Attention!!!!
OUR EBAY STORE IS OPEN WITH LOTS OF YARNS, HAND-WOVEN, AND HANDKNITTED ITEMS CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
Ebay Store update 2007 ! ! ! !
Myrrhwood Farm Newsletter!! Spring 2007 Update!!
Greetings from Myrrhwood Farm!! Home of Little Splash Yarns!!! We are so excited about this year as our Ebay store really took off this last winter. We expanded our yarn and dying yarn line to include some of the most beautiful handpainted 100% Merino sock yarns you will ever see. April should prove to be an exciting month. It has proven wise as each week we see an increase in sales. For me it is a dream come true to finally to reach the market that truly understands and appreciates the craft of handspring yarns. And because we have literally no overhead, we can keep our prices sensible. Please take time to visit our ebay store by clicking on one of the links on this page.
Winter 2007 UPDATE! ! !
Winter is just around the corner and the rams are again in with the ewes. Beth and I are anxiously waiting the arrival of our 2008 crop of CVM/Romaldale X Border Leicester lambs. This years lambs promises to be even better than last years great crop as I selectively bred some of my best Border Leicester ewes to our wonderful CVM/Romaldale ram Reno. I have also bred our top white ram George to a select few Border Leicester X CVM ewes, this will give us a 3/4 Border Leicester and should give us a beautiful long staple length while retaining the CVM softness. This last year was very busy for us here at Myrrhwood Farm as our yarn business on Ebay really took off. We have expanded our handspinning yarns and are in the process of sending our own Border Leicester and CVM wool to the mill to be spun into yarn. We will also be offering a line of select cut lamb this year as the Border Leicester X CVM lambs show exceptional growth and great weight gain. If you are looking to expand your wool flock or your commercial flock our breeding ewes and rams are just what you are looking for. Contact us for more information.
Border Leicesters are from the Leicestershire region of England, and have been there since the earliest recorded history of the British Isles. Border Leicesters rank 3rd in size among the longwool breeds. A mature ram will weigh around 200-250 lbs. and stand about 32 inches at the shoulder. An adult ewe will usually weigh 150-175 lbs. The wool is long and lustrous with a spinning count of 40s-50s (38-30microns) and staple length of 10 inches after 12 months' growth. An average ewe fleece will have a grease weight of 8-12 lbs. Annually. Lambs fed for maximum gains often reach a trim 110 lbs. by 4 to 4-1/2 months of age. These sheep have proven in our breeding program to be a superior breed to cross, as they will improve size, fleece and meat production.
For 2005 we have introduced CVM/Romeldales to our flock. TheRomeldale is a breed of sheep developed by A.T. Spencer. He purchased several New Zealand Romney rams in 1915 that were brought to the Pan-American exposition in San Francisco in hopes of improving the staple, length , and carcass quality of his Rambouillet flock. Through many years of selection, the Romeldale breed was developed, with fleece properties of 60-64's, extremely high yield, and uniformity in clubbing carcass cutability superior to the other whiteface breeds. During the 1960's Glen Eidman, a partner of J.K. Sexton, found in his purebred Romeldale flock a multicolored ewe lamb. Two years later a ram lamb of the same barred pattern was born and when crossed with the ewe, the resulting offspring were of the same color pattern. Through subsequent breeding and further mutants from the Romeldale flock, the C.V.M. breed was born. The C.V.M. face is generally free of wool and covered with soft hair, although sometimes wool is found on the forehead. The body is sturdy and well boned with a long straight back. Mature rams weigh from 175-200 pounds, are aggressive and virile breeders. Ewes weigh from 120-150 pounds, are protective, dedicated mothers, prolific and long-lived. Twining and lambing ease are part of the breed emphasis. C.V.M. color patterns vary widely, especially in the darkness of body wool. Unlike many sheep, the C.V.M. will not fade with age, but rather darkens from birth to their first year. Their fleece color varies widely including dark gray, black, brown, moorit, and spotted. Fleece should be bright, uniform and dense, of high yielding, long staple, fine wool. Sheep will average about 8 pounds of wool yearly with spinning counts from 60's to 62's quality. A 12 month staple length averages 4-6 inches, with a well defined crimp from base to tip.
