and, yes, i recognize how... well... odd that sounds, but it is a statement of fact. sheep are really cute against the backdrop of a grassy hill, and pretty tasty as part of a meal (sorry, but i am an unapologetic omnivore who loves lamb). however, most important of all, they are covered in squishy, fluffy, woolly fleece.
naturally, i am allergic to the stuff. which makes perfect sense as life (in its infinite wisdom) seems to delight in ensuring that i become enamored with all the things that can cause me pain. and how do i respond, you ask? i fall even deeper... naturally. besides, i have enough antihistamines on hand to last half a lifetime. what could possibly go wrong?
so, there i was in the middle of a rough Winter, when i remembered that it would eventually be Spring... and that meant only one thing. shearing season!!! i grabbed my short-stack of books about sheep breeds, and set off on a most intense journey of contemplation. there may have also been quite a bit of lambcam watching. yes, i do take my obsessions quite seriously.
finally, i settled on a (new to me) breed... Targhee!
problem is... i could not find a single farm anywhere that was willing to sell me a fleece. i went so far as to email the Co-Op of Wool Growers, who in turn passed my message along to someone who knew someone who might have said sheep... or who might probably know someone else who did. it was insane, but i eventually ended up with a very short list of breeders, and that is when all of the "nuisancing" really began.
i made a few inquiries with a breeder in the UK and a couple-few on the dark side of the planet (a.k.a. Australia and New Zealand), but it would have cost twice as much for shipment as it did for the wool, so i decided to stick closer to home.
several inquiries later, and i got two breeders of said sheep to respond to me. one refused to sell the raw (unwashed) fleece, as she had all of her fiber washed at a mill, and it is cheaper by the pound the more of it she brings in. she did offer to sell me some washed Targhee ready for spinning, but as being elbow deep in greasy sheep hair is my idea of a good time, i had to decline.
then there was one. and i had emailed him a few times before he even responded... to say that he was busy dealing with lambing season, and he would get back to me some other day. naturally, i was forgotten the moment he hit "send" on that message, so i had to take to emailing him at least once a week until he got some fiber packaged and sent out to me. like i said... nuisance.
i even found myself exchanging several messages with a cattle and sheep rancher out on the West coast, who was willing to sell me some fleece from a different breed on my must-try list. i need to get back in touch with him, if only because i am genuinely fascinated by the prospect of having a package shipped across a continent in the undercarriage of a Greyhound bus, which is his preferred method for delivering such things.
for now... i have my Targhee. this wool was purchased from the good folks over at Jondaryan Station, who have probably since blocked all modes of communication that may in any way connect back to me. i am incredibly polite, but i know i can be a pain, especially when i really want something.
i will talk in exhaustive detail about this fleece, and the sheep breed, when i get around to washing it (hopefully i will remember to take a few photos of the process). however, the box arrived just in time for my birthday last month, and i could not resist pulling out a couple locks of the fiber...
and giving it a quick soak with a squirt of baby-duck-cleaning Dawn...
just to see how it washes up. before (left) and after (right). not bad, eh?
i then placed the still wet wool in the sunniest place i could find, and left it to dry. it sure is nifty to have your own mini-desert at a moment like this. and, yes.... that Jawa was returned to an upright position once the wool was gone.
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