Outlander tops are back !

 

a smiling Soay lamb to make you feel better

This update is a very special one : My Outlander Scottish Soay Sheep blend ! I have done this blend first in 2014/2015 ! That’s ten years ago !! (how time flies !!!). The outlander blend is amazing to work with and super soft, so I am very very happy  to be able to offer you this blend again after lots of organising, blending and dyeing.   I cannot state enough that it is so important to keep rare breeds alive. It is however, harder and harder to get rare breed fibres organised for me to blend and dye them. It has taken a bit longer than normal this time, but it is so worth it and I hope you will enjoy spinning them as much as I have blending and dyeing them up for you.

The rare sheep breed in the spot light is the very special soay sheep of the Scottish Islands of St Kilda and Hirta ! It is a very, very rare ancient breed, with roots going back all the way to the bronze age ! 

The Isle of Soay, a name derived from the Norse word for Sheep Island, is near the North West corner of Hirta. A very dangerous, narrow channel and sea stacks separate the two. Soay is extremely difficult to access due to its steep rocky cliffs, boulder fields and lack of anchorage.

It can only be approached when seas are very calm and quickly changing weather can make getting off the island nearly impossible, it is the least accessible of all the islands in the archipelago. It is believed that sheep have probably inhabited Soay since the Bronze Age and are the descendants of the very first domesticated sheep which populated northern Europe. They are the most primitive surviving livestock breed in the UK. 

The sheep on Soay Island were not owned by the St. Kildans of Hirta, but instead by the islands various lairds (landlords). Their feudal tenants were allowed to annually collect fleece from these sheep and were occasionally permitted to take an animal, for a fee, to kill for special occasions. While Soay is somewhat larger (244 acres) than its neighbour Boreray (189 acres) Soay supports fewer animals per acre because its high central plateau is a marshy bog with little vegetation suitable to grazing sheep. 

St. Kilda is a group of islands which are the most westerly part of Scotland; they are 41 miles from Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides and 110 miles from the Scottish mainland. 

This archipelago consists of four small islands and some large rocky outcrops which are all that remains of a long extinct volcano. The islands are remote and spectacular with the highest cliffs in the UK and are the home to large colonies of seabirds. 

There is evidence that the main island Hirta has been inhabited for thousands of years but the habitation might not have been continuous. There is also evidence of human activity on the other three islands of Dun, Soay and the more remote Boreray. 

The island of Soay has been the home of the most primitive form of domestic sheep in the UK for thousands of years which have remained as a relic of early domestication due to isolation and inaccessibility. The islanders, known as the St. Kildans were the tenants of various owners of St. Kilda, they had limited resources other than the vast seabird colonies. They caught thousands of these birds and used their feathers and extracted their oil as a currency to pay their rent and to buy meagre provisions. 

The most remote island of the archipelago is Boreray which was used by the St. Kildans to harvest sea birds and their eggs and also keep a reserve flock of their unique domestic sheep, now known as Boreray Sheep. 

As more communications with the mainland improved the life of the islanders changed, they were subject to diseases brought by contact with outsiders which caused heavy mortality. There was movement to the mainland and immigration to other parts of the world until in 1930 the population became so low with so few able bodied men they could no longer sustain themselves and they chose to leave. In 1957, the entire archipelago was bequeathed to the National Trust for Scotland and has been in their ownership and protection ever since.

This was a significant number taken from the small population on Soay Island. Today flocks survive in both locations. 

Visitors to St Kilda will immediately notice three striking features of the sheep.

First, Soay sheep are tiny. In August, mature females average around 24kg in weight while mature males are around 38kg, making them about one third the size of most modern domestic sheep and shrinking !

Second, they are highly variable in appearance. While many Soays have the ‘classic’ Soay coat colour, which we call ‘dark wild’ (with ‘wild’ being short for ‘wildtype’ the coat pattern that features a light belly and rump patch), we recognise three other varieties (‘dark self’, ‘light wild(type)’ and ‘light self’ (where ‘self’ refers to ‘self-coloured’ – a coat pattern with the same colour all over including belly and rump patch). 

Studies have shown that the dark/light colouration is due to a gene called tyrosinase-related protein 1, or TYRP1 which is on sheep chromosome 2 and genetically dark is dominant to light, while the wild/self colouration is due to the locus Agouti on sheep chromosome 13 and wild is dominant to self. 

 There are however, very cute Soay sheep with white patches as well. (note: in angora rabbits for example there is the agouti on chromosome 13 as well, making the off spring able to have all different colours. Agouti is a gorgeous thing to have in the gene pool !).

The University of Edinburg is doing a lot of research on these soay sheep because it offers them a very good insight in the ecology and the evolution of the species. A count of the whole of Hirta’s Soay sheep population has been conducted most years since 1952 by the same method. 

It was these counts that revealed that Soay sheep on St Kilda have rather unusual population dynamics. The Soay population rises to maxima and then crashes, at irregular intervals. It is this population dynamic behaviour that makes Soay sheep so interesting for ecologists. The sheep exhibit a phenomenon known as overcompensatory density dependence, in which their population never reaches equilibrium. 

The population growth is so great as to exceed the carrying capacity of the island, which eventually causes a dramatic population crash, and then the cycle repeats. For example, in 1989, the population fell by two thirds within 12 weeks !! 

In brief, it became clear that the population dynamics of Soay sheep happen because virtually all mature females conceive each year, regardless of density, and as a result, the population can increase in one breeding season to a size which greatly exceeds the winter carrying capacity, when it may crash. Crashes are more likely to occur when there is bad winter weather, and when the population contains a large proportion of vulnerable sheep such as lambs and males. The population then increases again, over several years, before another crash. 

As ecological research proceeded, it became clear that the Soay sheep population also offers remarkable opportunities for understanding the progress of natural selection and evolution in real time. Population crashes are a period of intense selection, could they have anything to do with the maintenance of genetic variation, for example in coat colour and horn type? Does the low life expectancy of most individuals select for early reproductive effort? Likewise, the population dynamics research inspires numerous questions about the relationship between the sheep and their biotic environment, including the plants on which they feed and the parasites.

The Soay sheep have short tails and naturally shed their wool, which can be hand plucked (called rooing) in the spring and early summer. About one kilogram of wool can be obtained from each animal per year. 

The breed lacks the flocking instinct of many breeds. Attempts to work them using sheep dogs result in a scattering of the group: no use entering them at the Bendigo sheep and wool show dog trials: it would be extremely frustrating for the sheep and dogs. They obviously are the rebels among sheep !

These sheep are extremely special and it inspired me to do a rare sheep breed adventure blend named OUTLANDER, hence its name , because I am a fan of the books and the series…and because the Soay sheep , although hairier, are pretty darn cute. I have some naked Outlander tops as well and then there are all the different colourways, fresh out of the dyepots available as well on the IxCHeL shop.

have fun exploring the Outlander tops and more this week on www.ixchel.com.au and hop to the what’s new section on the shop. I have also been updating the blog section there and there are more photos and info to be seen on there (blogger has thrown some tech difficulties at me which makes uploading photos extremely time consuming in this platform. Time I’d rather spend spinning, weaving, knitting and crocheting).

happy spinning and crafting !

big hugs

Charly

Seaweed and rare breed sheep

  

New colourway "Metamorphosis" on North Ronaldsay blend tops

Happy weekend everybody  and since today is Valentine’s Day : All you need is Fluff, Yarn and Love ! Love what you do, love yourself and if you have that special person, well, love them too 💕

It was another super full on week here with loads of blending, carding and dyeing and spinning! The February clubs are all dyed and almost dry and this weekend the carding of all the club batts will begin. Shipping will happen mid next week and I am super excited to show you teasers early next week so keep your eyes peeled.

i have also signed up again for the absolutely fabulous handknitters guild of Victoria YARN SHOW at the Merribek (Coburg) town hall, Melbourne, planned on Saturday May 31st and June 1st ! So please put it in your calendar to come visit us at our colourful super fluffy stall ! All you need is fluff  and love! The next few months are going to be super SUPER  busy for sure with new sock yarns, handspun and fabulous lace yarns too ! 

Confession time: I  have to come clean about something else as well : when I had my cardiac arrest in 2019, I hit the kitchen floor so hard that my right hip and back sustained some damage. I of course kept on going since my heart was the main issue and had to get that fixed, but ever since that faitful day, my back and hip is extremely painful.As usual, I keep on going, but I am now at a point that I am experiencing pretty high pain levels on a daily basis and I can hardly walk straight. I  am starting to feel like a version of the hunchback of Notre Dame but without the bell ringing🤣 I am trying to keep up the weekly updates and spinning and clubs, but I am no longer capable of doing big shows anymore. I am still going to be at the handknitters guild show which is planned for Saturday May 31st and Sunday june 1st at the Coburg town hall. My plan is to offer you heaps of new handspun yarns and handdyed fibres again together with lots of new spindles and bowls from lair of the bearded dragon and special DRAGON TURKISH SPINDLES ! It’s all happening!

Today's update is all about a very special rare breed sheep on the Scottish Isle of North Ronaldsay and there are loads of new colourways as well to feast your eyes on: Metamorphosis, Purple Rain, Stromness, Brig o Doon and also some new natural dyed Japanese indigo tops!

The North Ronaldsay Sheep are the only animals in the world, aside from a certain Galapagos lizard, to be able to subsist entirely on seaweed, leading to its nickname ‘seaweed sheep’.  The breed is thought to be over 5000 years old. The breed is farmed within the Northern Ronaldsay Islands, Orkney and kept nearby the seashore for most of the year. In 1832 the Laird of North Ronaldsay decided that his pastureland should not be wasted on native sheep and a dyke was built round the island to keep them on the shore and off the land. It was most probably this separation that resulted in the preservation of the North Ronaldsay, as it prevented cross breeding which had been the downfall of other Orkney sheep.  

The North Ronaldsay is one of the Northern Short tailed primitive group of breeds that also includes the Manx Loghtan, Soay, Shetland and Icelandic .  The North Ronaldsay is still mainly found on its native island, the northernmost of the Orkneys. The sheep keeping system on North Ronaldsay is unique and involves a stone wall which keeps the sheep on the seashore and away from the cultivated land for most of the year. This wall was built in 1832 and since then the breed has evolved to survive primarily on seaweed. The sheep live on the seashore most of the year around and are only  brought onto the better land for lambing.

The North Ronaldsay is one of group of primitive Northern Short-tailed sheep and represents a very early stage in the evolution of domestic sheep. DNA studies have shown a close relationship to sheep found in the Stone Age village of Skara Brae on mainland Orkney, which dates from 3000 BC. In 1832 a wall was built around their native island to confine the animals to the foreshore for most of the year in order to conserve the inland grazing. Since then the breed has developed its distinctive metabolism due to its diet of seaweed, which also renders it susceptible to copper poisoning under standard sheep management systems. North Ronaldsays are very sensitive to copper and will die of copper toxicity if put on the wrong type of grazing. This is due to their seaweed diet and the unique metabolism they have evolved.  They should not be fed commercial sheep mixes as despite the label saying “No Added Copper” the normal ingredients used will often have a background level high enough to be toxic (ten parts per million is too high). The North Ronaldsay is capable of  surviving on less than larger breeds and is an active browser, used to ranging over long distances in search of food.

Colours of their fleece are variable: including white, various shades of grey, black and moorit (deep brown). The double fleece has coarse outer guard hairs and a fine soft inner coat. I have never ever felt and dyed something as extraordinary as this sheeps fleece. It is springy, almost feels moist even after its scouring and washing. It almost feels like it resists the dye when you pour the pigments on and everything immediately flows to the bottom, leaving the top layer of the fibre springy and almost without dye. At least, that is what appears to happen…it takes the dye beautifully and retains its springy texture and openness.

 

After all of the cleaning and carding and blending you get what I am offering you today !

 It is a dream to spin and work with. You can make a yarn that is strong and still soft to wear. It is very very special !  There are only about 600 of these seaweed sheep left in the world. Only through our effort of conservation of the environment and conservation through appreciation of this rare breed by spinning and knitting its fleece, can we hold on to one of the oldest and most special breeds in the world alive today.

You can check everything out in the what's new section on the IxCHeL shop by clicking here. 

Have a fantastic weekend filled with lots of creative fibre fun !

Big hugs,

Charly

 

 

Heart and Soul

 

When asked “what is your job”, a multitude of thoughts race through my brain. How do I explain what I do, especially to someone who is unfamiliar with me, or anything that I do at all, to people like  bank managers or official government entities. No matter how I try and phrase it, it never seems either enough..or too much..or doesn’t reflect what I do at all. Especially when dealing with drop down choices, where the only option offered that was in any way shape or form related to what i do was “art director”?  Lol

To say I dye and paint doesn’t cover everything either. I feel like an imposter saying I’m an “artist”, which is weird, because on a day to day basis I strive to be one: always learning, trying to be better at everything I do and connect feelings and meaning to colours and forms. “Artist” does not appear on any drop down choice I have seen though and maybe that’s because, well, it’s not considered a “job” but rather something you pour your heart and soul into, which doesn’t necessarily reward you with a good income. Reward yes, income…not so much…lol  it’s super hard to keep going just because of that, but there comes a time you come to the realisation that there is nothing else you’d rather do. How do you explain that to a banker  ?  

Anyway, that were just a few brainwaves of this week, while I was prepping and dyeing heaps of fibre for this update, while also trying to get my head around taxes. I know what I’d rather be doing and it ain’t taxes🤣

So, the January clubs have been shipped last month and I have just posted heaps of photos on my socials, so please have a look and a read. I have also opened up the sign ups for the art journey club nxt quarter, starting in April. The prepping and dyeing of the February clubs have already begun so keep an eye on my Instagram, Facebook, threads and Bluesky socials for any hints on what the artwork is, which inspired the colourway of the February clubs.

This weeks update is a special blend of Ouessant sheep with bfl and cashmere. The colours of the Ouessant sheep are a variety of browns so the blend is very interesting to dye. Dye in or rather over dyeing on a base of coloured fibres is absolutely wonderful: it creates a depth of colour and tonal values that you simply do not get on a bright white. 

I love dyeing tops that have different coloured fleeces in them: it is magical ! spinning this blend will give you a gorgeous heathered and saturated, magical colour play yarn, that is soft and suitable to close to skin wear with a gorgeous drape.

 

 

Located 12 miles off the French coast in the Sea of Iroise, the island of Ouessant (or Ushant in English) is the original homeland of Ouessant Sheep. 

 Ouessant sheep are the most primitive of the native French breeds. For centuries, they were raised in isolation on the island where they played an integral part of the self-sufficient closed economy, providing both wool and meat. By the end of the 18th century there were over 6,000 sheep on the island of Ouessant. But economic improvements along with a move toward modernization at the beginning of the 19th century radically changed the future prospects of this small primitive breed. fortunately, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, a number of wealthy families imported small numbers of traditional Ouessant sheep to the French mainland to graze the lands around their estates. 

Ultimately, this seemingly insignificant event insured the survival of the breed. Today, Ouessant sheep are sought after both as companion animals and as “environmentally-friendly lawn mowers”. 

They have also gained a certain amount of popularity in several different European countries : Most notably Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. 

A member of the Northern European Short-Tailed breeds, Ouessant sheep are distant cousins of the Shetland and Icelandic breeds. The two most distinctive features of Ouessant sheep are their size and their color. 

Considered by many to be the smallest breed of sheep in the world, adult ewes measure less than 18″ (46cm) at the shoulders and rams are under 20″ (50cm). 

Additionally, Ouessant sheep come in a number of different colors : Including black, white, brown, and grey. It is true that the small size of Ouessant sheep contributes to the breed’s characteristic charm and appeal. However, their diminutive size also means that the breed is not commercially viable in the modern world of agricultural production. In fact, one of the primary objectives for breeding Ouessant sheep today is the preservation and conservation of the rare genetic resources that are found in the breed. 

Despite their small size, these charming little sheep produce a particularly beautiful and versatile wool. Ouessant sheep have a distinctive double-coated fleece with an average fibre diameter of 23 microns and, on average, fleeces weigh approximately 750 grams. 

For the handspinner, this variation presents a unique opportunity : From one small flock of Ouessant sheep it is possible to produce wool that can be used for a wide variety of projects, ranging from lace shawls to hats, cardigans, and even rugs. 

 I have taken great care to only select the finest of the Ouessant fibre and blending that with the shiny Blue faced Leicester and cashmere  to create a beautiful heathered effect when dyed.

You can find all the new Ouessant bfl cashmere tops here on the IxCHeL shop: www.ixchel.com.au/products/ouessant-bfl-cashmere

Have a wonderful weekend and happy spinning !

((hugs))

Charly