Seaweed Loving Sheep

Do you love Seaweed? Did you know that there are sheep who do? Todays update is all about a very special rare breed sheep on the Scottish Isle of North Ronaldsay. I had heard from them before but never had the opportunity to feel their fleece until my fabulous sis in law Maggie, came back from an awesome Scottish Isle trip, and risked life and limb, brought some with her to give to me. That was the start of the quest to get more ;-)

The North Ronaldsay Sheep are the only animals in the world, aside from a certain Galapagon 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 Shorttailed 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 surving 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 lkike 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.

Before dyeing and spinning though was the rather painful process of getting rid of the guardhairs ! Here’s a view of the raw fleece :

After all of the cleaning and carding 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.

There is a documentary about the island with its seaweed eating sheep on youtube for you to see.  It shows you what the island looks like, the important wild life : Seals ! (warning ! Cute overload !) bird populations and ofcourse its most famous inhabitants:" the seaweed sheep ! (another cute overload ! @ 16:50 mins in) :  

Enjoy!

Please understand that I do not have a lot of stock of this exceptional rare breed fibre. Do not wait too long to  pounce on this weeks update to avoid disappointment and ..please let me know if you would be interested in more, so I can start working towards getting a bit  of this wonderful special fibre in and making it ready for your amazing spinning experience.

BTW, if you are wondering about the colourway names of this Scottish update: yes....they are Outlander inspired, thanks to Diana Gabaldon and the new TV series of her books .

Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? Always happy to enable. All my contact details are to be found at the end of this weeks blog entry. Have fun !!!

North Ronaldsay Sheep Tops

Hand dyed with love

A rare sheep breed that is a magical addition to your stash !

100grams (+/-3.5Oz); AU$22

Waterhorses-sold-

Sassenach-sold-

MacTavish-sold-

Murtagh-sold-

Laoghaire-sold-

Geillis-sold-

Dougal-sold-

Colum-sold-

Claire -sold-

New IxCHeL Club sign ups Open now !

October, November and December 2014!!

For all our international  club fans there is a possibility to ship all three clubs together to save on postage if you want :-) Just pm me to enquire about  the options.

IxCHeL Fibre Club October, November and December 2014

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed top/roving per month to the value of AU$22 , and as all of you past members know you get tops that are usually around $24 ! so it is a great deal!

All the tops will be hand dyed and will be especially made for the members of Ixchel Fibre Club ! Price to join the Ixchel Fibre Club #22 and receive your special hand dyed top :)) for three months (July, August and September 2014) is AU$66 + postage (parcel post or airmail). AND there are good value double serves available !!!

For Australia : single serve $66+$28 postage (parcel post), double serve $120+$28

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$66+AU$51 (Airmail) double serve AU$120+AU$51

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$66+AU$60 (airmail) Double serve AU$120+AU$60

For Asia: Single serve AU$66+AU$45 (airmail) Double serve AU$120+AU$45

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FIBRE CLUB #22 now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The October Club is going to be shipped out end of October. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

The IxCHeL Sock Yarn Club July , August and September 2014

Every month for three months (October, November and December  2014) you will receive: enough hand dyed luscious yummy yarn to make a pair of socks or a lush shawl or scarf ofcourse! (the hand dyed yarn will be exclusive for the Ixchelbunny SOCK-IT-TO-ME Yarn CLUB and will range from a sockweight yarn or a 3ply or a 4 ply); Every month a new sock pattern, tips and instructions ! Now is that GOOD or is that GOOD ??!

I will even offer a double serve for those of you who like their socks extra long

For Australia : single serve $78+$28 postage (parcel post) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +$28

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$78+AU$51 (Airmail) double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$51

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$78+AU$60 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$60

For Asia: Single serve AU$78+AU$45 (airmail) Double serve $130 (= one skein FREE!!!) +AU$45

Numbers are strictly limited ! 

Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal . Just PM or email me your details 

  By the way: you don’t HAVE to knit socks if you don’t want to.. the hand dyed yarn is amazingly nice for scarves, cowls, beanies and even tops ! Anything goes .

IxCHeL Mini skein Club October, November and December  2014

Every month I will be offering a monthly exclusive IxCHeL mini skein selection for Club members. In that monthly selection there are 12 hand dyed miniskeins that are hand dyed and or even hand spun and awesome to add to your mini skein projects.

Here are all the details for the sign ups for the IxCHeL Mini Skein Club:

For Australia : single serve $69+$28 postage (parcel post) double serve $130 (=even a better deal!) +$28

For USA + Canada: single serve AU$69+AU$51 (Airmail) double serve $130 (even a better deal!) +AU$51

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: Single serve AU$69+AU$60 (airmail) Double serve $130 (even a better deal!)+AU$60

For Asia: Single serve AU$69+AU$42 (airmail) Double serve $130 (even a better deal!)+AU$45

Numbers are strictly limited !The OctoberClub mini skeins will be sent out end of October. Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me your details

IxCHeL Funky Bunny Batt Club October, November and December 2014

Here are all the details and just pm me when you have any questions or want to be part of the funky bunny batt club Movement ;-) Welcome to the blingy dark side ;-D

The subscription is for a period of three months and you will receive one special hand dyed funky bunny batt per month to the value of AU$36 or more .

The batts will range in weight from 130grams to 180grams with luxury fibres like camel , angora, cashmere, silk, yak, llama even wolf and bison! All the batts will be hand dyed and will be especially made for the members of Ixchel funky bunny Club ! Every month you will receive a HUGE luxury funky bunny batt !

Sign up now and you will receive an Ixchel Hand dyed , super luxurious funky bunny batt for October, November and December  2014!

Price to join the Ixchel Funky bunny for three months is :

For Australia : $96+$28 postage (parcel post)

For USA + Canada: AU$96+AU$51 (Airmail)

For UK,Europe, rest of the world: AU$96+AU$60 (airmail)

For Asia: AU$96+AU$45 (airmail)

If you want to receive a fibre surprise every month then join the IXCHEL FUNKY BUNNY Batt CLUB now. Numbers are strictly limited ! The first installment is going to be shipped out end of October :) Payment via direct deposit or credit card or paypal. Just PM or email me

IxCHeL Events to put in your Calendar!

Sunday September 28th, 9:30-3pm

Sheep and Woolcraft Day (with bunnies as well ofcourse !)

Cranbourne Public Hall (near KFC) in Cranbourne

I will have a big stall there filled to the brim with luscious fibery goodness and NEW fluffy exciting stuff ! AND new very special spindles and bowls from Lair of the Bearded Dragon !

Not to be missed!

 

October 7th, 10am-2:30pm

PASCOE VALE SPIN IN

at Swimming Pool Hall

7 Prospect street

Pascoe vale

There will be lots of traders, competitions and show and tell.

Lots of fun to be had !!!

NEW IxCHeL blends and lots of new exciting spinning stuff from Lair of the Bearded Dragon ;-)

How To Order:

1. You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or ixchelbunny at yahoo dot com dot au
2. message me on facebook or ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny.

I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods.

Any questions? Any custom orders for yarn or dyeing fibre? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

Thank you so much for your help and support !

 

 RABBIT ON !

((hugs))

Charly