As a sheep farmer, I have had to learn a lot, most of it the hard way. I did not grow up farming, and it was only after many years of keeping sheep and being a worker of wool that I realized that is what we are doing: my farm product is wool. I have a smorgasbord flock, meaning that each fleece is different. I look at what comes from my animals and seek out its best use. We keep animals safe, we shear them, and we wear what they grow!
Origins of a Flock
My husband and I first acquired sheep after I took a very beginning spinning class at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Back then, the teacher knew about two weeks more than the rest of us. We carded and spun “indifferent” wool from an agricultural experimental farm in central North Carolina. We slowly pulled apart every lock and lovingly learned to card and to spin the greasy unwashed fleece, full of vegetation and manure, with a potato and pencil spindle. (We had forgotten about washing our wool first.) Still, I had found what I wanted to do. Now, 40-plus years later, there is never enough time for all the ideas that come to me from wool.
In 1980, I started with 2 Romney and 2 Rambouillet sheep. Romney was a popular wool among my spinning buddies in the early 1980s, easy for a beginner to work with and abundant. It also makes a strong, airy felt. So, with my new flock, there would be lots of easy wool to work with. Now, where do we start?
As my life with sheep unfolded, I learned about pastures, grazing, parasites, and the appropriate end products that came off those first sheep. A shepherd’s life has its ups and downs, filled with challenges like lambing, barn fires, dog attacks, and butting rams!
As my flock grew, I wandered from Romney into Corriedale. Later, after lots of years and lots of yarn and sweaters later, while maintaining my now fine wool flock of Corriedale, Merino and eventually Cormo crosses (which are hard to raise in western North Carolina), I realized I wanted to get back to larger fleeces that I could grow for the same amount of feed with less prep time. I found a Romney ram, Derek, and later Johnny Cash, and I jumped into breeding Romney crosses.
With a flock that includes Corriedale, Shetland, Romney, and crosses, Martha’s flock produces a delightful variety of fleece.
About Romney Wool
Romney is bright and luminous and takes dye in a fantastic iridescent way. However, it is in the “strong” wool category, strong enough for rug warp but maybe not suitable for against-the-skin wear, especially in the South. The crimp is a ripple, not a frizz. The fibers are large. It feels heavy in your hand. These large dual-purpose sheep have a mane like a lion, and the lambs are sleepy when they are first born. Well suited for an area that has more rain, Romneys were named Romney Marsh when first developed in England.
Romney cross? This is not actually a breed. The fiber you get all depends on what you cross Romney with and how much Romney is in the cross. Oh, how lovely is a first cross Romney/Corriedale fleece—elastic, blooming, and bouncy for a handknitter, but more open and easier to prepare than fine wool. Importantly, the wool is more plentiful, and it comes from an animal better suited to my land, which is beautiful pasture now. What do I think after 4 decades as a shepherd? Yes, sheep have shaped me and are going to save the earth.
Not satisfied with crossing Romney with my finer-wool sheep, my last round of crosses were with Thomas, a neighbor’s Bluefaced Leicester. Crossed with Romney, the lamb’s fleece is silky—yum! At this time, we have pure Romney, Romney x BFL, Romney x Corriedale, quarter Romney, and other blends. I can view the wool and see the crimp becoming crimpier and the wool growing finer as a sheep has less Romney in its genetics.
Left: Romney x Corriedale fleece dyed with marigolds. Right: Handspun Romney dyed with cochineal in a class with Norman Kennedy using his favorite recipes.
A Shepherd’s Days
Whatever we do, we still have to keep the sheep alive, and take care of the guard dogs, and give everyone shade and salt and water. Lately, I have spent a significant amount of time taming lambs, which helps with management later!
For much of my sheep handling, I use a sheepy lounge chair that allows me to tip the sheep backward, its legs in the air while I work. So, I gather some friends to help me and we catch one of the sheep, tip it into the chair, and trim hooves and check for parasites. Quite honestly, it doesn’t matter who you are, a tame Romney or Corriedale or Shetland or cross, no one likes to be caught and turned over!
Martha Owen is a resident artist in spinning, knitting, feltmaking, dyeing, and surface design at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina. Her adventure in spinning and natural dyeing began at this very school in 1978. Since 1980, Martha’s extended family has included sheep, Angora rabbits, and Great Pyrenees and border collies. Also a banjo player and storyteller, Martha’s interest in sheep, wool, music, and dance has carried her joyfully around the world. Her children say she is a wool nerd, but her sheep say she is outstanding in her field! Learn more at folkschool.org and on Instagram @marthaowenwoolens.