FINNSHEEP Raw Fleece, Rare Dark Charcoal Grey, Belle 2022, 3 pounds 3.8 ounces, free shipping

This is Belle’s 2022 Raw Fleece. Belle is a purebred finnsheep lamb that was coated/ jacketed much of the year. Very low on VM (vegetable matter- hay, straw, grass from the pasture). I skirted it myself. I’m a hand spinner as well as a shepherd. I dislike VM as much as the next spinner…in fact, maybe more so. I get a little ruthless about skirting and removing all wool that has VM in it so you are only getting nice wool with Point of View Farm fleeces. It weighs 3 pounds 3.8 ounces. She is not coated all year long so you will find some VM in there but not much, I promise. I spent a good amount of time on the skirting table picking out any stray hay bits I found making sure that is the case.

Belle was born at Point of View Farm in 2018 to a fantastic ewe, Marikka, who is now retired. Belle is a very unusually colored BLUE finnsheep. This pattern was only recognized by the registry just this year in 2022 and not many blue finns are out there. Marikka was one and so were many of her daughters, like Belle. It gives her fleece a deep charcoal color with much less variation than many of the other grey finnsheep. I included a picture of her that I took today so you can see what she looks like. She is due to lamb any day now….so she is not overfed- she is likely carrying triplets. Here is hoping they are all colored just like she is! I’m quite fond of the blue coloring (actually I’m fond of a lot of finnsheep colors- might be why we have a whole flock here I guess). Her fleece is soft and springy.

If I am going to be very critical, it has a bit more variation in consistency than I would ideally like. This means her shoulder and mid body are finer wool than at her hip. You can see this a bit in the staple photo. Shoulder is on the left by the measuring tape. Each lock sample is then taken a little farther down her body. Ideally, the fleece on a sheep is quite uniform however, with heritage bred sheep there are variations in fleece type. That being said, I LOVE this fleece so if you do too – nevermind my comments that are given in a effort at full disclosure by a certified wool classer. I would happily spin this fleece up into a sweater myself. Seriously.

Raw fleece means it has not been washed yet so it will smell like a sheep and need washing either before or after spinning (if you like to spin in the grease- this fleece would be a candidate for that). Belle’s fleece was carefully and professionally shorn New Zealand style (in a single piece) by a shearer who takes pride in his work, is careful, gentle and knows what he is doing. It is not easy work but, a good shearer makes it look easy. Our shearer has shorn all our award winning fleeces at Rhinebeck and Maryland Fleece show and sales for many years. He has been shearing sheep for decades and is a good friend too. We very much appreciate his quality shearing and sheep handling skills. He is good at what he does. He’s fun and always has a joke and good story to tell.