Welcome to Story's Shetlands. My name is Brenda, and I am proud to be able to write about a wonderful part of our family's life. One of the most interesting things for me to read, when visiting shepherd's websites, is the about me page. It gives a little insight to what made these unique people want to devote their lives to the care of fiber animals. As most will tell you, this is not a huge money making operation. It is, for the most part, a labor of love. This page is a sharing of the most frequently asked questions with hopes of giving a glimpse into the wonderful world of Story's Shetlands and their shepherds.
Who are the people that make up Story's Shetlands?
The founder is Jacob Story who is now greatly assisted by his lovely wife Sarah. Jacob's mom, Brenda, pinch hits doing chores when the kids are away. She also processes and sells fleece, feeds the flock graham crackers, and enjoys spinning their fiber. Her adventures are chronicled on her blog Pumpkin Hollow Primitives. She lists the fleece, roving, and yarn on Ravelry and soon will have all the listings on this blog as well. Jacob's dad, Dan, helps out on various projects around the farm.
A simple answer to this question. Our family name is Story. Although there were plenty of imaginative names to call the flock, the current named picked them first. The flock use to be located on a farm just on the outskirts of our small rural town. People were constantly asking whose sheep were grazing off in the field. Well everyone knows everyone out here, so any inquiries would get the quick answer, "They're Story's Shetlands." The plain but direct reference stuck and became the marketing name for the fiber.
How many sheep do you have?
Our flock is currently comprised of 32 energetic, single coated Shetlands. Sixteen of those members were lambs born in 2018. Story's Shetlands is proud to represent the small family farms of America. The lower flock numbers allows for individual attention and recognition. Shetland sheep thrive on "hands on" care. Each sheep has a name and personality all of their own. Most trait personalities are similar to those of loyal dogs.
We would be happy to answer any questions regarding our flock or fiber sales. Please comment or email any inquiries to StorysShetlands at outlook.com. All sales of Shetland fiber goes towards feed and veterinarian costs. Your purchases are appreciated by the whole flock at Story's Shetlands!
Who are the people that make up Story's Shetlands?
The founder is Jacob Story who is now greatly assisted by his lovely wife Sarah. Jacob's mom, Brenda, pinch hits doing chores when the kids are away. She also processes and sells fleece, feeds the flock graham crackers, and enjoys spinning their fiber. Her adventures are chronicled on her blog Pumpkin Hollow Primitives. She lists the fleece, roving, and yarn on Ravelry and soon will have all the listings on this blog as well. Jacob's dad, Dan, helps out on various projects around the farm.
Jacob with the flock's protector, Luke the llama.
Everyone has to pass Luke's sniff test prior to going near the flock. He is exceptionally on his toes at lambing time, when his humming becomes very noticeable. If you are outside the lambing pens, he will nonchalantly keep nudging you over until you realize, he would like you to leave. lol
Sarah with the newest lambs.
Shetland's are an extremely friendly breed. They love the human contact. Even the ewe moms appreciate a babysitter to come in for awhile and preoccupy the lambs. The three lambs closest to Sarah were the flock's first triplets: Mario, Maddy, and Mae. :)
Overall herding and perimeter patrolling is conducted by a natural born Shepherd, Annie.
When did the flock begin?
The flock began way back in 2012. Jacob was helping out at a farm and was given some space to raise animals. He located a Shepherdess who raised registered Shetland sheep and purchased 1 ram and 2 ewes. The ram was named Brick. The gray ewe was named Lego and the brown ewe Ariel. The names seemed odd but made more sense when we learnt the Shepherdess's grandkids named them! This simple registered trifecta started the Story's Sheltands flock.
The matriarch of the flock, Lego with Brick and Arial waiting their turns for petting.
How did Story's Shetlands get their name?A simple answer to this question. Our family name is Story. Although there were plenty of imaginative names to call the flock, the current named picked them first. The flock use to be located on a farm just on the outskirts of our small rural town. People were constantly asking whose sheep were grazing off in the field. Well everyone knows everyone out here, so any inquiries would get the quick answer, "They're Story's Shetlands." The plain but direct reference stuck and became the marketing name for the fiber.
The flock relaxing at home on the look out for graham crackers!
How many sheep do you have?
Our flock is currently comprised of 32 energetic, single coated Shetlands. Sixteen of those members were lambs born in 2018. Story's Shetlands is proud to represent the small family farms of America. The lower flock numbers allows for individual attention and recognition. Shetland sheep thrive on "hands on" care. Each sheep has a name and personality all of their own. Most trait personalities are similar to those of loyal dogs.
Marlena with her day old lamb, Max.
What kind of fleece does your Shetlands have and types of fiber offered for sale?
Our pure bred and registered Shetlands are mainly single coated. There are a few considered transitional. This means, a shorter contrasting color can be found midway up the staple, that may or may not, continue to the tip. When combing transitional fiber, this shorter fiber is removed. When transitional locks are twisted in the middle and flicked, the shorter fibers remain giving a lovely sense of depth to the finished yarn.
Currently, Story's Shetlands offers raw fleece, raw and washed locks, roving, and periodically hand spun yarn. We have looked into mill processing but presently have been able to meet our spinning and felting customer's needs with high quality "in house" combed then carded roving, along with eco friendly lock washing.
Shetlands have a wide variety of fiber length and crimp. Length and crimp frequently are varied on the same fleece! Our flock has extra fine members offering a 2.5+ inch staple, and our traditional heritage members can produce 3.5 to an amazing 7+ inch locks. Please see the pages under our blogs main header to click on availability and more detailed descriptions.
Combed and drum carded fiber creates a smooth drafting roving.
Do you coat your sheep?
At Story's Shetlands, we do not put coats on our sheep. This is for various reasons. The most obvious being the spirited nature of our sheep versus a jacket. Wrangling our sheep into coats would be reminiscent of mutton busting, and their antics after the fact would more than likely result in ruined coats or with someone hung up in the barnyard during the heat of the day. Also, Shetlands are small sheep, and the Midwest can get scorching hot in the summer. We have made the decision not to take the chance of causing additional stress or having a sheep fall prey to heat exhaustion. Although quality fiber is our goal, these small fleeced beings are first and foremost pets and valued members of our farm family. We have personally found after washing our flock's locks, any vegetable matter falls out easily during processing and spinning.
Cricket and his buddy Sam.
We would be happy to answer any questions regarding our flock or fiber sales. Please comment or email any inquiries to StorysShetlands at outlook.com. All sales of Shetland fiber goes towards feed and veterinarian costs. Your purchases are appreciated by the whole flock at Story's Shetlands!
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