There are many different types of wool from the finest Merino to the coarse Karakuls. Each sheep breed has it's own unique properties and uses. Wool has a number of qualities you may not be aware of.  The natural colors are cream, gray and charcoal.

       
       The three socks on this page show natural wool colors and give a preview of what is coming in future issues. Carding, spinning and knitting will all be spotlighted before we leave Wildflower Farm and the sheeplady of  Rosholt, Wisconsin.
       Thanks to Pat Lees and her Shearing Day crew, we have an appreciation for the 'Real' fleecing of America.

       The sheep on Wildflower Farm are shorn once a year in the early spring. One advantage of shearing in the early spring is that the sheared sheep tend to find warmer places to birth new lambs. Baby lambs have suffered frost-bite on ears and feet when born in very cold weather.

       The publisher's observation: Baby lambs go to work as soon as they are born. This youngster has a social security number on it's ear and is expected to grow ten pounds of wool by this time next year.

       According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service, there were approximately 66,800 sheep producers in America On Jan. 29, 2000,  raising approximately 7 million head of sheep and lambs combined.

       
        Pat explains, "After shearing, the wool is washed here at the farm. I use plain old laundry detergent. It is then sent to Blackberry Ridge, a nearby woolen mill where it is spun into yarn. "Yes, I am a spinner, but there just aren't enough hours in the day to do it all."

       Another publisher remark:
       The picture left and to the right support the old adage, "There's always a black sheep in the family!"