark silver/grey to light cocoa. The Shetland/BL cross produces a super soft, crimpy wool, with curls on many of the tips. The bottom picture shows the different types of locks within her fleece.

Bernice's fleece is 3 pounds, which is $36, plus actual shipping.

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Cyrano is SOLD!
Next, there is Cyrano. He is a registered Sheltand ram with creamy, very soft locks. He does have a few areas of very light grey, which are noticeable from the back.






Cyrano's fleece is 2 pounds, which is $24 plus actual shipping. (I don't know what happened to the middle picture - I cannot get it turned correctly!)


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Pricilla is Sold!

And now there is Pricilla. She is a full blood Shetland. I processed her fleece last year also, and sold all of it, with rave reviews, at fiber shows. Pricilla has a few dark strands throughout her wool, which gives a wonderful depth to the cream color when spun.

At 1 pound, 14 ounces, her fleece is priced at $22.50 plus actual shipping.

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Princess is Sold!

Pricilla has a sister, Princess, and they have pretty much the exact same fleece. One has horns, and the other has shorter horns, which is the ONLY way I can tell them apart in the pasture. Princess' wool is slightly shorter, a little more dense, but the color is the same. Because of this, I did not take additional pictures.

Princess' fleece is larger than Pricilla's, at 2 pounds, 14 ounces and comes to $34.50 plus acutal shipping.

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Liza is SOLD!

And finally, I have a really nice fleece from Liza, a registered Border Leicester. Liza's fleece is quite lovely, and I pondered for a good amount of time if I should keep it, but in the end I decided I could let it go. Her fleece is dark, chocolate brown to light cocoa and again, very soft. It is very lofty, and huge! The table on which it is pictured is 6' long and 3' wide, and

I bunched it up to make it fit for the picture!

This fleece has amazing crimp and curl, and at 3 pounds, comes to $36 plus actual shipping.

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If you purchase a fleece, it will be packed in a box, weighed, and shipped from zip code 72936. Please email me at:

lorisarahbrown@gmail.com

if you are interested in a fleece or have more questions! Thanks for looking, and more fleeces to come soon!

~Lori