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LambTalk
- pics & narratives of my small family of Shetland sheep. See new
lambs, strange weather, and visitors.Though these pics range through the
years, their habits are the same and they seem to follow a continuous
set of rules. I've named these rules: 1.Eat! ALOT! 2.Stick with
the flock. Always! 3.Be Aware!. 4.Not too close! 5.Play
games. More on the blog.
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YarnTalk - stories based on my sheep, entirely true. Almost. SnoBelle, oldest of the lambs, wants a shawl. But no one will help her. Not the other lambs, nor her argumentative aunts and the ornery, greenish, Uncle PupEye. Only Gramma Filene inspires her with stories of learning about the loom, the spinning wheel, yarns, and most of all, about dyes. Follow SnoBelle's escapades, explorations with color, and even a race through a hurricane. In process, with updates on the blog. |
![]() She thinks I can't see her behind the tree. |
New lambs are fun. Mine have such variety in color, breed, and the games
they play. Here are past photos.
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![]() Oreo, one of the cutist and nicest li'l rams. |
Recently, the FL
panhandle was surprised by snow. A first, for the sheep. Their expressions
show they're entirely bewildered.
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LilyPut in the garden. |
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![]() three "kids" and a stick |
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Also see * * * * * At right, Spatz had black "patent leather shoes" and seemed to want a top hat. So playful as a lamb! He has since grown into the careful ram shown in back of the snowy threesome above. |
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Ivy, another bottle baby, and her cousins went visiting to a neighbors. They'd never seen puppies before. | The neighbor helped to feed her when she was very tiny. Mom, Swee'Pea, makes sure it's done right. | Ivy became very social and accompanies me to classes. She helps show off her soft wool and all the woven items done on the loom. |
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In
this pic - Panda- 9 days old;
"Say, I got sheared
and had twins all |
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Then came
the girls, Pansy & Shamois. Altho mom is very attentive, she can't feed
them. So it's back to bottle-feeding. ![]() Ahhhh.... sublime. |
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Meet CinnamonPat, ![]() a few hours old in these photos. She came on St. Patrick's Day, and surprised me by suddenly being there, strong and healthy, and jumping around the woods on her first day. |
![]() Strange coloring, coming from two white parents. Maybe Swee'Pea was keeping company with a racoon? |
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Meet Dad, Biscuit, March '10. (see him as a baby below). His horns have grown, his wool has grown, and his attitude has definitely gotten a little scarier. Some rams will butt little ones, but Biscuit is great with the lambs and takes his role as daddy-guard in stride. |
Swee'Pea was used to being close and fed by hand and so is much more comfortable with me and the camera nearby. . . . | ![]() |
. . . . Biscuit is not! But he doesn't mind hanging around the background. |
"Thank
goodness she's not using our wool in that 'weaving', so they call it.
I'd rather keep my coat,
thank you very much." ( YarnTalk ) BUT,the new lambs have yet to experience the heat of a Florida summer; they'll be so thankful for a haircut.) Following: pics of the shearing process. |
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Dixie Belle & Schnuckle
Belle, and Doozey & Floozey
Back to TOP |
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1.Shearing starts with sitting down. | |
2. Just like a haircut, wool's trimmed from neck and ears. |
4. Turn over to shear the other side. |
3. The fleece hangs together like a blanket and rolls off all in one piece. | 5. All done, nice and cool. back to top |
![]() ![]() Rams like Biscuit, with horns and LOTS of wool, take a little more time. His Shetland fleece is very long and silky. |
Fleeces are collected annually and a variety of shades & textures are spun into yarns. Use handspun for knitting, crochet, and other yarn projects besides weaving. Note: Many handspun yarns are done from commercial roving and look fairly uniform. The roving is automated: prewashed, predyed, and pre-carded.. Mine are NOT. Carding and spinning directly from raw fleeces, "in the grease", preserves some lanolin and also allows a variety of textured yarns. Dyeing by hand also allows much variety. Email me for samples. See more yarns and rovings. |
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Missy has luscious wool,
a lot of it, with various gradations of color from her white back to her
black legs. When spun, it's very light and soft. |
Weaves by Cappa ~ Alice Cappa ~ acappa@alicecappa.com
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