Monday, February 22, 2010
A mention of sheep
We're going out to supper tonight - an adventure for us. I'll hopefully have a few pictures of Long Point to post, although the weather has been iffy - showers of rain, and a bit of wind. Had a long chat at the doctor's rooms with someone in the sheep-hairdessing trade. I was quite unaware they used hair straitening tongs and mirrors, and was really surprised at blow-drying part... heh. I really didn't know that they went to some effort to keep the wool clean, or that sheep in bad weather turn their butts to the weather and keep walking... which means they freeze against the fence, even if there is shelter to windward. We're -I hope - going to get to keeping some of the creatures. So we try to absorb what we can. But will we ever be able to afford that amount of hair-gel?
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I'm sure you will find an alternative home made hair-gel. I have faith in you!!
ReplyDeleteIn the US, those who raise sheep for hand-spinners (that is, the upper 0.5% or so of the wool market) have the sheep wear "jackets" or "coats" to keep things out of the wool. It appears that at least a few Australian shepherds are adopting the practice:
ReplyDeletehttp://sj.farmonline.com.au/news/state/livestock/sheep/nylon-sheep-jackets-boost-wool-yields-and-price/1648038.aspx
One Australian firm selling them is here:
http://www.sheepcovers.com.au/
If nothing else, putting the jacket on a little after shearing, and taking it off just before shearing, is a lot less work, than regularly styling and blow-drying the wool.
But Tan, can we offer them old copies of cosmpolitan to read while they wait? ;-)
ReplyDeleteMurstein we'd be looking at that as I'd like to do some wool for our own use, really.
ReplyDeleteso, erm....the first thing you do with the wool after sheering is make little jackets for the nekkid sheep to wear?
ReplyDeleteSeriously, have seen that here in Colorado. They look weird, but then you just keep the sheep away from the mirrors and they won't know :-)
Just out of curiosity, doesn't all that 'fussing' do things to the cuticle of the wool and remove a lot of the protective oils? Or is that what the pomade is for? And, along those lines, if you're looking into using 'gel' for the sheep, plain gelatin mixed with hot water would be relatively inexpensive. I have a friend who used that to style her show-horses mane and tail.
Keep us posted! There may be a market for 'Genuine Freer's Fleece' and/or the yarn made from it :-)
Lin
And maybe shell-ornamented jumpers made from it :-)
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