Mohair and Wool Roving & Locks

Fiber from our Farm
Our hand-dyed rovings are created using the Mohair and wool fleeces from the animals we raise. Our Angora Goats are shorn in the spring and the fall as their fleeces grow 1 inch per month. Our Border Leicester sheep are shorn annually in the spring. We also purchase additional fleeces to blend with our Mohair. Each blend that uses fleeces from our critters will list the names of the animals who contributed their fiber.

At the farm we skirt each fleece, which removes dirty and stained wool. It is then washed using organic soap and citrus cleaner. Clean fleece is then dyed with color fast dyes. When rinsed and dry our fiber is sent to a fiber mill where it is picked and carded into roving.

Our Angora Goats are unique in that their fleeces come in a variety of colors and shades - Black, Grey, Silver, Brown, Taupe, Red and White. Mohair, the fleece from the Angora Goat is highly lustrous and strong, which makes our rovings brightly colored and sturdy when spun into yarn. For a little pizazz we occaisionally add some glitz or silk to our blends. Each colorway is a one of a kind and can not be produced in exactly the same way a second time.

Part of the uniqueness of each colorway is the grade of Mohair changes as the Angora goat ages. The finest and softest fleeces are from Kid Mohair, which is shorn from goats that are 6 months and one year old. Yearling Mohair is shorn from goats that are 18 months old. It is soft like Kid Mohair but has a little more strength to it. Fine Adult Mohair can be from a goat that is 2 years older on up, until the fleece is no longer garment quality.

We blend wool with our Mohair to increase the elasticity of our blends. Wool adds memory to the spun yarn so garments will hold their shape. Mohair adds sheen and strengh to the blend. Kid Mohair in high percentage is incredibly soft and excellent for close to the skin wear. Adult Mohair will contribute durability to a blend, which would make it excellent for making long wearing socks.

  

Dyed and Naturally Colored Mohair
Autumn Mountains
Autumn Mountains $40.00/LB
Repeating stripe every 4 oz. Sold in 4 ounce increments.

Red, Orange, Yellow & Grey sequential colorway with one ounce per color. Colors bleed from one to the next. Endless spinning options to vary stripping.
50% Wool/50% Yearling & Adult Mohair
Goats’ Names: Sugar. Maggie, Tilly & Arthur
Sheep Name: Lex

Spinning Options for Sequentail Colorways

First Option:
Spin two bobbins with the four ounce sequence of colors on each bobbin.
This will produce 8 oz. of finished yarn with stripes that are 2 oz. segments.
First Variation:
#1 Ply the 2 bobbins together matching the colors so the red is plyed with the red, orange with orange, yellow with yellow and grey with grey.
#2 Reverse the order of the sequence when spinning the second bobbin of singles. Now ply the two bobinis with the colors running opposite each other. Red is plyed with grey, orange with yellow, etc.

Second Option:
Divide 4 ounces of roving lengthwise trying to keep the strips even in width. Spin as in #1 above or as variation #2. Your resulting yarn will have one ounce stripes, so the band of color is narrower before changing into the next color.

Third Option:
Spin a single yarn using 4 ounces. More would be fine. Navajo ply the yarn. This will result in each color matching solidly with itself.

Fourth Options:
Break apart the roving to make segments of color as you wish. One popular way is to spin a single from four ounces of roving as is. Divide a second four ounces of roving lengthwise and spin one bobbin of singles. Ply the two bobbins together. This produces a very interesting yarn with a lot of variation.
California Surfing
California Surfing $42.00/LB
Repeating stripe every four ounces. Sold in four ounce increments.
Color stripes are one ounce per color.

Four shades of blue & teal in a repeating stripe every 4 oz. Great for socks. 60% Wool / 40% Kid Mohair Goats’ Names: Molly, Ginny, Katie, Cedric & Sirius
Sheep Name: Eri


See spinning options under Autumn Mountains.
Amaranth
Amaranth $36.00 / LB

The deep scarlet of Amaranth Flower Heads towering over the garden.
50% Yearling & Fine Adult Mohair / 50% Border Leicester Wool.
Sheep’s name: Oreo
Goats’ names: Merlita, Rusky, Teddy & Ferron
Twilight Blue
Twilight Blue $36.00/LB
Only 1.25# remaining

This roving is the moment before dusk when the sky is teal blue.
55% Yearling & Fine Adult Mohair / 45% Romney Wool.
Goats’ names: California, Bryony & Grace
Peaches
Peaches $38.00/LB

Tri-color roving the color of peaches in red, orange and yellow.
I was a vendor at the Williamsport Farmer's Market last summer. My booth was across from the fruit vendor where I purchased my favorite fruit, peaches, all summer long. I sat a peach on the counter by the dye stove and attempted to match the shades of peach skin when I dyed this roving.
60% Border Leicester Wool / 40% Yearling & Fine Adult Mohair.
Goats’ names: Ferron, Grace & Rusky
Morrit

Morrit $38.00/LB

This naturally colored blend of 45% Morrit Corriedale Wool and 55% Brown Kid Mohair is soft and warm. The colors are so naturally beautiful that their fleeces never got near the dye pot.
Sheep’s name: Odyssey
Goats’ Names: Hermoine & Dobby

Falling Leaves
Falling Leaves $38.00/LB

Rust, gold, chestnut and dark brown of leaves falling in Autumn.
50% Fine Adult Mohair / 45% Wool / 5% Glitz.
Goats’ Names: Myrtle, California & Firdance
Fire on the Mountain
Fire on the Mountain $34.00/LB

Scarlet & Brown stripe in 80% Wool / 20% Mohair.
Goat’s Name: California Sheep Names: Cocoa & Frizzie
This roving has a higher percentage of wool, hence it is a good one for beginning spinners who want to try their hand at spinning a Mohair blend.
Tide Pool
Tide Pool $40.00/LB

Blues and greens of an ocean tide pool with a little sparkle of seashells.
65% Wool / 30% Kid Mohair / 5% Glitz
Goats’ Names: Tilly & Arthur Weasley
Marshmellow & Fudge
Marshmallow & Fudge $36.00/LB

Natural tri-color roving in brown, chestnut and white which comes from our Corriedale and Border Leicester Sheep.
Sheep names: Cocoa, Eri, Lex, Odessey and King Arthur