snippety snip....

 yesterday i partook in a little hand shearing...

jack was my willing victim and by golly was he in need of a trim!

he is one of the sheep we rescued in Scotland so all we know for sure is that his mama is a shetland as we also rescued her, but whatever breed his father is the mix of the two makes for some rather fine fleece..

not a terrifically long staple but so so soft...

the best bit of hand shearing and the main reason i do as many of our sheep as possible this way, is that you get to spend time up close to them, a chance to give them a really good check over for any suspicious cuts, lumps or bumps...

jack thankfully seems in tip top condition but was incredibly active whilst i attempted a short back and sides..

no amount of talking about the weather or where he was going for his holidays would keep this lad still..

the offer of a cuppa and a magazine was flatly refused...

at one point i was straddling him in a most unladylike manner rather like a bucking bronco...

from behind i have no doubt that we looked like a crazy circus act...

after much clipping, cursing and clinging on to the barn doors as jack made a bid for freedom, the end result is rather wonderful...

a far happier chap who just needs to be tidied up with the electric trimmers...

the fact that his precious fleece is stored away in a rather lovely coffee sack makes the job even sweeter...

 i just wish i was better at spinning.....

hopefully jacks fleece will be spun by someone far more capable than i and then i will knit it into a mouse, hare or hen and place it within my shop...

if any sell  the funds raised will buy winter food for jack and his friends which in turn will help to produce fleece for next year...

a truly marvellous woolly circle...

tx