Sheep, Alpaca, and Rabbits...Oh My!
In addition to sheep, fibers can be obtained from many natural animal and plant sources; fibers are harvested from creatures such as camels, yaks, llamas, alpacas, goats, dogs, silkworms, and also from plants such as flax, cotton, and bamboo, all of which have provided raw materials for fiber workers, down through the centuries. In our modern age, industrial technology has allowed the development of synthetic fibers including nylon, polyester, and rayon, to name only a few. Sheep have been domesticated for thousands of years; they are an important part of many bible stories attesting to their importance in the lives of the people of that time.
I maintain my own flock of sheep which are raised and cared for to provide wool for my needs. My sheep are high percentage Wensleydale and Wensleydale/Blue Faced Leicester and grow a fleece of up to 8 inches staple length. The Wensleydale sheep breed comes from England and is considered a rare breed sheep. The wool is highly sought after, being the softest longwool with a high luster to the fibers. The resulting yarn has a sheen to it! My ram, Ted, is 92% Wensleydale and passes on his beautiful fleece genes to his lambs. Each year, there are lovely lambs available for sale. The sheep provide me with over 60 pounds of wool a year!
I maintain my own flock of sheep which are raised and cared for to provide wool for my needs. My sheep are high percentage Wensleydale and Wensleydale/Blue Faced Leicester and grow a fleece of up to 8 inches staple length. The Wensleydale sheep breed comes from England and is considered a rare breed sheep. The wool is highly sought after, being the softest longwool with a high luster to the fibers. The resulting yarn has a sheen to it! My ram, Ted, is 92% Wensleydale and passes on his beautiful fleece genes to his lambs. Each year, there are lovely lambs available for sale. The sheep provide me with over 60 pounds of wool a year!
Sharing a pasture with the sheep is my Suri alpaca, Mist. He is a neutered male who was surplus in the alpaca breeding industry. Suri alpacas have long lustrous locks of very soft fiber. Approximately 20% of the alpacas in the world are Suri alpacas which produce this luxury fiber. Alpacas are quiet, gentle creatures, however they fiercely guard their flock of sheep. They have been seen chasing foxes out of the pasture. Mist also loves to babysit the new baby lambs in the spring.
Although I no longer breed angora rabbits, I like to keep a few for their fiber. I blend it with my wool to produce a ultra soft handspun yarn.