shearing – Felting and Fiber Studio

Extra busy on Fathers day! Sheering demo and Blacksmithing!!

June 15, 2025 Jan Comments 6 comments

Happy Father’s Day for those who are celebrating today!

Today, which will be yesterday, by the time you are reading this, tomorrow, was a bit overbooked. I hope you will come along and check out the day. At 8:30am, We were to be at the log farm, where Ann has a stall at the farmers market (Yummy goodness!!!). the Farm has barns and other out buildings past the trees and fields beyond the market area. Today was sheering day for their sheep! They had been very generous and given us previous sheerings form their flock so I really did want to go demo for them.

We packed up the Mer-Boyfriend, the mostly finished picture of the sheep and the moose back with landscape. I could not find where Glenn had put my Core wool from WOW so grabbed the last of a bump of coreidale. No not what I want its combed top not carded roving. Drat.

It was quite the hike for me into the farm but the ground was flat until we reached the farm. We saw lots of grape vines and little apples on the way.

1.1) the end of the path heading to the farm

1.2) apples and grape vines with tiny buds of grapes

It has some old log buildings and lots of different types of animals. Including the volunteers of honor the adult sheep. They were quite loud so someone may have tipped them off the Shearing was happening today.

2.1) some of the animals on the farm

2.2) The guests of honor, one of whom thought my walker wheel a tasty snack!

For very early on a Saturday morning there was quite a crowd to watch the sheep loose there winter coats. A new volunteer was brought forward about every 20 minutes until noon.

3.1) shearing in front of an audience.

While this was going on we were next door in a 3 sided barn, I was a bit farther back and could not see the sheering happening until I went out to take a peek.

4.1) Demoing spinning and felting

4.2) touch samples of various fibers

4.3) the sample table

4.4) Inkle weaving and electric spinning wheel (with portable battery power source)

5.1) sheep may be having an Instagram moment after a strange seep trys to sneak into the herd

Post sheering the sheep were looking for food.

feeding sheep grass 5.2) small girl in yellow dress gives hands full of grass to sheep wating at fence

5.3) The lambs having a nap after the sheerer relieve there moms of all there fleece

Just past the sheep were the Alpaca. They had already been sheered

5.4) Alpaca

It was after noon by the time I packed up my felting and we headed back to the car. Unfortunately we had another place to go today and a long drive through traffic to get there.

snow ball bush? prity white flowers 5.5) some form of snow ball bush I think, it was very pretty and there were variations near the farm

5.6) it was a very pretty walk but it felt like it was much longer on the way back.

They may have snuck in more trees while we were demoing? We passed Ann on our way out, she still had some of the cookies and a few tarts. We would have got a beef and mushroom pie but I knew it would have to sit in a hot car for the rest of the day so not a good idea. (The AC seems to have stopped working, oh no back to the old fashion windows!)

5.7) Ann at the Farmers market

Did you want to follow us to our next and more appropriate fathers day location? We are off to well past Ottawa heading towards Montreal to the town of Dunvagen (still in Ontario). The Glengarry Museum is located there and they have an annual Blacksmith group teach a workshop on father’s day weekend. This year they are making scissors.

Since we had been at the sheering this morning we are running late to watch the making of scissors. We arrived and they had made the blades ends and were doing the offset and starting to do the tapper for the handles. Glenn went to check that out and I headed for the ramp to the school house where the lady with alpaca fiber usually is. I missed the bag of black and the dark brown but got a bag of a light creamy badge.

7.1) Alpaca seller

7.2) Pottery vendor

7.3) Sassy by Nicci had figures made of resin. I like these little guys

7.4) this woodworker had bird houses, as well as these bat and bee houses

7.5) This one had some weaving

7.6) horns and horn cups. They are finished so you can drink hot or cold drinks or pop in them.

7.7) There even was a vendor selling blacksmith made stuff. Do you see the woven centure fleshay belt?

Now to the main event the usually very photogenic blacksmiths. There were 2 groups, one in the log building with a forge. They were again working on making a musket. (I think it was a musket it was a gun barrel of an old design.)

8.1) smithing a gun barrel

The other group of blacksmiths were taking a workshop on making a pair of scissors.

9.1-9.2) the blacksmithing class

We arrived as they were discussing forging the handle loops. They could decide the shape and cross section to fit their hands.

9.3) inspecting samples of scissors looking at the handle loops

9.4) The instructor traced a sample scissor handle on his anvil so he had a pattern to work from

I gave Glenn my old camera and he was having fun trying it out.

9.5) Glenn trying out his new camera

9.6) some of the sample scissors and scissor parts

9.7) this is one of the students, we saw her last year. She had an ingenious way of working when she ran out of hands.

9.8) a guillotine tool in the hardy hole

On our way to the museum, we got stuck behind an agricultural parade going very slowly. I am pretty sure we saw the same Vehicles in the field behind the museum. One tractor pulling swirling round rakes that gathered the hay and the second tractor pulled a strange machine that made hay bales that it gathered then dumped behind it. It was fun to watch them work too.

10.1) the field behind the museum

It was a fun day, lots of driving, now I’m sore and its getting close to bed time. I want to leave you with traditional blacksmithing imagery, coal and flames ready to bend mettle to your will. I think I will stick to bending wool to my will but its fun to see the skill involved to move mettle where you want it to go and make useful things, like scissors.

11.1) lovely fire in the forge. just remember not to breath the green smoke!!

I hope you have a wonderful father’s day and get to do some felting ether wet or dry! maybe you made something cool for your Dad?

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival 2015

September 22, 2015 Marilyn aka Pandagirl Comments 23 comments

Last year Cathy (Luvswool) and I attended the Midwest Fiber Fair and were disappointed there were no live sheep. So, this year we decided to attend the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson, WI. Since we weren’t sure how big the Festival was and it was a two hour drive one way, we booked rooms for that Saturday night.

They had an extensive schedule of events and classes. Since we were interested in the Stock and Whistle Dog Trials, that’s where we headed first. We were under the impression they had started at 7 a.m. and we arrived around noon. We waited for almost an hour on a cold bleacher with the wind blowing like mad while they had meeting and set up the field (obviously they didn’t start early.) Fortunately, a gentleman with a headset and speaker was walking around answering questions and keeping up apprised of the activity. The first up were the more experienced trainers and dogs. It was hard to get good pictures because of the distance and the fence. The event itself lasted less than 10 minutes. Still unsure of what we were seeing, we listened to others around us say the trial went well.

Cold and hungry we headed for the food stands. After a quick lunch we perused an auction and saw a bit of the Make it with Wool competition and saw the Wonderful Wisconsin Quilts and Wall Hangings Exhibit.

There were two long buildings packed with over 130 vendors. However, it was fairly crowded and dark so we didn’t take a lot of pictures. Most everything was fiber, tools, and some finished goods. We ran across this display and thought of Zed who has been thinking about fiber packs. We thought this was an interesting way to market a variety of mixed fibers.

We even found a a copy of Ruth’s book on a display shelf.

There were contests and displays of all sorts and dozens of classes. We visited the class building but weren’t able to access it. They also had a Walk and Knit Relay challenge, and a Kids Fiber Camp in addition to judging for youth activities and sheep.

We had to visit the Lambing Barn, but passed on the Carcass competition. Here are the lambs born that morning.

There was also a Hall of Breeds, a couple of breeds we hadn’t heard of. But we did get to see many breeds we were familiar with. Although there was an Icelandic sheep there, a vendor told us she had just been to Iceland and our sheep look nothing like the real ones. Huh.

The shearing demonstration was next. The gentleman doing the shearing gave us an explanation as to why the moccasin shoes he was wearing were important to the shearing process. Having his feet close to the ground and animal, he could easily feel the slightest movement of the sheep between his legs to make adjustments as he sheared. He has been shearing for 38 years and does this all over the world. When asked how long it takes to shear one sheep, he answered in averages depending on the type of sheep, size and location. Evidently, shearing in New Zealand is quick. Sorry about the angle of the pictures we didn’t know when we sat down what view we’d have.

Really the whole Festival was indeed about sheep. There were even classes for sheepherders. By the time we got around the whole fair, we had to make one more run through the vendor buildings. We couldn’t go home empty handed.

Cathy bought a handmade broom, black silk tussah, camel/silk roving, white Navajo churro, linen embroidery threads, hand-dyed silk thread, and an eco-dyeing book.

I bought grey and white Navajo churro, black corriedale and black silk tussah.

We were glad we had rooms for the night. We had dinner in Whitewater and returned home in the morning satisfied we had seen plenty of sheep.

Shearing Sheep in Sweden

April 15, 2015 Marilyn aka Pandagirl Comments 36 comments

Our guest author/artist today is Zara Tuulikki Rooke. She shared with me the fact that April was time for shearing her sheep. So, I invited her to write about it so that we can all experience it since most of us don’t have the opportunity to see it first hand.

Winter is finally giving way to spring, also in the north of Sweden. Or at least, we hope so. Yesterday all the snow almost melted away, and today it has snowed heavily all day… It´s what we call typical April-weather. In any case, the lambs are expected in about four weeks, which means it´s time for shearing. Apart from getting rid of the thick winter fleece before summer, it´s good to shear the sheep before the lambing starts. It makes it a lot easier to see what condition the sheep are in and to follow the lambing in case there are any complications. It is also more hygienic and easier for the lambs to suckle. We only have one ram and four ewes, of which three are expecting lambs and one was born here last spring (you can see the family resemblance between mother and daughter below). But we synchronize our shearing with a neighbour and bring in a professional shearer (Carina Jälkentalo). And that is what this post is about.

In Sweden it´s common to use what is called a “shearing stool.” It´s a platform that can be easily raised with a contraption where the sheep´s head is secured. First you shear the head and neck, then the front and shoulders, and then along the back of the sheep. After that, the platform is raised (to a better working-level), and you continue shearing each side, and finally the belly and legs. The model below is Citronella, the most social of my ewes, and she just calmly stood there during the whole process.

Citronella even got a kiss on her muzzle for being such a good sheep. That´s what I really like about Carina – she always takes the time to talk to and interact with the animals, which is reassuring for both sheep and sheep-owners. And after the shearing they also get a manicure (hoof-clipping), which is often needed after spending much of the winter on a soft straw bed. Citronella´s daughter Stjärna (which means Star) does not like being separated from her mother, but was given some extra attention by one of my daughters.

And who wouldn’t give a little bleat if you got your private parts sheared…?!

Next up was Brittis, my shy sheep with shiny, white locks. All my ewes are cross-breeds, and the three older ones are half-sisters by the same Gotland ram. Citronella looks like a typical Gotland, white Brittis got her looks from her cross-breed mother. This year she managed to stay quite clean until shearing – I guess there are some benefits to having more snow than bare ground and mud in their outdoor enclosure.

The last of my ewes is Lisen, once black but now turning grey. In the photos below you can see the difference in the fleece from the different parts of the animal. The neck and front often has nice locks, but is also where they collect a lot of scraps of hay during winter. The top of their backs can be matted from snow and rain, while the sides are usually nicer on a winter fleece. Lower down on the sides and on the belly, the fleece is often too dirty and matted or even felted to use for anything sensible.

Finally, we sheared our ram Teddy. He seemed really pleased with all the attention, and considering what a mess his fleece was (it felts really easily) I am sure he was glad to get rid of it. But I did save it, with plans to lay it out in my vegetable garden. That should provide some nutrients, keep the soil moist and weeds at bay, and I have heard that slugs don´t like crawling over wool. On the other hand, I have also heard that slugs thrive under wool. Hmmm. I´ll just have to try and see. In any case, I now have a ram that looks like a small mountain goat.

All the sheep got a little extra attention (and pellets) after the shearing. Their appetite increases when you shear their wool, which is beneficial also for the lambs they are carrying. Now we are ready for warmer weather and lambing next month.

Next in turn was our neighbour, or rather, our neighbour´s sheep. Their ewes are mostly white cross-breeds, also including meat-breeds, and most of them are much larger than ours. Their grey ram Edwin is of an old breed called Åsen, the same as our ram. One of the younger ewes was black with a small white patch on one side, but you can clearly see how the fleece has turned grey half way. So from underneath all that black wool, a little grey sheep came out.

The winter fleece is generally of lower quality than the summer fleece. But even with bits of hay in it I couldn’t resist the temptation of accepting my neighbours offer to take care of some of it. The thick winter fleece holds together and does not fall apart into separate locks like the summer fleece. This makes it suitable for felting entire fleeces. As my neighbour doesn’t use the wool herself, I ended up packing the best parts of 9 fleeces in my car. Needless to say, my stash of raw wool is getting quite large, and I am hoping for a warm summer with plenty of time for large, outdoor felting projects.

Thanks Zara for letting us come along on the shearing process. Stay tuned for lambing! And let us know how the fleece works to keep the slugs away!

From Raw Fleece to Carded Batts of Wool

February 26, 2015 Marilyn aka Pandagirl Comments 27 comments

Our guest author/artist today is Zara Tuulikki Rooke. She generously offered to take us through the process of preparing fibers from her own sheep to use for felting.

As I enjoy felting, I feel very fortunate to also be able to keep a couple of sheep. My four ewes are crossbreeds, from traditional Swedish breeds including the more well-known Gotland, and the perhaps internationally less well-known Rya and Finull. In any case, they do have really nice locks.

In Sweden, the common recommendation (with exceptions for certain breeds) is to shear the sheep both in the spring (to remove the thick winter fleece before they have their lambs and before the summer) and in the autumn (when they return to the barn and start spending more time indoors). The summer fleece (sheared in the autumn) is considered to be of higher quality. It has been grown while the sheep have been out grazing nutritious green grass, and not full of hay and straw like the winter fleece. Below is a photo of their summer fleece, sheared last autumn. The lighter, brown tips are from bleaching by the sun (and probably some dirt as they are unwashed).

My ram is from an old breed called Åsen. His fleece is straighter, without real locks. This breed can have a variety of fleece characteristics and different colours in patches on the same individual animal. My neighbour also has a ram of the same breed, and the darker fleece (black-brown-grey) on the photo below is from one of her lambs.

In addition, I also buy raw fleeces from pure Gotland sheep from a farm in a neighbouring village. The photo below shows some of the variation you can get between individuals, both in colour and in the size and shape of the locks. The lambs are born black, but later the wool turns grey and the once black tips are bleached by the sun. Or rather, they grown an increasing proportion of white hairs – there are no grey hairs, just different proportions of white or black hairs making the fleece look grey.

To a felter, this abundance of raw fleeces must seem like an ideal situation. And I certainly think it is. But, the process of turning raw fleece into carded wool is quite time-consuming. And that is what this post is really about.

After shearing, the fleece needs to be skirted and sorted, to take away wool that is too short, dirty or tangled. The short wool can either be from the head or legs of the sheep, or the result of what we call double-shearing (i.e. shearing a patch a second time to even it out). You usually also need to remove a fair amount of grass seeds and other vegetable matter that gets stuck in the fleece. That can take a lot of time, but it helps to do the sorting on some kind of wire mesh that allows small bits to fall through.

Then comes the washing. I try to get as much washing as I can done outdoors in the autumn, after shearing, up until the temperatures drop below freezing (in the North of Sweden that can be quite early in the season). I leave the wool to soak overnight in net-baskets in an old bathtub filled with cold water. The next day, the water will be really brown, but that just shows how much dirt you can actually clean out from a raw fleece with just cold water. I change the water at least twice after that, allowing the wool to soak for at least a few hours between changes, until the water no longer looks dirty. In my opinion, washing the wool in just cold water is sufficient if I am going to use the wool for wet-felting. During felting it will anyhow get washed again with hot water and soap.

During the winter, I do the washing in my bathtub indoors (which prevents anyone in the family taking a shower/bath for 24 hours), and then I usually use lukewarm water. If the wool is very dirty, I also add some washing powder (the type used for knitted wool items). The main rules when washing, to avoid felting the wool in the process, it to avoid too hot water, or quick changes in water temperature, and to disturb the wool as little as possible.

After washing comes drying. The net-baskets are easy to just lift out of the water and then I usually hang them up for a while to drip off a bit. If I am washing a smaller amount of wool, I often use one of those contraptions meant for spinning water from salad. Then I lay it out to dry, on a wire mesh or on towels on a clothes drying rack. Drying takes time, usually several days. It helps to turn the wool over each day and fluff it up a bit each time. It may seem dry on the surface, but wool has an incredible capacity for retaining moisture.
Finally, you have your washed and dried wool, ready for carding. However, some locks do need to be teased first. This means pulling apart the locks/fibres – and you will probably find even more grass seeds now. The photo shows washed locks, before and after teasing. It´s an extra step in the process, but if the locks are tangled in the tips, teasing really does facilitate the carding.

I own a drum-carder, which really does save time compared to using hand-carders. The wool is feed in under the small drum, which in turn feeds it onto the larger drum, as you turn the handle. After two or three runs through the drum-carder, you can finally lift off a batt of lovely, fluffy, carded wool. Then you can start felting!

It does take a lot of time and effort, and I do swear about grass seeds through the whole process, but each step also has its own charm. I often find it very relaxing to sort, tease and card wool. It provides an opportunity to really feel and look at the locks – and to plan what to do with them. And at the end of the day, when I look at my washed locks and carded batts of wool, I feel really wealthy. Perhaps, in part, because I know how much time and effort has been invested into those locks and batts of wool.

Thank you Zara for such a wonderful tutorial with exceptional pictures to show us the whole process from fleece to wool batts!

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Extra busy on Fathers day! Sheering demo and Blacksmithing!!

June 15, 2025 Jan Comments 6 comments

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Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival 2015

September 22, 2015 Marilyn aka Pandagirl Comments 23 comments

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Shearing Sheep in Sweden

April 15, 2015 Marilyn aka Pandagirl Comments 36 comments

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From Raw Fleece to Carded Batts of Wool

February 26, 2015 Marilyn aka Pandagirl Comments 27 comments

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