June 2016

So summer is here at last and usually other than organising the clip, the handling and the bags from the Wool Board wool is as far from my mind as something for hot sunny days as the warming stews of winter.

An old timer (96) told me recently sheep farming was once truly seasonal. You'd sheer one farm to the next, all friends working together. The women, after the shearing party, which was often a whole village affair, with the wool that was kept home would begin the process of cleaning and washing the wool, to then go on and spin it in the late summer. Autumn would see knitting and weaving keeping them warm by the fire side getting clothing ready for their men folk out in the fields in snow so high you'd loose the hedges to the whiteness. Spring would see the lambs come and the journey start over.

Conversely - Wool 2016 sees a farmer I met yesterday burning about a tonne of wool every year. I'll leave that thought with you. The Wool Board pay him about 40p per kilo for his wool. It costs him 35p per mile to get it to the local depot plus his time.

New In

Supercool super rare

The first ever Dartmoor Tweed lambs fleece. Dartmoor Tweed have been creating a hybrid wool sheep. They've mixed up Devon Closewool with Devon and Cornwall Longwool or Dartmoor Greyface and just a hint of Mule and you get this. The lustre and the crimp is just to die for. There is the shear of four lambs up for grabs. Rare as hens teeth.

In other news...

Yulia Badian (SilkFelt) came to stay and in a quest for Dartmoor Greyface we met a great young chap learning the ropes of sheep farming at a farm near Mary Tavy on the Western edge of Dartmoor. The views from this old farmstead are what Devon is famous for. He helps out with a flock of 500 mixed breed sheep, a herd of beef cows that graze the lowlands and the commons on the Moor and two very cute pigmy goats. Always looking for ways to diversify income he's hooked up with us to bring some new fleece to market for you to explore.

Jacob

We have 30 whole and 'as good as whole' Jacob Fleeces. They are a brilliant mix of black and white with strong divisions between the two colours and quite evenly marked. We're selling them at £15 per fleece including postage.

Scotch Blackface - the closest to Icelandic wool Dartmoor does

Scotties are the pops of white that roam the heathery moorland. They have a long outer coat and a soft downy inner coat. Mix the two up and its not as coarse as it looks. The fleeces are HUGE. Buy a whole one or order by the kilo.