Beth and I began our journey into the wonderful world of sheep and wool while we lived in Colorado. At that time we were both working in computer manufacturing and needed an outlet from the stress of such a fast paced environment. We looked into many different home based cottage industries but when we were introduced to the wonder of these beautiful animals we were hooked. We decided to raise longwool sheep because we knew that the value add that the wool would give us made more sence than simply raising the sheep simply for their meat. Once we began working with the fleece and wool we could not believe how wonderful it was to work with. Both Beth and I learned to spin, Beth with a drop spindle and then with a single tredle Louet spinning wheel. Once she became more proficient then she started to teach me on the spinning wheel. Once I got the hang of it I found it to be very relaxing and watching the fibers turning into yarn right before your eyes was almost hypnotising. It took me to another place, away from the everyday hussle and bussle of the manufacturing lifestyle. Our initial flock consisted of Icelandic, we found the ease of raising these sheep perfect for the new herdsman. They are very hardy and can withstand all types of weather conditions and are very easy breeders and excellant mothers. The lambs are quick to get up after birth and a very lively and quick to nurse. The colors are wonderful and the wool is very tough and warm. Once we began raising the Icelandic we then found other breeds which had their own unique characteristics. We were attracted to a breed of sheep that originally came from the British Isles. These were Border Leicester, these sheep were one the first sheep introduced to the United States and were the breed that originally made up most of Thomas Jeffersons flock. We truly fell in love with the long ringlet curls of the Border Leicester and Beth especially loved the fact that she could spin yarn from the fleece which gave the yarn a distinctive appearance with all the curls and tails that stood out once it was spun. Because it wasn't a dual coated sheep the resulting yarn was not quite as fuzzy as the Icelandic and since the wool is softer even tho it is still considered a coarse wool sheep it was softer to the touch. In 2003 we moved our farm from the dry desert conditions of Colorado to the lush green fields of Eastern Nebraska, where our growing flock could enjoy more days on pasture without the worry of overgrazing the grass. We also wanted a more readily available supply of good quality alfalfa hay to feed during the winter months. Once we were established in Nebraska we expanded our flock to include the CVM/Romaldale breed. Again we were looking to improve the fleece quality of our flock and as a result improve the yarn quality we were producing. The Romaldale was the perfect answer for us. Not only are the colors spectacular but the softness of the fleece is unbelieveable. We purchased our first ram from Roy and Myrtle Dow in Colorado and and we crossed him on our very best Border Leicester ewes. The results have been nothing but amazing. Not only are we getting a more uniform fleece but the added crimp and softness has given us a wool which when spun into yarn can be worn next to the skin without any problems with itchiness. Plus the colors are really coming through and our diversity of natural colored wool is giving us the opportunity to offer natural colored yarns to our customers which we weren't able to offer in the past. Along with the improvement of the wool we are finding we are getting wonderful highbred vigor and the resulting offspring are fast growing with a lot of muscling and excellant meatyness. We are looking to expand our Romaldale flock this coming year and will continue to cross breed our young stock to move closer to a 100% Romaldale blood stock. We see the importance of furthering this breed and building a larger base from which the breed can expand. The CVM/Romaldale is one of the most endangered breeds in the world and we feel it is our duty as shepherds to help prevent the loss of this beautiful animal.
Attention!!!!
Spring 2009 UPDATE! ! !
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. Beth and I have been producing and selling handspun for over 10 years. Handspun yarns are the core of our business. We don't spin small skeins of leftover pieces of our roving stash. Our roving is spun by the bagful and this assures you a consistant reliable yardage. When we spin from a washed fleece, we spin the whole fleece. Rarely, if ever, will you find skeins of our handspun in yardages less than 100 yards. And we try very hard to dye at least 1000yards per dye lot so you can have enough yarn for larger projects. We personally use our handspun lots to make lap throws and afghans which take up to 1000 yards. We have done custom dying of larger batches. so if you need more than 1000 yards, contact us we'll get the job done for you. We are also expanding our dying process and we believe , we offer you some of the most beautiful, unusual colorways you will see anywhere. And in skein sizes that will allow you to make useful projects, not just use it for trims. Two of our skeins will easily make a scarf or hat on large needles. These yarns do not pattern or "pool" but rather, give an all over mottled effect. See the knitted sweater as an example. This fabulous sweater was hand knitted from a custom order of yarn in the colorway "Iris." The CVM/Border Leicester cross lambs have proven to be very fast growing and show exceptional gains for us as well as producing a beautiful fleece. 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. We hope to continue to expand our hand spun and mill spun yarns and with the addition of the CVM color we will have a very wide range of natural colored yarns for you to choose from. We will announce when we have our first batch of Little Splash Sock Yarn as soon as we get it back from the mill. It is sure to make a beautiful pair of socks, very soft and durable.
Spring 2009! ! Update
Well spring is upon us againg in Nebraska. After a long and cold winter we are looking forward to the beautiful green of the grass and the smell of Spring in the air. Everyone made it through the winter just fine all the sheep are also glad to see the warmth of Spring. Shearing is just around the corner we are planning on April 4th if the weather cooperates. Spring in Nebraska can be very tricky to work with as rain can come up at a moments notice. All the sheep are in need of a good shearing and from the looks of things the fleeces will be just beautiful. Many projects are planned this year to make our operation a little more efficient. The sheep housing is moving up the slope just a little to enable better drainage and to allow some clean up around the barn. This should help keep the sheep dryer and make cleaning easier. We are looking at doing some reseeding of the pastures to provide better grazing this year and hopefully allow us to pasture further into the fall season. We are working with our friends in Colorado to purchase another CVM ram to broaden our CVM flock and to add more natural colors to our line of hand spun yarns. Beth and I have been hard at work improving our hand spun yarns this winter in order to continue to provide the best quality hand spun yarns you will find. I have been using our hand spun yarns excussivly in my weavings this winter and the results have been wonderful. If you are a weaver please give us a call or drop us an e-mail and we will send you a sample of our hand spun for you to look at. If you are a weaver and are looking for a 100% wool yarn to use in your weaving then you owe it to yourself to take a look at our yarns. We are also planning some trips to fiber shows this summer we will put our schedule on our site as soon as it is finalized. At this time we are planning for sure to be at the Autumn Festival in Omaha Nebraska next fall at the Qwest Center it is a great time, fabulous venders from all over the country.
