2. Wool: all things wool from shearing to finished product, shearing, skirting, washing, drying, carding, spinning, storing, tools and equipment, knitting, quilting, weaving.
3. Plants: gardening in zone 4, seed starting/saving, greenhouse, planting, breeding, harvesting, preserving.
You are so amazing and knowledgeable! I just started with sheep. This was my first year attempting to shear. Oh my....I have watched so many videos and have read articles on this. Nothing is like the real thing. I have a hard time rolling them over, so tried on the stand. I got a few nicks and their wool is so unevenly sheared.😮 Now I'm leary to finish my last ones. Suggestions?
Hello, I can totally relate to you. It is challenging and, like most things, is harder in real life. I also have a hard time physically restraining them, which is why I prefer my stand and deck chairs. We do shearing as a two person job. I suggest a stand and deck chairs for shearing. For nicks, try a 20 tooth comb, keep the skin taught and not loose or wrinkly, and keep on hand some vet glue. As for uneven, don't be too hard on yourself! Unless they are in a show ring at a fair, they don't need to be perfect. Some of the unruly sheep, we are just happy to get the job accomplished, period. Make sure the cutter is sharp of course, don't shear when it's damp.
This was an amazing video. You are such and expert!!! I just bought my first fleece. I don't think I will purchase the spin dryer ($$$) but can see how great it is. Thanks for posting these videos
I actually lay the smaller batts along each other with no felting. The hand ties will keep it from shifting around, similar to machine quilting. It will not be as tight as machine quilting, but you can increase the number of hand ties if you are concerned. It is so lofty that it will not fit for machine quilting. I like it that way though!
Yes, mostly so. There are a few sheep that simply don't like being sheared and are less cooperative, but it is a minority. Most are good with this style!
Hello Kristen, I just to thank you for your really helpful videos. I was struggling to find videos on getting to grips with the E-Spinner - and then I found your site! I am still making rubbish kinked up wool but at least I've now made a start and I'm sure the quality will improve with practice. I only have 4 sheep here in North Wales but really want to handle the processing myself and your clear instructions have given me the confidence to tackle this instead of sending off to a mill where they charge a fortune for small runs like mine. I also have 5 alpacas so that's the next challenge for the E-Spinner ! It was also helpful to hear how you have broken the process down seasonally across the year so it isn't overwhelming. That's a great tip.
Thank you for the kind words. You will certainly improve with practice. I am just a sheep owner that taught myself the wool gig. I thought there must be other sheep owners that would like to try using the wool too. My goodness, the mills are so expensive to process, so it was a must. I am glad this helped another shepherd! It really is quite satisfying to use your own sheep's wool. I don't have alpacas (they are too tall for my orchard), but I would like to try a fleece someday.
I would say the same amount as a manual drum carder, which is a pile of chaff under the machine. It can be a big pile, but the size of chaff is small. Generally speaking, what goes in is what comes out. It will not remove a lot of vegetable matter.
Hello, i am a nob and every time a cut/ hurt my sheep when shearing, I don't know wether the sittings of shearer are not ok or any other problem, kindly guide me.
I would first make sure that the cutter is properly positioned in relation to the comb. Is your cutter too far back from the tip of the comb? This could cause the skin to pull up. I have a video that show how to place the comb and cutter. If that doesn't help, I would also try using a comb with many teeth, such as a 20 tooth. Also make sure the skin is taught and not loose or wrinkled. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cBNn_VI6dAM.html
You are so thorough and informative, thank you! I will be shearing my sheep for the first time this year and yours is the first video to explain how to choose what combs for different purposes, etc.
Thank you. We pick them up and put them on the stand. We don't have ramps or a hydraulic lift. We lift their front legs on first, then the back legs next. The Shetlands get a halter with lead, the other breeds do not. They are mostly pretty calm. The elders are the most calm and the yearlings are scared the first time. I can understand the yearlings, as they've never been sheared before and they don't know what's going on! The elderly sheep have learned to trust us and they are very calm as they've done this many times before. For the yearlings, you can talk to them and feed them a little grain while they are in the stand for the first time. I much prefer a stand versus getting kicked or throwing out my back!
So cool and very well taught! Thank you! I have been successful in breeding apples varieties BUT I'm four years into the project and yet to taste my first creation. To think I could I could do the same technique and taste the fruit of our labors so soon has me interested. I have 3 tomatoes I'm growing this year. Brandywine, Stupice, and Amish Paste. Hopefully I can try breeding one or several of those. Thank you again!
It's ironic that you mention apple breeding because I have tried my hand at that. While apples may take 10-15 years, tomatoes take about 8 years. It's nice to get results a little faster, as it is definitely a labor of love! Any rare apple varieties you work with? I was hoping to combine the disease resistance of Spartan, Enterprise, and Liberty with something tasty like Viking. Most of my apple whips died in the winter.
@ShearGoodness I like the older apples - Swiss Limbertwig, Melrose, Akane-- I have many crosses and graft them on b9 rootstocks. I plant them 3 feet apart and train them as an espalier fruiting wall. This year will be the 4 th leaf year and suspect I might see my first fruit next year. Your teaching sure parallels my experience with apples and since watching it I remember having an interest in breeding tomatoes years ago. Thank you again!
A range of 30-40. If you take good care of the equipment, you can get multiple uses. We also have more than one shearing machine, so two people are shearing together. I've also heard that the ceramic cutters last longer, but I have not personally tried it yet.
Thanks for the detailed process. I am attempting a cross between a Pink Brandywine and a unknown medium oxheart shaped tomato. My neighbor gave me some San Marzono tomatos and I saved the seeds. The oxheart shape was one of them seeds and was definitely an early determinate. The shelf life on the unknown was four months and counting.
Do you think you could spin horsehair on this unit? I’m currently spinning hair to make horsehair mecates. I’m looking for some kind of spinning machine that will be able to handle the thicker/stiffer material. I currently use a drill with a hook which works beautifully, but it doesn’t draw up the thread as you spin- so spinning inside during our cool Canadian winter means trying to get a 60 foot span indoors. My main concern is how much tension the machine can handle-although I suppose if the thread was drawing back into the bobbin it wouldn’t take as much tension to hold it as does for a long span. Any insight would be great as it’s an expensive unit to buy if it won’t handle the material. Thankyou.
I've never worked with horsehair before. The thinnest I have spun was sport/fingering with wool. I would imagine horsehair is very thin. As for the tension, I usually have the tension as loose as it goes because the take-up is just fine without it. The only time I usually tighten the tension is when the bobbin is super full. Otherwise, I prefer to just start a new bobbin. I'm not sure how long the horsehair is, but if it's less than 2" it will be more difficult, but not impossible.
@@ShearGoodness thanks for your response. I’m spinning the mane and tail hair-so some of it is very thick & “wire-y”. I don’t know all the correct spinning terms, so forgive me, but I feel like the “draw back” requires a lot more tension/pulling and is a lot more finicky than a lot of materials Ive seen online that seem to practically draw themselves. I’ve yet to find anyone who spins horsehair with a traditional type spinning wheel- so either there are not a lot of people spinning it or theres a reason they done use one to do it. Either way I think I’ll try to keep with my current system and I’ll see if I can gain more experience with the materials before I pull the plug on this big of a purchase. Thanks again.
