We are privileged to have Master blade shearer, Kevin Ford, shear our sheep each year. Kevin arrives in late February with early spring days in North Carolina just around the corner. We only shear once per year so our sheep generally have 6 to 9 inches of lustrous curly locks. The Leicester Longwool fleeces wash well to a white/creamy white and take dye beautifully. The long locks are silky and very lustrous, with an open, curly structure. The wool makes a lovely smooth and shimmering worsted or semi-worsted yarn. It has a soft handle and is great fun to spin.
Currently I use all of the year's clip for my own yarn and wool crafts. When I do have fleeces for sale, I will post them here. When available, the fleeces are heavily skirted before being offered for sale. There will be some vegetable matter and dirt as our sheep are not coated. However, due to the open nature of the locks, vegetable matter tends to fall out easily during processing and the dirt washes out. |