 |
 |
 |
 |
| 517-927-9368 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Happy Goat Lucky Ewe Fiber Farm |
 |
 |
| "Wildone" a very good mom and producer. |
 |
 |
| In 1991 Grandpa Doc gave the kids a ewe lamb to bottle feed. My son was four at the time, my daughter was three. We named the ewe, Meryl Sheep (Sesame Street gets the credit) and she was the beginning of a love affair with fleece. From that point forward we began to collect fiber animals - I bought a small herd of Angora goats from a friend, and picked up additional does; then I picked up more sheep and found myself obsessed with spinning and felting and knitting - so much for the horses. We rescued a few sheep, took in a bunch more when a friend moved to California, adopted a bottle lamb (again) - and the next thing you know we have a flock/herd of over 30 animals with spring kids and lambs adding to the mix If you would like to see a nine minute video history of how I got into this fabulous business, please click here or keep reading. So here we are 19 years later, knee deep in fiber and sharing our products with you. Happy Goat Lucky Ewe's latest addition to the farm is Czar, a black Merino ram. He has 16 girlfriends, including Wenslydales, a rare breed that was nearly wiped out during the foot and mouth outbreak in England, Blue Face Leicester/ Dorset crosses, a Corriedale, and a Merino. Last year, the wool went to Zeilingers in Frankenmuth, Michigan to be processed and came back as machine spun yarn. It is a natural white, with mohair and dyed or hand painted with Cushing's Dye. It is ideal as outerwear, for heavy sweaters, socks, or vests. Don't expect this yarn to wear out - your projects will end up being heirloom gifts for years to come. The yarn from this batch is almost gone - I have approximately 100 skeins left. If you like it, don't hesitate to buy - it's going fast. My 2010 batch is 30 pounds Rambouillet and Merino wool, recently sent to Stonehedge Fiber Mill in East Jordan (I like to support all of our mills) - I requested a fingerweight yarn - get ready for lovely fine wool yarn for the holidays. We will have 10 pounds of natural colored Merino fingerweight yarn too. Close to 30 pounds of spinner's roving from Sue PuffPaff's fiber mill is sitting on my dining room table waiting to be measured and prepped for sale. It is a mixture of Blue Face Liecester/Dorset cross and kid mohair. Wow - I want to keep it all! As you must know by now, Angora goat mohair is the foundation of our fiber production. This wonderful breed of goat came from and was named after Ankara (Angora prior to 1930), the Turkish province where it has thrived for centuries. These silky white animals are sheared twice a year, before breeding and before kidding; they are really laid back and love people (especially those with sweet feed). Angora goats produce mohair and rabbits produce angora. Our goats and sheep are pets; they live on pasture for nine months out of the year with our Great Pyrenees, Girl Friend and are housed in the barn with a run-in for the coldest part of the winter. Goats are browsing animals and can be pastured with sheep because each species prefers different plants. Happy Goat Lucky Ewe Fiber Farm was settled north of Mason, Michigan in 1984. We (Joedy and Bridget Patrick) finally got serious and started to sell all that mohair and sheep's wool that's been washed and stashed for years. In 2006 we started selling our roving for spinners, handspun yarns, scarves, comforters and novelty items such as bird nesting material and fly tier’s dubbing for fishermen. Any thing that doesn't sell before the next shearing is spun into yarn or made into rugs. Our stuff moves fast, so don't wait too long to order. bkp |
