Fleece Preparation
My Gotland ewes are pre lamb shorn as
Gotlands develop a break in the wool at lambing due to stress and will
shed their wool.
They
are then shorn again after lambing when the wool is about 3/8 of full
length to remove the break. This ensures wool that grows is of excellent
quality for handcraft use.
At pre lamb shearing
each fleece is skirted and graded by my mother who is a qualified wool
classer. Fleece details such as the sheep it came off, grade, colour,
weight and staple length are all recorded. This ensures that each
customer gets a fleece which is of the highest quality.
Wool Facts
-
Fibre diameter: 34 - 40 microns (ewe fleece), 29 - 33 microns (lamb fleece).
-
Staple length: 100 - 150 mm.
-
Fleece weight: 1.5 - 2.5 kg (ewe fleece). 1.0 - 1.5kg (lamb fleece)
-
Uses: Spun yarn can be used to make soft delicate garments or weatherproof outdoor wear. If dyed, very subtle modified shades are obtained. The fleece is excellent for felting.
Shearing Time
A
special thank you must go to my parent's neighbour Lance Small who was
responsible for shearing the Gotland sheep from 1998-2010.