FINNSHEEP Raw LAMB Fleece, Mesquite 2024, 2 pounds 2 ounces, variegated brown/ fawn, free shipping

This is Mesquite’s 2024 Raw Lamb Fleece. Mesquite is a purebred finnsheep ewe LAMB that was coated most of the year. Yes, you read that right, uncoated. 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 VM so you are only getting nice wool with Point of View Farm fleeces. It weighs 2 pounds 2 ounces. Mesquite is a pretty dark based variegated tan…..really unusual depth of coloring…more on that later.

Raw fleece means it has not been washed yet so it will smell like a sheep and need washing either before or after spinning. The fleece was carefully and professionally shorn off Pacific 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. This shearer has shorn award winning fleeces at Rhinebeck and Maryland Fleece show and sales for many years for our farm and others. He has been shearing sheep for decades and is a good friend too. Check out the photos of it I took while it was on the skirting table. Both sides and all angles are pictured.

Mesquite was born at Point of View Farm in 2023. This is her first fleece. Her technical color genetics are a brown based agouti blue which is a rare combo in finnsheep. Over a decade ago, Point of View Farm, welcomed the first brown badgerface lamb into the world (that was registered in the US). Since then we have been refining the fleece genetics and selecting for softer and nicer wool each year. In lay terms, Mesquite has both a color and 2 patterns (blue and badgerface) genetically. The dominant pattern (agouti blue) ‘makes’ portions of her brown fleece lighter, mostly the saddle area. Since this is the wool area you purchasing here, what is in the bag is the lighter colored wool. There is plenty of darker wool too. If you look at the photo of the fleece with the edges rolled in, you will see they are some darker areas. Lamb fleeces, in general, are the softest and finest fleece a sheep will produce in their lifetime. They require care when processing and can yield such amazing soft yarn.

Finnsheep fleece takes dye like a dream and would also blend beautifully with other wools where you want to add luster and drape. It is also known to felt quite nicely.

If you prefer washed wool for your project, please check out the Point of View Farm roving.