Fantastic Fiber Friday- Oh no she didn’t !!!!

If you liked the new sound and text effects please let me know. I want to hear your comments. If you have questions about a certain part of processing fiber or about a certain fiber feel free to ask.

Links from the video:

Devon sheep

Devon wool

Knitter’s Block Links:

http://store.cocoknits.com/products/knitter%E2%80%99s-block.html

http://halcyonyarn.com/products/equipment/70610200.html

Gaia Spinning Fiber

Morning Fog Spinning Fiber

Maine Woods Fiber Yarn and Fiber

On The Round

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wow that's one heavy fleece!!!!! shared by kinjin76 of flickr

 These sheep produce a heavy fleece it can range from 10-20 pds. The staple length is amazing at 8-12 inches. This fiber is considered to be a carpet fleece as it’s pretty coarse with micron counts of 30-46. However first fleeces can be incredibly soft. The locks are curly with a defined tip.

close-up of fleece still on the hoof.. courtesy of Give Fleece A Chance on flickr

My Devon top feels a bit silky and slippery with some crispyness. There were definitely some prickles at the neck that seemed to subside after a second.  However I was pleasantly suprised that it wasn’t bad enough to remove it right away. I think if it was spun worsted it could be silky and drapey against the neck.

Here is my Devon top:

Devon top

Close-up of Devon top at Applebee's Acres- The Fiber of My Being

I also dyed up the batch into two slightly different colors for an experiment I’ll explain on the FFF video this week.

dyed devon top

 Information from https://www.rbst.org.uk/sitemanager/uploads/attachments/83_gallery.pdf and The Fiber and Fleece Sourcebook by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius

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What a fleece !!!!! courtesy of Oxfordshire Churches on Flickr

As I was researching Devon sheep I found some interesting facts. There are in fact 2 kinds of Devon sheep the Devon Closewool and the Devon Longwool. The Devon Longwool was originally the Devon Longwool and the South Devon Longwool or Cornwall Longwools. Talk about confusion!

It seems that the South Devon Longwool , the Cornwall Longwools and the the Devon Longwool have become one breed. The registries were even combined. They are now the Devon and Cornwall Longwool Association. So for clarity I will refer to them as Devon and Cornwall Longwools.

Where are the front and back? Shared by Give Fleece A Chance on flickr

Devon and Cornwall Longwools are considered to be primitive sheep as there hasn’t been any new bloodlines introduced for quite some time. They are considered a dual-purpose sheep.  Both sexes are polled. Ewes weight from 165 pds to 170 pds. The rams weigh in 220-245 pds. I’m impressed these are big sheep!

Ewe and Lamb shared by soupsake on flickr

This breed of sheep is quite hardy and does great with just grazing. They are a bit shorter in the body and more compact than other similar breeds. Devon and Cornwall Longwools are rarely seen out of their original  area. As a result this breed is on the watchlist at level 3 for the rare breeds survival trust. Being on the watchlist at level 3 means that there are only about 500-900 known breeding females. You can check out this information and information about other at risk domesticated animals at www.rbst.org.uk.

How cute is this little on with that curly fuzzy face???? Thanks to Bill Boaden of flickr for sharing.

 Information from https://www.rbst.org.uk/sitemanager/uploads/attachments/83_gallery.pdf and The Fiber and Fleece Sourcebook by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius

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Here are a few more pics of Quiviut:

single ply quiviut

quiviut spun on trindle

kitten being bottle fed

The Musk Ox Farm

 As I was looking for information on Musk Ox, I found a very interesting program. Some wonderful people are domesticating a small portion of these awesome animals. The Musk Ox Farm in Palmer Alaska is wonderful 1930′s farm where they raise, socialize, and breed these beautiful animals. There mission states that ”The Musk Ox Development Corporation, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to the domestication of the musk ox and to the promotion of qiviut production as a gentle and sustainable agricultural practice in the far north.” I think it’s a beautiful idea.

Cow and Calf at The Musk Ox Farm

I had the opportunity to speak with Mark Austin who is the Executive Director of the the Musk Ox Development Corporation. He explained to me that they are basically a breeding toward more domesticated animals and socialization is a huge part of this domestication. The people at The Musk Ox Farm are very hands on and and it seemed almost like they were imprinting with the animals to a point. Mark was telling me about a PR Cow that brings her babies right up to fences to show them off.  I asked about husbandry and how old musk ox cows should be and found out it’s acutally a few years (3-4). This is not a fast growing animal. There is also a certain weight that cows need to attain before breeding.  I asked what they did with the more “wild” animals. They allow these ”rangier” (as Mark put it) animals to live out their lives on the farm. I’m so glad they weren’t culling or tossing out those with unwanted traits. 

Kissing a Bull (courtesy of Musk Ox Farm)

The Musk Ox Farm has a program. I would love to share with you!

Spring Membership Drive & Great qiviut Give-Away

 For the first time ever the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska has a limited amount of the world’s finest gently combed raw qiviut available exclusively for our members. 

Mommas and babies how cute!!! thanks to The Musk Ox Farm

Here’s how it works: 

While supplies, last every new “Friends of the Musk Ox” member that signs up at the adoption level ($100), or above, will receive one free ounce of luxurious qiviut.  

We want you to be able to finish your project, so if you wish, you may purchase up to an additional two ounces for $75/ounce.

 To become a new member and receive your qiviut “thank you” print this flyer off and send it with your name, address, phone number, email address and check to the Musk Ox Farm at:

Musk Ox Farm

P.O. Box 587

Palmer, AK 99645

For more information call (907)745-4151 or email: info@muskoxfarm.org

How cute is this little one? (courtesy of The Musk Ox Farm)

 Now that I’ve brought of Quiviut. I have to ramble on about how soft it is:) The musk ox coat is a mix of black Grey and brown with long guard hairs. Occasionally white muskoxen have been found.

There is also a great variety within the actual coat of the musk ox. According to The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook by Deborah Robinson and Carol Ekarius there are  4 types of “hair” in Musk Oxen coats.

Musk ox fiber before dehairing by Dreams in Fiber on Flickr

The skirt hairs which are up to 24 inches long. The guard hairs which are 3/4 -6 inches long. Intermediate striaght hairs length not determined similar to down.

And then of course (drumroll please)  the down, the quiviut, creme de la creme. The down is usually in the range of 10-20 microns placing it right up there with cashmere. There are no locks really to speak of it comes off the the animal in a cloud mass all at one time.

I was able to get my hands on some of this amazing stuff. I do think there are some straight hairs in mine. It is a crazy soft, buttery, chocolate cloud of fluff.

My quiviut

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Musk ox shared by KvikneFoto on flickr

The musk ox is prehistoric mammal one of the few that survived the last ice age. They moved across North America as far as Greenland.  Looks can be deceiving although they look similar to a ox, Musk Ox are actually much closer related to goats and sheep. They were given the genus name  Ovibos which means sheep-ox.

Musk Oxen are horned, stand about 4ft at the shoulder with males haveing a longer length than females. They weigh in between 400-600 pds and live for between 12-20 years.

Musk Oxen in Norway courtesy of kenjclarke on flickr

Both sexes are horned. Muskoxen stand about 4 ft at the shoulder with females being between 4-6 ft long and males being 6-8 ft long. They weigh in at about 400-600 pds. Muskoxen live about 12-20 yrs. During rutting season the bulls use those impressive horns to show their dominance. There is a definite pecking order with these animals based on sex and age. Older and more dominate animals will get the prime grazing areas. A subordinate bull can change his status by charging the dominate bull.

Running musk ox by Peter Krejzl on flickr

In an interesting twist the bulls of a herd are in charge during mating season but during gestation the cows are in charge and decide how far to travel and when to stop. When calving the cows stay within the group for protection. Calves are quickly able to keep up with the herd. If winters are severe cow’s may not even go into estrus. I think this is an interesting survival technique.

Goliath at Musk Ox Farm

When the herd is threatened bulls and cows will form a circle around the calves in a defensive posture. The bulls usually provide the first line of defense. However, in another interesting twist it seems the bulls decide what defensive measures to take during rutting season and the cows decide the rest of the time.

Storm from The Musk Ox Farm

Muskoxen are natives to arctic areas. in the late 19 , early 20th century they were wiped out in Alaska by climate changes and/or over hunting. These amazing survivors have been introduced back into the ecosystem in Alaska. Information found on wikipedia.

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In today’s video along with the regular fun stuff, I address an issue that makes me a bit uncomfortable talking about. On a good note I have found a solution.

Spinning lesson Link http://www.thefiberofmybeing.net/?page_id=3225 or you can click at the top of the page toward the middle where it says Fiber Lessons.

More pics of the Romulan Cloak One Skein Shawl all finished.

If your interested in more designs from the Fickleknitter you can check out her website here.

Fibers are as follows from left to right Cormo ,romney ,Lincoln ,and navaho churro. Below is the peach nebula colorway spun up

Look at the fleece! shared by Rob Wilsdon on flickr

Lincoln fleece is in heavy,twisted locks that spiral toward the end.  These large sheep produce fleeces weight in in at 12 -20 pounds.

They do produce a more hair-like fleece with a lot of luster. The staple length is usually between 8-15 inches and the micron count is from 33-42 microns.

My raw lincoln fleece

I would have more fleece to show you in a gorgeous grey but as a newbie starting to process fleeces I ruined it. I washed it, dried it, picked and promptly put in a plastic bag for storage where 6 months later it was felted. I learned to only store wool in plastic for a short period and never to pick it before stor.ing it as it can become compacted from all the other fleeces in the closet. That said here is my new lincoln fleece.

Washed Lincoln fleece...I love these curls! I decided to comb this fleece as it was so long and lustrous. combing lincoln fleece

 This fiber is silky and smooth with a bit of a prickle and some crunch it can feel like hair smooth until crumpled in the hand then you get the crunchy feel.

almost done combing

Look at those locks! shared by Baalands on flickr

Lincoln sheep are a breed from England , they are also called Lincoln Longwool sheep. These sheep are really large.They were bred to produce really long, heavy fleeces. The idea was to have them produce more wool than any other sheep.

The old Lincoln sheep that were first identified and in the 1700′s caught the attention of Robert Bakewell a famous livestock breeder. Bakewell bred these old lincoln sheep with the native sheep of the area creating the “new” leicester. Later Lincolnshire sheepmen used the new liecester breed to improve the coarsenss of the lincoln  fleece. Lincoln’s have been sent around the world where they were bred with the native sheep to “improve” them.

Aren't they a beautiful sight ? picture courtesy of salty-catpig on flickr

Lincoln rams weigh in at about 250-350 pds. Ewes weight about 200-250 pds. They are polled and tend to have a gentle disposition. They come many natural colors and colors other than white are not looked down upon.

How cute is this little one? Thanks to Kellywright on flickr

“It is now one of Britain’s rarer breeds, categorized as “at risk” by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust since there are fewer than 1500 registered breeding females in the United Kingdom.(wikipedia)”

These quad lambs(the 4th was cut out of pic) are laying in the pen next to their proud papa. Pic courtesy of Baalands on flickr

My wonderful info comes Wikipedia and the National Lincoln Sheep Breeders Association.

 The Fiber Lessons are up!!!! Look at the top of the page tabs and check them out!!!

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Here are a couple extra pics of the navaho churro.

Aren't the colors great?

close-up

 email : brandischoch@thefiberofmybeing.net