Shave Em' to Save Em' Program Finishes

Hello Everyone!  It has been a busy time at Story's Shetlands sorting the 2020 fleeces.  The first round has been listed to the Fleece page and soon roving will be following.  The roving has a tendency to sell fast.  If there is a particular color you are looking for, please do not hesitate to send an email.  I will be more than happy to check on availability.  Also if you are wanting washed fleece, locks, or smaller quantities of fleece, please give us a shout.  Not everyone wants a whole sheep fleece in their house.  I know my hubby wishes we had a few dozen less, and those numbers do not include the Shetlands!! ;)  

The SE2SE Program from the Livestock Conservancy has kept me hopping.  Fiber enthusiasts are sincerely the most wonderful people who grace this planet.  Thanks to the Conservancy, we have met so many individuals whose hopes match ours in keeping the small wool sectors alive, healthy, and productive.  

Wool is a tremendous renewable resource and overlooked by many.  It is a sincere pleasure to help represent the Shetland breed.  Wool is not simply "wool".  Some can be scratchy while others soft.  Some wool yarn can be worn by an infant while some can make a rug that will last for years under your feet.  *sigh*  I could talk forever about this fiber, but my purpose today is to "show and tell" the work of from a few talented spinners.  :)  

How beautiful is this photo?  I have never spun with a spindle and admire the talent immensely.  Look at how gorgeous the singles look created from Trixie's roving!  Her white with high concentration of black fiber translates to a glorious silvery bright gray.  


Are you ready to see the shifting of colors on a single fleece?  Take a look at the following example.  Here is a skein of wheel spun yarn produced from the fleece along the high areas of Lil' Brick.  (The color of his fleece shifted depending on the area of the fleece it was extracted from.)   Lil' Brick's  2019 fleece  had a darker area (as seen below)  that was a lovely nutmeg brown.  The color represented a small area of his fleece and a nod to his Grandpa Brick.  Not gonna lie...  I get drawn in by a rich brown.   Between Lil' Brick's batch of locks and Cocoa's, I could turn into a worse-than-I-am hoarder.  You know the feeling! ;)   I played fair though and shared his fibery goodness.  The spinner was so happy that she came back for the remaining roving and offered to give Lil' Brick a place to come visit, if her condo allowed!  ;) 

Can you tell she has spun for many years?  Gorgeous handspun!




***A break from the usual programming***

We are venturing into the area of Lil' Brick's fleece that stops my heart.  Yep!  This fawn color is a wonder to me.  Is it even a color?  It is like a mystical unicorn to my soul! lol  

Do you want to hear something even crazier?  His WHOLE fleece shifted to the above mentioned fawn color with light tips this year.  I didn't even throw it in the raw listings for 2020.  Now that is saying something.  I washed it and am contemplating processing it all into roving.  With my hubby's wish for space from my stash, I hope I am able to release it to be sold!  Aaaaargh!    Here is a sneak peek...



***Now back to some PHENOMENAL handspun yarn!***


This outstanding skein was wheel spun from the lower areas of Lil' Brick's fleece.  Look at the consistency of the yarn?   We were blessed with some crazy talented spinners who took on our Shetland fibers.  I believe the spinner flicked the ends and spun from the lock  to achieve this yarn.  It is a lesson to all spinners and one I live by.  Do not underestimate the power of the bleached out tips, as long as they aren't brittle.  It can add a dimension to your finished yarn that is breathtaking...   




It has been fun sharing a few of the photos from our SE2SE participants.  I will have to rummage around and find some more.  It is a great honor to see our wool travel across the United States with a jump over to Hawaii and our neighbors in Canada as well by Miss Lego.  I might just look for a map to hang on the wall and put a pin in representing which of our flock's fiber roamed where.  It would be fun to see!

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