WILD AND WONDERFUL COTSWOLD CURLS MOHAIR CURLS AND ROVING and LONG WOOLS!! The wonderful Cotswold Breed produces fantastic curly fleeces. Often called the "poor man's Mohair", this fleece need not take a back seat to any mohair. The lamb curls are soft and comparable to the kid mohair and the long curly locks compare to the locks from the larger breeds of Angora Goats. Some will be from Longwool Crossbred Sheep and will be long and wavy rather than tighter curls. The Longwool breeds might be a combination of one or more of Cotswold, Lincoln, Karakul, Border Leicester, or Merino. Major Disclaimer!!! Please Read All information before purchasing!! I will no longer be buying farm run Cotswold and other long wool Fleeces. When what I have on hand is gone....there will be no more sold by Carl and Myself. There will be a source for the natural colors from Gary Cirbo.... posting a number for them. Top Quality fleece..... Gary and Terri Cirbo (308-215-8996} They are located at Firestone, CO. Gary and Terri have some beautiful fleeces...He told me today.11/20/17 that he had just measured a white cotswold lamb, 6 months old, and fleece length of 6"....and about 6 months more for the wool to grow.....they have excellent sheep....I have some I have saved for personal use. This is wonderful Fleece...long luxurious and wavy or curly...or both. I use it myself all the time. This fiber sometimes has hay, grasses, feed or pasture items in the fleece. they shake/pick the fleece to get out as much extra trash as they can but if it offends you to find Vegetable Matter in the wool, don't order this. We don't want you disappointed, and we don't want to you to pay more postage to return or exchange it. I have mostly the longer curly locks and some of the short extra curly locks. These will make a fine strong roving when carded and we use it for our Fleecewoven Rugs. These shiny curls are excellent for needlefelting. Anymore, most of the fleece is from Cotswold crossbreeds. I dye my fleeces generally using Jacquard Acid Dyes. This produces a long lasting brilliant color in the fiber. Bear in mind that I am a free handed dyer. I do not try for a completely solid color....and on occasion may have several colors showing up in the locks...I dye a fleece at a time, I do not dye one lock at a time. Usually the curls can be easily pulled apart for use as single locks, but sometimes the fleece comes off the sheep, semi felted on the skin side, etc. More tugging or even occasionally some snipping with a scissors to get the individual locks loose.. Farm run flocks tend to get a bit felted as the year goes on. Then you have Dyed Fleece!! Dyed Fleece will be curls and wool that have felted on the sheep for a variety of reason, the most common is too long between shearing, rainy hot weather, etc. It usually shears off the sheep in one large matted fleece, or felted if you will..it can sometimes be pulled free, but more likely needs to be snipped into whatever piece you want....excellent for heavy needlefelting. A rainy season along with the movement of the sheep causes the felting or matting of the skin side of the fleece. Since I buy by the fleece, and take all the grower has available, I get both some loose lock fleeces, and the larger felted on the back type fleeces. Pricing for the Cotswold Curls..from The Sheep Shed Studio...still listed and ready to ship $17.50 lb. for the Dyed Fleece and/or Curls, until they are gone.... $8.50 lb. for the raw curls....until they are gone..asst. dark tones..only!!! Your dyed pound will a mixture of many colors The photos below are of some of the colors I have obtained. There may be something like this in the pile, but more likely it will just be colors nearby. I dye a lot of curls with several colors in the locks. |
We use vast amounts of the Cotswold Curls in the needlefelted additions to our Fleecewoven Rugs. It is painting with fiber. We also use the fleece in needlefelting hats, shawls, clogs, and anything else we see that might need some decoration with fiber. We also use whatever is left over or is matted too much to pull apart by hand in our needlefelting projects and rugs. And this fleece is a long wool and often gets matted on the sheep. If you pull on the lock at the cut end, the matted areas often pull apart very well. |
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In the photo to the belowwe show a three pound bag of assorted color Cotswold Curls on the left and on the right is a one pound bag. My Ashford Country Spinner will give you a comparison sizing idea of how much fiber comprises a pound |
A floor full of curls in my weaving studio. |
BAG OF ASST. COLOR LOCKS |
COTSWOLD PRICES Dark/MultitoneRaw Fleece/Curls.8.50 per lb. Washed Dark Fleece/Curls...$13.50 lb. Dyed Fleece/curls.......sold out 11/17..White Washed Curls are not available We have a good supply of unwashed gray/black/brown and occasionally some white in the natural colored curls, Total white curls are gone. |
This Mill Cleaned and spun Mohair is a delight to spin or blend with the wool fibers. The White Mohair dyes like a dream and handles easily in the dyepots. |
RAW COTSWOLD as we hauled it in from the farm... |
Grays, Tans and Browns |
The truck loaded with fiber. Colored fleeces and whites available We have been buying from one producer, a 87 year old Shepherdess who has 30 head of sheep Her Son, Gary is taking over the selling of her fleece Let the phone ring until answering machine picks up. Takes a while.... 308-215-8996 |
Have had 24 surgical procedures done in the past 10 years. I am moving slower, but still moving. Now dealing with some heart problems....hence the dropping of the washing of the fleeces...We have a few fleeces of Cotswold Curls if you wish to wash and dye them yourselves. The bins are presently empty of washed white curls. I do have the natural colored Cotswold and Cotswold Blends.......grays, browns, and blacks, a bit of white mixed in here and there......often all colors in one fleece ready to ship. We are out of the nice white curls...see above info. for white curls. When the weather lets up...as in the ice on the ground between the house and the dye kitchen, I will begin washing more colored fleece....one fleece at a time. When we are out of our store of fleece here, we will not be buying more. At least I don't think we will.....getting to darn old to keep up with the work of raw/fresh fleeces. |
We have located a source for Farm Raised Mohair located in Utah. We have a small amount of the Mill Carded Roving in White. Contact Rebekah below for more information on what she has available. She has her 2017 clip on hand now available. We no longer have any of the curls, however, Rebekah has the white and Natural colors available. Ask her about her dyed curls |
Scroll down to find Farm Raised Roving available for purchase |
Lovely washed silver gray mohair curls Lengths from the 4-9 inch range, possibly some a little longer. |
Mill Processed and Farm Fresh Mohair for sale Scroll down for more information. Mill Processed Roving and the Farm Fresh fleece Available.......... from Rebekah... White curls/Dyed Curls available from Rebekah, contact her on the link below. The Roving is available in the white mohair, washed and carded nicely. Some VM is inevitable in the Farm Fresh Mohair. The Mill Processed fiber has been washed and the vm has been removed as much as possible before the carding process. See updated information about ordering more of the Mohair products from Rebekah, the producer....email link below. |
Lovely washedWhite Mohair .. 4-9 inch range the locks are often long |
Unwashed clip Mohair, ready to wash and dye, with long locks |
The Angora Goats Summer Pasture in Utah |
The locks are often long and silky and take the dyes beautifully. Some are locked together on the back of the goat and must be pulled free into the locks. |
The White Roving is in shades of white to cream. The variations in color will be found throughout the roving. The fiber is very soft and easily spun. |
Above photos are of her very best fleeces. Not all fleeces will look like the photos. Some matting in the leg and belly area. |
I can no longer wash and dye the Mohair curls. Please contact Rebekah Dickensen, the owner as she has a supply on hand.. Contact her on blue Link below |
Rebekah is going to be shipping her mohair direct, moving me out of the middle woman place. Contact her at the blue link above and she will return your email with the information that you are requesting I no longer have any white Angora curls here at the Sheep Shed. I do have some of the carded roving....mostly in the white tones. Thanks to all who purchased this wonderful fiber over this past year.... |
Click on the blue link above to contact Rebecca about her Mohair..the link is a bit slow to load, but load it does |
Raw curls are available, plenty of the assorted dark toned curls. Do know the dark curls are often white, gray, black, and brown all in the same fleece due to the owners crossbreeding over the years. Unlikely to get one solid color in these dark fleeces. We have the colored fleeces in right now.... Grays, Blacks,Browns,sometimes a bit of white or light tan, often in one fleece...beautiful curls. Fleeces will have mostly long curls...some parts of the fleece more wavy...some with waves and a curl at the tip. Thanks, Carol Lee! |
not all the fleece will be as long as these shown. Those shown were exceptional. 2017 fleeces were pretty long in length. Most locks in the 6"-10" or longer lengths.. |
The Curls that we have left will be sold as natural, some dyed, ..and do know it is the last bags on hand. It will not be as beautiful as that shown in the box in the middle. I will not have fresh fleeces this upcoming year, (2018) but will provide a number you can call to purchase them....308-215-8996 |
Angora Goat curls dye up easily and beautifully.. |
The Colored Curls are gone....my dye kitchen froze in the winter cold and as of 2/28/18 we are attempting to thaw and dry out the entire trailer. Do not know when it will be repaired, cold and nasty out there. |